# NITECORE TM11 ‘Tiny Monster’ Review - 2012



## subwoofer (Jun 28, 2012)

Triple XM-L lights have become commonplace, which a testament to the strengths of this formula. NITECORE’s TM11 was an early adopter of this format and has been around for a little while now. With minor improvements being implemented along the way, the TM11 is still standing tall (metaphorically only as it is very small – tiny even) and showing that it is one of the strongest performers in this class with a measured 2457 ANSI Lumens!









Initial Impressions:

NITECORE’s unassuming packaging belies how good the tiny monster that lurks within will prove itself to be.

With its reputation and the manufacturers claims to live up to, can this small light, no bigger than a can of soft-drink, really be that good? In the hand it seems far too compact to do so.

With no cells in it, the TM11 feels solid but not over engineered, and with four 18650s loaded (the heavier of the power sources) it suddenly feels full of potential as the compact package is now quite weighty.

Click it onto turbo, and if you haven’t yet experienced a 2000lm triple XM-L light first hand, expect jaw dropping to ensue. Even if you have, the very compactness of the TM11 and amount of power on tap should still bring a smile to any lumen junkie.



What is in the box:

The large box is plain cardboard with a printed label on the card. No frills, but neat.






Inside is a closed cell foam liner holding the TM11 firmly and providing excellent protection. The TM11 is supplied fitted into its quality holster and includes a spare o-ring, lanyard and instructions.






The TM11 out of the box








Taking a closer look and looking inside:

Multi-emitter lights combine the LEDs and reflectors in different ways. The TM11 has a single reflector, in a single housing, but this reflector is made up of three shallow overlapping reflectors.

The lens has an anti-reflective coating and is held in place with a stainless crenelated bezel.

The tail has nice detailing which appears to be a cosmetic feature, serving no practical function I can determine.










The TM11 has plenty of crisply executed knurling around the head and body of the light. The battery tube has four panels cut into the battery tube to give very positive grip and each panel has text etched into it. Here the model name is shown






A second panel






Looking into the business end shows the shallow merged reflectors forming a compound reflector. In the spaces between the individual reflectors have black panels with ‘NITECORE’, a nice detail.






Heat-sinking fins are relatively sparse considering the TM11’ s output, but precisely machined. The warning is laser etched.






Opening up the TM11, the contacts in the head are substantial looking, with raised rings for the positive (inner ring) and negative connections. As the battery tube is screwed into place, the positive contact will drag around on the ring, so it will be interesting to see how this holds up in the long term. Though the gold plating may come off, it looks like the raised ring is metal, so should prove durable.






Photographing the threads of the battery tube proved a little difficult as they are reasonably fine and the diameter of the tube meant the camera lens kept hitting the tube. The threads are a trapezoid form and fully anodised.






Looking into the battery tube (on the left focusing at the negative contact at the bottom of the tube) shows the flat plate spring contact used for the negative cell terminals, and focusing higher up shows the machined cell separators and central support pin meaning a single 18650 or 2 CR123s can be used if necessary.









Detail of the heat sink fins.






The TM11 name etched into the tail.






Comprising of a hole drilled through the base of the battery tube, the TM11 has a lanyard fixing point.






The bezel has small indents, probably for a matching tool used to screw it into place.






To give an idea of size, there are two AW IMR 18650 cells next to the TM11. Remember these are unprotected, so around 4mm shorter than a typical protected cell.






The supplied holster is very well made and fits the TM11 well. The front flap is held in place with Velcro.






There are three possible fixing choices, a metal D-loop, a fixed belt loop and a Velcro belt loop.








Modes and User Interface:

One of the TM11’s special features is its power switch. The single switch has two stages, just like most camera shutter buttons where you half press to focus. Surrounding the button is an illuminated ring which is used to give the user information.

Excessively close-up view of the aforementioned button!






The TM11 has two main ‘modes’, Turbo, and ‘Daily’. Turbo is exactly what it says – Maximum output. ‘Daily’ is a set of three output levels with low, medium and high.

Half pressing the button gives access to the ‘Daily’ mode. If you release the button within one second, it will stay on. If you keep the button held down, for more than one second you use the momentary function and as soon as you let go, the light will switch off. In momentary mode you cannot change output level. If you entered constant output, further half presses change the output level cycling through low medium, high, low etc. To switch off from constant output, briefly fully press the button and let go.

Turbo is accessed by fully pressing the button. Just like the ‘Daily’ mode, you can use a momentary output or constant output, and just as before, fully press the button again to switch off.

When the TM11 is on, double clicking the button fully accesses Strobe.

