Fenix TK30 (TK40) Flicker & Donut Hole (Beamshot)?

Greetings,

First post here (been lurking for a little while... enough to end up with about eight awesome lights of my own, but more on that later).

I just received a TK30 from 4Sevens (as usual, very fast delivery). Two "issues" that I see with my light are:

1. A dark spot (donut hole) in the beam hot spot at any distance (very obvious on my wall 30 feet away). I have not heard of anyone experiencing donut holes in the TK30 / TK40 lights. Is this normal? Is it just the luck of the draw? Does this condition in my light warrant an exchange for one that doesn't have a donut hole? [see beamshot in post #4 below]

2. My light has what I would describe as a flicker as the light is clicked on into hi (searching) mode. It seems like the light initially turns on in a lower output mode, then jumps into high a few tenths of a second latter. My eye perceives it as a quick flicker. Is this normal? It's not really a problem, and I can certainly live with it. I just wanted to know if anyone else has noticed that?

Thanks for your input!

Erik

Re: Fenix TK30 (TK40) Flicker & Donut Hole?

My TK30 has kind of a "ramp up" to hit full brightness, but it's very fast. Similar to the Rebel-emitter minimags when you first turn them on.

I don't notice a dark spot in the center of the beam on mine though. I guess that may be luck of the draw that you got one maybe a little out of focus... or more focused.

Do you have any other throwers you can compare it to in order to see if it's throwing as it should?

Re: Fenix TK30 (TK40) Flicker & Donut Hole?

^same here, sounds like normal operation, tho I've never noticed a dark spot either, just the mc-e cross at <1'

Re: Fenix TK30 (TK40) Flicker & Donut Hole?

Stress_Test said:

My TK30 has kind of a "ramp up" to hit full brightness, but it's very fast...

Click to expand...

Good info. That is the behavior I observe--a ramp up. Glad to know that it is normal.

Stress_Test said:

...Do you have any other throwers you can compare it to in order to see if it's throwing as it should?

Click to expand...

I have a Catapult V2 and a Maelstrom G5. Both are absent of the dark spot. My TK30 appears to throw as it should.

Here is a photo of my TK30's hot spot dark spot. This is taken with the light about 15 feet from the wall. The photo does not capture it as clearly as I see it with my eyes (The donut is more pronounced at longer distances, but it's too bright inside my house right now to get an acceptable beamshot). In this photo, it is much easier for me to see the dark spot when I use my "averted vision," an astronomy technique for viewing faint objects. Basically, if you don't look directly at the center of the hot spot (i.e. avert your vision from the object) but concentrate your mind on what you see in your peripheral vision, the donut becomes quite obvious.


As you can see, it is not like a black hole or anything that drastic. But it is a little bit annoying / distracting when lighting up any smooth or flat surface (not so noticeable when looking at a tree).

For reference, here is a beamshot of my Catapult V2 under the same conditions. No detectable donut.

I don't see a "donut hole" in the beam from my TK40.

In this video I made comparing the TK45 to the TK40,
at 3:25 in the video you can see the TK40's white wall beam shot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5Q1nw_UEIw

Hope this helps.

Hmm, I didn't remember a dark spot in the center, but your photo jogged my memory, so I got my TK30 out to check. Sure enough, it's got a darker spot in the center. Not very noticeable though, especially at the higher outputs.

I once took this light out for a trail walk out in wide open pitch dark fields, and had no complaints about the beam quality. It's amazing how big an area you can light up when you're out in the open fields!

For what it's worth, both my TK20 lights have a slight dark area in the center of the hotspot. It seems to be just the way some lights are focused.

Stress_Test said:

Hmm, I didn't remember a dark spot in the center, but your photo jogged my memory, so I got my TK30 out to check. Sure enough, it's got a darker spot in the center. Not very noticeable though, especially at the higher outputs...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! I'm glad to hear that it is normal with this light (rather... I'm glad to hear that it is not just my light with a slight dark center--of course I wish that it was perfect......).

I agree that this light is awesome when used in the wild, where the dark center is not noticeable.

Ok, back to just using my light and enjoying it (not obsessing about any "flaws" )

My TK40 has an X at 18 inches and closer from the quadcore LED. But no donut here either

CarpentryHero said:

My TK40 has an X at 18 inches and closer from the quadcore LED. But no donut here either

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Yep, that's the case with my TK40 as well. At about 18 inches away from the wall, the dark "X" disappears.

Come on guys, stop shining lights at white walls and get them outside where you won't even see the dark spots or any other beam artifacts. Use these lights what they were made for - the great outdoors!

Sometimes I think that all of us obsess over shining lights at white walls in the comfort of our homes WAY too much.

Locoboy5150 said:

Use these lights what they were made for - the great outdoors!

Sometimes I think that all of us obsess over shining lights at white walls in the comfort of our homes WAY too much.

Click to expand...

Yep--I agree! :buddies: