Tiablo flashlights owner experiences

[Tatjanamagic]

That looks like the cause for the overheating....I never leave "high output" lights at 100% with no extra cooling in warm weather. Many(myself included) have done this with no ill effects, but when lights get really hot their failure rate increases.

I have, however, tested the A9 in candle mode on Medium and left it on my desktop for about 30 minutes. Although it got warm, it wasn't "driver frying" hot.

It look's like it was, unfortunately, an unlucky break for your A9 ...I'm sure most A9's could be left on in a drawer in the summer countless times, get very hot, but not suffer immediate permanent damage.

R U sure? Anybody want to test this theory? I think when U run on rechargeable 123 batteries that have higher voltage than primaries 123 is much greater risk for driver burnout like Mr. MrGman said at a bottom of this thread https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/246243 so please read his post U will C expert opinion...

I will just citate one part that he said in his post:

Some flashlights although they claim they can use the RCR 123 batteries are not fully compatible with them because the higher voltage across the driver circuit makes it get hot. Short time runs are okay, but not full power runs until the batteries die. He probably was not holding the flashlight either and that means it didn't have his hand to help draw away the heat. Meaning it got hotter than it would have in normal hand held use.

By looking at some of the run time plots for Tiablo flashlights I have always seen that they run higher power with the higher voltage batteries which suggests they didn't have the best in regulation from the driver anyway. This is good if you want a little more output but don't run it constantly. Its bad as the results of your friend's flashlight appear to point out, if you want to try and run it for 1.5 hours non stop just for the heck of it.

 

[lightforce2]

It may not be the driver that failed when the low mode was used on a rifle mount

When low mode is on, the resister in the tailcap switch can get hot & if the solder is close to melting point it can dislodge when exposed to recoil from a firearm. You should check the resistor with a multimeter to see whether you have a closed circuit, it should be about 10 ohms

I have a number of A9/A8's that I use for night shooting & I find them exceptionaly good. there's nothing that cant be modified for improving the performance above the standard model.

For rifle mount I use direct drive (no circuit), improved single stage switch that can cope with higher amperage, upgraded emitter thats an R2-WH on a 17mm base for better thermal transfer (standard Q5 emitters are on 13mm base)

The best switches I find are the 'on-off_on-off modes, this way you can have either of the following - low-off-high-off, high-off-low-off, or bridge out the + 2 poles and you have the simple on-off mode

the best mode selection improvement I made to an A9 was to install a 1.2amp 3 mode 3SD derelight pill

cheers,

 

[Tatjanamagic]

Oh hi Mr. Lightforce...

Actually driver did burn ( but U did not read whole topic ) So I went to electrician that has solder some extra wire so flashlight is in DIRECT mode now and I can not use 2× rcr 123 I can only use 18650...

And after that I went to hunt and low mode burned... (Thanks on explanation I will tell that to my electrician)

I will citate Mr. Gunner and Mr. Monocrom also for rookies that don't now what direct drive means...

Direct drive... There is no circuit between the batteries and LED to lower the voltage. To avoid doing damage to the LED, don't use 2 RCR123s in the light. Use a single RCR123, and a spacer.

Direct drive simply means that a flashlight is putting out bright output that continually gets dimmer until the batteries need replacing once it becomes too dim or the light shuts off.

Regulated output means that the light starts off at its brightest setting, and stays that way for as long as you use the light. But once the batteries are nearly depleted, output drops off rapidly down to a very dim level. That means it is time to replace the batteries.

The A9 is designed to run regulated on primary CR123 cells. But runs direct drive when you use rechargeables.

SO MY FLASHLIGHT IS IN DIRECT MODE NOW WITH SWITCH PROBLEM - LOW MODE DOES NOT WORK...

Mr. Lightforce has some great modifications of Tiablo A9 in this post U will found this very interesting so please look... https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/239724 All tiablo fans must C this...

And one or two question for Mr. Lightforce...

When high mode is on, can the resister in the tailcap switch get hot? U said that this happens in low mode?

Bridge out the + 2 poles and you have the simple on-off mode... Is this for stock switch how to do that? U would help me a lot...

I C the point now... Tiablo users that are not going to hunt will not have problems like I did...

When switch is on low mode resister in the tailcap switch get hot and if the solder is close to melting point it can dislodge when exposed to recoil from a firearm. So that could only happen to hunters or officers that R using low mode for shooting?

