AKOray K-109 review (3 vs 5 mode) *UPDATED* w beamshots, added AK-16, pic heavy!!!

[RepProdigious]

It seems everyone who reads the programming instructions doesn't have a problem entering into program mode.
Well I am having difficulty entering into program mode.

The problem comes in that the half-press is also used to change modes.
No matter how many times or how fast I half-press I end up changing modes and not entering into program mode.
The half-press method doesn't work for me.

I have entered into program mode, but by very quickly turning the K109 flashlight on & off 6+ times.
Can anyone enlighten me on how to program the flashlight with the half-press method without having to turn the flashight on & off?
(This is a new K109 that I just got on Friday)

Sounds like one of 3 things:
-You bought the 5-mode (but since you got it programmed at the end this doesn't seem likely 😉 )
-Your light is defective
-Your not doing it right

Cases 1 and 2 i cant help you with, sorry. If the third is the case however, i can only tell you to practice! Develop a 'feel' for the button; Hold the light firmly (or put it head-down on a table top) and press the button until you hear a click, now try again to about half that depth (doesn't have to be half, anywhere between 10-99% should do) but seeing you are able to change modes the depth shouldn't be as much of a problem but i feel its more of a speed/consistency thing. Just keep trying!

Onto another problem I'm having.
After finally programming the flashlight I tried it out a few times and it worked very well.
But then the flashlight died.

I took out the battery and it measured 0.00volts.
Now this is very strange because it's a new protected 16340 battery I ordered with the K109.
The battery came with a 3.6volt charge and I topped it off to 3.88volts.
I only used the battery for about the half-hour it took to program the K109 flashlight.

I did order two batteries, so I then put in the second battery and programmed the flashlight and it died again.
The second battery also read 0.00volts, and also is a protected battery!!

I bought the K109 flahlight & batteries from KD.
The batteries are labeled as "KD Protected 3.7V 16340 RCR123A Batteries."

Anyone want to venture a guess what's gong on with the two batteries?
Is quickly turning the flashlight on & off doing something to the batteries protected circuits?

First off, 3.88 volts is NOT topping it off, at that measured open voltage you'll only have about 30-40% capacity (even less if you measured the 3.88 directly after charging) and seeing the KD cells arent the best quality you could very well be talking about 10-15 minutes runtime on full there so your half hour tinkering sounds just right.....

Like gcbryan said, sounds just like the protection kicking in..... Its normal but you can prevent it from tripping by enabling the light protection (it will kick in before the cell).

Just give the cells a full charge (between 4.1-4.2V but NOT higher) and try again!

 

[RepProdigious]

It's the reflector and the emitter. The emitting surface of an XP-G is larger than that of a XR-E. The reflector shapes the hotspot as well.

The XR-E's output is 90 degrees while the XP-G's is 125 degrees so more of the XR-E's light misses the reflector by going straight out. Therefore more of the light from the XP-G does hit the reflector.

The end result is a larger hotspot (albeit not quite as bright as measured in lux at any one spot but the spot is larger).

To me the XR-E always looked a little odd when used up close since it had a tiny hotspot and an overly large spill.

Now, with the XP-G, the hotspot and spill look more in proportion (to me anyway).

This sounds very logical! I didn't know these 'modern' leds were angled (i do know the 'normal' leds do, ive worked with them alot!) but than again, this is just a new hobby for me I've just started 😉

I did some reading at cree's site (great information there btw!) and i learned alot! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

 

[gcbryan]

No problem...I'm new to all this as well. I ask a lot of questions of others and get help and try to give back and answer questions where I can.

There's a lot of good knowledge on here from a lot of different people!

 

[Gregozedobe]

The XP-G R5 produces about 87 lumens per watt and the XR-E R2 produces about 68 lumens per watt...so about 21% more output for the same wattage.

Cree have just announced a new, even more efficient LED - the "XM" series. We'll have to wait to see how good/suitable they are for flashlights, as they won't be going on sale for several months (and it will probably take a LOT longer than that for them to make their way into true "Budget" lights).

