First impression: OpticsHQ TLS LED drop-in and multifunction reverse tailcap kit

Previous reviews have already provided beamshots, so I don't plan on re-doing that work. For example,

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/187573
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/188464

My OpticsHQ/TLS kit is slightly different from those shown above. For my kit, both main button and side button are greenish GITD buttons.

Here is a photo of the kit in the original packaging:


Out of the packaging:


Closeup of the tailcap:


The points of the tailcap scallops are a bit too sharp for my tastes.

Here is the underside of the tailcap (this is where I inserted a metal spacer to allow the kit to work with my old SureFire 6P -- see discussion below):


Closeup of the drop-in. Note that the LED is slightly off-center (gap on the left side between the dome and reflector opening):


Installation:

I first tried the kit in my old SureFire 6P that I bought around 1990. The kit didn't work. The tailcap screwed down all the way, as it is supposed to but I felt no resistance all the way down. Thus, it felt like the tailcap could have gone down further if there had been more room, and I suspected possible lack of electrical contact by the tailcap. And my guess was correct. When I put the old SureFire tailcap back on, the OpticsHQ LED drop-in lamp lit up.

I then tested the kit in a SureFire 6Z. Again, no function. But this time, it was clear that the problem was the drop-in. The tailcap worked with the SureFire P60 lamp (just on-off, no strobe or dimming since those functions require an LED emitter). If I removed the bezel and wiggled and-or rotated the OpticsHQ LED lamp around, I could get some intermittent, but unreliable, lighting up. So, for whatever reason, the LED drop-in wasn't making good electrical contact in my 6Z. I suspect that the reason is the 6P "well" at the top of the body is machined slightly differently than for the 6Z. In the 6P, the well has straight sides and ends with a fairly wide unanodized "shoulder" where the outer lamp spring makes electrical contact. For the 6Z, the well has a slight taper near the bottom and the unanodized shoulder is correspondingly narrower. I assume that the combination of a taper and narrower shoulder makes electrical contact by the OpticsHQ lamp's outer spring less reliable.

Finally, I tested the kit in a SureFire G2 and everything worked great.

When I talked with Mike at OpticsHQ, he immediately recognized the problem. The kit is designed for the new generation 6P family. Apparently, SureFire has changed its machining dimensions enough that the old 6P family (which includes my old 6P and 6Z) doesn't work well with the OpticsHQ kit. One suggested workaround is to insert a washer or other metallic conductor spacer into the OpticsHQ tailcap to allow function in old-style SureFire 6Ps.

I did this and the kit now also works with my SureFire 6P.

Observations and measurements:

Specs are listed as Voltage: 4-15v, Maximum Output: 256lm (approx).

The OpticsHQ beam is quite similar to the Deal Extreme 6090 drop-in. Very close match in brightness, size of the hotspot, and beam smoothness. I think that the DX6090 hot spot looks a bit brighter/whiter. The OpticsHQ beam looks a bit smoother (fewer "Cree rings"). The biggest difference is that the OpticsHQ LED drop-in has a slightly wider overall beam (slightly larger spill), but even this is minor. Measured lux at 1 meter for the OpticsHQ P60 drop-in, DX6090, and the OpticsHQ E2 replacement head are all about the same -- 5500-6500 lux.

The OpticsHQ drop-in drew 0.53A (measured at the tail end of the 6P body) when driven by two RCR123A AW cells. The drop-in drew 0.73A when driven by two Duracell CR123A cells.

Strobe rate seems comparable to the Gladius.

The multifunction tailcap doesn't function correctly with my DX6090 and DX11836 drop-ins. With both drop-ins, max brightness and strobe modes work fine. The first problem is that both drop-ins come on in dim mode as soon as you screw down the OpticsHQ tailcap all the way. You can't turn off the flashlight. The second problem is that if you press the side button, all that happens is that you can dim or brighten the light. A fast click-release of the side button doesn't turn off the light, which is what should happen.

The first review that I referenced above states that the OpticsHQ tailcap also functions with the Malkoff and BugOutGearUSA drop-ins. Just not my DX6090s apparently.

