T6vn - Favorite High Output Thrower

[ProCharger]

New guy here wanting to finally dive into my first mod light and I have a few questions. I can not send a pm yet so anyone that can answer feel free as I am sure Vinh is fairly busy.

As of now I have a few surefire lights, all use cr123 batteries, basically 1 and dones which is not a big deal as I mainly use low power which has a 150 hour rating. I am 99% sure I have narrowed my search to the t6vn spec 1 due to being an all around performer (I have read every thread front to back on the top page and this thread probably 5+ times in its entirety as well researching my choice) but I have little experience with rechargables so please school me. I see on the skylumen website the recommended battery for this light is the LG unprotected 18650. With that said being my first rechargables would I be better off going with protected cells at first to get some experience before moving to unprotected cells? I do have 2 very capable Klein digital multimeters but I am afraid I would be wanting to pull the cells every 2 minutes to check them.

Another area I became confused on was last night reading a thread on here involving bounce back of voltage after only seconds of removing the power draw from the cells. How can I accurately check the voltage to know if a charge is needed, was over drawn, or went past the danger threshold if the voltage returns so quickly. Are there voltages to look for after the voltage returns?

As far as the t6vn are there other lights in this same performance level I should be looking at as well? I was set on the tk75vn but from the numbers and comparisons this light looks to outperform anything close to its size. I understand the t6 can have imperfections in the reflector but I am fine with that so long as the overall ruggedness is on par with the rest. I do not abuse my lights and use them more than likely far less than most others in this particular sub-forum. From everything I see, the lights reflector still performs as should with no problems even with the flaws.

Any help is greatly appreciated and I apologize if this stuff has been covered elsewhere but I am afraid I will go cross eyed reading before I find the answers...

Thank you.
Pro

 

[ven]

Hi pro , email vinh , the only way as his PM's are turned off iirc. You will get a quicker reply

 

[ven]

Sure an owner will chime in on what the light does , be it blink etc when cells get low. Another indication is simply not holding a higher mode due to he voltage being too low.

A good charger like xtar/nitecore/opus will give a voltage readout and make it easier. Also a cheap multi meter is very handy to check V as well. From fully charged, use for 30m and check the V and so on till you get down to around 3.5/3.6v . Then top off the cells back to 4.2v , ready for your next adventure .

Learning the light always helps ,won't take long to pick up. Have a little search and read up on the safe practices, no need to go too deep. Just the basics and maybe a little more,all will be well.

 

[ProCharger]

Thanks for the reply. I feel like I have done so much reading on the subject the past 2 weeks I am doing more harm than good now. I did quite a few google searches using candlepowerforums in the search criteria on using unprotected vs protected and in my findings 95+% of posters recommended staying away from unprotected. 95% of those threads were not in a custom builders forums though either. Almost all recommended protected when using multiple cells in series.....my reason for asking here. 4 is all I would have so no reason to worry about mixing and matching. If there are the built in checks on the light such as dropping a power level that would be great and would give me a sense of security but I have also read with some lights certain features can be lost. Any owners that can chime in?

Thanks.

 

[biker1]

@ProCharger
The T6vn has Driver VNX2.
As per Vinh's description here:
http://skylumen.com/pages/drivervn-drivervnx-programmable-circuits
This is the low voltage protection:
Low Voltage Protection
The firmware has low voltage protection, if the voltage drops below 3V, the brightness is reduced. That brings the voltage up again a bit, but if the voltage of the drained battery falls below that again, brightness is reduced again - and so on, down to a very low level. Low voltage step-down can be disabled by me if desire.

I've never run my T6vn down to experience the above, but the above low voltage protection overrides Nitecore's native protection since the Driver was changed.

I use the Efest Lux 4 battery charger, as well as the LG 18650 3500mAh cells.
All of the above purchased from Vinh

Btw, the T6vn is frigg'n phenomenal, and my first Vinh light :twothumbs

 

[ven]

Forgot it had drivervnx2! Excellent info, now just one simple bit left ....

 

[biker1]

That's a given

 

[MAD777]

My T6vn is the mostest awesomest light my collection! Can you tell I Like It by making a superlative, superlative? LOL

This light has a tremendously high performance ratio to its weight and size. I was initially afraid to go this big but this feels so good in my hand and seems smaller than it is. Not at all cumbersome.