 

[RepProdigious]

Well, i can scratch the AK-16 off of my list..... I found that i never ever use this light because its too big as a 16340 light and AA sized cells are a b!tch to get in there..... So i transformed it into a no-budget 18650 light!

How cool is that

 

[mccririck]

It looks like an Edding 500 disguised as a flashlight.

 

[IamMatt]

RepProdigious,

First, THANKS!!! for this great review. Can you stand a couple more questions?

First, do the 3-mode K-109 and the AK-16 tailstand?

Second, what exactly is the problem with putting an AA in the AK-16? Is the body to narrow, too short, or what?

Third, would it be correct to say that the performance (output/brightness/runtime) of the AK-16 is basically the same as the 3-mode K-109 when running the same 123 battery, and the same as the 3-mode Akoray K-106 when running the same AA battery?

Fourth, is it possible to re-program just one of the 3 modes? Like if you decide you want the Low mode to be a bit brighter or less bright, but you are happy with the Medium and High settings, can you just reprogram the Low mode and leave the other two alone? Sounds like you can't (sounds like once you go into the programming mode you have to program all 3 modes sequentially and just hope you are getting the same settings you had before).

Thanks. The AK-16 sounds like a great light to EDC with 123 batteries with the option of throwing a cheap and easy-to-find AA in if you get caught somewhere with a dead battery instead of having to pay $6 for a single CR123A at a drugstore.

 

[RepProdigious]

RepProdigious,

First, THANKS!!! for this great review. Can you stand a couple more questions?

Sure!

First, do the 3-mode K-109 and the AK-16 tailstand?

Yes they do, both of em!

Second, what exactly is the problem with putting an AA in the AK-16? Is the body to narrow, too short, or what?

Well, its a bit difficult to explain but ill give it a shot: A cr123 is fat and short, a AA is long and slim. To make the light hold both sizes cells they made the inside of the light as long as a AA light and as wide as a CR123 and to prevent movement on both cells they fitted two short pieces of tubing on both ends of the battery tube. The inside dimensions of the tubes are exactly wide enough so the AA can fit inside and so will not be able to move but the 123 can not fit inside, that one stays between the tubes and stays put that way.... This means the cr123 will always go in straight but the AA can go a bit wrong.....

Wait, this explanation needs a quick picture:

Oh yeah, am i the MsPaint king or what!

Blue is cr123, red is AA. The CR123 always goes in straight but the AA can go at an angle whether you open the light from the head or the tail so this can get a bit fiddly..... I hope this explains the problem!

Third, would it be correct to say that the performance (output/brightness/runtime) of the AK-16 is basically the same as the 3-mode K-109 when running the same 123 battery, and the same as the 3-mode Akoray K-106 when running the same AA battery?

This is very correct! The circuits and leds are basically the same!

Fourth, is it possible to re-program just one of the 3 modes? Like if you decide you want the Low mode to be a bit brighter or less bright, but you are happy with the Medium and High settings, can you just reprogram the Low mode and leave the other two alone? Sounds like you can't (sounds like once you go into the programming mode you have to program all 3 modes sequentially and just hope you are getting the same settings you had before).

Well, this is in fact possible and i found this very useful once you get the lowest low right! If you during programming directly soft-press after the 'memory-location-flashes' (by lack of a better term) it will skip this location, leave the current setting untouched and moves on to the next location.

Thanks. The AK-16 sounds like a great light to EDC with 123 batteries with the option of throwing a cheap and easy-to-find AA in if you get caught somewhere with a dead battery instead of having to pay $6 for a single CR123A at a drugstore.

No problem :thumbsup:

 

[IamMatt]

You are, in fact, the KING!!

I think the AK-16 may be my ideal basic light (other than fiddly bit LOL)--3 progammable modes, able to take my higher-voltage RCR123's, but can power with cheap and readily available AA's. Gotta order at least one now.

 

[RepProdigious]

You are, in fact, the KING!!

