fenix t1 strobing

carmatic · Dec 10, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyDrGpxwxs4

it shows up in the video when you see the bands of light and dark going down , vs the section in the middle of the video when it is steady... also you can see the problem of the light cutting out on me in the video when it goes dark for a fraction of a second
::edit::
Turns out that i was unscrewing the tailcap instead of the head when i tried to do it with 1 hand, that was what caused the light to cut out...

NA8 · Dec 10, 2007

Hard to tell what's going on there, but usually intermittent problems with fenix lights are caused by dirty threads. Try cleaning the threads really well and see if the problem goes away. If you don't twist the head far enough when switching levels, you'll get an intermittent connection that will be aggravated by "pushing" on it. That's a different issue and you just need to twist further to open a wider gap in the High/Low connection.

greenLED · Dec 10, 2007

Carmatic, it doesn't hurt to clean the threads and contacts but, from my experience with the T1, that's not a contact problem. That flickering happens as the batteries become depleted and is manifested in other lights as well (the Arc LS converter's comes to mind as one that flickers when the batt can't sustain full regulation).

What happens is the circuit is trying (hard) to keep regulation at the highest mode, but the batteries don't have enough capacity to sustain that drain. So, the converter will switch very rapidly between high and low, which appears as if the light were flickering.

The "flicker" will go away if you switch to low mode or change batteries. As the batteries become more and more depleted, eventually you'll only get "low" mode on your T1.

carmatic · Dec 10, 2007

the thing is, i am voluntarily causing it to flicker by pushing on the light, hence i have gained a 'strobe' function...
im kind of confused about cleaning the contacts, its filled with some kind of lube , and it seems kind of obvious that if i take away the lube the o-rings will dry up , crack and my light wont be so waterproof anymore... or something....when i got the light it already has a bunch of dirty looking particles mixed in with the lube and trapped within the threads, didnt think much of them but now i guess i'll really have to do something about them...theyre not that easy to get rid of, they seem to be some kind of black droplet liquid rather than solid objects...

carmatic · Dec 12, 2007

ok guys ive replaced the batteries and cleaned everything in the torch, and i am still able to get this 'strobe mode' easily...it definitely wasnt the batteries causing the strobing, because when they ran too low for high mode, the low batt indicator started dimming and brightening the torch up again once every second or so, while the 'strobe' is much faster than that... can anyone else do this to their T1 as well?

basically , turn your T1 to low mode, and squeeze the torch from both ends, as you squeeze harder and harder it should brighten up close to the high mode, then start strobing

Khaytsus · Dec 12, 2007

carmatic said:
ok guys ive replaced the batteries and cleaned everything in the torch, and i am still able to get this 'strobe mode' easily...it definitely wasnt the batteries causing the strobing, because when they ran too low for high mode, the low batt indicator started dimming and brightening the torch up again once every second or so, while the 'strobe' is much faster than that... can anyone else do this to their T1 as well?

basically , turn your T1 to low mode, and squeeze the torch from both ends, as you squeeze harder and harder it should brighten up close to the high mode, then start strobing

You know what they said to the guy who said his finger hurt because he kept hitting it with a hammer, right?

Don't do that.

carmatic · Dec 12, 2007

Khaytsus said:
Don't do that.

are you suggesting that i might be damaging my t1 by doing that? on my t1 it takes only a bit of pressure to get it to do that...it is so effortless and consistent that it is almost like hitting the switch

Like what im simply putting forward is something ive found about my light... If you guys could do it as well with your torch and it doesnt do any harm it could very well be a '3rd mode' or something which would be cool, or if someone knows that it actually damages the light in some way thats cool as well seeing how easy it is to do and so this will definitely be something to look out for with the t1...

greenLED · Dec 13, 2007

Only if it were a faulty circuit (and I'm almost positive it's not), you could burn the circuit by forcing the strobing to happen. I "played" making it strobe for about 2 days and the light's just fine.

Dirty threads develop with use and is a normal occurrence even in new lights (sometimes moreso in new lights as the threads smooth themselves out with initial use). Wiping off the gunk is not an issue, and the o-rings won't crack even if they're bone dry for a looooong time. Wipe off the threads and all the bare aluminum and other contact areas with a clean paper towel - repeat until there's no residue on the paper. You can re-apply some lube on the o-rings later on - make sure the bare aluminum threads and the ends of the battery tube and the switch retaining ring are clean (you can use alcohol and another clean paper towel for triple cleaning power).

The batts in the T1 I have are past that "threshold" I was talking about, but I could get the light to strobe when I "squeezed" the light as you describe.

BTW, which brand of batteries are you using? Did you try different sets to make sure they're really on 100% capacity?

If it's not a battery issue, the next logical potential source of trouble are dirty threads. Clean them real well and try again. If you are able to replicate the strobing with clean threads and new batts, I can then think of 2 remaining options:

- faulty connection in the circuit: to diagnose, simply answer the following questions: does the light strobe when the head of the light is fully tightened? does it strobe once you disengage the high mode and the light is in "low" mode? If the light strobes only when you're somewhere in between the 2 modes (such as when you're squeezing the ends), then we're onto something: "bad contact" because you're hitting the "sweet spot" between low and high modes (some SF U2's do that when you move the selector ring between 2 modes). Maybe the switch retaining ring is lose - tighten it. It's not really a light defect, more like operator-caused effect.

- the final option would be a faulty circuit. However, if you do the previous tests (full high/full low) and the light works well, then it's very unlikely it's the circuit malfunctioning.

