Nitecore D20 Part 2

JUST GOT MINE!!!! YAY Taking pictures as we speak

Okay, i suck at taking pictures so i ran over to patchncn's house cuz hes a photo genius. Here ya go. I know they arent different than what you have seen but its still nice to see pictures from consumers.
Will get some taken apart interior shots later.

Stromberg said:

I was under the impression that the ramping bug was fixed in D20? Well it doesn't seem so. If I fully tighten the lights head(and it goes directly to max) and then press and hold tailcap button, brightness doesn't decrease at all. Only after I press + hold the second time, it starts to dim down. Is this normal?:thinking:

Click to expand...

Are you sure you waited long enough while holding the button down? It takes several seconds before you see a difference in output when ramping down from max on the D20. Very much unlike when ramping up. It changes very quickly when ramping up. Too quick I'd say. It jumps very fast to 40-50 lumens from 2-3 and makes it difficult to stop at around 10-20.

Mine has never failed to ramp down on the first push from high that I can remember. But I do remember having to hold it a seemingly long time before it began to dim.

What I started doing if I wanted dimmer is to double press to low, and then ramp up from there. It's much easier to control that way.

Can someone (verbally) compare the beam of the D20

with a Fenix TK-20 ? (both on Maximum brightness)


Throw ? ? ?

Hotspot ? ? ?


Thank you for any info you can offer.


_

Lite_me said:

Are you sure you waited long enough while holding the button down? It takes several seconds before you see a difference in output when ramping down from max on the D20.

Click to expand...

Yes, I just tested it by pressing and holding for 10 seconds and there's absolutely no change in brightness. But when I press and hold second time, it starts to ramp down fairly quickly.

Is my D20 defective in that regard?

I have an unrelated question:

I've noticed that my D20 sometimes "clicks" when I press the button, almost like the O-ring is getting stuck (or perhaps it's mechanical, like a fault with the spring; I can't exactly look inside the flashlight to see what's going on); subsequent presses are usually fairly smooth feeling. This most often occurs if I haven't turned the light on for a while--hence my sticking O-ring theory--although sometimes it happens even during operation.

Has anybody else had this experience? Should I bug 4sevens about getting a replacement?

the.Mtn.Man said:

I have an unrelated question:

I've noticed that my D20 sometimes "clicks" when I press the button, almost like the O-ring is getting stuck...
Has anybody else had this experience? Should I bug 4sevens about getting a replacement?

Click to expand...

Yes, my D20 also makes very audible CLICK sound. In fact, the piston in my D20 operates much louder and less smoothly than my D10, which I have lubed with teflon grease.

Well, it's nice to know my problem isn't unique. Second question: is this a product fault and/or can anything be done about it?

Mine does that also. The click is there and the piston movement is not smooth. I am not having any other probs with it ( I think). Also, if I do the double click and hold to get the light to max, the max setting is memorized the next time I turn it on. Not sure if that is right!!:thinking:

Mike

mikekoz said:

Also, if I do the double click and hold to get the light to max, the max setting is memorized the next time I turn it on. Not sure if that is right!!:thinking:

Click to expand...

I'm pretty certain that's an intended feature. Basically, the light "remembers" the last setting even if you used the shortcuts.

With regards to the "clicky" issue, perhaps I should contact 4sevens and get his input in this thread (if he doesn't respond on his own).

Why I started to see minor problems reported once I placed an order?

mikekoz said:

Mine does that also. The click is there and the piston movement is not smooth. I am not having any other probs with it ( I think). Also, if I do the double click and hold to get the light to max, the max setting is memorized the next time I turn it on. Not sure if that is right!!:thinking:

Mike

Click to expand...

D20/D10/EX10 will memorize your last settings only, it's normal. Although I do wish they can separate max and min from the "user setting level", thus return to user set level after shortcut to max/min.

Many D10 users reported piston performance improvement after removing extra lube or use a smaller O ring. I think the first batch of D20 users all said the piston works better than D10...
4sevens also mentioned some tweak on spring for some operation problems, but I don't know if this apply to D20 and your problems.

Just to jump in with a comment here...

The click is normal and doesn't affect the light's operation.
Typically after the light's been sitting for a little bit - the first push is a little
louder due to the o-rings having been settled down.

It's normal.

Ah, good man. Thanks for the feedback.

Is that just the nature of the piston drive? Is there perhaps a lubricant that is less "sticky" and won't bind the O-rings?

4sevens said:

Just to jump in with a comment here...

The click is normal and doesn't affect the light's operation.

It's normal.

Click to expand...

But is it normal for D20 to NOT ramp down at first "click & hold" after it has been turned on by twisting the head of the light? This in known issue in D10 but I thought that it has been fixed in D20.

So as not to leave things on a negative note, I think the D20 is a fantastic light, quirks and all.

Stromberg said:

But is it normal for D20 to NOT ramp down at first "click & hold" after it has been turned on by twisting the head of the light? This in known issue in D10 but I thought that it has been fixed in D20.

Click to expand...

I just checked my D20 and it does it too. I didn't realize it did this. It appears that after a twist to off, and back to on, the programing always begins ramping up on a push & hold. This will only be an issue when the light is on max and using the twist switching. I may have owned the light for years and never ever noticed this. I bought this light for the piston switching and never intend to use it as a twisty. And again, the issue is only when at max and you decide you want it turned down. If you wanted less output, it would be much easier at that point to dbl-click to jump to low and ramp up from there a bit. It's very easy.

I do not see this as any kind of problem or drawback.

Hi There,

A noob question: how do I remove the piston from my D20 so I can re-lube it??
Thanks in advance for any help!!!

Ratton said:

Hi There,

A noob question: how do I remove the piston from my D20 so I can re-lube it??
Thanks in advance for any help!!!

Click to expand...

There should never be a need to relube. Theres enough in there to be okay
for a long time. If you're just dying of curiosity, there stainless retaining ring
unscrews and that releases the piston. You'll need to take out the clip too.

Got mine D20 today.
It's bright, solid, good grip, feel good in the hand.
Gotta say I love it.
:twothumbs:twothumbs

Lite_me said:

I do not see this as any kind of problem or drawback.

Click to expand...

Neither do I, but it IS annoying since I use D20 in momentary-on and clickie modes. And in most cases first momentary on and right after clickie with less than MAX output. I know that it's possible to dbl-click to MIN and then ramp up. I only brought this issue up because I was under the impression that the ramping thing was completely fixed.

Stromberg said:

Neither do I, but it IS annoying since I use D20 in momentary-on and clickie modes. And in most cases first momentary on and right after clickie with less than MAX output. I know that it's possible to dbl-click to MIN and then ramp up. I only brought this issue up because I was under the impression that the ramping thing was completely fixed.

Click to expand...

I apologize but I don't understand what you're tying to say here. I'm not following you. You seem to be indicating that you have some sort of ramping problem after momentary and clicky modes but not using max? If you're not on max, ramping is going to alternate direction when pressed. That's as good as it gets.

If I'm off-track here and you care to explain further, I'll try to keep up.