Lumintop Tool Ti (Nichia 219BT, 1xAAA, Titanium) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS and more

[sticktodrum]

When the light is stored for a period of time with no AAA battery installed, the rechargeable switch battery slowly drops in charge (due to the electronic nature of the switch, with its own standby current draining its rechargeable battery). After ~4 days with no activity (and no AAA battery installed), I measured the initial standby drain when an AAA is re-installed at ~50uA. At this point, the Hi output level was significantly reduced: while Lo and Med were normal, Hi was ~45% of max output initially (although this recovered to ~55% of of max output after 1 minute of runtime).

So could it be that what you originally thought was caused by build up on the threads was instead caused by low charge of the tail switch battery? :shrug:


Also, I get a rare pre-flash on low. Anyone else get that?

 

[write2dgray]

Thank you for the sacrifice thetasigma!

 

[selfbuilt]

So could it be that what you originally thought was caused by build up on the threads was instead caused by low charge of the tail switch battery?

Yes, I think that was it. It was probably the repeated re-connections to the battery that was helping, not the cleanings.

Also, I get a rare pre-flash on low. Anyone else get that?

No pre-flash here - I have not seen one on my sample, and have done a lot of testing with it.

 

[campingnut]

Does this mean I must always have a cell in this light, otherwise I risk damaging the switch cell? I am looking forward to mine arriving in the next day or two, but I do not like the idea of a little cell in the switch...long-term wise...

 

[Crazyeddiethefirst]

Does this mean I must always have a cell in this light, otherwise I risk damaging the switch cell? I am looking forward to mine arriving in the next day or two, but I do not like the idea of a little cell in the switch...long-term wise...

Sounds like an Eneloop Pro or Energizer AAA Lithium primary might be the way to keep the switch charged without fear of "Alkaleakage" long term...

 

[campingnut]

I do not use alkalines...eneloops and li- cells only in my household

 

[ronniepudding]

Lumintop Tool Ti (Nichia 219BT, 1xAAA, Titanium) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS ...

Does this mean I must always have a cell in this light, otherwise I risk damaging the switch cell? I am looking forward to mine arriving in the next day or two, but I do not like the idea of a little cell in the switch...long-term wise...

+1

I'm not an electrical engineer... but it seems to me an odd design choice to add a second battery and additional complexity to the tail switch. Why not power the switch (as is TMK commonly done with most electronic flashlight switches) using the big main battery?

Can anyone explain what Lumintop is trying to accomplish with this design? Going from their marketing material, it sounded like they were striving for a zero parasitic drain switch -- but that may have been a mis-translation, and doesn't seem to be what they ended up building.

 

[Javora]

Re: Lumintop Tool Ti (Nichia 219BT, 1xAAA, Titanium) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS ...

How long would a small battery like that last?

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: Lumintop Tool Ti (Nichia 219BT, 1xAAA, Titanium) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS ...

Just updated the review with the results of my testing of the switch.

I've also had to update the output tables and Hi mode Eneloop Pro runtime - as it turns out the tailswitch internal battery was not fully charged when I did those tests initially (i.e., I wasn't getting max output).

 

[somnambulism]

Re: Lumintop Tool Ti (Nichia 219BT, 1xAAA, Titanium) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS ...

Just updated the review with the results of my testing of the switch.

I've also had to update the output tables and Hi mode Eneloop Pro runtime - as it turns out the tailswitch internal battery was not fully charged when I did those tests initially (i.e., I wasn't getting max output).

Thanks for this update, I was a little unhappy with the mode spacing with an alkaline (medium too close to high), but I like it a lot better with the higher max output with an Eneloop.

 

[YummyBacon!]

Re: Lumintop Tool Ti (Nichia 219BT, 1xAAA, Titanium) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS ...

Agreed 100% Wish they also packed in the magnetic (no switch tail) As in the Aluminum AAA tool.

+1

I'm not an electrical engineer... but it seems to me an odd design choice to add a second battery and additional complexity to the tail switch. Why not power the switch (as is TMK commonly done with most electronic flashlight switches) using the big main battery?

Can anyone explain what Lumintop is trying to accomplish with this design? Going from their marketing material, it sounded like they were striving for a zero parasitic drain switch -- but that may have been a mis-translation, and doesn't seem to be what they ended up building.

 

[campingnut]

Re: Lumintop Tool Ti (Nichia 219BT, 1xAAA, Titanium) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS ...

