# Armytek Wizard question



## RedForest UK (Jan 3, 2015)

I have the normal non-pro Wizard in warm white and have recently encountered an issue with it.

The problem I am having started as just a 'pre-flash' of a higher level when switching on in the 50 lumen mode (lowest of the main group). I thought this was odd as I hadn't seen it on my old Wizard pro, but that it may be normal for the non-pro versions. I found the 500 lumen and '1200 lumen' (I measure them as around 550 and 750) to be almost indistinguishable with a partially discharged battery too but think that is just due to lack of regulation on the turbo mode.

Anyway, when I used it in the cold a couple of days ago I found that if I double click to go to turbo mode then double click to go back to the main 50 lumen mode that it then instead comes out as around 250-300 lumens. It is not switching to Main 2 250 lumen mode, as if I then cycle through the main modes I get two small increases to slightly higher modes. 

So the problem is that while in normal use the main modes are about 50 - 250 - 550, if I switch up to turbo in cold weather, then switch back, the main modes change to something like 300 - 400 - 600, losing the 50 lumen mode.

I was wondering if anyone else could replicate this behaviour on their own Wizards, or simply if the pre-flash on the 50 lumen 'Main 1' mode is normal (I think this may be related in that the circuit is unable to switch down to the true 40 lumen mode when cold and having been in turbo for some reason and instead stays at the level of the very brief flash).

Thanks in advance for any input.


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## RedForest UK (Jan 8, 2015)

Does no-one else with a Wizard have any input? 

Really just to know if others also have the preflash on Main 1 mode (40-50 lumen) would be very helpful.


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## SubLGT (Jan 8, 2015)

I see the brief preflash with my sample.


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## Charles L. (Jan 8, 2015)

Don't see it with my Wizard Pro.


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## fnsooner (Jan 8, 2015)

I have the Armytek Wizard XM-L2 (Warm 90CRI) and it doesn't have any preflash from off to low. Mine doesn't have preflash from off to any mode. It goes straight to to the last mode it was on without any preflash. Nor does mine have any weird anomalies when switching back and forth between turbo and the main modes.


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## RedForest UK (Jan 9, 2015)

Thanks for the responses, it's interesting that there seems to be some variance in whether the pre-flash is there or not even from the few people posting in so far. I never saw the pre-flash with my Wizard pro either so I would guess it may be related to the non-pro firmware.



fnsooner said:


> I have the Armytek Wizard XM-L2 (Warm 90CRI) and it doesn't have any preflash from off to low. Mine doesn't have preflash from off to any mode. It goes straight to to the last mode it was on without any preflash. Nor does mine have any weird anomalies when switching back and forth between turbo and the main modes.



Thanks. One thing I would repeat is that the weird mode level changes were only present while the light itself was very cold (i.e. had been outside in around 0'C without being switched on for a few minutes. I don't see it at all at room temperature. It's a possibility that if you were to put the Wizard in the freezer for half an hour then test it again that it may show up with yours too. Although as it doesn't show the pre-flash it may not be susceptible to the same issue at all. (Please post the results if you do find yourself curious enough to try it out!) 

Anyway, Sandra at Armytek has referred my issue to their engineers and they advised me to send the light back in again where it will be assessed and replaced with the V2 firmware version.


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## SubLGT (Jan 9, 2015)

RedForest UK said:


> ………….One thing I would repeat is that the weird mode level changes were only present while the light itself was very cold (i.e. had been outside in around 0'C without being switched on for a few minutes. I don't see it at all at room temperature……………..



What happens when you put a warm, fully charged battery into the cold Wizard and test it?


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## RedForest UK (Jan 10, 2015)

SubLGT said:


> What happens when you put a warm, fully charged battery into the cold Wizard and test it?



Good point. I've just tested it this afternoon. I put it in the freezer this time as it isn't so cold outside anymore, but the glitch was the still there with the warm cell. In fact, this time the low mode was at the higher level even from the start, before switching up to turbo and back. That may be due to the even colder temperature of the light than before though having been in the freezer for 20 minutes. It seems to be a graded effect with the brightness increase of the Main modes lessening slowly as the light warms up as opposed to suddenly switching back to normal at some point.


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## SubLGT (Jan 10, 2015)

Have any of your Armytek headlamps been problem free? You seem to have bad luck with them.


