*NEW* Maratac AAA Titanium

[bartko09]

!

Regarding the removal of the pill, it is quite easy. Mine has two small circular holes you can put some needle nose tweezers into and it unscrews right out. The emitter for the swap would need to be reflowed onto the existing copper board as its a unique design with two "wings" that stick out into the pill to prevent the led star from moving when it's twisted on/off. If you don't reflow it onto this original one I imagine it would cause issues with led centering and other things as well. Mine didn't seem to have any glue, it took a little force but nothing extreme.

Thanks! What about pulling the led/driver all together? Does it look doable? I assume it's the same model pill as the other rev 3's if so I'm sure I could do it Again [emoji2]

 

[snowlover91]

Thanks! What about pulling the led/driver all together? Does it look doable? I assume it's the same model pill as the other rev 3's if so I'm sure I could do it Again [emoji2]

I'm not brave enough to try that, the wires leading to the LED are quite small and thin. I think the driver may be glued in! I guess it could be doable but it's not something I would try. It wouldn't take much to accidentally separate one from the driver when trying to remove the LED and driver together and not worth the risk, unless you plan on putting a new driver in. Otherwise what I would do is just use the two small circular holes and loosen the whole pill, do the emitter swap then put it back in!

Chillinn, I think I understand a little better what you're trying to say, I may have understood what you meant in one of your earlier posts. Lumintop was eliminated from my choices due to it being a clicky, I wanted a twisty AAA. Then Thrunite has reliability issues and the ones I looked at seem to start in low or firefly levels. The olight I didn't like the design or much about it and Fenix AAA also appeared to start in low. Maybe I overlooked someone but didn't see much out there that began in medium. That's the reason I went with the Maratac because I needed a keychain light that would start in medium for my daily tasks. If it didn't I would have just kept on looking or searched for a custom driver. What I really would love to see is the LMH sequence with memory, that would give the best of both worlds. What do you think?

 

[chillinn]

What I really would love to see is the LMH sequence with memory, that would give the best of both worlds. What do you think?

That would be a very decent UI. I really liked 2-mode, so simple. But recently I've been desiring a 3-mode UI idea that always starts in L on the next mode if on for more than a second. This has been called hybrid UI but that is not very descriptive. The effect is of a 2 mode light with L and M, but advancing to H takes a little finesse: rather than 3 taps while off to get to H, its 2 quick taps from L (while on) to get to H. This buries H, a little, which serves to maximize the cell, coaxing the user to make do with the 2 lower modes. Sounds complex and annoying for general use, and it is a very special case... but that's what I'd like. I guess I'd like it more if there was an option to monkey with the firmware, allowing complete UI customization.

 

[Danielsan]

titanium is nice but i hate twisty lights and the modes are horrible, why not L-M-H without memory. This light with a clicky would be really nice and a 2xAAA Version

 

[jon_slider]

… The olight I didn't like the design or much about it

Like you, I dont care for clickies and I like first mode to be Medium.

I LOVE my Olight i3s. It has by far the best threads for one hand operation, out of the box, of any of the lights mentioned in this thread, and it starts on Medium. It is also the lowest weight of any of the lights mentioned., and has no PWM either. The only thing it lacks is a High CRI LED, as do the Maratacs.

The Olight is superior to the Maratac in that the Olight will tailstand with the pocket clip reversed in hat position. The Maratac pocket clip is too long and interferes with tailstanding when reversed in hat position. I also much prefer the Olight keyring connection. I dont care for the keyring connection on the Maratac, it digs into my hand if I dont hold it just so.

If Olight i3s came in Copper, I would chose it over a Maratac due to the superior function of the threads, pocket clip, and keyring of the Olight. FWIW, Olight is developing a Brass version, with 180 lumen high using a Cool White XPL. I also prefer the 0.5 Lumen Low of the Olight, to the 1.5 Lumen Low of the Maratac.
Olight i3s w XPG2, Thrunite Titanium Xmas w XPL, Copper Maratac w XPG2, Copper Prometheus Beta w N219a

 

[bartko09]

I'm not brave enough to try that, the wires leading to the LED are quite small and thin. I think the driver may be glued in! I guess it could be doable but it's not something I would try. It wouldn't take much to accidentally separate one from the driver when trying to remove the LED and driver together and not worth the risk, unless you plan on putting a new driver in. Otherwise what I would do is just use the two small circular holes and loosen the whole pill, do the emitter swap then put it back in!

?

Im not sure what the new manufacture is using to keep the pill in place but it's the most stubborn stuff I've ever seen. I've broken down, modded and rebuilt many a Maratacs (hell flashlights!) and this one smiled and told me what to do with myself hahaha!