The beam is perfect: it throws like crazy with a large hot spot, but at the same time has lots and lots so spill. It is a fully functional usable light, not just a showpiece.

The one and only tiny nit pic that I have is that it cannot be locked out by turning the tail cap but it doesn't seem to drain the batteries anyway.

The high drain batteries I use are unprotected and are as follows:

Efest IMR18650 3000mAh 35A (Purple)
Samsung INR18650-30Q 3000mAh (pink)

I do not think you will have any worries about using unprotected batteries with this light as you sound like someone who would do the research. And as explained earlier, this light will let you know when the batteries are getting weak.

Now that I own this light I cannot imagine not having it!

P. S. The charger I recommend is Liitokala Lii - 500. It provides lots of information and does some battery analysis.

 

[VNguyen]

I just ordered the lg from vinh. I was told the protected batteries that I have now will work fine, just not give maximum output.

 

[legendofzelda]

I opted for the holy trinity. 1 of each; EDC + Floody + Thrower. Done.

You can have 2 out of 3. Never could get all 3 in one light.

 

[MAD777]

I opted for the holy trinity. 1 of each; EDC + Floody + Thrower. Done.

"Done"... How many times have we heard that word around here? LOL

 

[Bdm82]

New guy here wanting to finally dive into my first mod light and I have a few questions. I can not send a pm yet so anyone that can answer feel free as I am sure Vinh is fairly busy.

As of now I have a few surefire lights, all use cr123 batteries, basically 1 and dones which is not a big deal as I mainly use low power which has a 150 hour rating. I am 99% sure I have narrowed my search to the t6vn spec 1 due to being an all around performer (I have read every thread front to back on the top page and this thread probably 5+ times in its entirety as well researching my choice) but I have little experience with rechargables so please school me. I see on the skylumen website the recommended battery for this light is the LG unprotected 18650. With that said being my first rechargables would I be better off going with protected cells at first to get some experience before moving to unprotected cells? I do have 2 very capable Klein digital multimeters but I am afraid I would be wanting to pull the cells every 2 minutes to check them.

Another area I became confused on was last night reading a thread on here involving bounce back of voltage after only seconds of removing the power draw from the cells. How can I accurately check the voltage to know if a charge is needed, was over drawn, or went past the danger threshold if the voltage returns so quickly. Are there voltages to look for after the voltage returns?

As far as the t6vn are there other lights in this same performance level I should be looking at as well? I was set on the tk75vn but from the numbers and comparisons this light looks to outperform anything close to its size. I understand the t6 can have imperfections in the reflector but I am fine with that so long as the overall ruggedness is on par with the rest. I do not abuse my lights and use them more than likely far less than most others in this particular sub-forum. From everything I see, the lights reflector still performs as should with no problems even with the flaws.

Any help is greatly appreciated and I apologize if this stuff has been covered elsewhere but I am afraid I will go cross eyed reading before I find the answers...

Thank you.
Pro

All I could think when I read this was familiarity. I only discovered CPF weeks ago, and it quickly turns the "I like gear" person into the "flashaholic". Even after spending countless hours reading forums, though, there are always more questions. Other posters have already addressed the core protected/unprotected question, but I didn't see the issue of discharge rate really discussed. The unprotected will have a higher discharge rate typically, which is necessary for the super-high power lights; the protected will trip. But along these lines, I'd point out that in the protected front: mAh capacity is what is always in big letters, but the discharge A is in much smaller letters. For example, Olight has 3200 and 3600mAh batteries. I thought... $15 for the 32's, $25 for the 36's -- no brainer. But only reading later did I see a post from Olight where they mentioned the 32's were 3.7A while the 3600s were 6.0A. For my use it didn't matter, but for some, it could.

The other thing that countless forum posts have convinced me is that Vinh is documentary-worthy good.

 

[biker1]

Hurried beamshot before LE breaks down my door

I'm in an urban area taking beamshots out my window at a line of trees at different distances. This one is of a thin tree top beyond the treeline approx. 700yd. distance, of which which the beam is partially illuminating a large tree. The beam is aimed above. The beam is phenomenal as this pic shows. Look at the beam width and spill illuminating up close objects, and the trees in the foreground with the beam aimed above them. It's like a tornado of light, included in a 1400m handheld thrower.

 

[MAD777]

@biker1 that is a phenomenal display of the T6vn's powerful, all-round performance.

P. S. I hope someone made bail to get you out of the slammer.

 

[ProCharger]

Great replies! I was worried I might get nothing for a while since the previous last post was may 11th. EVERYTHING I have asked has been addressed and then some, I feel much more comfortable now heading down this road. I will be ordering this light next weekend if not this weekend. You all have helped me tremendously. I think there might be another hint of the quality of this light, seems those that own it are listing it first in your sig lines. Looks like you are listing your best lights first Now back to the research, determine which battery/charger combo to go with (leaning towards purchasing all from Vinh though) but I am off to get a bit of shooting in first. Vinh you should be proud.....you have a top notch following and it seems to be for all the right reasons!

 

[ProCharger]

Hurried beamshot before LE breaks down my door

I'm in an urban area taking beamshots out my window at a line of trees at different distances. This one is of a thin tree top beyond the treeline approx. 700yd. distance, of which which the beam is partially illuminating a large tree. The beam is aimed above. The beam is phenomenal as this pic shows. Look at the beam width and spill illuminating up close objects, and the trees in the foreground with the beam aimed above them. It's like a tornado of light, included in a 1400m handheld thrower.

This particular picture has to be the best representation I have found yet of the t6vn all around performance/spill. Seems most videos catch the hotspot and adjust missing out on the lower intensity of the spill. The spill represented in your photo is incredible in comparison to the videos. When I finally get this bad boy in hand I can do some similar beamshots as well with true yardages I will post. I have a rifle range with 800+ yard capability and other places on our property where there are 1000+ yard distances.

 

[biker1]

@biker1 that is a phenomenal display of the T6vn's powerful, all-round performance.

P. S. I hope someone made bail to get you out of the slammer.

Thanks. That is one powerful beam. Sadly, I'll be having eggs & coffee for breakfast, with a bunch of bunkmates for the holiday weekend

This particular picture has to be the best representation I have found yet of the t6vn all around performance/spill. Seems most videos catch the hotspot and adjust missing out on the lower intensity of the spill. The spill represented in your photo is incredible in comparison to the videos. When I finally get this bad boy in hand I can do some similar beamshots as well with true yardages I will post. I have a rifle range with 800+ yard capability and other places on our property where there are 1000+ yard distances.

Thank you for your kind compliment
I'm not a beam shot kinda guy considering my limited surroundings, but this particular beamshot does show many of the lights attributes in one shot. I look forward to your beamshots at your specific yardages. You are making a great choice in the T6vn being your first Vinh light, as it was mine and others.
Btw, I have a Spec 1. You won't notice the difference in lumen and you'll get 50% more throw @1300m, compared to the Spec 2. And you'll get a beautiful tint with the PDT, Vinh's Preferred Dedomed Tint, where he chooses
the best of the best, and throws out the rest :thumbsup:

I have the Efest Luc 4 charger and purchased (8) LG 18650 3500mAh MJ1 batteries so I have a backup set. The charger works great and charges 1-4 cells at a time, with individual voltage readouts and different charging settings.
You can read about the charger on Vinh's link to Efest.

 

[biker1]

Btw, here's the control shot for the above beamshot. Check out the throw-beam and spill, both at close up and distance.


http://postimage.org/

 

[wimmer21]

Hurried beamshot before LE breaks down my door

I'm in an urban area taking beamshots out my window at a line of trees at different distances. This one is of a thin tree top beyond the treeline approx. 700yd. distance, of which which the beam is partially illuminating a large tree. The beam is aimed above. The beam is phenomenal as this pic shows. Look at the beam width and spill illuminating up close objects, and the trees in the foreground with the beam aimed above them. It's like a tornado of light, included in a 1400m handheld thrower.

Beam is impressive, especially when you consider all the security lights in the area, but Wow, I didn't realize just how well this light performs closeup until you posted the control shot.

I just went back to look again at Vinh's pic, and I totally see it now. I guess the beam was just too mesmerizing for a rookie like myself to realize what all I was looking at.

 

[biker1]

@wimmer21
Yes, an amazing thrower with really nice lumen numbers and spill, wrapped up in a small 'handprint.' I'd say the T6vn is arguably one of the best throw & flood lights wrapped up in one, at a great price point in a compact size.