I think the AK-16 may be my ideal basic light (other than fiddly bit LOL)--3 progammable modes, able to take my higher-voltage RCR123's, but can power with cheap and readily available AA's. Gotta order at least one now.

I say; Go for it! You won't be disappointed! :twothumbs

 

[IamMatt]

My AK-16 just arrived. First impressions are mostly favorable; fairly easy to program (once I found this thread again; I have since saved the programming instructions!). +1 on the comment on the difficulty of programming a really low low setting, but it is manageable. Very short threads, though; only takes a couple of turns before the light separates. I will play with it some more when I have time but so far it seems like a good value.

 

[RepProdigious]

Hrm.. thats strange on the threads..... Does the gap between the parts close all the way?

 

[IamMatt]

When you screw the battery tube and the head together there is no apparent gap. Jjust the opposite, in fact, both the orange o-rings on the tube disappear into the head when screwed together. I have not tried any dunk tests or anything, It will be a week or so til I can post some shots of the threads.

The AK-16 comes apart in about 1-1/2 turns (540 degrees) while my Fenix P2D, for example, needs 5 full turns (1800) degrees to seaprate the head and battery tube. The AK-16 threads are much coarser than the Fenix and look/feel shallower, that is, the lands feel as if they do not stick up as high from the surface as on the Fenix.

The AK-16 feels lighter than the P2D even though it is longer. I don't have a digital scale to weight them on.

 

[old4570]

2 full turns for mine ... AK16 , to pull apart .

AA's . 14500's , just need to use a little care with the alignment ...
The plastic sleeve is there to stop rattling .

 

[661randyg]

hi all, i dont want to rain on anyones parade but this light is like what you looking at and when i saw the beamshots in the yard i bought this instantly. it has the best beam i have seen in any light. it has a mellow hot spot that gradually gets dimmer as it gets to the edge of the spill. it only has 1 speed. i like the 5 speeds, low mid high sos strobe. with a 14500 it brightly lights up a yard to about 100ft and is a little too bright to work up close. so usually i use a aa nimh. battery to have the best of both worlds. i dont know why this little osram led works so good in it but it does. as i said before none of my other flashlights have such a practical beam (not includeing the aspherics)

check out the beamshots below. cheers, randy

** Moderated: massive copy & paste deleted - numerous links (some inoperative) and missing/unclear attribution. **
** If external material of this quantity is to be posted in this thread, please just include a reference and a link to it. **

 

[JDest]

Got my K-109 yesterday and man do I love this thing. Can't believe this light is only $20. This is no doubt the budget light fans answer to the elitist light owners that feel that you have to spend large amounts of money to get a great light; or that factory assembled lights from DX/KD are garbage. I've owned brighter and more expensive lights (but not necessarily both at the same time, :laughing🙂 but none have felt the true value for the money that I feel from this little guy. Programmable? Yup. Bright enough for 99% of everyday use? Yup. Super crazy blinky modes in case you're feeling spicy? You bet. Great regulation on Li Ion? Sure thing. Pocketable for EDC? Too easy. Gee can you tell I'm in love?

[rant]The simple fact is that there are lights costing 3 times as much can't do what this light can, yet they remain among the most popular lights on CPF. If this light cost in the range of $40 (yes that's right, if this light cost double what it does now) and was sold by a different retailer under a popular brand name, this light would be owned by nearly every CPF member with $40 to spend. [/short rant]

 

[Ecolang]

sorry about the mess. i only know how to copy and paste.
<snip> ** Moderated: truncation of massive quote **

Please attribute my work if you quote it.

 

[applevalleyjoe]

Nice review and lots of good interaction. Thanks all

 

[brted]

Nice review and lots of good interaction. Thanks all

Or it would be if the review weren't just copied and pasted from another website, complete with oversized images, hotlinked images, and links that aren't allowed here.

 

[Kestrel]

check out the beamshots below. cheers, randy

If external material of this quantity is to be posted in this thread, please just include a reference and a link to it.
Thank you,