Raylight pineapple mini - a mini disappointment

g_damian · 2018-06-22T20:25:48.000Z

Raylight pineapple mini is a nice light with very well spaced modes. I like the LED more than the one in brass pineapple, must be from a different batch. But…

Mine does not have well centered LED:

~~The beam is a bit skewed.~~ Tried to fix it, found other problems.

1. ~~MCPCB is glued or super tight fit, left it as is.~~ EDIT: it’s not glued. See post #20.

2. There was a dirt on the LED under centering ring.

3. Small machining flaw on the bezel. Because of it, o-ring misbehaved and was popping out. Fixed by moving it under the lens, which worsened the beam even more.

Album with pictures

sp5it · 2018-06-22T20:31:31.000Z

What can we do about that?

mortuus · 2018-06-24T21:55:10.000Z

shame have this on my wishlight now im not sure… how is the beam ?

g_damian · 2018-06-25T10:02:09.000Z

mortuus:

shame have this on my wishlight now im not sure… how is the beam ?

You can check beam pictures in the album. Beam is ok, floody, but not symmetrical (cannot be seen in pictures, only on white wall while rotating the light).

KawiBoy1428 · 2018-06-25T13:09:35.000Z

Is the centering ring upside down in this pic?

g_damian · 2018-06-25T13:58:04.000Z

KawiBoy1428:

Is the centering ring upside down in this pic?

No. Centering ring is built from 2 rings, upper ring (closer to reflector) has smaller inner diameter than lower one.

KawiBoy1428 · 2018-06-25T16:00:39.000Z

g_damian:

KawiBoy1428:

Is the centering ring upside down in this pic?

No. Centering ring is built from 2 rings, upper ring (closer to reflector) has smaller inner diameter than lower one.

Hmm never seen that before….weird….

ChibiM · 2018-06-26T05:29:18.000Z

Pity abpu the non-centered LED

djozz · 2018-06-26T09:18:03.000Z

What annoys me the most is the popping o-ring under the bezel, I thought that we were past that :weary: . That used to be a common problem with very cheap flashlights back before 2014 and is caused by a bezel that is flat on the inside. The slighest groove machined in there will make that never happen, it is design laziness.

Henk4U2 · 2018-06-26T09:22:39.000Z

Excuse me for barging in on your gloom.
AFAIK Rey makes and sells some pretty good lights. And he takes good care of his customers.
You say the LED and driver on this one are okay. So the main parts themselves are in good order.
There are two options:

- have you contacted Rey, and what does he say?

why don’t you try to (partially) rebuild the head.

We expect things to work flawlessly after unboxing.
But that only happens in 99% of all cases, because we live in a world that’s not perfect.

djozz · 2018-06-26T09:30:53.000Z

Henk4U2:

Excuse me for barging in on your gloom.
AFAIK Rey makes and sells some pretty good lights. And he takes good care of his customers.
You say the LED and driver on this one are okay. So the main parts themselves are in good order.
There are two options:

- have you contacted Rey, and what does he say?

why don’t you try to (partially) rebuild the head.

We expect things to work flawlessly after unboxing.
But that only happens in 99% of all cases, because we live in a world that’s not perfect.

I’m a fan of Rey and his lights because he dares to do different things and takes risks. Some very nice flashlights would not be there without him, and he keeps them affordable. But he also has a history of designs that have sloppy details, things that are just not right. He needs his customers to tell him what to improve and maybe someday he builds the perfect flashlight

KawiBoy1428 · 2018-06-26T09:40:59.000Z

The centering disc/ring must be a pretty sloppy fit to the LED, it looks like it is being crowded to one side by the positive lead solder blob, maybe reducing the size of the solder contact will allow better centering?

Geuzzz · 2018-06-26T11:51:15.000Z

djozz:

I’m a fan of Rey and his lights because he dares to do different things and takes risks. Some very nice flashlights would not be there without him, and he keeps them affordable. But he also has a history of designs that have sloppy details, things that are just not right. He needs his customers to tell him what to improve and maybe someday he builds the perfect flashlight

I agree on this. Just received my reylight pineapple and I am a bit disappointed. Threads are a bit damaged and the switch still feels wobbly and strange.