Overall size using the G2 host and bezel lanyard ring is 14 cm long vs. 15.7 cm for the Gladius. Using the 6P host and bezel lanyard ring, I measure an overall length of 13.8 cm. The Gladius max diameter is larger than the SureFire hosts because the Gladius has an integral star-shaped grip ring for the cigar hold. The OpticsHQ tailcap has a protected tailcap button, so that it can also "tail stand".

Here is a comparison of a Gladius, old-style SureFire6P with the OpticsHQ kit, and old-style 6Z:


Operation of the reverse tailcap:

The OpticsHQ main tailcap button gives momentary-on operation. Click and hold the button and you get max brightness. Release the button and the light reverts back to whatever state it was in before. I don't like the fact that the main button clicks and makes a slight noise though. I would prefer to dispense with the tactile feedback to keep the switch quiet. I also don't like the glow-in-the-dark rubber buttons and would prefer the option for non-GITD. You probably can paint the buttons with a black marker to cover the glow.

The side button for the reverse tailcap that I bought is a clicky, constant-on switch. You click it to turn on the light. The light comes on in the lowest brightness level. Holding down the side button ramps up the brightness. If you let go and click-hold again, the brightness ramps down. With the light on at some level you've selected, you can press the main tailcap button to get to the max brightness, momentary-on mode. Release the main tailcap button and the light goes back to whatever brightness level it was in before. If you fast click-release, the light turns off. If you click-release the side button again, the light turns back on in its default lowest setting.

However, I have some difficulty to click-release the side button with the right timing to obtain the lowest brightness setting. I typically get a setting 1-2 steps brighter and have to dim the light back down. At the lowest setting, the light is brighter than a Gladius on its lowest setting, but not excessively bright.

I've also found an oddity with the operation of the side button that OpticsHQ has not encountered before.

The glitch is with the initial click-release to activate the initial low mode. If you click and hold momentarily, the light comes on at a level slightly above the min brightness level, as mentioned above. If you fast click-release thinking that this will get you to the lowest brightness level, then the light does come on at the lowest level but then turns itself off after about 2-3 sec or so. It doesn't seem to happen every time, but it does happen frequently enough to be clearly repeatable.

I discussed this with Mike at OpticsHQ and he had not heard of that before. He suggested that I continue to try out the kit and if I decide that I can't live with the my difficulty with the side button timing, he'll try to make things right. Excellent customer service.

You can enter a fast, bright strobe mode in 3 ways:

1) You can press the main tailcap button and side button simultaneously to enter the strobe mode directly.

2) You can press the main tailcap button to get the momentary-on max brightness mode. Then, while still pressing the main button, also press the side button to enter strobe mode.

3) Press the side button to enter into dimming/brightening mode. Then, while still pressing the side button, also press the main button to enter strobe mode.

At any time, you can get back to momentary-on max brightness mode by simply releasing the side button. Or you can go directly back to the dimming/brightness mode by releasing the main button first and then the side button. The brightness level that you had previously set will still be there.

I think that this user interface might be better than the Gladius's UI. For the Gladius, you can't go directly from strobe mode to momentary-on max brightness mode or to dimming/brightening mode. You have to release the tailcap button, twist the selector ring, and then press the tailcap button again. You can't go from momentary-on max brightness mode to strobe either. Again, you have to release the tailcap button, turn the selector ring, and press the tailcap button again. You can go from dimming/brightening mode to strobe mode or momentary-on max brightness mode. But to do so, after you enter dimming/brigthening mode, you have to turn the selector to strobe mode or momentary-on mode. Then if you press the tailcap button again, you enter the new mode. But that's it. You are now either in strobe or momentary-on mode, and to go to a new mode, you have to twist the selector ring as described before.

A theoretical downside with the OpticsHQ UI is that it is a 2-finger operation and stress-induced sequence error can occur. Let's look at the possibilities:

1) Start in momentary-on mode and enter strobe mode: I don't see much problem here. Just press the side button to get to strobe mode. No sequential error issue here.

