The Quark lights thread! (Part 6)

[BST07]

Way too much information for me to digest...

I want to get Quark AA2 for a friend's upcoming birthday. He rides his bike a lot after the sun sets and I was wondering if anybody knows of a bicycle mount for the Quark AA2? Will the Fenix bike mount work?

 

[qip]

-Ti quark regular models but also tacticals so it cant be counted as 8 alone new ,just grouped as quark for 1

-MCE light + MCE RGB 2 models
-AAA light 1
-headlight thingamajig

thats 4 or minus headlight since its not a light just an attatchment is back to 3

or 2 if both mce lights are counted as 1 just different emitters but certainly different ui i think

so theres still 3 or 4 lights we have not heard about ....all being released soon $$$$$$$

 

[ninjaboigt]

hmm seems like it would fit..if not duct tape works well =]

 

[bodhran]

I use the Two Fish lockblocks to mount my AA2 on my bike. Works great and also available through 4sevens. Get the Three pack though...the kids keep taking mine...

 

[recDNA]

Hey Everyone,

There was some talk awhile back (I think in Part 5) about some of the longer 14500 cells not fitting well into the QAA because of them being a bit too long.

4Sevens jumped in to say that there were going to be new retaining rings available soon that solved the problem. (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=3068668&postcount=368))

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned it already, but I just received one of these new retaining rings in the mail and installed it. It solved my problem with my 14500's being too long! They now fit great. Fit for normal AA's was not affected, they still fit in great too. The new ring is flatter than the old one, it doesn't have the raised area around the inner part of its front.

Thanks to 4Sevens for being kind enough to send me one of the new rings, fantastic customer service. It's great that they are willing to solve problems like this, because in this case it's really the battery that's too long, not because there was anything wrong with the light per se.

I'm very surprised. I thought I read 4-sevens say that Li-Ions were too dangerous for them to even deal with? Making accessories for Li-Ions surprises me.

 

[gunga]

Actually, he stated he does not agree with unprotected li-ons (eg the tiny 10440 cells).

He is okay with protected Li-on.

Keep in mind he is producing an 18650 light!

 

[broomdodger]

I use the Two Fish lockblocks to mount my AA2 on my bike. Works great and also available through 4sevens. Get the Three pack though...the kids keep taking mine...

I agree they are great, I carry two lights, simpler than changing batteries, Fenix and Quark neutral, both AA single cell, more than enough light. I normally use the Quark on low or medium.

 

[broomdodger]

Some while back I read about ni-zn batteries.
Where are they available?
Where to get more info?

 

[hiker123]

Well I haven't had much time to play with my Quark, but have had some problems so far. Sometimes a little pressure to the head makes it switch modes and now my head came apart. Is it suppose to do this? I have probably only switched modes less the 50 times and have babied this thing (no drops etc). My mini-mag incandescent is probably 10 years old and I never had a problem with it so I am not happy the Quark is so delicate and expensive compared to it.

 

[Marduke]

Just screw it back together tight, no big deal.

 

[gunga]

Yep, just opened mine last night to add glow rings. 1 had much more loctite tahn the other. In any case, I'm glad they are easy to open for future upgrades.


:thumbsup:

If you are worried your light will open up, just add a bit of teflon plumbers tape to lock it down tightly.

 

[hiker123]

Yep, just opened mine last night to add glow rings. 1 had much more loctite tahn the other. In any case, I'm glad they are easy to open for future upgrades.

:thumbsup:

If you are worried your light will open up, just add a bit of teflon plumbers tape to lock it down tightly.

I never tried to open the head (disassemble). I have cleaned the threads to make the head switch modes between the tube body more smoothly as it is hard to turn. When I go to switch modes to a loosened state sometimes the head disassembles instead of switching modes (between the body and tube) no matter how hard I tighten the head assembly.

A little pressure on the head will also make the Quark switch modes randomly or to off which is great at night on the trail [/sarcasm]. I just thought out of the box I shouldn't have to do so many things to make this light work reliably.

 

[ninjaboigt]

Well I haven't had much time to play with my Quark, but have had some problems so far. Sometimes a little pressure to the head makes it switch modes and now my head came apart. Is it suppose to do this? I have probably only switched modes less the 50 times and have babied this thing (no drops etc). My mini-mag incandescent is probably 10 years old and I never had a problem with it so I am not happy the Quark is so delicate and expensive compared to it.

COOL! lets get some beam shots with out the reflector

 

[Nake]

I never tried to open the head (disassemble). I have cleaned the threads to make the head switch modes between the tube body more smoothly as it is hard to turn. When I go to switch modes to a loosened state sometimes the head disassembles instead of switching modes (between the body and tube) no matter how hard I tighten the head assembly.