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## RedForest UK (Jan 11, 2015)

Well my Wizard pro from the first run had the few well-documented glitches, mainly with the temperature indication. The replacement for that had most of the original issues fixed but again had a glitchy temperature indication warning; the colour switch LEDs wouldn't go past green/yellow warning and instead switched off or went into a random flashing or constant on of green/yellow while the 5 flashes of the main LED would sometimes repeat indefinitely. 

After that I opted for a non-pro Wizard and non-pro Tiara as a replacement instead of another Wizard pro. I think I paid the price difference with a bit of a discount, Armytek were very helpful in arranging a deal for this actually. I hoped that as these didn't have the coloured thermal warnings that they would be problem free.

The tiara, as far as I can tell, functions perfectly. I haven't seen any issues with it and it certainly doesn't have the same one that I have started this thread about, and no preflash on any levels. The non-pro Wizard however does seem to again be faulty. 

It is frustrating that I keep having to send lights back and wait a month or so for a replacement. But they are refunding me $15 each time I return one, which more than covers my postage costs and it means that I keep getting repeated updates to the latest version as well, so I'm not actually to unhappy with the whole process, as long as I eventually get a fully functional Wizard!


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## fnsooner (Jan 11, 2015)

I put my Wizard in the freezer for a couple of hours, batteries and all, and then checked its operation immediately after and it had no problems. 

I really haven't put this headlamp through much usage since I got it. For whatever reason, I like my Zebralight flashlights better. I think I will make it my primary headlamp for a while to see if it can live up to the claims of reliability. I do like the toasty warm tint.


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## SubLGT (Jan 11, 2015)

I did the freezer test on my standard Wizard-warm (45 minutes at 0 degF) with a warm battery, and had no malfunctions. It does have the preflash at room temperature.
I still have a strong dislike for the very stiff switch on the Wizard. There is no sense to installing a very stiff switch in a flashlight that has a tailcap lockout feature.


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## Charles L. (Jan 11, 2015)

fnsooner;458143
I really haven't put this headlamp through much usage since I got it. For whatever reason said:


> +1. Unless and until my H600F fails (one year of continued use to date, zero issues), it will remain my favorite headlamp. Wizard Pro is second favorite but its UI is too fussy, its button too small and stiff, and it is just that much heavier.
> 
> Redforest UK, sorry to hear about your issues. Hopefully you'll have a properly-functioning Wizard soon!


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## D6859 (Jan 12, 2015)

RedForest UK said:


> Does no-one else with a Wizard have any input?
> 
> Really just to know if others also have the preflash on Main 1 mode (40-50 lumen) would be very helpful.



Just got my Wizard Pro XM-L2 today. It has that a little annoying pre-flash when turning on to Main 1 level or when changing from Firefly 2 mode to Main 1. The pref-lash happens in room temperature. I haven't tested it in cold yet so I cannot tell if it returns to 50 lm mode or 250 lm mode from trubo. In room temperature it seems to work right. 

I've read something that LEDs are more effective in cold but I don't think that only cold weather can turn 50 lm level into 250 lm level... 



SubLGT said:


> I still have a strong dislike for the very stiff switch on the Wizard. There is no sense to installing a very stiff switch in a flashlight that has a tailcap lockout feature.



Unless you want to keep the switch blinking but don't want it to turn on accidentally (but then again, what's the idea of having a blinking button if you keep the headlamp stuffed into a place where it can turn on accidentally...). I like that the switch is stiff though, but it is too small and therefore really hard to find with your gloves on.

Edit: Forgot to mention my Tiara A1 Pro is working flawlessly too.


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## s013202 (Jan 16, 2015)

I just got my wizard pro,all operations work well except the state indication.I don't know how to turn it on,the manual is too difficult to read for me.
Can anyone teach me the operation of turning on/off of the state indication in detail?


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## D6859 (Jan 16, 2015)

s013202 said:


> I just got my wizard pro,all operations work well except the state indication.I don't know how to turn it on,the manual is too difficult to read for me.
> Can anyone teach me the operation of turning on/off of the state indication in detail?



-Unscrew the tailcap 1/4
-Press the button and keep it pressed
-Tighten the tailcap and open it 1/4 while pressing the button
-Release the button
-Tighten the tailcap and indicator should be turned on/off
Notice that the button is stiff so you may accidentally release it. Try turning the tailcap slowly and make sure it is tight.