OK, I'll shut up now.

carmatic · Dec 13, 2007

greenLED said:
Only if it were a faulty circuit (and I'm almost positive it's not), you could burn the circuit by forcing the strobing to happen. I "played" making it strobe for about 2 days and the light's just fine.

Dirty threads develop with use and is a normal occurrence even in new lights (sometimes moreso in new lights as the threads smooth themselves out with initial use). Wiping off the gunk is not an issue, and the o-rings won't crack even if they're bone dry for a looooong time. Wipe off the threads and all the bare aluminum and other contact areas with a clean paper towel - repeat until there's no residue on the paper. You can re-apply some lube on the o-rings later on - make sure the bare aluminum threads and the ends of the battery tube and the switch retaining ring are clean (you can use alcohol and another clean paper towel for triple cleaning power).

The batts in the T1 I have are past that "threshold" I was talking about, but I could get the light to strobe when I "squeezed" the light as you describe.

BTW, which brand of batteries are you using? Did you try different sets to make sure they're really on 100% capacity?

If it's not a battery issue, the next logical potential source of trouble are dirty threads. Clean them real well and try again. If you are able to replicate the strobing with clean threads and new batts, I can then think of 2 remaining options:

- faulty connection in the circuit: to diagnose, simply answer the following questions: does the light strobe when the head of the light is fully tightened? does it strobe once you disengage the high mode and the light is in "low" mode? If the light strobes only when you're somewhere in between the 2 modes (such as when you're squeezing the ends), then we're onto something: "bad contact" because you're hitting the "sweet spot" between low and high modes (some SF U2's do that when you move the selector ring between 2 modes). Maybe the switch retaining ring is lose - tighten it. It's not really a light defect, more like operator-caused effect.

- the final option would be a faulty circuit. However, if you do the previous tests (full high/full low) and the light works well, then it's very unlikely it's the circuit malfunctioning.

OK, I'll shut up now.

Finally! A believer... Ive cleaned it the best i can short of using alcohol, i was worried that it could instantly disintegrate the rubber if i did that...
I have used 2 different brands of primaries and theres no difference...
The torch makes a slight buzzing sound when its been made to strobe, you have to put it next to your ear in a quiet room to hear it...
Maybe it really is caused by poor electrical contact, and the torch is just flexible enough to cause this to happen consistently without flexing all the way to give it full mode however hard you push on it

jugg2 · Dec 13, 2007

I can make my T-1 do this also, and I think is is a bad connection. Kinda like your almost in high mode, but not quite, just on the threshhold. It can't get a steady contact, so it go between low and high. I don't think it would be very effective for disorienting, at least any more than 225 lumens.

Khaytsus · Dec 13, 2007

carmatic said:
are you suggesting that i might be damaging my t1 by doing that? on my t1 it takes only a bit of pressure to get it to do that...it is so effortless and consistent that it is almost like hitting the switch

Like what im simply putting forward is something ive found about my light... If you guys could do it as well with your torch and it doesnt do any harm it could very well be a '3rd mode' or something which would be cool, or if someone knows that it actually damages the light in some way thats cool as well seeing how easy it is to do and so this will definitely be something to look out for with the t1...

No, I was just saying if you're forcing it to happen, just don't do that

If it happens all the time in normal use, or once it happens it continues to 'strobe', I could see that being more of an issue.

greenLED · Dec 13, 2007

carmatic said:
Finally! A believer... Ive cleaned it the best i can short of using alcohol, i was worried that it could instantly disintegrate the rubber if i did that...
I have used 2 different brands of primaries and theres no difference...
The torch makes a slight buzzing sound when its been made to strobe, you have to put it next to your ear in a quiet room to hear it...
Maybe it really is caused by poor electrical contact, and the torch is just flexible enough to cause this to happen consistently without flexing all the way to give it full mode however hard you push on it

Thanks for the extra details. Nah, alcohol won't do a thing to the components. You've proved batteries and dirty threads and ends of the battery tube are not the problem. I'm not of the opinion there's something inherently wrong with the light, though. Like I said, that strobing behavior is observed in-between-levels on the U2 as well. That buzzing is also common; it's one of the electronic components inside vibrating. Depending on the individual light and the auditory acuity of the user, it can't be picked up.

Anyway, your tests leaves a faulty converter (which is easy to diagnose as I suggested before) or a faulty electrical joint somewhere. Since it only happens in certain "sweet spot", I find the latter to be the most plausible explanation. All lights are built to certain tolerances of operation. Sooner or later somebody will hit the "sweet spot" when odd things happen. It's not that you're flexing the light (as in bending the aluminum), it's more like you're throwing the thread tolerances off by compressing the battery tube against the head contacts and the added resistance (or improper contact) may be causing the strobing (just like added resistance gives "low" incan mode on the SF A2). That's my guess anyway.

I've played with lights long enough that these things don't bother me anymore, no matter the price of the light (one of my U2's did that and it drove me nuts but, frankly, how many times did I make it strobe under normal use? None - I had to re-create the "malfunction" on purpose).

However, there are people who decide those things are unacceptable, and that's perfectly OK with me too. So, if it really bugs you and you think it's unacceptable maybe it's worth your time to get it replaced.

grandeyota · Dec 13, 2007

I had mine strobing as well.
I quit doing it though, I figured it's not good for it, but I base that on nothing whatsoever. :crackup:

carmatic · Dec 13, 2007

im not personally bothered by being bothered by the strobing ability of the light, im just wondering if it can be used usefully by messing up people who gets the light shone at their eyes? I just tried it on myself and it was kinda uncomforrtable at first but i think im fiune now

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