MillerMods
Flashlight Enthusiast
Where do I go for the AAA group buy? I like the sound of that!
0.5w 1AA - AdvancedMart LED-005S
- Thread starter UnknownVT
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carbine15
Flashlight Enthusiast
Link to AAA chinese eBay light group buy
From the sound of things the light appears to be regulated just as well as the bigger AA. it looks so tiny, check out the reviews on pg 1.
No way youre getting it before christmas. No way. Well maybe?
From the sound of things the light appears to be regulated just as well as the bigger AA. it looks so tiny, check out the reviews on pg 1.
No way youre getting it before christmas. No way. Well maybe?
MillerMods wrote: "The retaining screw in the head of the AdvancedMart 1AA gets loose and causes problems with the ground. The design isn't the best because of the mechanical conection for the only ground source the circuit has. Try cleaning the surfaces of both the circuit's ground and the retaining screw. The problem will be solved. The circuit itself is a perfectly reliable design, be rest assured that the mechanical connection is the fault."
This is one of the possibilities for the reports of QC problems I've read.
If one backs off the retaining aluminum screw ring in the head, or remove it completely - the light will not work - so it is one of the vital electrical connections for the light.
However when I reported my problems to John at AdvancedMart - he very kindly said I could take the light apart to see what was wrong - in fact he actually encouraged me - when I said I was reluctant since I may not be able to put the light back together again. He even showed me a photo of the CR123 version to help illustrate disassembly (note this board is different to the one in the AM LED-005S) -
http://advancedmart.com/halwattinside.jpg
So here are some of my findings -
Anodized threads - this has been pointed out by others as a potential problem - the threads are anodized (no electrical conductivity) but they have been scraped to bare parts - but not the recessed parts (see my photo above of the tailcap). I can confirm this - just trying to take current draw readings will show that it is hard to make good contact with the threads.
Further evidence - the switch is dependent on making contact with the tailcap threads - but the inner threads of the tailcap are also anodized. I found by tightening the similar retaining aluminum screw ring in the tailcap one can cause the light not to work. I also found the switch was also rotational/position sensitive - so the tightening or loosening of the retaining screw which can rotate the switch can cause the light not to work - or be intermittent or even flicker.
(Important note: my switch was not at fault - I was able to confirm connection between the central spring and the bare alumium retaining screw ring - yet there were times when the tailcap threads showed NO connection and the flashlight did NOT work)
Now the threads - as far as I could see - inside the tube at the head are also anodized and I could not see any bare metal (remember I had a black one so it was easier to see) so I can't figure how that retaining screw ring was even making any contact with the body tube at all - but it obviously was, since I could make the light work by making sure that ring was screwed down properly.
When I relayed this information to John at AdvancedMart he said he didn't think this was the problem - it was possibly a loose wire on the induction coil on the board that was the cause.....
Another point the +ve contact is actually a simple solder blob. Although it is probably mostly OK - there is the potential of the blob wearing down so that good contact with the +ve button on an AA battery becomes unreliable
Therefore I don't think I could pick just one and say it was the cause of the problems reported.
Since I think there are at least three or four potential problems - any one, or a combination, or all of them, could cause problems.
The loose head screw ring is simple enough to correct by just tightening - one does not even need long thin needle nosed pliers - a long thin screwdriver or punch that fits one of the holes will do fine.
Anodized threads - this I think is not only a potential area - but an inherent problem - since all the vital electrical connections are done via the threads. It would be much better if the threads were bare metal aluminum.
Other flashlight manufacturers have managed this with lights that are anodized both inside and out (eg: MiniMag) - I think they anodize the machined parts - then cut in the threds AFTERwards........
If there is a loose wire on the inductor coil on the board - this will require removal of the board - which I was reluctant to do - even with John's permission/encouragement - as I could not figure out how to get the board out since there were no holes or cut-outs on this board to gain purchase - there were two small holes, but they had what looked like locator lugs in them - which would probably mean I'd break them retrieving the board - this would defeat the whole point of disassembly to inspect the board as I probably would not be able to put everything back correctly for the light to work properly.......