Probably by most people being so happy with their pineapples I was expecting too much.
Would probably still have bought the light at some point, but my expectations on the detail level were clearly to high. Honestly I like the attention for detail much better on my (15dollar) Enogear SS and it is much smaller/lighter also.

g_damian · 2018-06-26T12:58:42.000Z

Henk4U2:

have you contacted Rey, and what does he say?

That’s a good idea. Wrote a message to him

g_damian · 2018-06-26T13:00:10.000Z

KawiBoy1428:

The centering disc/ring must be a pretty sloppy fit to the LED, it looks like it is being crowded to one side by the positive lead solder blob, maybe reducing the size of the solder contact will allow better centering?

I think that problem is that MCPCB is very tight fit or glued - could not move it.

LightUpTheDark · 2018-06-26T16:50:16.000Z

g_damian:

KawiBoy1428:

The centering disc/ring must be a pretty sloppy fit to the LED, it looks like it is being crowded to one side by the positive lead solder blob, maybe reducing the size of the solder contact will allow better centering?

I think that problem is that MCPCB is very tight fit or glued - could not move it.

Almost looks like the solder blob is result of a cold solder joint… Best bet would be to re-solder and remove some of the solder w/ solder wick.

jon_slider · 2018-06-26T17:41:55.000Z

KawiBoy1428:

The centering disc/ring… looks like it is being crowded to one side by the positive lead solder blob, maybe reducing the size of the solder contact will allow better centering?

imo, no, changing the position of the centering ring will not change the position of the LED
afaict, to change the position of the LED requires resoldering the LED

KawiBoy1428 · 2018-06-26T21:02:14.000Z

jon_slider:

KawiBoy1428:

The centering disc/ring… looks like it is being crowded to one side by the positive lead solder blob, maybe reducing the size of the solder contact will allow better centering?

imo, no, changing the position of the centering ring will not change the position of the LED
afaict, to change the position of the LED requires resoldering the LED

Yeah good eyes…your right, now I see how far it is off to the lines on the star, time to get a new light or try a re-flow! As far as the star is off radially, once the leads are out, you should be able to use an awl or scribe to break the epoxy loose. Mine popped out no problem when I re-flowed a XP-L HI for my TI Lan.

jon_slider · 2018-06-26T23:54:56.000Z

KawiBoy1428:

p.
see how far it is off to the lines on the star, time to get a new light or try a re-flow!

yes, the led is supposed to be centered on the board, I agree it would require reflowing…:

g_damian:

I think that problem is that MCPCB is very tight fit or glued - could not move it.

the board is not supposed to move

g_damian:

Small machining flaw on the bezel. Because of it, o-ring misbehaved and was popping out. Fixed by moving it under the lens, which worsened the beam even more.

I really like the beam on the left… it is much more even. I like smooth beams, dont care for overhot center, and too dim spill, like the one on the right

but, you found a flaw in the bezel, you could disassemble the light and sand it out… not sure the position of the glass changes the beam, but, you have 4 complaints, the burr on the bezel (totally reasonable complaint imo), the Oring slips out (not good), you dont like the beam (personal taste), and the LED is not centered (that bugs the hell out of me, I would not be happy as is)

I would return for refund, or replacement…

fwiw, even HDS sells lights with uncentered LEDs, and they dont warranty that, claiming it is just a cosmetic issue and does not affect the function of the light. I would return a light with an uncentered LED, its a Big Deal, to me.

I do not think all ReyLight PineApples have uncentered LEDs, burrs on the bezel, and O rings popping out.
.
You got a “special” one.

By returning it, you are giving Rey the opportunity to protect his good name and reputation. He brings a lot of good lights to the public, but they are made in bulk, by Lumintop. Sometimes flawed units slip through the cracks… Sometimes, it is up to the consumer to help catch quality control issues. Im sure Rey will make it right.

g_damian · 2018-08-15T20:36:36.000Z

Fixed! :partying_face: Just reflowed the LED. I noticed there were too much solder. During procedure also checked MCPCB and it is DTP.

I was talking with Rey, he offered to send me new one or refund $10. Decided to fix it myself and didn’t accept his generous offer.