The TM11 has two types of ‘off’ mode, ‘standby’ and ‘lock-out’. In standby mode, the illuminated ring flashes every three seconds to help you locate it in the dark. This is the normal condition. To enter ‘lock-out’, with the TM11 on in any mode, press the button fully for more than 1s. The TM11 will flash once then go off. To exit ‘lockout’ a rapid triple click of the button switches it on.

The illuminated ring around the switch also serves to provide information to the user:

-When you first screw the battery tube into the TM11’s head, the ring will flash to indicate the battery voltage. First it flashes the whole volts, then the 0.1V, so if the batteries are at 4.2V, the TM11 will give four flashes a brief pause then two more.
-Flashing every three seconds while the light is off indicates the light is in standby.
-When entering lockout mode, the battery voltage display is shown just as described above.
-With the TM11 on any output level, the ring will remain illuminated.
-When the battery voltage is getting low, and the TM11 is switched on, the ring will start to flash. (This flashing appears to get quicker the lower the battery voltage, but this is a subjective observation)



Batteries and output:

The TM11 is very versatile in the power options. CR123s (not RCR123s) and 18650s can be used.

Fully loaded the TM11 takes either 4 x 18650, or 8 x CR123, but if necessary, you can use 3, 2 or 1 18650s and 6, 4 or 2 CR123s. Of course if using the lower number of cells you need to be careful about using the higher outputs, as these may over-drain the cells, but you have the flexibility.

18650s must be button top as flat top cells won’t make contact reliably and one or more cells may not be providing power. Also due to the design of the contact spring, you actually need the extra length of a protected 18650 to make contact. The longest protected cells I have used are the Xtar 3100mAh ones, which were actually a bit of a tight fit lengthwise.

Like many lights, the TM11 has a parasitic drain due to its electronic switch (rather than a physical switch that cuts the circuit). On standby the current draw is 0.4mA and on lockout this drops to 80uA (or 0.08mA), and for 3100mAh cells this equates to 3.5 years on standby or 17.5 years on lockout!



_To measure actual output, I built an integrating sphere. The sensor is a photo-diode restricted to visible light only (so Infra-Red and Ultra-Violet will not register). This was chosen as our eyes can only use the visible wavelengths of light so this is generally the only useful output. The integrating sphere was calibrated using 12 different reference sources and taking an average of the factor used to convert the measured voltage output to Lumens. Output figures are quoted as ANSI lumens where the measurement is made 30s after turning on the specified output level. Initial figures when first switching on are always higher, but all quoted measurements are ANSI._






*Please note, all quoted lumen figures are from a DIY integrating sphere, and although every effort is made to give as accurate a result as possible, they should be taken as an estimate only. The results can be used to compare outputs in this review and others I have published.*

The TM11 on test…






For the Turbo runtime graph a cooling fan was used. In this set-up, the maximum temperature the head reached was 50C









NITECORE TM11I.S. measured ANSI output LumensPWM frequency (Hz)Turbo using 8xSYSMAX CR1232457N/ATurbo using 4 x 186502447N/AHigh1295N/AMedium6274000Low2423840
 
The Strobe is a two-tone strobe alternating between 12 and 6.6Hz

Loaded up with Xtar 18650 3100mAh cells, the TM11 has the following output curve on Turbo






This gives an amazing 1 hour at over 2000lm, then a further 36 minute with over 1000lm and another 30 minutes before the output drops to 200lm. Following this there was a further 40 minutes of usable light. This is a light you can rely on not to leave you in the dark and gives a fantastic performance on continuous maximum output.

When the batteries get very low the LEDs just dim gradually. I got bored waiting for a complete shut off and here used an exposure of 1/3200s to capture the LEDs in detail.








In The Lab

_In an attempt to quantify the actual beam profile I developed the following test. There are probably many flaws in my method, but it is simple and easy to carry out and seems to provide a good enough comparison.

The method used was to support the light 1m off the floor and 1m from a wall, with a tape measure on the wall. The zero of the scale is placed in the centre of the hotspot and a lux meter is then positioned at points along the scale, with the measurements recorded. Beam shots are often taken with the light shining on a flat white wall, so this method is simply measuring the actual intensity across the beam on a flat surface, not the spherical light emission.

The results are then plotted on a graph.

For the best throw you want to see a sharp peak with less of the distracting spill. For the best flood light the trace should be pretty flat._

The TM11 beam profile is shown here compared to the Fenix TK41 as this is a well-known high performance light.

The TM11 has a very strong peak, however it also has a wide hotspot and smooth transition into a nice bright spill area.






_Taking this a little further, I calculated an approximate factor to apply to the lux measurements, as each measurement gets further from the centre of the beam, it corresponds to a larger area onto which the light is falling. It seems to me that this should also be taken into consideration, so I applied these area corrections and came up with this odd looking graph.

The key quantity here is the area under the graph line. This should correspond to the total light output._

This shows just how much light the TM11 outputs, and it overwhelms the already impressive TK41 especially the spill and outer spill. The TM11 is also a flood monster.








The beam

The previous beam profile graphs, show the TM11 as having not only a strong hotspot so having good range, but also having masses of spill light. The compound reflector and multiple emitters mean the outer edge of the spill beam is a little messy, but this can’t be helped.






To give a comparison of the TM11’s powerful beam, here I’m comparing it to the Fenix TK41 as this is a known top performer.

The following image shows the direct comparison of both lights with exactly the same exposure.






If that doesn’t make you want one, nothing will!



What it is really like to use…






Using the two-stage switch initially took a bit of getting used to, but it did become just as natural as using the two-stage switch of a camera shutter button. For such a simple user interface the TM11 manages a great flexibility of control.

It is an unfortunate consequence of having a light such as this, that you quickly get accustomed to the massive output and it becomes ‘normal’. Other lights just seem to pale into insignificance once this Tiny Monster has made itself at home in your hand.

The large diameter of the light means anyone with small hands may find it a bit tiring to use for a long time, but with average or larger hands should find it comfortable enough.

High output + small size = HOT…….and the TM11 can get pretty hot. Used outside and held in the hand (as your hand is one of the best heat sinks) the TM11 should not get worryingly hot, but if you pop it onto a table, tail-standing it on Turbo to light up a room, it will get VERY hot.

The locator flashes are reassuring and have not been disturbing when the TM11 is sitting on the bedside table. Being able to stop these with the ultra-low drain lockout mode is great for longer term storage, and being able to run of just a single 18650, or 2 x CR123 is great as a backup option.

It is a little heavy for regular belt carry, unless you need a 2000lm light every day, but this is because of how much battery and output power if packed into such a small space.

The TM11 may have been around for a little while now, but for massive output, small size, quality and versatility, it continues to impress and is a very strong contender for making your wallet lighter.







Test sample kindly sent along to the CPF UK meet in June, to then be reviewed, by NITECORE.


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## subwoofer (Jun 28, 2012)

reserved...

Update 7/11/2012 -

As the reviewing wheels are starting to turn again I've decided to try something a little different as an update to this and future reviews.

I'm looking for a little feedback on whether this is a useful change or not.

As a replacement to the beam profile graphs you can see in the main review, which are intended to represent how the beam intensity changes across a cross-section of the beam, I have produced this prototype image.

In this plot, the ANSI beam range (the distance from the light source that the intensity drops to 0.25lux) has been calculated across the width of the beam and plotted as if viewed from above (for some lights there may also be a side view produced - more on than another time).

Please bear in mind that this is a prototype and is not the final version. It has been drawn in a CAD package to give the precise ANSI beam range 'shape' of the beam.

In this case there is a 50mx50m grid and about 120° of beam angle (60° either side of the beam centre) is represented. The local intensity throughout the beam is not represented, only the limits of the beam's range according to ANSI standards.

The difference here is that whereas in the beam profile graphs, the peak intensity across the beam cross-section is shown which clearly shows the width and strength of the hotspot and spill, in this representation the peak intensity is shown as the greatest beam range. I am not intending to do both, it is one or the other.






Comments please...


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## jmpaul320 (Jun 28, 2012)

:rock: I love this light thx for all the time you put into this!


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## Travelmate (Jun 29, 2012)

Hi!

Since you also reviewed the Niteye Eye30 desert edition which would you prefer to own and why?

Thanks


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## subwoofer (Jun 29, 2012)

Travelmate said:


> Hi!
> 
> Since you also reviewed the Niteye Eye30 desert edition which would you prefer to own and why?
> 
> Thanks



Hey, this is CPF - when there is a choice of two lights, the answer is always the same......buy both


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## djabi90 (Jun 29, 2012)

I have this light and I must say one word. BLINDING! Awesome light of the size. I am having a problem with this monster though. When I have it off it blinks once every 4 seconds.When I have it on low, medium, high or turbo it blinks once every 3 seconds. Anyone have this problem? I just recently started having this issue. Anyone else have this problem?


