Shooter21
Enlightened
Jorn why not just sell it instead of killing it?
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NEW Maratac AA cu (Copper)
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Shooter21
Enlightened
I guess I'm not sensitive to pwm since i don't see it in mine.
turkeylord
Enlightened
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2012
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No, havent tested a full run on the mini with tailstanding. I only use that one on max when held in my hand. But this thing is old by now (first version mini with neutral xp-e), and i only run 14500's in it, so i dont think it will die on me anytime soon.
When i bought the copper aa i assumed it was current controlled like the new rev2 aaa's. If i had known it's pwm, i would never have bought it.
Shipping rates in Norway is among the highest in the world. So let's just say it's not worth it for me to send it anywhere (not even across the street) with the postal service. Im not rich, but far from broke
, so no problems doing some "public service" trying to burn it with some 14500's. It took 2 14500 in a row, tailstanding. No harm done (that i can see or smell on the light.) It did get hot, i was worried for my 14500's Got a lumapower lm21 back today, modded it with a 219 hi cri a while ago, but dident like it, and ended up giving it to a friend as a b.day gift. (my worst light experience ever). She told me it dident work no more and if it was something i could fix. Driver is fried, so I'll give her the maratac aa tomorrow and say i fixed it.
(of course im keeping the crappy lm21 and pry that nichia219 out and get the led back in my arms.) Maby it finds it way into the Maratac cu aaa rev2 (really love that one).The pwm is not the worst i have seen. And you wont notice it when your doing most everyday stuff. Like walking into a room looking for stuff etc. I notice pwm when there is motion + reflective surfaces around me. Im a caveman and like to fish hunt etc. And the times i walk past reflective stuff like a mountian lake, or traveling down a river... The light bouncing back at me makes it look like i'm walking past a disco. And i end up putting it into full blast mode with no pwm just so it wont "strobe me". Then problem 2 comes.. (Runtime on full blast with 14500 is pretty lo, and heat buildup is pretty high). So for me, pwm is almost always a red flag. Around the house it's not that bad, but aleredy got the mini for that. so.. i wont keep this one.
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calipsoii
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2010
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- 1,412
My Cu AA arrived a couple weeks ago. First impressions:
It's a nice copper light and I'm glad I got one for my collection, but it's currently sitting unused on my flashlight shelf with the others. I think it's the UI that bugs me - I'm at the point where I don't want multiple levels on a twisty. Plus the Low is so low that I almost always need High, meaning turning it on is always a 2-twist dance.
Verdict: Good-looking torch and good value for the price. Nice stock emitter choice. Noticeable PWM on low.
- Surprisingly light given it's size & material. I'd bet the walls are super thin.
- The clip felt cheap and wobbled too much for comfort. A light this small barely needs it anyways - it's the same length as a Swiss Army Knife so just drop it in your pocket and forget it. I pulled the clip & lanyard ring off.
- Nice machining on the body and threads. Very little of the gritty threads that the v1 AAA had.
- Low-mode PWM is noticeable but only barely. My Haiku has it worse.
- Levels are well-spaced; high is a pleasantly bright.
- The stock LED is a pleasing cool white tint (on mine). No green or purple. Modded a Nichia 219 into the light and lost a lot of output which makes me wonder if they used an XP-G2? As with all Nichia 219 mods, the hotspot got a lot more diffuse too, so that's probably part of why it appears dimmer.
It's a nice copper light and I'm glad I got one for my collection, but it's currently sitting unused on my flashlight shelf with the others. I think it's the UI that bugs me - I'm at the point where I don't want multiple levels on a twisty. Plus the Low is so low that I almost always need High, meaning turning it on is always a 2-twist dance.
Verdict: Good-looking torch and good value for the price. Nice stock emitter choice. Noticeable PWM on low.
Shooter21
Enlightened
What's the easiest way to detect PWM, would a video camera make it easy to detect it?
calipsoii
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2010
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If your eyes can't detect it, what's the worry? There's nothing inherently wrong with using PWM to dim a light - manufacturers just need to keep the frequency high enough that people can't see it.
(As you can tell, the bad stigma PWM has around here bugs me. There's nothing wrong with PWM done right, but too many people do it wrong)
Anyways, I'll stop being such a grumpy old miser now. The easiest way to detect PWM is to look at the light through the digital viewfinder on your camera. You will see a series of dots rapidly scrolling up and down above the emitter:
mhphoto
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2010
- Messages
- 112
Drooling over the AA!
The light came with the post a few weeks ago. I took it out of the box, felt the light weight and played with it for a few minutes. The aa is bigger than the aaa, but feels like its not as we'll built.
It has since that day been stored in its box. I guess my grandmother needs a new light for trips to the basement.