The buttons fall reasonably naturally under the thumb and index fingers, so button access also does not seem to be an issue. However, there could be a button access issue on initial grasping of the light, since you have to get the light oriented correctly so that the side button falls under the index finger distal pad. The symmetry of the light and tailcap does not provide any good way of forcing correct orientation or feeling for the correct orientation. I've installed a SureFire bezel lanyard ring to give me some asymmetry to clue me in on correct orientation. If I feel the lanyard ring pressing against the fat edge of my hand, then I know that the light is oriented correctly for the side button to fall under my index finger.

2) Go directly to strobe mode: Just press both buttons simultaneously. Again, no sequential error issue. Same issue as above with correct orientation of the light upon initial grasping.

3) Start in dimming/brightening mode and go to strobe mode. Same as #1 above. No button orientation problem here since your index finger is already on the side button.

4) From strobe mode, enter momentary-on mode. Confusion would result in the operator releasing the main button instead of the side button, entering dimming/brighteniing mode instead of momentary-on, max brightness mode. This could be a problem if you expected to get max brightness but got some dimmer level instead. I suppose it is also possible that confusion could result in releasing both buttons, thus getting darkness mode. My guess, though I have no data to support this, is that the thumb acts as the dominant operating finger and it would be more likely that the index finger is released.

5) From strobe mode, enter dimming/brightening mode. Confusion would result in the operator releasing the side button instead of the side button, entering dimming/brighteniing mode instead of momentary-on, max brightness mode. This could be a problem if you expected to get a dimmer mode but got mx brightness instead. Presumably, the need for a dimmer mode means that the situation is not a critical one, so a momentary flash might not be a serious problem especially since you were just in a high brightness strobe mode. However, if my assumption above regarding the thumb being the dominant finger is correct, then this sequential error may be the most frequently occurring one. And as in #4, another possibility is that the operator releases both buttons.

One other potential issue is interlimb interaction. Using your index finger to press the side button may produce a matching trigger finger movement. Thus, it is probably that much more important to make sure your trigger finger is in the register position if you are using this flashlight setup with a firearm.

Update:

I installed the OpticsHq/TLS kit in my "parts 3P". I tested it with one SureFire 123A cell and with one AW Li-ion 3.7V 123A cell.

For the SF cell, the light didn't work properly. When I pressed the main tailcap, I got a fast strobe. I got no function at all from the side button.

For the AW cell, the light worked properly, but the output was rather low. Perceived max brightness is less than a standard 6P with 65 lumen P60 lamp module. Could be between 3P and 6P levels. Low setting is lower than the lowest setting for a Gladius. At an overall length of 10.5 cm and 3P/6P diameter, the output vs size ratio was not favorable. My "TW4" based on the OpticsHQ E2 replacement head is a much better option, at least in terms of brightness. A single cell, E head/C tail body would be interesting to test the OpticsHQ tailcap with their E2 replacement head.

Justin,

I just got one of these today, the reverse-clicky 5 discrete mode version. I had a similar experience to yours with regard to needing a washer - the tailcap worked immediately with my newer Surefire and Solarforce bodies, but with my Leef 2x18500 it did not - however, I fished a washer out of an old G&P tailcap and with the washer in it works perfectly with the Leef body. Folks may also want to know that at least the version I have works very nicely with both my Malkoff M-60 and my new Milkyspit roomsweeper head (C2 head with am MC-E running direct drive.)

I will test more, but this seems to be a good combination. People should just be aware that they may need a washer with certain bodies.

Let me know how long your batteries last with the TLS kit. My AW 123A protected cells seemed fine for about 3 weeks, then suddenly the light died. I recharged the cells, thinking that somehow I turned on the light (e.g., accidental side button press while in the jacket pocket). But the light died again in less than a week. Not sure what's going on now. The second time the light died, I put the AW cells to my DMM and measured 3.16V! Not good.

Justin,

Take a look to see if the tailcap is sending a little bit of juice to the drop-in even when it's off. Mine, like my Uniq tailcap, does do that with some drop-ins (and not others, which I can't explain, off the top of my head.) So it functions a little bit like a twisty-clicky hybrid, you twist it just a little to get it to come on, then click for higher settings. Admittedly this is probably not what one would want for tactical use, though it's no big deal for a general purpose light. FYI neither the OpticsHQ tailcap nor the Uniq do this with my Malkoff M60, and both work fime with it, so maybe that's a good solution for you...