Mr Lightforce U R genius...So dear people U C that tiablo flashlights can have some issues... By opening this thread I hope I will help U (by posts of our expert members) to properly use your flashlighst, and to learn on other people mistakes (like me) so that U prevent what happened to me...

Thank U on replying...

 

[ACHË]

R U sure? Anybody want to test this theory? I think when U run on rechargeable 123 batteries that have higher voltage than primaries 123 is much greater risk for driver burnout like Mr. MrGman said at a bottom of this thread http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=246243 so please read his post U will C expert opinion...

I will just citate one part that he said in his post:

Some flashlights although they claim they can use the RCR 123 batteries are not fully compatible with them because the higher voltage across the driver circuit makes it get hot. Short time runs are okay, but not full power runs until the batteries die. He probably was not holding the flashlight either and that means it didn't have his hand to help draw away the heat. Meaning it got hotter than it would have in normal hand held use.

By looking at some of the run time plots for Tiablo flashlights I have always seen that they run higher power with the higher voltage batteries which suggests they didn't have the best in regulation from the driver anyway. This is good if you want a little more output but don't run it constantly. Its bad as the results of your friend's flashlight appear to point out, if you want to try and run it for 1.5 hours non stop just for the heck of it.

I read the post end to end...

Yes I'm sure.

That's why I posted.... The A9 is not the only light that I have that gets very hot during use.

The best example I can give to this is my cheap Ultrafire A1..

The UF A1 on Max drives the Q5 beyond it's spec and gets to hot to even touch within 5 minutes(at least my unit). It trips the protection on the 16340's in 16 minutes! Due to discharge! Now that's a hot wire of a driver.

Now I'm not saying that's a good thing...It isn't for my use... but the point is that the components of UF lights are orders of magnitude inferior to those of Tiablo & other high quality lights from respected manufacturers.

The A-1 has more than once clicked itself on inside my pack and stayed on until the cells were depleted, and it still works...

So if that year old beaten $16 A-1 can take the heat...I expect the Tiablo's to at the very least be comparable in the amount of thermal abuse they can take.

 

[Tatjanamagic]

My opinion when a laptop, tv, car electronic etc. can burn... So that flashlight electronic is not untouchable as it is much cheaper than in other electronic components...

I just wanna say that no need for abusing the flashlight... Except if U R making magazine review or something...

Hope someone else will call with problems on tiablo...So far only 2 of us had issues...

 

[lightforce2]

When high mode is on, can the resister in the tailcap switch get hot? U said that this happens in low mode?

No, on high mode current is running directly through the switch but not through the resistor. if you disasemble the switch you will see the resistor (its very small). you will also see the 2 + poles on one side of the switch and the - common pole on the other side
I found another thread with photos of the switch & resistor https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/194753

Bridge out the + 2 poles and you have the simple on-off mode... Is this for stock switch how to do that? U would help me a lot...

No, if you bridge out the 2 + poles on the stock switch you will end up with on-on-off which is a pain in the but!!. you need the on-off-on-off switch, I found some on deal extreme (am I allowed to mention that site )

cheers

 

[Tatjanamagic]

Thank U Mr. Lightforce...

Can U give us a link of switch that would fit to A9?

I think moderators will not be angry at U as this thread is made to help tiablo flashlights owners in their problems with flashlights...

And how I can found something If I don't know what I am looking for...

So please give us a link to switch U mentioned... (switch that would not have to modify with high mode only if exists?)

And this A8 modification Mr. StefanFs posted is very useful...http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=194753

Mr. Lightforce I C that U have plenty of flashlights (excellent throwers) So do U found Tiablo A9 most useable of them all for hunting and other activity?

 

[divine]

Yes, they don't seem to concerned about people with their lights that are unhappy with them.

Unfortunately, it has moved me to where I cannot justifiably recommend a Tiablo light to anyone and I cannot justify buying another Tiablo light for myself.

 

[maxilux]

@tatjanamagic

i think you know, where you can get this switches......

 

[Tatjanamagic]

@tatjanamagic

i think you know, where you can get this switches......

Yes but I need cheaper and not original ones that will fit on A9 with or without modifying it... (as U know that low-high-off mode is bad... It would be much better on-off-on-off mode)

I also plan to modify A9 like Mr. Lightforce with red cree, different switch, etc...

I can not belive this... Look at review of this low cost flashlight... With fresh charged battery it drains more than 1.2 Amp and luminosity at 1 meter distance more than 25000 LUX... It is even stronger than tiablo without aspherical head???

Moderator please don't be mad... People got to see this... http://www.dealextreme.com/forums/Forums.dx/Forum.22934~threadid.425716

Also I found some incredible pictures of side by side comparison of tiablo a9, a10 and let say 30 other popular flashlights...

This below is must have for everyone... U can also download this for as an archive... And those who did not seen this will be impressed...
http://fonarevka.lux-rc.com/

 

[lightforce2]

I found the switches I used, I was wrong in my last post about the common terminal on the other side to the 2 + terminals, they are all on the one side of the switch. I also thought the switch was a 1.5 amp rating however I see its only 1 amp, but mine's been working fine with 1.2 to 1.6 amps with many many hours of use. I bought 10 so I still have a lot of spares.
The switch can be found at the DX website, page is sku.5604

cheers

 

[Tatjanamagic]

Thank U Mr. Lightforce...

So we only need to replace original switch? How do we do that? Do we must have some skills (soldering, etc.)

U would really be a legend if U made us few steps instructions...

Is this switch heating?

I was thinking that maybe U have found non OEM switches (complete switch with housing) that would fit to Tiablo A9...

So my question to U is would any commercially available single stage switch fit to Tiablo A9? Like switches on dx or other pages that costs 3,4$ ? (would not this be great?)

 

[Crenshaw]

I have put my Tiablo A9 through some tough use, and its still faithful to me.

Its firstly, and absolute monster of a thrower.

I also have double o rings, because i put in the spare ones it came with.

And i have used it so far twice without its head as a video light for directors who i help out on their short films, and neither time has it failed me.

Crenshaw

 

[Tatjanamagic]

I have put my Tiablo A9 through some tough use, and its still faithful to me.

Its firstly, and absolute monster of a thrower.

Please can U check this link http://fonarevka.lux-rc.com/ U will see that there are much stronger lights to compare with tiablo...

I think that nobody should have issues with it if U don't abuse it...

8×68 is strong gun caliber and every time I make a shot with it flashlight gets abused because of strong gun recoil that can do damage even to your shoulder if U don't use it properly...

And so far A9 has some problems but nothing that can not be handled...

And there are plenty of people whose Tiablos don't have perfectly centered beam ( but I don't think it looses on throw though)

But flashlight for hunt must be perfect... So there are still some improvements that should be done on A9 to make it perfect...

 

[Crenshaw]

Well i never said it was the best thrower, but it certainly is a good one...

You may have had problems with yours, but I have not.

Im quite confused about your stand, you seem to keep saying negative things about the tiablo, and yet keep saying its a good light if you dont abuse it. I really dont see what improvements one could ask for on the A9.

Crenshaw

 

[Tatjanamagic]

Well i never said it was the best thrower, but it certainly is a good one...

You may have had problems with yours, but I have not.

Im quite confused about your stand, you seem to keep saying negative things about the tiablo, and yet keep saying its a good light if you dont abuse it. I really dont see what improvements one could ask for on the A9.

Crenshaw

Well Mr. Crenshaw Tiablo is really good thrower for invested money...

One question for U... R U hunter? In which conditions U use your?

Improvements that must be taken is low-high-off switch that is bad...

It would be better if it only had on-off switch or at least high-low-off...

When low mode is on, the resister in the tailcap switch can get hot & if the solder is close to melting point it can dislodge when exposed to recoil from a firearm.

This happened to me but I fix it now...

And there are plenty of people whose Tiablos don't have perfectly centered beam (off center beam)

Coolimator (aspherical head) it fits great but only if U buy aditionall rubber ring in a car or pipe shop...

If U don't buy extra rubber ring it claps from left to right...

Beside that I don't see any issues for now...

So good thrower for invested money... And if they change all thing I mentioned above it will be an excellent thrower...


This is thread to find tiablo (all tiablo models) owners and to exchange experiences...

 

[Crenshaw]

Thats exactly the point, and my usage of the tiablo so far has been perfect, no issues at all. I am not a hunter, and i do not intend to use the Tiablo as a hunting light. I personally find that the 2 mode tailcap is a good thing.

Crenshaw

 

[Tatjanamagic]

Tiablo experiences please...:candle:

 

[jirik_cz]

Only the best

 

[Tatjanamagic]

Only the best

Hi Jirik... Look at this http://www.bestofferbuy.com/tiablo-...-flashlight-retail-2cr123a118650-p-13547.html

I can not believe they have Tiablo A9 for 50 $ with free shipping... :thinking:

What do U think about that?