I took it out of the box, felt the light weight and played with it for a few minutes. The aa is bigger than the aaa, but feels like its not as we'll built. It has since that day been stored in its box. I guess my grandmother needs a new light for trips to the basement.
I broke down and finally got one after wanting one for a while now and I'm not be able to see pwm on mine, guess I'm just lucky.
I just did the same. I have been meaning to get one for a long while. Now I'm just waiting for the UPS man.
turkeylord
Enlightened
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2012
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- 410
Still thinking about picking one of these up, I just really wish they made a neutral and didn't have potential PWM problems. I wonder if I could swap the guts from an L3 L10 into one... I have two 219 L10s I'm pretty happy with, but that copper body... :lipbite
yoyoman
Flashlight Enthusiast
Has anyone run this one with li-ions yet?
I know you can with the AAA and AA versions, but has anyone put a 16340 (or even better a 18350 IMR, but that's wishful thinking) in this one?
I know you can with the AAA and AA versions, but has anyone put a 16340 (or even better a 18350 IMR, but that's wishful thinking) in this one?
turkeylord
Enlightened
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2012
- Messages
- 410
This light is AA/14500 sized, no way you'll fit anything bigger. See jorns posts quoted below.It did fine on the first battery, and im now on the second one. Im not going to do more than 2 14500's in a row. All this heat can't be good for my presious 14500's haha. Took 2 temprature sensors from the computer and put one on the head near the led and one under the base of the clip at the bottom. 67celsius at the head and 60 C under the clip. Dont know how accurate theese sensors are. But my hand feels the same thing. Burning hot, even at the tail end
Been carrying mine for the last week and it's okay. I like the aaa one better. Agreed on the clip and the lanyard rung. Neither fit as nice as on the aaa. O ring was caught/stretched in threading out of the package so immediately replaced and lubed so much better now.
The knurling on mine has bothered me. It felt as if it wasn't finished all the way. I removed the clip and when I put it back on I sliced my finger and a knurling edge. So clop removed and I filed down the knurling peaks. It feels way better now. Closer to the feel of the AAA now.
yoyoman
Flashlight Enthusiast
I have a Maratac Alu AAA and don't really like it. I don't like the H - L UI, the beam is ugly and the PWM bugs me. But I couldn't resist these copper beauties. And I'm glad I couldn't resist. They are both improvements over the Alu AAA. L - H UI which is my preference. The low on the AA is lower than the AAA. The beams are nice even if the tint isn't neutral and the PWM is not noticeable. I'm running Li-ion cells and the copper spreads the heat nicely. They are bright. The knurling on the AA is a little rougher than on the AAA and dirty. The machining for the lanyard ring is out of tolerance - the wire doesn't sit in the slots and sticks out. I'll have to remove it, which is too bad.
I ordered these from Miles and he is an honest guy. His honesty on the customs form cost me 30% in import duties and taxes. I'm much more comfortable dealing with honest people and don't mind paying the tax.
Edit
I use the method mentioned below to test PWM. On the Alu AAA, the strobe effect is there. On the coppers, it is more like a blur. Good improvement.
I ordered these from Miles and he is an honest guy. His honesty on the customs form cost me 30% in import duties and taxes. I'm much more comfortable dealing with honest people and don't mind paying the tax.
Edit
I use the method mentioned below to test PWM. On the Alu AAA, the strobe effect is there. On the coppers, it is more like a blur. Good improvement.
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kaichu dento
Flashaholic
Just a note of correction; the XP-E can have a tighter hotspot given the same reflector, but that doesn't mean it can't be paired in such a way as to have a very gentle and floody hotspot, as shown by the LF2-XT and its XP-G like beam pattern.
Shine the light on one hand with the fingers out and wave your hand back and forth. It will either show blurred fingers (preferable) or multiples, and if the latter, then the more fingers you see, the better, as it indicates a higher PWM rate.
+1
I'd like to have one, but the whole PWM issue is probably the biggest reason I haven't yet picked one up. You can always change out an ugly emitter, but eliminating the PWM would require a much more problematic engine swap.
Hope someone comes up with a reasonably simple solution, at which point I'll definitely be getting one.
stienke
Enlightened
Buy the copper one , maybe in the future they stop making copper ones and make only aluminium , then you can buy one and swap the engines/led for one with no PWM.
I have the AAA/AA and Cr123 and I can't see the PWM with the naked eye in daily use but I know it's there if I look with my camera into the light!
I'm glad I own these little beauties and the nice patina that showes up with daily use , I don't like shiny copper:sick2:
I have the AAA/AA and Cr123 and I can't see the PWM with the naked eye in daily use but I know it's there if I look with my camera into the light!
I'm glad I own these little beauties and the nice patina that showes up with daily use , I don't like shiny copper:sick2:
