TR-DF003 Diving light

Hi,

Let's make this tread dedicated to the TR-DF003.

Is there anyone tried it, is it giving the lumen output that is supose to ?

Is there any leak with O-ring.

Any modification already ?? Meaby more powerfull driver ?

I bought a TR DF-003 from MF.

It's a brick of a light. I dropped 3.5 lb's weight off my belt.
Two of the O-rings at the tail were toast. Luckily the two spares were the correct replacements. The threads were very dry from the factory.
I'm not able nor know how to measure output but I'm hearing +1500 lm otf.

I'm having problems with the light turning on by itself when submerged.
As soon as the head and tail go under the light turns on. Tail only or head only no problem but both and it comes on. It's really dim at this point. It won't turn off or change modes. It was stuck on strobe last night, annoying me, my buddy and every living thing within sight of it. I had to stuff it into my BC pocket. It is bright.

On dry land no problems.

Is it advisable to change modes while submerged on a twisty tail?

Seems like the design would allow it with 4 o-rings down there.

I guess I could turn it to the mode I want prior to getting it wet but I don't really like that solution.

Anyone have any ideas why it's acting up?

Shorting through the water?????

You're talking salt water, right? If so then yes, it's shorting through the water. That twisty tailcap makes connection to the body when you tighten it. It's supposed to be insulated from the body when not tight. But as soon as there is a break in the anodized finish on both the body and the tailcap, the water will connect them. This is not a low resistance connection, which is why the light isn't bright. If you look, there will be one or more streams of tiny bubbles coming off the light when this is happening. If you let it go more than a few minutes you will develop noticable pitting on the metal.

Basically, this is a really dumb design for a dive light. A super clean, pristine, right off the production line light might work, but any real-life light is bound to see this happen. Unfortunately the only solution is to turn it on before you get it wet, and don't change anything (because you can't) while it's wet.

I guess there is one other solution - put a proper switch in the tailcap. Of course that's beyond the abilities of most owners.

Hi DIWdiver. Thanks for the help. Yep. salt water. What would be involved with installing a proper switch?

this don't look like a well designed light !

I wish it was beter then that, i had big espectation in this light, for the price tag !

The best way they found to switch on off light underwater is, magnetic switching, since there is no possibility of leaking or shorting.

Thx for the short review.

Could you elaborate a bit on what I would need to buy/build/alter to get this light working? Possibly convert it to a can light.

DIWdiver: I tried to PM but don't have the count yet.

Did a shallow water dive last night with the new light.
45ft.
Visibility +/- 25ft.
High beam.


I turned it on to high mode before entering the water to avoid any shorting problems.
Left it there for the duration.


There was a variety of other lights on this dive. eLed Shockwaves and an assortment of small secondary type plastic lights. One brand new GreenForce 900lm as well.
Nothing remotely matched the output of the TR.


I didn't note any pitting/bubbling/corrosion occurring around the lanyard attachment point during the dive.
Turned it off once I got back at my vehicle.
I poured fresh water on it to rinse.

Back at home I submerged the light in my rinse tank with it turned off.
It came on when fully submerged. Shorting.
So, turned it on to rinse it.

Even with the shorting I'm still impressed with brightness of the light.
It would be great to have some kind of a fix for it. At the very least, if I could turn it on and off in water I'd be a happy diver.


Here's a short video of last nights dive.

Dive Number 3. TR DF-003.

I got my replacement O-Rings from Nowell's Ebay sale.
Replaced the tail and forward body rings.
The replacements are much nicer O-Rings than the originals. Better fitting, not as stretchy.

I took it down to 90ft. Vis was in the area of 50ft. No leaks .


Still experiencing the shorting problem so I switched to high mode on the surface by holding the light up and out of the water. I left it on high for the duration of the dive.


In the video that's my buddy's GreenForce 900 lm light in some of the footage.



