The Maratac AAA "Cu"

[visigoth]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

Yes -- and tested the batteries in other lights. When it arrived, the head was tightened down pretty hard -- would that have been sufficient to damage things? (I was under the impression that twisties are not supposed to be overtightened.)

 

[Toohotruk]

How do the contacts in the head look? Are they damaged?

 

[97catintenn]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

I hate to state the obvious, have you tried different batts?

I would start with a freshly charged battery too!

Also, according to the instructions, if light fails to turn on, any oil on the threads must be removed.

 

[visigoth]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

Tried all this. Freshly charged, clean threads. The contacts in the head look pristine. It seems to me that it may be a blown emitter. Is that possible? That it would turn on a few times, then the emitter would fry? (I was using a standard Duracell rechargeable AAA -- NiMH.)

 

[leon2245]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

SEND IT IN!!

:rock:

 

[97catintenn]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

Hey, did you figure it out?? what did you end up doing?

 

[visigoth]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

Hey, did you figure it out?? what did you end up doing?

I sent it back. I was going to wait until the replacement arrived before posting, but I'm sure it will be fine. Miles Stair has been a real pleasure to deal with, by the way: he immediately offered to replace it. My sense is I just got a bum unit. Hey, it happens.

A question to all of you, though: is it even possible that over-tightening a twisty like this could do damage? To the circuit board, say?

 

[bob4apple]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

I wonder if this gem of a light would be able to handle the heat produced by a 10440 battery.
Being made of all copper, it would have an advantage, but the big question is, would it
be enough to keep the LED and driver from going up in smoke?

I know lots of us have tried them for short bursts in the aluminum and stainless versions,
but does anyone use a lithium ion battery in the copper version exclusively?

 

[tobrien]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

I wonder if this gem of a light would be able to handle the heat produced by a 10440 battery.
Being made of all copper, it would have an advantage, but the big question is, would it
be enough to keep the LED and driver from going up in smoke?

I know lots of us have tried them for short bursts in the aluminum and stainless versions,
but does anyone use a lithium ion battery in the copper version exclusively?

in all honesty I think it works perfect with a regular primary, just needs better tint, but i'm not against someone else trying a 10440 haha

 

[AlphaZen]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

I run a 10440 in mine, but never for extended periods, and I keep the battery topped up since there is no voltage cutoff. Works great and probably puts out 300 lumens on high.

 

[bob4apple]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

Thanks for your answers, guys. I know it works great on alkaline and NIMH.
I was hoping that some brave souls risked using lions on high for extended periods and got away with it.
Realistically, it would be too costly to replace if the experiment failed.

 

[jorn]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

Try a shorter battery if it wont turn on. Had some issues with Energeizer ultimate lithiums. They are a tad too long the times the outer end of the spring coils on top of itself. At fist the light worked, then it dident, then i worked again and so on. When the outer end of the spring coils on top of itself (when fully compressed), the spring is suddenly twice as thick. The maratac is tiny, and has a short tube. The tube won't make contact with the outer ring on the driverboard if this happens (if you are using a long batt). I ended up crushing the battery instead of turning the light on. See if you can press the +nipple on the batt a mm or so deeper than the shoulder of the tube.

 

[visigoth]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

UPDATE: The replacement arrived today. Lovely. Works perfectly. The threads are smooth, emitter centered, all good. And Miles threw in a free Pico Widgy Bar to make up for my troubles. (Kind of a great keychain tool: miniature pry bar.) All in all, The Survival Shop is highly recommended.

It would still be nice to know whether I have to worry about over-tightening -- can anyone tell me whether that will damage the circuit?

 

[calipsoii]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

It would still be nice to know whether I have to worry about over-tightening -- can anyone tell me whether that will damage the circuit?

I wouldn't sweat it too much, this light is no more likely to be damaged by over-tightening than a 4sevens or Nitecore or any other brand. The electronics aren't free-floating in the head, they're encased in a brass can that is threaded in until it sits against the reflector.

 

[visigoth]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

Okay, perhaps I'm just having bad luck with this flashlight, or perhaps this is normal behavior. When I turn the light on, after turning it off for a minute or two, it pre-flashes (high) before coming on low. Then it works properly: L/H/L with no flashes. If I turn it off for ten minutes or so, I get no pre-flash.

Does anyone else see this behavior? Any fix for it?

(I'm not sure it was doing it when I first got it -- it seems as if it may have just started today. I've tried it with a few batteries.)

 

[Tete]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

Okay, perhaps I'm just having bad luck with this flashlight, or perhaps this is normal behavior. When I turn the light on, after turning it off for a minute or two, it pre-flashes (high) before coming on low. Then it works properly: L/H/L with no flashes. If I turn it off for ten minutes or so, I get no pre-flash.

Does anyone else see this behavior? Any fix for it?

(I'm not sure it was doing it when I first got it -- it seems as if it may have just started today. I've tried it with a few batteries.)

Yes!
I seem to have the same problem, too! I have a Philips lithium battery in it and I haven't tried it with other batteries.. I have cleaned the threads but it doesn't seem to help...:sigh:
I thought about returning it, but decided not to, it would just be too much hassle. After all it's not really a light I use all the time, mainly just bought it for the copper...

 

[visigoth]

Re: HELP! Re: The Maratac AAA "Cu"

Yes!
I seem to have the same problem, too! I have a Philips lithium battery in it and I haven't tried it with other batteries.. I have cleaned the threads but it doesn't seem to help...:sigh:
I thought about returning it, but decided not to, it would just be too much hassle. After all it's not really a light I use all the time, mainly just bought it for the copper...

Is yours precisely the same issue: a pre-flash only if the light's been turned off for a minute or two?

That makes it less of an issue -- generally, when you want a light to turn on low, it's been off for at least a few minutes. But I must confess, this pre-flash is BRIGHT. It's enough to signal with.

 

[StudFreeman]

Head/pill disassembly

Has anybody disassembled the Rev.2 Cu's head? Normally I'd try this myself but I like the light a lot and would rather not ruin it doing something stupid if someone else has been there and done that. However the tint is not my favorite, a special light like this one should have an emitter with perfect tint (e.g. XP-G2 3D or Nichia 219 Hi-CRI!)

 

[PoliceScannerMan]

Re: Head/pill disassembly

Has anybody disassembled the Rev.2 Cu's head? Normally I'd try this myself but I like the light a lot and would rather not ruin it doing something stupid if someone else has been there and done that. However the tint is not my favorite, a special light like this one should have an emitter with perfect tint (e.g. XP-G2 3D or Nichia 219 Hi-CRI!)

Vin has, so has Moddo.

 

[tobrien]

Re: Head/pill disassembly

Has anybody disassembled the Rev.2 Cu's head? Normally I'd try this myself but I like the light a lot and would rather not ruin it doing something stupid if someone else has been there and done that. However the tint is not my favorite, a special light like this one should have an emitter with perfect tint (e.g. XP-G2 3D or Nichia 219 Hi-CRI!)

Hit up datiled. I'm gonna have him mod mine to a 219