TrustFire TR-1200 weak beam

[Flashie]

Dear experts,

I just bought a TrustFire TR-1200, I already have the TR-650 which is awesome. I thought the TR-1200 should be even brighter - maybe even brighter than P7.

Yesterday I fired it up with new freshly charged 3x18650 and i was super dissapointed. On high iIt was approx as bright as my Fenix TK11 R2 :(

I see a lot having problems with output - does anyone have an idea maybe for a new driver or how to fix the problem? (I tried the stuff in the thread about discount flashlights, but it seems to be purely related to the driver and not bad connections)

Thanks in advance,

Kind Regards,
Flashie

 

[PerttiK]

Is it 5 mode? My TR-1200 is 5 mode.

 

[joe1512]

It appears that they took a great light that drove at 1 amp per LED and nerfed it down to a fraction of its former glory. Maybe to cut costs, who knows.

But other recent buyers have encounted the same problem. A quick search in this forum will maybe give you some ideas on how to help fix the problem, but there is no easy solution.

 

[Flashie]

Perttik: Yes its 5 mode. I dont mind getting a driver with only 1-3 modes.


Joe1512: I found some threads on the forum, but I didnt find any specific details about what driver to put into the light.

If anyone has some suggestions please feel free to share them with me. If i need to disassemble the light and take pictures of board/driver let me know (if you need measure of the board so you maybe have some ideas what can drive a 5 led flashlight)

Thanks guys!

-Flashie

 

[joe1512]

To clarify, there was no really good solution. Most of it was 'clean it', measure it, and various other stuff.

I hadnt found anything either other than discussion of replacing the driver, but who knows how one would do so.

 

[derfyled]

Since the beam is quite tight, you may don't realize the global output. What you should try is :

1) a throw test. Check how far it goes compare to your TK11

2) Ceiling bounce test. I tried and that's how I realized how powerful is this light

These 2 test should either confirm that you have a faulty one or that the beam is bright but very tight, giving you the impression it's not powerful.

When it's working alright, this flashlight does not have a lot of spill but amazing throw.

Oh, and BTW, :welcome:

 

[riccardo]

Check tailcap amperes: than we'll know if it is weak or not..

Ceiling bounce test should also give a good idea, my TR1200 is clearly MUCH brighter than my EagleTac T20C2 MKII..

To avoid bad contact problems, try to supply 12 Volts (not more) from a power supply capable of few amperes (like a CB or ham radio one) directly to the drop-in, and check ceiling bounce again..

 

[Flashie]

First off - Derfyled - thanks a lot for the welcome, I appreciate it! :) I did a outdoor throw test at night compared to both my Fenix TK11 and compared to my TrustFire TR650, and it was on-par with the TK11, but the TR-650 was much brighter and had a better throw. I tried to do the "short" between the bezel and battery (to go around the tail clicky) and brightnes didnt change. I also saw the review and youtube vid about the throw, and thats why i thought id get it - im super satisfied with the TR-650, and I thought the TR-1200 must be even better. But sadly it seems theyre shipping them with a "new" driver which doesnt send much power to the leds.

Riccardo - I'll buy a volt/amp meter one of the next days and have a look how much its pulling (its just measure between battery and bezel right?)

Joe1523 - I read the thread about budget flashlights "fixup" how to clean it and such, but it didnt really help. I'm afraid its purely related to the LED's not getting enuff juice with the current driver.


I thought of taking it apart and measure the driver, and upload a few pictures of it, maybe one of you guys know where to get one which can drive 5 leds, number of modes doesnt matter as long theres a high and med/low.

Thanks for the replys guys, you gave me a really good impression of your forum, and I'm glad I found it, and happy to be a member!

-Flashie