Another question...what will happen when, not if, the small cell fails? Will the switch be powered by the big cell or will the light not work? I ask this because, as we all know, every cell has a limited life...

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: Lumintop Tool Ti (Nichia 219BT, 1xAAA, Titanium) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS ...

Another question...what will happen when, not if, the small cell fails? Will the switch be powered by the big cell or will the light not work? I ask this because, as we all know, every cell has a limited life...

It's a good question. There are reports of the light not turning on, likely due to a depleted internal switch battery (as full function was restored after letting sit in contact with an AAA battery). That would suggest to me that when the internal cell fails (i.e., can no longer be recharged), the light will simply stop working. But that's just speculation - I don't know enough of how it operates to say with any certainty. :shrug:

 

[KeepingItLight]

Re: Lumintop Tool Ti (Nichia 219BT, 1xAAA, Titanium) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS ...

Hopefully, when we know more details, we will learn that this switch performs well, and lasts a long time.

I must say, however, that my first response, after learning that it had a battery, was to ask how one replaces said battery. I was also thinking, KISS. Is this battery just another point of failure?

 

[peter yetman]

Re: Lumintop Tool Ti (Nichia 219BT, 1xAAA, Titanium) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS ...

Do we know if it's a cell or a capacitor?
P

 

[m95c]

It looks like a battery, according to the pictures posted and the description in the patent.

 

[peter yetman]

Thank you.
P

 

[ingineer]

Rey says it is a capacitor, acts like one, appearances can be deceiving.
Watch caps:

Why worry? Great small torch

 

[KITROBASKIN]

I understand that capacitors can be very long lived if not kept in high temperatures for a sustained period. It just doesn't seem right that Lumintop would hobble their flashlight with a battery in the switch that would fail in a few years. But this too is speculation. Perhaps someone will ask Lumintop.

 

[somnambulism]

Since the description of the light says the switch is patented, figured I'd just look at the patent document to see what it says. Searching for 201520922098.6 at the Chinese Patent Office website brings up patent number CN205105440U (sorry, can't figure out how to link to it directly).

Here's the circuit diagram:

And here's the abstract (in Chinese, which I can't read, but I'm sure some people here can):

本实用新型公开了一种储能型零功耗手电电子开关电路，包括芯片U1、电池U2、二极管D1、MOS管Q1、电阻R1和电容C1，所述芯片U1引脚3分别连接开关K1、电阻R1和电容C1，电阻R1另一端分别连接芯片U1引脚6和MOS管Q1的G极，MOS管Q1的D极分别连接电阻R3和输出端B1，电阻R3另一端连接二极管D1正极，二极管D1负极分别连接芯片U1引脚5、电池U2正极和二极管D2负极，二极管D2正极分别连接MOS管Q1的S极、电池U2负极、电容C2、输出端B2和电容C1另一端。本实用新型采用MOS管控制大电流，比普通机械开关体积小、重量轻，比普通电子开关电路功耗小，可以减小待机电流为零，本品采用续电储能型形式，所以不用担心使用时间及使用寿命。

And here's a machine translation of the abstract (click the link for a machine translation of the entire document) into English through the European Patent Office site:

The utility model discloses a storage-type zero-power flashlight electronic switching circuit, including chip U1, battery U2, the diode D1, MOS tube Q1, resistor R1 and capacitor C1, U1 pin 3 of the chip are connected to the switch K1, resistor R1 and capacitor C1, the resistor R1 and the other terminal connected to chip U1 pin 6 and G MOS transistor Q1 pole, D MOS transistor Q1 and a resistor R3 are connected to electrode output terminal B1, the other end of the resistor R3 is connected to the positive diode D1, the diode the cathode of D1 are connected to pin 5 of chip U1, U2 battery positive electrode and the negative electrode of the diode D2, the diode D2 are connected to the positive electrode of the MOS transistor Q1 S pole, U2 battery negative electrode, the capacitor C2, the output of the other end of the capacitor C1 and B2. The utility model adopts MOS transistor to control high current, small size than conventional mechanical switches, light weight, small power consumption than conventional electronic switching circuit, the standby current can be reduced to zero, this product is in the form of continuous electrical energy storage type, so do not worry use of time and life.

I don't know enough about circuits to tell how this works, or what from the patent description corresponds to what in the photos of the switch earlier in the thread. (Is "battery U2" the AAA battery in these lights, or is there a separate battery in the switch?) Hopefully someone else here can figure it out.