Jetbeam RRT01 2020 - Now it has a clicky!

[Fireclaw18]

I have both the long and short clips.

For the 2019 RRT-01 I found that the short clip did not obstruct the ring and worked better if all you were using the clip for was as an anti-roll device.

However, since the COVID shutdown hit I find myself working from home mostly where I'm often wearing exercise shorts or sweatpants. Since I'm not wearing my slacks filled with pocket stuffing, I'm finding it more comfortable to clip my EDC to the side of my pants.

When the clip is actually used for its intended purpose I find the long clip is much better than the short one with the 2019 and 2020 versions. It is much easier to get the clip to slip onto pants that way. The lip of the short clip rests a little too close to where the 2019/2020 body tubes indent and it's hard to get the short clip onto pants with them.

For the 2012 RRT-01 and TCR-01 I find both the long and short clips work well. The body tube doesn't indent so doesn't have the problem with the short clip that the later models have.

 

[jon_slider]

Mine got left on at the button & off at the ring. Battery went dead.

thanks for the report, it prompted me to ask for parasitic drain measurements

word on the street is
the 2012 has a drain of 30uA
the 2019 has a drain of 27uA
the 2020 has a drain of 28uA
Trust but Verify (read the links)
Those numbers mean parasitic drain on a 650mAh battery would take more than 2 years.

here is an example of the math
650 / 0.03 / 24 hours / 365 days = 2.47 years

The lip of the short clip rests a little too close to where the 2019/2020 body tubes indent and it's hard to get the short clip onto pants with them.

I see what you mean
here is a pic of the short clip on a 2019, and on the box you see the long one.

for those unfamiliar
Jetbeam also sells a nice long Titanium clip that shares some McGizmo DNA
as used on the TCR-1 (the Ti version of the 2012 RRT-01):

the McGizmo clip is thicker

random clip pics
Short clip on an HDS Rotary, mod by fyrstormer:

 

[orbital]

+

Running 18500 cell, single extension, on my 2020 version & the stock clip looks proportionate to the entire light.
..would never have thought about it until the last several posts here.

Guess Jetbeam didn't want the the clip to look silly short when running in 18650 config.

 

[Jdubs]

I just got this light and am loving the ability to control the output down to having to squint in a dark room to see any light come out of it, while holding it directly in front of my eyes.

I noticed a small oval shaped hole in the ring. I assume that's a grease port, but shouldn't it be covered? It seems like an easy path for dirt and moisture to get in.

 

[jon_slider]

It seems like an easy path for dirt and moisture to get in.

I think that is a reasonable concern...

there is a similar hole in the tailcap of an HDS, for a different reason

fwiw, I agree it is a bad idea to get dirt or water in the hole

however, the issue may not be as bad as you fear, because there is an O ring, and loctite, that seals the body, under the magnetic ring, thereby sealing the internals of the light, from the hole on the rotary ring.

The RRT-01 rotating ring has magnets, that activate a HAL Effect magnetic switch mechanism that is inside the body. The rotary ring itself IS vulnerable to dirt and grit, but the contamination does not have access into the body of the light.

in this image you can see a red O ring, inside half of the control ring assembly, that gets screwed together, with loctite. The rotating magnetic ring sits on the outside of that sealed assembly. The most vulnerable part of the magnetic ring, is the spring and ball bearing.. they can rust. But again, water and dirt contamination would be outside the sealed internals:

I still would not want to use my RRT-01 under muddy water, nor would I want to bury it in sand and rotate the dial, until rinsing with clear water.

Enjoy your Infinitely Variable Stepless Rotary!

 

[Jdubs]

Thanks for the photo and explanation. I think I will put a small piece of tape over the hole - one less path for grit to enter. It was fun changing the light output by waving a neo magnet around the body of the light!

 

[jabe1]

What wrenches are those please?

I think that is a reasonable concern...

there is a similar hole in the tailcap of an HDS, for a different reason

fwiw, I agree it is a bad idea to get dirt or water in the hole

however, the issue may not be as bad as you fear, because there is an O ring, and loctite, that seals the body, under the magnetic ring, thereby sealing the internals of the light, from the hole on the rotary ring.

The RRT-01 rotating ring has magnets, that activate a HAL Effect magnetic switch mechanism that is inside the body. The rotary ring itself IS vulnerable to dirt and grit, but the contamination does not have access into the body of the light.

in this image you can see a red O ring, inside half of the control ring assembly, that gets screwed together, with loctite. The rotating magnetic ring sits on the outside of that sealed assembly. The most vulnerable part of the magnetic ring, is the spring and ball bearing.. they can rust. But again, water and dirt contamination would be outside the sealed internals:

I still would not want to use my RRT-01 under muddy water, nor would I want to bury it in sand and rotate the dial, until rinsing with clear water.

Enjoy your Infinitely Variable Stepless Rotary!

 

[jon_slider]

What wrenches are those please?

Oveready bezel wrenches
out of stock...

more options

 

[Beamhead]

I purchased 2 of these over the Holidays from 2 different places. One clearly has a detent at full low/off and at full high, the other has none. It almost seems like the ball bearing for the detent is not in the second. Perhaps because it is a mechanical clicky switch now and Jetbeam decided the detent was not needed? Both are the clicky models.

 

[jon_slider]

One clearly has a detent at full low/off and at full high, the other has none.

I agree there is a lot of variation in control ring resistance, and detente strength, between units.

I do not know how to change the detente strength.