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## Draven451 (Jun 30, 2012)

What an awesome light! Another excellent review 


Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk


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## dwminer (Jun 30, 2012)

djabi90 said:


> I have this light and I must say one word. BLINDING! Awesome light of the size. I am having a problem with this monster though. When I have it off it blinks once every 4 seconds.When I have it on low, medium, high or turbo it blinks once every 3 seconds. Anyone have this problem? I just recently started having this issue. Anyone else have this problem?




Batteries need charging?


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## IMSabbel (Jul 1, 2012)

dwminer said:


> Batteries need charging?



Would also be my guess. I think below 3.6V or so it starts slow blinking, and below 3V it is getting frantic.

Just look at the voltage blink when doing a hard-off (holding the button for 3 seconds while the light is on)


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## BLUE LED (Jul 1, 2012)

Nice beam shot comparison between the TK41 and TM11. Are you able to buy the holster for the TM11 separately.


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## CYMac (Jul 1, 2012)

I love your review with the lumen test! Where can you get those equipments anyway? Man, flashlights are much better than airguns. At least their lumen level is over their stated claim. Airguns are totally opposite!


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## subwoofer (Jul 1, 2012)

BLUE LED said:


> Nice beam shot comparison between the TK41 and TM11. Are you able to buy the holster for the TM11 desperately?



I don't think NITECORE sell the TM11 holster separately, but they might if you contact them directly.



CYMac said:


> I love your review with the lumen test! Where can you get those equipments anyway? Man, flashlights are much better than airguns. At least their lumen level is over their stated claim. Airguns are totally opposite!



The equipment was all bought from various online sources including ebay, but the integrating sphere requires you to design, assemble and calibrate it yourself. (Having a Master's degree in Engineering helps with this


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## ClassicGOD (Jul 2, 2012)

Awesome review, thanks!

BTW. "Few years" :O AFAIK TM11 was introduced in late (October?) 2011. It's not even a year old.


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## subwoofer (Jul 2, 2012)

ClassicGOD said:


> Awesome review, thanks!
> 
> BTW. "Few years" :O AFAIK TM11 was introduced in late (October?) 2011. It's not even a year old.



Thanks 

Sometimes time flies by, and sometimes it crawls along. My time-scales got a little out of synchronisation there, so I've removed the 'few years' reference now.


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## BLUE LED (Jul 2, 2012)

It looks like the side spill is a contender to your HID blinding Pete with he's PH50.

The drop in output is a little better than I would have expected. Did you use a cooling fan.


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## subwoofer (Jul 2, 2012)

BLUE LED said:


> It looks like the side spill is a contender to your HID blinding Pete with he's PH50.
> 
> The drop in output is a little better than I would have expected. Did you use a cooling fan.



The side spill/flood-light of the TM11 is good for the user, and is not as bad as the evil eye stabbing spill of the notorious 65W HID (but is quite bad when tail standing the TM11 on a table to light up a room).

A cooling fan was used in the runtime test (and should be visible in one of the review photos). If just left sitting on a table on Turbo with no cooling fan, the TM11 gets very hot, but in normal use with your hand acting as a heat-sink and outdoors with normal air movement, I've not come across and overheating issues.


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## CYMac (Jul 2, 2012)

subwoofer said:


> I don't think NITECORE sell the TM11 holster separately, but they might if you contact them directly.
> 
> 
> The equipment was all bought from various online sources including ebay, but the integrating sphere requires you to design, assemble and calibrate it yourself. (Having a Master's degree in Engineering helps with this




Thanks! The design and everything is really cool, definitely cool to know the TM11 can give more than 2000 lumens too!


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## Patriot (Jul 3, 2012)

1891L in the EYE-30 compared to 2457L. Impressive! If you could only own one, for your purposes, which would you take? I ask because I own the EYE-30 and my first TM11 failed. I sent it back for a refund.


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## chromeme (Jul 3, 2012)

BLUE LED said:


> Nice beam shot comparison between the TK41 and TM11. Are you able to buy the holster for the TM11 separately.



I think the holster is with the light for free. If you only want the holster, I don't think you can get it.


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## shelm (Sep 28, 2012)

subwoofer said:


> The TM11 may have been around *a few years*, but for massive output, small size, quality and versatility, it continues to impress and is a very strong contender for making your wallet lighter.



Thanks for the review! Comprehensive and helpful.
( i didnt read it though, no offense  )


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## subwoofer (Sep 28, 2012)

shelm said:


> Thanks for the review! Comprehensive and helpful.
> ( i didnt read it though, no offense  )




Thank you for finding the second of my intentional mistakes 

updated now.


BTW - This light is on constant standby for when I need a FLOOD of light, however I'm not sure how successful this will be as I can't help but pick it up and use it just because it is so good. When I really need it, I'll end up having to change the batteries five minutes later because I've been using them for less than essential reasons.