Solder blob contact - watch for wear and clean occassionally to avoid problems.
Anyway those are my thoughts/speculation -
feel free to add other possibilities.
In the end I really like the size and form factor of this light - and hope the QC and reliability will improve -
for all of us.
This is one of the possibilities for the reports of QC problems I've read.
If one backs off the retaining aluminum screw ring in the head, or remove it completely - the light will not work - so it is one of the vital electrical connections for the light.
However when I reported my problems to John at AdvancedMart - he very kindly said I could take the light apart to see what was wrong - in fact he actually encouraged me - when I said I was reluctant since I may not be able to put the light back together again. He even showed me a photo of the CR123 version to help illustrate disassembly (note this board is different to the one in the AM LED-005S) -
http://advancedmart.com/halwattinside.jpg
So here are some of my findings -
Anodized threads - this has been pointed out by others as a potential problem - the threads are anodized (no electrical conductivity) but they have been scraped to bare parts - but not the recessed parts (see my photo above of the tailcap). I can confirm this - just trying to take current draw readings will show that it is hard to make good contact with the threads.
Further evidence - the switch is dependent on making contact with the tailcap threads - but the inner threads of the tailcap are also anodized. I found by tightening the similar retaining aluminum screw ring in the tailcap one can cause the light not to work. I also found the switch was also rotational/position sensitive - so the tightening or loosening of the retaining screw which can rotate the switch can cause the light not to work - or be intermittent or even flicker.
(Important note: my switch was not at fault - I was able to confirm connection between the central spring and the bare alumium retaining screw ring - yet there were times when the tailcap threads showed NO connection and the flashlight did NOT work)
Now the threads - as far as I could see - inside the tube at the head are also anodized and I could not see any bare metal (remember I had a black one so it was easier to see) so I can't figure how that retaining screw ring was even making any contact with the body tube at all - but it obviously was, since I could make the light work by making sure that ring was screwed down properly.
When I relayed this information to John at AdvancedMart he said he didn't think this was the problem - it was possibly a loose wire on the induction coil on the board that was the cause.....
Another point the +ve contact is actually a simple solder blob. Although it is probably mostly OK - there is the potential of the blob wearing down so that good contact with the +ve button on an AA battery becomes unreliable
Therefore I don't think I could pick just one and say it was the cause of the problems reported.
Since I think there are at least three or four potential problems - any one, or a combination, or all of them, could cause problems.
The loose head screw ring is simple enough to correct by just tightening - one does not even need long thin needle nosed pliers - a long thin screwdriver or punch that fits one of the holes will do fine.
Anodized threads - this I think is not only a potential area - but an inherent problem - since all the vital electrical connections are done via the threads. It would be much better if the threads were bare metal aluminum.
Other flashlight manufacturers have managed this with lights that are anodized both inside and out (eg: MiniMag) - I think they anodize the machined parts - then cut in the threds AFTERwards........
If there is a loose wire on the inductor coil on the board - this will require removal of the board - which I was reluctant to do - even with John's permission/encouragement - as I could not figure out how to get the board out since there were no holes or cut-outs on this board to gain purchase - there were two small holes, but they had what looked like locator lugs in them - which would probably mean I'd break them retrieving the board - this would defeat the whole point of disassembly to inspect the board as I probably would not be able to put everything back correctly for the light to work properly.......
Solder blob contact - watch for wear and clean occassionally to avoid problems.
Anyway those are my thoughts/speculation -
feel free to add other possibilities.
In the end I really like the size and form factor of this light - and hope the QC and reliability will improve -
for all of us.
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jtice
Flashaholic
Looks pretty nice, especially for the price.
eh hem, group buy?
would make good gifts
~John
eh hem, group buy?
would make good gifts
~John
MillerMods
Flashlight Enthusiast
I stand corrected UnkownVT, it seems these little lights, although neat, can be huge pains in the butt! I will stand by the assessment that I don't believe there is anything wrong with these circuits. They are way too simple for this kind of fall out. The inductor is a potted leaded component. I have used these types in the industry for years, they are a very reliable design. Thanks for letting us know about the other things to look out for!
MillerMods wrote: "I stand corrected UnkownVT, it seems these little lights, although neat, can be huge pains in the butt! I will stand by the assessment that I don't believe there is anything wrong with these circuits. They are way too simple for this kind of fall out. The inductor is a potted leaded component. I have used these types in the industry for years, they are a very reliable design. Thanks for letting us know about the other things to look out for!"
Absolutely no correction needed to your input about the retaining screw ring -
it is one of the potential areas for problems, and because it so simple to fix - one should try this first to see if solves the problem.
The other areas are still my speculation, or what I've been told of potential problems.
I thank you for your take on the coil -
it is always good to hear from well experienced people in these matters
.
But please bear in mind John at AdvancedMart probably has seen more of this particular flashlight than probably anyone - since he sells them and has to handle the returns.....
Thanks
Absolutely no correction needed to your input about the retaining screw ring -
it is one of the potential areas for problems, and because it so simple to fix - one should try this first to see if solves the problem.
The other areas are still my speculation, or what I've been told of potential problems.
I thank you for your take on the coil -
it is always good to hear from well experienced people in these matters
But please bear in mind John at AdvancedMart probably has seen more of this particular flashlight than probably anyone - since he sells them and has to handle the returns.....
Thanks
carbine15
Flashlight Enthusiast
Ive had two out of three of these develop problems and i am now convinced that with a little TLc these make 100% reliable EDC lights. One big problem i had is the fact that the collar that holds the led module up against the glass lens is too thick and wont let the pos+ terminal on the battery make contact (or solid contact) with the light engine. My solution to this was to heat up my solder gun and drop a bigger blob of solder on the center of the terminal. Now they are fully funtional. They don't flicker or flintch even when dropped, smacked and otherwise abused. It also helps to roll some paper or something in the tube with the battery to keep it from slamming around in there. There is quite a lot of room in there. While it was open i applied some additional water tighteing behind the glass lens (yes it's glass). I am totaly confident that if you have a soldering gun and your light doesnt have a bad switch (fingers crossed) you too can have a regulated bright long lasting EDC AA keychain light for less than $20 shipped. I got mine for $14. Just remember to choose USPS as the shipping option. You'll get it sooner and for less $. Also i like my black one better so it's the silver ones that are becoming gifts this Christmas.
carbine15 wrote: "Ive had two out of three of these develop problems and i am now convinced that with a little TLc these make 100% reliable EDC lights. One big problem i had is the fact that the collar that holds the led module up against the glass lens is too thick and wont let the pos+ terminal on the battery make contact (or solid contact) with the light engine. My solution to this was to heat up my solder gun and drop a bigger blob of solder on the center of the terminal. Now they are fully funtional. They don't flicker or flintch even when dropped, smacked and otherwise abused."
Many thanks for that input.
The solder blob for the +ve contact was one of my speculated suspect problem areas.
On the only two samples I've seen - the solder blobs were actually surprisingly quite neat - and they were well proud of the retaining aluminum screw ring in the head.
But being mere solder blobs - they are subject to wear and denting more easily than regular metal contacts........
However your input is another point well worth checking.
You are right when these light work well they are very worthwhile - but it is simply almost all the possible electrical contact points can be suspect and need some close examination.
To be fair the current silver one I have has not developed any problems and remains reliable and bright (with typical and frequent comparisons with other 0.5watt lights
) - however looking at the lubing on the threads - I suspect John at AdvancedMart may have given it some TLC
before he shipped it as the replacement for my initial troubled black one.
Thanks
Many thanks for that input.
The solder blob for the +ve contact was one of my speculated suspect problem areas.
On the only two samples I've seen - the solder blobs were actually surprisingly quite neat - and they were well proud of the retaining aluminum screw ring in the head.
But being mere solder blobs - they are subject to wear and denting more easily than regular metal contacts........
However your input is another point well worth checking.
You are right when these light work well they are very worthwhile - but it is simply almost all the possible electrical contact points can be suspect and need some close examination.
To be fair the current silver one I have has not developed any problems and remains reliable and bright (with typical and frequent comparisons with other 0.5watt lights
Thanks
Just got this black bodied version that John at AdvancedMart sent me (thanks John!
)
Heads -
Comparison beamshots -
This black one seems to have a smaller but slightly more intense hotspot than the silver one - the tint also seems very slightly better too. The tail-switch is also slightly more positive feeling. All slight differences that are noticable side-by-side - but probably make no difference in practice.
Overall, if they remain reliable, I really like this light for its size, form factor and performance - good brightness with good (reported at 6+ hours) runtime on a single regular alkaline AA.
Heads -
Comparison beamshots -
This black one seems to have a smaller but slightly more intense hotspot than the silver one - the tint also seems very slightly better too. The tail-switch is also slightly more positive feeling. All slight differences that are noticable side-by-side - but probably make no difference in practice.
Overall, if they remain reliable, I really like this light for its size, form factor and performance - good brightness with good (reported at 6+ hours) runtime on a single regular alkaline AA.
IsaacHayes
Flashlight Enthusiast
Nice light for a nice price. Good for those who want something like this but can't afford the Fenix. Fenix I'd say is a "middle class" cost light. With surefire/mcgizmo/etc being high class. This is a cheap light that seems to be really good.
If I didn't have a Fenix, this thread would of got me to buy one in black.
If I didn't have a Fenix, this thread would of got me to buy one in black.
0.5 watt, 1/2 watt....?
I started to wonder if two of these lights might match a 1 watt Luxeon like the Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium) - OK, maybe I do have too much time.....
It was easy enough to hold these two AdvancedMart 0.5w 1AA together so that the hotspots coincided and compare that with the Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium) (and a S1801 1w Luxeon 1xCR123 )
Just shining these lights on walls and ceilings around the house - they kind of looked comparable even side-by-side - actually even the general beam characteristcs - in terms of size of hotspot and side-spill corona looked similar - even at distances like about 15 feet...... different tints made it harder for me to say if they were the same brightness - but it seemed close.
2x AdvancedMart 0.5 1AA vs. Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium)
As a control -
the black bodied AM 0.5w 1AA on its own vs. Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium)
I started to wonder if two of these lights might match a 1 watt Luxeon like the Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium) - OK, maybe I do have too much time.....
It was easy enough to hold these two AdvancedMart 0.5w 1AA together so that the hotspots coincided and compare that with the Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium) (and a S1801 1w Luxeon 1xCR123 )
Just shining these lights on walls and ceilings around the house - they kind of looked comparable even side-by-side - actually even the general beam characteristcs - in terms of size of hotspot and side-spill corona looked similar - even at distances like about 15 feet...... different tints made it harder for me to say if they were the same brightness - but it seemed close.
2x AdvancedMart 0.5 1AA vs. Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium)
As a control -
the black bodied AM 0.5w 1AA on its own vs. Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium)
IsaacHayes
Flashlight Enthusiast
The Fenix still seems to be brighter...
Beacon of Light
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2005
- Messages
- 2,054
Interesting. So basically for $28 you can a dual beam similar to the Fenix. Actually looks like a wider spot as well as a wider corona for the dual Advance mart setup.
About half price and twice the run time, although you are using 2 - AA's in the dual setup.
On the otherhand you'd have the bulkiness of 2 lights versus the 1 Fenix. I'm sure there's an easy way to secure the 2 lights with a lanyard that would be rock solid.
Theoretically with the dual flashlight setup, can't you make the hotspot as well as the overall corona wider by just spacing the 2 lights apart and then securing them together?
About half price and twice the run time, although you are using 2 - AA's in the dual setup.
On the otherhand you'd have the bulkiness of 2 lights versus the 1 Fenix. I'm sure there's an easy way to secure the 2 lights with a lanyard that would be rock solid.