I sometimes regrease with Nyogel 767a. It increases the dial resistance, so it is not as easy to turn unintentionally. Which makes me less concerned about a lack of detente, on models without a tailswitch.

hope you enjoy your Stepless Rotary lights
it is my favorite UI, by far...

here is my fanciest Jetbeam Rotary, a Titanium Triple that just arrived from the modder today.

The detente at maximum, is more firm than the one at off, variation again.

 

[:)>]

I did not notice the detents on mine at first but they are noticeable now. I would like to think that I would have noticed them if they were there at the start as they seem distinct to me now... i wonder if they don't "break in" over time.

 

[:)>]

What did you do to add the nyogel? I would prefer a slightly more damped ring myself.

 

[jon_slider]

What did you do to add the nyogel?

well, I dont have the 2020 version.. it seems to have a lubrication hole, but I have never handled one, so dont know if adding nyogel that way would work.

else, disassembly requires breaking the seal between the two control ring halves. then lifting off the control ring and lubricating Under it.

post 65 gives a visual, that happens to be a 2012 RRT-01.

this thread has more photos of rotaries being disassembled, they happen to be Sunwayman Rotaries. The Jetbeam 2020 comes apart the same way. (no need to remove bezel, nor reflector, also no need to unsolder the LED board, you can just go directly to splitting the control ring assembly.) Caution, do not apply force to the control ring itself, only above and below.

You will probably find red loctite, that will need to be cleaned out before reassembly. I replace it with a small amount of blue loctite, which will hold, but wont be as difficult to separate if you decide to change the amount of Nyogel. More makes more resistance.

I also find that detente feel can change with lubrication. Possibly because lube gets into the spring hole, which could either work free, or fill up. Causing a change in detente feel.

I agree that too strong a detente can be a bit inconvenient, as it makes the ring rotate suddenly when the detente releases. But each light is slightly different feeling. If you add thick 767a nyogel, it tends to "float" the detente ball more, so it has less bite.


Ode to Nyogel 767a, the cadillac of control ring lubricants:

On one of my Stepless Rotaries, a NiteEye Eye10, I removed the detente ball and spring, and used extra Nyogel 767a. It is quite difficult to turn the dial now, call it a 10 on a scale of resistance. No way it would happen unintentionally in a pocket or bag.

On a scale of 1-10, I would say the stock dial resistance is about a 3, some even so easy to turn I would call it a 1, I like to improve those. With Nyogel 767a, I can raise the resistance to a 5 (which I like) or even a 10 (overkill).

Ultimately, I aim for a damping rate that requires two fingers to rotate the dial, call it a 5. I dont want the dial to be so easy to turn, that I change brightness unintentionally, with a single finger touch to the dial, that I call a 1.

 

[burntoshine]

I just got the nichia version. It's the first torch I've bought in a while. It's nice to have infinitely variable brightness again. I had a limited high cri sunwayman v11r that just decided to stop working a few years ago; I wish I knew why.

I'm really digging this light so far. And the free rechargeable battery is nice.

I just hope this guy lasts...

cheers

EDIT: Wow, that lowest low is incredibly low! Does anyone else have trouble with standard CR123s? The light runs great with the included battery, but primary 123s rattle around and lose contact. With the extensions, I got a flat-top AW 18650 to work by sticking a folded square of aluminum foil on the positive contact.

REMIX: So my limited "High CRI" Sunwayman v11r started working again, which is really cool. After playing with my new RRT01, out of curiosity, I went and got my v11r, stuck a primary in it, and started messing with it. I clicked it on and off several times, smacked it around a little, and then when I was rotating the ring back and forth, it just came on. It's been several years since it stopped working. I am left bewildered, but happy.

 

[knucklegary]

Burntoshine, Does the NW variant appear "Hi Cri" ?

 

[jon_slider]

primary 123s rattle around and lose contact

The RRT-01 is bored out to 18350 diameter, cr123 and 16340 are 2mm smaller

one solution is to wrap a piece of paper around the narrower batteries

The RRT-01 fits a USA $100 as a tube sleeve when not using 18350
(if on a budget, the USA $1 fits also ;-) )

Does the NW variant appear "Hi Cri" ?

unfortunately, no

 

[knucklegary]

Thanks Jon, I just needed to back pedal a little

 

[burntoshine]

Thank you, Jon! The connection between the battery and the light is inconsistent, even with some paper around it. I didn't have any greenbacks on hand, but I will experiment some more later. I think I'm more interested in finding another battery like the one it came with, and finding a little disc for the positive contact on a flat-top 18650, so I don't have to fold foil; don't neodymium magnets work okay for conducting electricity?

 

[jon_slider]

so I don't have to fold foil; don't neodymium magnets work okay for conducting electricity?

I have no experience doing either of those things.
Also no experience adding solder blobs, and no experience w CR123 primaries either.

fwiw primaries are shorter than protected LiIon,

so they may not have as strong a spring pressure to resist getting slapped around without losing contact..

Hope you find suitable solutions.

for another 18350 w USB charging, maybe try emailing [email protected]
I suspect they wont be able to ship a naked battery, I think it has to be inside the light.

Another option for USB charging any LiIon and also Eneloops,
I use the Olight Universal charger:

 

[Sos24]

Thank you, Jon! The connection between the battery and the light is inconsistent, even with some paper around it. I didn't have any greenbacks on hand, but I will experiment some more later. I think I'm more interested in finding another battery like the one it came with, and finding a little disc for the positive contact on a flat-top 18650, so I don't have to fold foil; don't neodymium magnets work okay for conducting electricity?

If wanting to use 16340s and avoid rattle, you can purchase a sleeve from Overready.

Yes, magnets work great for using flat-top batteries in lights requiring button top. I use 5mm x 1.5mm magnets.