When diving I don't see all of the backscatter that you see in the video and the hotspot in the center of the beam is exaggerated on the closer shots by my camera's exposure settings.


Despite the problems with the switch or lack of a switch actually, I remain impressed with the light this thing generates. It is very bright!


Rookie alert:
I've never done any mods on a light so I have no idea where/how to start.
I'm hoping there is some way to change out the tail or maybe drill it out and install a switch.


Any way I'm going to hang on to this light just because of the reaction it gets from other divers. I love that.

Buster1dog,

I've been off diving, so here's a late reply. You asked (in a PM) about what 'a proper switch' meant.

Unfortunately, it's as bad as or worse than you suspected. If you could just drill a hole in the tailcap and install a switch, that would be sweet!

More likely, though, the tailcap has barely enough room to connect the spring (battery -) to the body. You want to put a switch between those two. The light probably isn't built to allow for this, and there isn't likely to be enough room to add it, short of building a whole new tailcap. Sorry I don't have a better suggestion.

Maybe if you posted a pic of the tailcap someone could come up with a better suggestion.

D

If possible I'd remove then insulate the spring from the tailcap, run some wire from the cap up the inside of the body and fit a reed switch in the head to be activated by a magnet. The ridges just below the head look the perfect place for a small magnet and a ring to hold it in place.

Hi all, I received this light a few days back, installed 2 18650 batteries with casings, and noticed that when I shake the light (even at max twisted tail) it changes the mode, so If i shake it hard , its switching from high mode to blinking etc... then I decided to disasseble it and took out the front part. At the fron part i saw 2 orings, one on the metal ring and one behind the glass.. well the one behind the glass fell out with the glass so i didnt see where it was placed... anyway, then I wanted to assemble it back and now I cant... please check this video: http://youtu.be/R-YH8XhlhRM you will notice that if i put the led part completely in, then the glass has like 1/10 of a inch space where glass moves and that o-ring behind the glass has 0 value to be there... So im doing something wrong and before i figure this out i cant take this light into water... can someone please help me??? any suggestions? And also its really wierd that the metal front ring and the glass when 'connected' together there is no oring or anything that would close the micro holes to stop the water come in.... did anyone do any mods with the light before going into the water with it???
100%

I ve seen corrosion occurring with a quite few torches .Its because anodizing is used for insulation, all good until a thread is cut
The head then becomes active
The battery tube is negative when OFF in salt water, if the torch is ON then there no corrosion.
I had some success modding QS88 type units that can corrode sometimes on their initial dive,one even became fused together with corrosion,so badly I had to cut it open to salvage some parts.
I even saw someone selling a fix it kit on fleabay for $25.
The solutions I use is to wind sufficient plumbers teflon tape around the thread of the pill where it engages the head until you achieve isolation by testing the current with your meter with the torch turned OFF.
Sometimes a thin o ring may work also
Finally , also test in a bucket of salt water for small bubbles,there should be none
The reason your torch is changing modes is because the batteries are bouncing on the springs, stretch the springs a fraction
I 'd also replace all those orings with better quality 70 duros

Twisty switch aluminium torches should be avoided for use as dive lights unless the LED/Driver pill is electrically isolated from the body.
I have a light (of unknown model) that is all aluminium but the pill threads into a plastic ring that threads into the head. You still twist to turn it on but the barrel makes contact with the base of the driver to act as a switch. No current flows between the barrel and head.
This works well with the exception of poor heat transfer from the pill to the body.

Looks to me like the wrong o-ring.

Was that the old W300 that you used for a wand?

This teflon tape fix will compromise heat transfer , however used with single Xm-ls usually under driven in cheaper torches its very easy quick fix, try it teflon tape is cheap.
Most cheap torches are under driven to extend burn time using cheap lithium batteries
The only failure I ve encountered using this fix was an blown emmitter that wasn't conducting heat properly to the pill due to too much compound
I ve done over 50 dives with a torch modded this way with no corrosion issues