Here is the manual in pdf format which you can zoom, if the small text is the problem. I think the picture for switching off/on of State Indication is misleading.
http://www.armytek.com/index.php?dispatch=attachments.getfile&attachment_id=37


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## ArmyTek (Jan 16, 2015)

Good day!

Please if you have service problems, please contact *[email protected]* and describe your problem via email to our specialists. 

Best Regards,
Armytek


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## s013202 (Jan 16, 2015)

D6859 said:


> -Unscrew the tailcap 1/4
> -Press the button and keep it pressed
> -Tighten the tailcap and open it 1/4 while pressing the button
> -Release the button
> ...



Thanks a lot!!It works now!And indeed, the picture for switching off/on of State Indication is misleading!
Besides,I also find some bugs in switching between tactical and general mode.


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## D6859 (Jan 16, 2015)

If want to change into normal mode from tactical, simply unscrew the tailcap and tighten it. Don't press the button. 

It took me some time today to figure out how it works too...


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## s013202 (Jan 16, 2015)

D6859 said:


> If want to change into normal mode from tactical, simply unscrew the tailcap and tighten it. Don't press the button.
> 
> It took me some time today to figure out how it works too...



Yeah,but I found a bug of changing into normal mode from tactical when State Indication is on.
The operation of "unscrewing the tailcap and tighten it" must be down slowly or it will fail,but with State Indication is off, 
it can be down quickly.
With State Indication is on,to add a click before "unscrewing the tailcap and tighten it" can make it works!


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## D6859 (Jan 17, 2015)

s013202 said:


> Yeah,but I found a bug of changing into normal mode from tactical when State Indication is on.
> The operation of "unscrewing the tailcap and tighten it" must be down slowly or it will fail,but with State Indication is off,
> it can be down quickly.
> With State Indication is on,to add a click before "unscrewing the tailcap and tighten it" can make it works!



Didn't notice any difference with state indicator on or off. I thought that you should wait a little (about 2 secs) before you tighten the tailcap to turn on/off the State Indication (SI). Did a little more testing while typing this and it seems that if the light turns on when you're tightening the tailcap, setting the SI on/off fails.


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## s013202 (Jan 17, 2015)

> Didn't notice any difference with state indicator on or off. I thought that you should wait a little (about 2 secs) before you tighten the tailcap to turn on/off the State Indication (SI). Did a little more testing while typing this and it seems that if the light turns on when you're tightening the tailcap, setting the SI on/off fails.



yeah,that's another problem i noticed.
But, what I mean above is ,with SI off,the operation to turn tactical into general _can be down quickly.
_In contrast,with SI on,the operation to turn tactical into general should wait a little (about 2 secs) before tightening the tailcap.
Briefly speaking,I think the operation of "turning SI on/off" and "switching between tactical & general" will affect each orher.


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## soul347 (Jan 19, 2015)

State indication on/off basically has to do with the blinking green led switch button that helps you find it in the dark and indicates battery level. If it is off, it won't blink anymore. As for tactical mode, I was informed by armytek that the latest version of the wizard pro doesn't have tactical mode anymore.


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## RedForest UK (Jan 29, 2015)

[Cross-post from the other Wizard thread].

I just got my replacement Wizard v2 (non-pro) Warm in the post today. The mode spacing is good now with a clear difference between all modes, unlike my v1 version, the overall electronics seem all to be working correctly now too so the main issues from before are now sorted.

My estimated OTF output measurements are: 3/30/180/390/870 lumens.

There are a few downsides to this new version though in my opinion.

1. I don't like the look of the new head design. I think the thinness of the head looks a bit weird compared to the thicker top of the body tube and much preferred the older design, which should also offer more thermal mass, though at the cost of slightly more weight as well.

2. The button is a softer, and less tactile/audible click than before. This may be a plus for many who complained about how hard the old switch was, but I liked it that way. Still I'll get used to it.

3. The tint, while neutral, is very much on the yellow/green side. This is very evident compared to my v1 tiara and now even makes my SC52w (my most yellow-green tinted previous light) look like a well-balanced tint.


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## Mark Yan (Feb 9, 2015)




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