I thought I wouldn't see the Asgard until some time next week but bright and early yesterday (5-18-13) the Foybell rang and the postman handed over my prize . . .
Inside, a bubble-wrapped plain white box with a packing list . . .
It says "custom instructions" but there were none in the package. This led to frustrationFoy as the comparatively tech-challenged of the trio here selected spends most of Saturday failing and part of Sunday finally succeeding in getting the Asgard's key feature to function . . .
I would say its packaging didn't quite match the thrilling rise of anticipation many of us experienced during the last couple of weeks . . .
Many people have the Small Sun version of this light, the ZY-T08 but the original design was the UltraFire UF-T60 . . .
Asgard on the left and although similar, the difference in quality compared to the T60 is vast. I'll save the ugly macros for my review and I'll cut it some slack for being about $30 cheaper, and for being two to ten times as much fun to play with.
Also, custom paracord wrap courtesy jacktheclipper.
Machine work is horrible, sharp edges everywhere, nicks, cuts and awful anodization that does a fairly respectable impression of paint . . .
I'm told the Small Sun comes with a black boot and I wish this did as well. The Asgard's nearly buff/scratched/swirl-mark blessed tail cap bling is a poor imitation of the T60's gorgeous polished chrome piece . . .
The Asgard does share the good looks of both the T08 and the T60 with an attractive cross section, plenty of cooling fins and side-by-side battery arrangement . . .
The battery tube threads on sloppily and doesn't snug up gradually; it simply hits the base of the head . . .
The pretty bezel nearly blew away on a windy day this afternoon here in the city of sin. Holding it and the beautifully smooth stainless steel bezel from the T60 leads me to believe it is aluminum. Not a bad thing necessarily, just an observation . . .
What is a bad thing is the as-received condition of the plastic reflector . . .
When I saw this I became suspicious . . .
If the perpetrator of this crime is in the data base, we should have no problem identifying him or her . . .
Although I had my doubts when I learned aluminum might interfere with the Bluetooth signal, Jasmine was spot on in her positive assessment of this hefty plastic piece . . .
I at first thought it was metal; it is the thickest plastic reflector I've ever seen. No Mag-Lite this and although it is uncoated, the glass is the thickest lens I've ever seen as well . . .
You have to look close for the obvious clues-de-plastic . . .
We now approach the Asgard's raison d'etre. The T6 emitter earns a hearty ho-hum but the black stem spouting through the negative lead hole is a gosh-dang fer-real Bluetooth antenna . . .
DexterityFoy was required to reinstall the reflector without damaging this important component . . .
I'm going to go ahead and call the white stuff on the wire Fujik . . .
Looking at this substantial pill, it's easy to see why this design was perfect for this new technology . . .
Pretty doggone interesting ain't it . . . ?
Not sure what the significance is between the upper and lower areas but I bet they are real important . . .
A peek inside reveals the prototype status of this number 3 of 3 review sample . . .
One would hope for a bit more permanence in the production version . . .
I have to say, however that even though its innards suggest otherwise, the Asgard seems quite robust . . .
Saturday:
Upon arrival I unpackaged and inserted two fully charged, protected Tenergy 18650/2600 mAh and powered up. Light was single mode on what appeared to be high and soft pressing quick or slow made no difference. Also, the longer the light was on, the more it flickered.
Whipped out my much loved Galaxy S3 and headed over to Play Store once again hoping to find APK. Not there yet so, click the link Jasmine provided via PM, USB cord to phone and install from file browser. App installs without a hitch.
Turn on Bluetooth, pair device, start app, turn light on, soft press three times, hit connect. "Connection failed." Orient light a couple different ways, relative to phone; try again. Connection made showing 3.64 volts on batteries measured at 4.21 volts 60 seconds prior. Receive low battery warning on phone a few seconds later.
Swipe to mode screen and create simple high, medium and low profile; 100%/forever, 37.50%/forever and moonlight (5mA non-PWM) with Goto step 4 on all. Creatively name profile "new mode" hit save and then "Send Profile to Asgard." Error message. Reconnect, send again, no error message. Exit app, turn light off, turn back on. Same single mode.
Repeated this procedure throughout the day with no success until Mrs. Foy came home from work and asked why there was still a tree in the back yard. Explained that the very important light I was expecting some time next week, arrived today. Many people around the globe waiting on Foy. Top priority. Must follow through. Mrs. Foy unimpressed, deploys threatening mannerisms/facial expressions sufficient to motivate Foy to locate reciprocating saw, cut down larger-than-it-looked tree, uproot stump and box it all up for the trash man.
Foy free to touch Mrs. Foy once again.
Sunday:
Loaded two fresh charged AW/IMRs, repeated above steps several times. Same result. Briefly consider writing blistering review, castigating entire flashlight industry and declaring war on China.
Noting perfect lighting conditions, choose instead to take review pictures now and wait on possible APK update to solve problem while also worrying that people saying Foy isn't "technical" enough to do this review, may be right. Disassemble light during photo shoot, reassemble and on a lark, try again to program light.
When I soft press three times this time, light goes into strange 3-blink/off for a long time/3-blink/off for a long time mode. Reread JohnnyMac's PM. Start FLEXcandles app. Make connection showing exact same (correct) voltage Foy measured on DMM. Swipe to mode screen, send already saved profile to Asgard, no error message. Close app, turn light off. Turn light back on.
Asgard now cycles beautifully through new profile. Create six new profiles, all different. All profiles load instantly and Foy's Asgard is now functionally perfect.
Anger gone, feeling the flashlight community love, China safe.
reviewtocomeFoy
<<<5.21-13 update>>>
Just wanted to say that despite my serious quality issues and, apparently unlike JohnnyMac and _the_, the Bluetooth feature on my Asgard is pretty much flawless. If I point it at my phone at an angle, it connects on the first or second try every time and accepts new profiles instantly.
Tonight I showed Mrs. Foy how I could change modes and even turn the light "on" or "off" from up to about 5 feet away with my phone, without touching the light. The programmability of my example works without a single hiccup.
In fact, the Bluetooth feature is so awesome, it almost makes me forget about its lousy finish and machine work. Seriously, my T60 stands head and shoulders above this light in just about every way . . . but there it sits on the shelf while I re-program the Asgard with yet another set of custom modes. I can't even count how many times I've done that. At one point my Asgard was an 8-mode. Another time it was one of my favorites, 2-mode High/no-PWM moonlight.
I still don't like the low quality but . . . damn if the wireless control fun doesn't go a long way toward making up for it.
smallsipsofkoolaidFoy