Woops, I see that you alread ran into this issue with your DX 6090...

If you press the side button quickly, do you get into the lowest brightness setting? I typically get into one step brighter than the lowest setting. If I try to press the side button really fast to get the lowest brightness setting, then the light sometimes turns off on its own after a second or a few seconds. Have you seen this behavior?

So far, hitting the side button quickly does seem to usually give me the lowest setting, but once or twice I think it has gone to the 2nd lowest. I haven't had it turn off after a quick hit on the side button... yet.

Well, nothing's perfect. :sigh:

OpticsHQ has informed me that indeed their TLS multifunction tailcap draws power even with the light turned off. Unfortunately, they couldn't tell me how much power the tailcap draws, but they will get back to me with the info. So far, the draw appears relatively high, not like the Gladius flashlight that can last a year or two on one set of 123A primaries.


Edit: OpticsHQ informed me that the tailcap power draw is 0.5mA to 1 mA. That translates to 12-24 mAh per day. 16340-sized Li-ions seem to have a typical capacity of about 550 mAh. If we operate the cells to maximize cycle life, then we might charge them to 90% capacity and discharge them down to 20% remaining capacity before recharging them again. That gives 550 * 0.9 * 0.8 ~ 400 mAh effective capacity. And that gives an operating life of a TLS-equipped flashlight of about 15-30 days.

That's a little short for my tastes, but perhaps tolerable, especially if it is toward the higher end. YMMV. Too bad the power draw wasn't as low as a Gladius, which has lasted over a year for me without triggering its low-battery signal. With a short operating life, perhaps the TLS kit should incorporate a low battery function.

Well, that is definitely a lousy design choice, one which at the very least they should tell you about up front, IMHO. Did this happen for you even with their own drop-in? I ask because clearly it sends enough current to certain drop-ins to light them up, even when in the off position, but it doesn't exhibit that behavior with my Malkoff.

Yes, this is with their tailcap and drop-in. The drop-in doesn't light up but the tailcap pretty clearly is consuming power even when the light is supposedly off.

Some data on the TLS tailcap power consumption for the two Li-ion cells in my 6P:

Time AW16340 OCV
Start 4.04, 4.02
Day 1 4.00, 3.99
Day 2 3.99, 3.97
Day 5 3.92, 3.87
Day 6 3.90, 3.86
Day 7 3.86, 3.83
Day 8 3.84, 3.82
Day 9 3.82, 3.81
Day 12 3.80, 3.77
Day 13 3.79, 3.76
Day 14 3.79, 3.74
Day 16 3.76, 3.70

Justin and others,

I can now confirm that this tailcap does drain the batteries, even when switch is off. Unfortunate.

See the data in Post #12. Clearly the tailcap is drawing power. I also confirmed with OpticsHQ that the tailcap draws between 0.5 ma and 1 ma. For the way I operate my AW16340 cells, I expect about 3-4 weeks of shelf life before having to recharge, assuming no other use of the flashlight. To get a longer shelf life, I can back out the TLS tailcap to break the electrical contact, killing the current draw. But then the light is no longer immediately usable.

For my tastes, I wish that the current draw was a factor of ten less.

Justin,

Thanks, I just saw your message #12 above. It is a lousy design choice that one would think should have been pretty easy to avoid. Not really a showstopper for me, but it means I'll have to store the light with no batteries in it or leave the tailcap or head very loose. Not really a big deal (I have plenty of other lights around for emergencies) but it's annoying.

Not sure why you experienced continued current draw even after backing out the tailcap. I just checked my SureFire 6P equipped with the TLS reverse multifunction tailcap that I backed out over 1 month ago, and both AW16340 cells measure 4.09V, which is only 0.01V lower than when I first inserted them into the flashlight. Seems pretty clear that the tailcap didn't draw any power once backed out.

Justin,

That was my error - it wasn't drawing current when backed out; I had just made a dumb mistake which I won't bother telling everyone about here. I have edited my previous post to correct that.