Theoretically with the dual flashlight setup, can't you make the hotspot as well as the overall corona wider by just spacing the 2 lights apart and then securing them together?
Beacon of Light
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2005
- Messages
- 2,054
IsaacHayes said:
It does??? The dual Advancemart makes the Fenix look like an incandescent with the yellower hotspot and corona...
IsaacHayes wrote: "The Fenix still seems to be brighter..."
Please be sure you're looking at the correct set of beamshots....
There are TWO sets of beamshots
the upper set is the one using the 2 x 0.5watts
The lower set is a control which shows the single 0.5watt to be noticably lower brightness than the Fenix.
However to my eyes - and please look at the (upper) -2 Stops Underexposed beamshot - the 2x AM 0.5w seems to show about the same amount/intensity of side-spill, and the combined "hotspot" may be a shade bigger.....
Like I said it's close.
Please be sure you're looking at the correct set of beamshots....
There are TWO sets of beamshots
the upper set is the one using the 2 x 0.5watts
The lower set is a control which shows the single 0.5watt to be noticably lower brightness than the Fenix.
However to my eyes - and please look at the (upper) -2 Stops Underexposed beamshot - the 2x AM 0.5w seems to show about the same amount/intensity of side-spill, and the combined "hotspot" may be a shade bigger.....
Like I said it's close.
After problems with my first sample of this light, and the input from CPF members - I am pleased to report that the two samples I have, for about a month now, have been reliable and solid - as one would expect from LED lights.
I have not experienced any flicker - and I like this light more and more.
0.5watt seems to be a nice balance between brightness and runtime for a single AA light.
The AdvancedMart 0.5watt are noticably less blue than the 0.5watt LEDs in the Nuwai lights (eg: Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA (TM-310H) ) - these are something between the blueness of a typical 5mm LED and the (nicer tinted) Luxeons.
Although side-by-side the Luxeon will show much more pleasent tint - in practice these AdvancedMart 0.5watts would still be considered a pretty good white.
Brightness is definitely a step up from the typical 5mm LED and although definitely not as bright as a Luxeon - it nevertheless hold its own quite well.
The silver colored one I have has a pretty large hotspot almost the size of the flood-spot produced by the 8LED 1AA "Xnova" New I like this characteristic a lot - its side-spill corona makes the light even better.
For most indoors use the light works well lighting up things 12-15feet away - ie: across a normal sized room.
Outdoors it will not light up things for any real viewing hundreds of feet away - but I don't expect that - for things within about 12-15 feet range the light is admirable.
In other words it's a very practical and pocketable light that gives enough brightness with good beam characteristics and pleasent tint - running just over 6hours on a single plain alkaline AA battery.....
what's not to like?
I have not experienced any flicker - and I like this light more and more.
0.5watt seems to be a nice balance between brightness and runtime for a single AA light.
The AdvancedMart 0.5watt are noticably less blue than the 0.5watt LEDs in the Nuwai lights (eg: Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA (TM-310H) ) - these are something between the blueness of a typical 5mm LED and the (nicer tinted) Luxeons.
Although side-by-side the Luxeon will show much more pleasent tint - in practice these AdvancedMart 0.5watts would still be considered a pretty good white.
Brightness is definitely a step up from the typical 5mm LED and although definitely not as bright as a Luxeon - it nevertheless hold its own quite well.
The silver colored one I have has a pretty large hotspot almost the size of the flood-spot produced by the 8LED 1AA "Xnova" New I like this characteristic a lot - its side-spill corona makes the light even better.
For most indoors use the light works well lighting up things 12-15feet away - ie: across a normal sized room.
Outdoors it will not light up things for any real viewing hundreds of feet away - but I don't expect that - for things within about 12-15 feet range the light is admirable.
In other words it's a very practical and pocketable light that gives enough brightness with good beam characteristics and pleasent tint - running just over 6hours on a single plain alkaline AA battery.....
what's not to like?
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