A little pressure on the head will also make the Quark switch modes randomly or to off which is great at night on the trail [/sarcasm]. I just thought out of the box I shouldn't have to do so many things to make this light work reliably.

If you unscrew the head 1/2 turn like the instructions say, it won't come on when you push on the head. All threads will have slop in them, and you're just taking that slop up when you push on the head. Even a 1/4 turn will do.

 

[PeaceOfMind]

I just thought out of the box I shouldn't have to do so many things to make this light work reliably.

I think your experience here is the exception rather than the rule, as most of what I have heard and experienced about the Quarks is excellent performance out of the box. While I'm sure you could fix the issues yourself, if you're really unhappy, I'm sure 4sevens would gladly make things right in whatever way possible.

 

[uplite]

Sometimes a little pressure to the head makes it switch modes

Yeah, a bunch of us have posted about this. There are at least three possible causes for this:

1) Some guys used protected li-ion cells that were too long, so the head contact with the body tube was not secure. I think 4sevens manufactured a thin retaining ring (for the tailswitch) to fix this.

2) Some guys loosened the head just a tiny bit, which made it easy to "bump" between tight and loose modes. Loosening the head a bit more fixes this (like Nake just said).

3) Some guys (like me) tried to run the light in Max mode with the bezel loosened, which gave problems because the contact of body and head screw threads is not great. Cleaning the threads and coating them with a lubricant to prevent oxidation helps a little bit, but the only RELIABLE solution I have found is to run with the head fully tightened, never loosened.

Check those three issues; hopefully that fixes it.

Since your quark is so easy to disassemble...would you please post some pictures of the insides...driver, reflector mounting, etc? That would be awesome! :thumbsup: Thanks.

-Jeff

 

[hiker123]

If you unscrew the head 1/2 turn like the instructions say, it won't come on when you push on the head. All threads will have slop in them, and you're just taking that slop up when you push on the head. Even a 1/4 turn will do.

I have read and do understand the instructions. I have followed them as well. The problem is in a loosen mode a slight bump (say a finger tap) will switch me from low to beacon or off or moonlight mode. It doesn't happen all the time but it happens enough that it bothers me and makes me think maybe I should have invested in something better.

I think your experience here is the exception rather than the rule, as most of what I have heard and experienced about the Quarks is excellent performance out of the box. While I'm sure you could fix the issues yourself, if you're really unhappy, I'm sure 4sevens would gladly make things right in whatever way possible.

I am trying to figure out why it switches modes so easily in a loosened state. Other people seem to be having this problem as well. I have cleaned the threads and contacts to eliminate that as the source of the problem. The light still switches states easily in a loosened mode. Also the head assembly came disassembled without me try to do it. Maybe I have a really bad head assembly?

Yeah, a bunch of us have posted about this. There are at least three possible causes for this:

1) Some guys used protected li-ion cells that were too long, so the head contact with the body tube was not secure. I think 4sevens manufactured a thin retaining ring (for the tailswitch) to fix this.

2) Some guys loosened the head just a tiny bit, which made it easy to "bump" between tight and loose modes. Loosening the head a bit more fixes this (like Nake just said).

3) Some guys (like me) tried to run the light in Max mode with the bezel loosened, which gave problems because the contact of body and head screw threads is not great. Cleaning the threads and coating them with a lubricant to prevent oxidation helps a little bit, but the only RELIABLE solution I have found is to run with the head fully tightened, never loosened.

Check those three issues; hopefully that fixes it.

Since your quark is so easy to disassemble...would you please post some pictures of the insides...driver, reflector mounting, etc? That would be awesome! :thumbsup: Thanks.

-Jeff

Thanks Jeff.
1) This is not my problem as I have never used protected li-ion cells in my QAA-2W.

2) I understand what you are saying but this isn't my problem. The light switches from say medium to moon or beacon not a loosened state mode to a tightened state mode.

3) I have a regular Quark, so I can't run it in max mode with the bezel loosened. I have cleaned the threads though, but as you said it doesn't really help. My light tightened (max mode) is fine and I can't make it fail in that state. Loosened (the modes I use mostly) is unreliable, thus the problem.

The head being so easy to disassemble sucks, but sure I'll take some pictures and post them. (Give me a bit though as I have lots going on right now).
Cheers

 

[Nake]

I thought you weren't loosening the head enough. Send it back for a replacement.

 

[Egsise]

My Quark AAW is also a bit sensitive when the bezel is loosened, sometimes it changes the modes with a tap or a bump.

 

[Deegle]

How long must we wait for the XP-G??? Today's post on the 4Sevens site only served to tease me.