Even broke some high end tweezers

 

[chillinn]

Im not sure what the new manufacture is using to keep the pill in place but it's the most stubborn stuff I've ever seen.

I can't understand a need to keep a pill in place... when its already screwed in place. Could it be galvanic corrosion seizing the pill's threads to the head?

 

[snowlover91]

Hmm did you see any residue on the threads? If not then it could be the titanium had seized up which would create a lot of resistance. Mine came off quite easily and had no signs of any glue or residue on the threads.

 

[bartko09]

Just turned out to be thread lock, but not to worry boys, I'm not easily defeated! [emoji2]

I'll have to modify the reflector tonight or get a new one but I put a XPL HI w/ FET driver in her!

 

[snowlover91]

Looking forward to the results! Will you use a 10440 to power it? What color temp is the new emitter? Did you reflow it onto the original led star or onto a new one?

 

[bartko09]

Looking forward to the results! Will you use a 10440 to power it? What color temp is the new emitter? Did you reflow it onto the original led star or onto a new one?

It's a V2 A1 bin which is about 6500-7000k. It's a XPL HI that I had Richard @ MTN flow onto a 10mm copper sink pad and it was sitting around unused. That's really the only tint that I use lol. I'll power it with one of the Efest IMR 10440s that I have. [emoji6]

http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=60_106&product_id=573

 

[bartko09]

...I also have a Nichia 219C on a 10mm sink pad sitting around. Might try it out also to see how it looks

 

[snowlover91]

...I also have a Nichia 219C on a 10mm sink pad sitting around. Might try it out also to see how it looks

Would love to see this one in there as that's what I'm thinking about switching mine to. Is the copper pad thicker than the stock one? I'm wondering if that will affect the light operation in any way as the ones I have from MTN are thicker than the stock pads.

 

[bartko09]

Would love to see this one in there as that's what I'm thinking about switching mine to. Is the copper pad thicker than the stock one? I'm wondering if that will affect the light operation in any way as the ones I have from MTN are thicker than the stock pads.

Yes it's significantly thicker. I'm trying to mod the reflector but will likely damage it. I also tried the reflector from the AAA Copper which is a quarter mm shorter. It worked better but wasn't enough. I'm going to look for a new one that's much shorter. Basically you run out of room for the battery even flat tops To China I go [emoji6]

 

[snowlover91]

Hmm that confirms my thinking then, the emitter would probably need to be reflowed onto the original led star or the thicker one sanded down to match the original.

 

[bartko09]

Nah, it's done all the time. I think I'll have to mod the reflector, file down the pill or both

 

[jon_slider]

(Nichia 219C) that's what I'm thinking about switching mine to.

I keep harping about people jumping on the 219C bandwagon, because it is more efficient. BUT, it is also NOT high CRI.
No Free Lunch, Brighter means lower CRI...

Some info about Nichia LEDs

• High CRI Nichia 219B (4000K), Firefly Sample. This tint is the warmest and most pleasant (in my opinion) of all the Nichias. It has a light pink cast that really helps accentuate reds. My new favorite tint in a higher efficiency LED.

• High CRI Nichia 219A (4500K). This is still a very clean, crisp tint that has a light rose cast. It is very neutral and pleasant but the Nichia 219A is a bit dated and hence has lower efficiency and output.

• High CRI Nichia 219CB (5000K). This has the same efficiency as the 4000K LED found in the Firefly. It is a touch cooler with more of a green cast.

• Neutral Nichia 219C (5000K). The 219C CRI is around 83 so not considered High CRI here (90+). This LED has a very low vF (Forward voltage) and can provide more output vs typical Nichia 219B LEDs. It has an even more greenish cast, and colours generally appear a bit flat when compared to the 219A/C. Note, that by itself, the tint is very pleasant but in comparison to the 219A/B LEDS, it has poorer colour rendition and is less pleasant.

 

[gunga]

Note. There's a typo. It's still Nichia 219B, not 219CB. The 219C is quite nice on itself but if you want best colour rendering and most pleasing tint the 219A or 219B with 90+ cri is still best.

 

[Dan FO]

Should be here Monday, I like the spacing for a keychain light, I have plenty of other choices around the house or just hold it against my leg to get to low. 😉

 

[jon_slider]

I like the spacing for a keychain light,

Congrats! The Titanium is excellent low weight for keychain. And the first mode is very practical for the majority of tasks IMO

add your opinion on the grittiness of the threads. Bad enough to avoid using or recommending the light? or not a problem?