A Tribute to Nitecore D10

[Bullzeyebill]

Yes, I too would like to see an updated D10, ramping, better LED, and lower battery drain. Am going to pull it out of my collection and start using mine again. Has anyone really determined that unscrewing the head would reduce, or remove the battery drain? Selfbuilt, in his review of the D10, said that a push on the tailcap switch, with the head turned almost off. would turn on the light.

Bill

 

[snowlover91]

Yes, I too would like to see an updated D10, ramping, better LED, and lower battery drain. Am going to pull it out of my collection and start using mine again. Has anyone really determined that unscrewing the head would reduce, or remove the battery drain? HJK, in his review of the D10, said that a push on the tailcap switch, with the head turned almost off. would turn on the light.

Bill

As far as I know it should fix the issue. What I do is turn mine on then unscrew it enough until the light shuts off, usually a half turn to full turn depending on your light. I had one which would drain a battery in a few weeks and by using this the battery is still fine several months later. I still use my D10/D11.2 lights on a daily basis and wish Nitecore would revisit these again. Imagine an 18650 version the potential it would have.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

As far as I know it should fix the issue.

Thanks. Not sure I would go for an 18650; too unweldly for an EDC. 200 plus lumens in the D10 package would be good for me.

Bill

 

[HB 88]

I have acquired and repaired a few very well used D10's. The seller (eBay) sold them as parts only. There was no love lost, deep distain for the lights. Most suffered from alkaline leaks, excessive lubrication and very compressed springs , etc.etc.
All of my examples, that work, consume 470-530uA of standby current at 1.2vdc. What are the measurements from the lights that are depleting batteries so rapidly?

 

[snowlover91]

Thanks. Not sure I would go for an 18650; too unweldly for an EDC. 200 plus lumens in the D10 package would be good for me.

Bill

Agreed. I updated most of mine now to neutral emitters and the one that seems to work best is the XP-G2 in it. I would estimate I'm getting 160-175 lumens out of my samples with the newer LED, plus it's a nice neutral/warm.

HB88, I can try to measure my standby current but I'm not sure how to on the D10. Could you explain the process for that and I'll give it my best shot to see.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

HB88, I can try to measure my standby current but I'm not sure how to on the D10. Could you explain the process for that and I'll give it my best shot to see.

I have not measured standby current. Selfbuilt found his D10's at about 500uA, which is quite high.

Bill

 

[snowlover91]

I have not measured standby current. Selfbuilt found his D10's at about 500uA, which is quite high.

Bill

Its a shame they won't release one to fix these issues and use a modern LED. I emailed them about it and referenced this thread but they said they didn't currently have plans to bring it back. Maybe one day but I'm doubtful. It's a fantastic light if you have a good one and the UI is tough to beat.

 

[WarriorOfLight]

The D10 and also EX10 were both the most innovative Nitecore Lights. The D11.2 was also not bad if I remember correctly. I gave my D11.2 a friend as a present, therefore I do not have it anymore... The only weak thing was the high drain over the time. Depending on the light the battery worked 6 month to 1 year in a light.
I do not own any Nitecore Lights anymore, except a number of D10s and EX10s including the Kuku Titanium versions. This Smart Piston Drive Nitecore Lights were really something special.

 

[Sean Rorie]

I read this thread years ago it's still great.I pulled both of my D10s out tonight both work like a dream one still had plenty of power from the eneloop as the head was unscrewed a little

 

[snowlover91]

The D10 and also EX10 were both the most innovative Nitecore Lights. The D11.2 was also not bad if I remember correctly. I gave my D11.2 a friend as a present, therefore I do not have it anymore... The only weak thing was the high drain over the time. Depending on the light the battery worked 6 month to 1 year in a light.
I do not own any Nitecore Lights anymore, except a number of D10s and EX10s including the Kuku Titanium versions. This Smart Piston Drive Nitecore Lights were really something special.

If you put a neutral emitter in them like Nichia or xp-g2 you get great tint with excellent performance and increased lumens also.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

I also pulled out my two D10's, one with a XP-R and the other with what looks like a GDP. Tried them both with an AW Li-Ion and both refused to ramp up or down, They stayed at one level. Put Eneloops back in and everything is normal.

Bill

 

[phantom23]

I'm using my D10 Magma almost every day since day one (using 14500) and it works like a charm.

 

[snowlover91]

I also pulled out my two D10's, one with a XP-R and the other with what looks like a GDP. Tried them both with an AW Li-Ion and both refused to ramp up or down, They stayed at one level. Put Eneloops back in and everything is normal.

Bill

This was an issue caused by the spring being a little too long in the early D10 series. There are two fixes, you can either cut the spring shorter in the piston tube or if you can find a shorter 14500 (usually unprotected and about the same length as Eneloops) will work also. It's an issue caused when a 14500 is too long, the spring isn't short enough so the piston is in constant contact thus not allowing the light to ramp. I had one with the same issue and fixed it by slightly trimming down the spring.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Thanks. Will that affect the use of Eneloops?

Bill

 

[snowlover91]

Thanks. Will that affect the use of Eneloops?

Bill

It will if you trim off too much. The easiest/safest solution is to find a shorter 14500 battery. Usually an unprotected one with a button top should work well, it needs to be around 50mm in length. Most protected 14500 batteries are around 53-55mm which is a little too long. I would try getting hold of a shorter one around 49-50mm which is the same length as an Eneloop. I know Efest has a few in their lineup about that length.

 

[pugga]

Bump to guys that have modded, what LED have you used. I have a member that is interested in my Ti EX10 but wants to mod to a neutral led (4500 -5000 or 219)

 

[snowlover91]

Bump to guys that have modded, what LED have you used. I have a member that is interested in my Ti EX10 but wants to mod to a neutral led (4500 -5000 or 219)

I have a D10 modded with XP-L HI and another with Nichia if anyone wants to see pics?

 

[LedTed]

I have a D10 modded with XP-L HI and another with Nichia if anyone wants to see pics?

Yes, please!

 

[snowlover91]

As promised here are a few pics of my modded D10 with beam shots. One is a 4500k XM-L2 and the other is a XP-L HI at 5000k. You can see the improved, tighter hotspot offered by the HI emitter. I'm working on a few tweaks to possible increase throw a little more. Btw the light with the XM-L2 is my original D10 that I used as EDC for over 6 years. The glass lens broke from a drop and the inside reflector was scratched up a good bit before I finally located a replacement lens for it. Still works great!

XP-L HI

XM-L2

Now for the beam shots..
XP-L HI

XM-L2

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Is the lux more pronounced with these two emitters compared to the stock XR-E.

Bill