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## sidecross (Sep 28, 2012)

subwoofer

Thank you for your review, I did not even know about it until today when someone gave a link to it. :thumbsup:


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## sidecross (Sep 28, 2012)

I might add that selfbuilt has written that the Eagletac M3C4 diffuusion filter fits the TM11. I use this filter on the TM11 for an even better flood light. :thumbsup:


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## shelm (Sep 30, 2012)

sidecross said:


> I might add that selfbuilt has written that the Eagletac M3C4 diffuusion filter fits the TM11. I use this filter on the TM11 for an even better flood light. :thumbsup:



Please could you show us some photos with this diffuser filter?
So how does it work?

you unscrew the TM11 stainless steel bezel,
and you screw on the "ET55 Filter System" instead? 
Does it fit 100% well?


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## GehenSienachlinks (Oct 4, 2012)

Insane flood .


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## sidecross (Oct 4, 2012)

shelm said:


> Please could you show us some photos with this diffuser filter?
> So how does it work?
> 
> you unscrew the TM11 stainless steel bezel,
> ...



Yes, it fits lile it was made for the TM11!


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## shelm (Oct 5, 2012)

i ordered the whole kit:

+ M3C4 white diffuser lens
+ M3C4 YRGB color lenses kit

Thanks to Eagletac!!
10$ isnt asked too much for this!


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## subwoofer (Oct 5, 2012)

Let us know how you get on when it arrives (maybe a few photos).

Just for information, using a frosted glass diffusion filter typically reduces OTF output by 15-20%. The filter itself creates a lot of loss. I have measured this effect with a few diffusers using the integrating sphere. Of course coloured filters will have a bigger loss as you are not simply scattering the light but removing all but a narrow band of wavelengths.


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## shelm (Oct 5, 2012)

subwoofer said:


> Let us know how you get on when it arrives (maybe a few photos).



i will ask my neighbor for cameras


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## Bigpapi13 (Oct 9, 2012)

I will be making this or it's big brother (TM15) my next purchase this week. I'm not sure I like the charging port cover on the TM15 as it seems sorta flimsy and the difference in lumens is not much more for an extra 120.00 imo.


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## subwoofer (Oct 9, 2012)

Bigpapi13 said:


> I will be making this or it's big brother (TM15) my next purchase this week. I'm not sure I like the charging port cover on the TM15 as it seems sorta flimsy and the difference in lumens is not much more for an extra 120.00 imo.



I've never been much of a fan of multi-cell 'in-light' charging, but the TM15, like the TM11 uses 4 cells in parallel which totally eliminates balancing issues. For me this design makes it a real option, and one which helps eliminate terminal wear and make it simple to top-up the batteries. That and the built in camera thread for tripod mounting make the TM15 (plus of course the massive output) a very attractive prospect.

The TM11 is still Tiny and a Monster, so the small package with huge output is so much fun.

Enjoy deciding which is best for you, I'm sure you will be pleased with either.


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## sidecross (Oct 9, 2012)

subwoofer said:


> I've never been much of a fan of multi-cell 'in-light' charging, but the TM15, like the TM11 uses 4 cells in parallel which totally eliminates balancing issues. For me this design makes it a real option, and one which helps eliminate terminal wear and make it simple to top-up the batteries. That and the built in camera thread for tripod mounting make the TM15 (plus of course the massive output) a very attractive prospect.
> 
> The TM11 is still Tiny and a Monster, so the small package with huge output is so much fun.
> 
> ...




I totally agree with this comment, the fact that the TM lights are NOT in series but are designed in parallel made this multl cell light a buy for me.

I personally like the TM11 because of its flood light desighn and smaller size. I am not a fan of built in chargers on flashlights. I would rather remove the batteries to recharge and clean all the contact points with deoxit.


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## Bigpapi13 (Oct 12, 2012)

After making an inquiry for the TM11 (sold out), I found out that the TM15 will be arriving in a couple of weeks....at a much lower cost than I expected. I'll wait.:twothumbs


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## Burntrice (Oct 17, 2012)

Have all the bugs been fixed with the TM11? I'm keen on getting one that's advertised as V1.12 Is that the current version?


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## sidecross (Oct 17, 2012)

Burntrice said:


> Have all the bugs been fixed with the TM11? I'm keen on getting one that's advertised as V1.12 Is that the current version?



To the best of my memory version three of the TM11 is V1.1111; do a search because someone has posted the exact answer.


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## subwoofer (Oct 17, 2012)

Burntrice said:


> Have all the bugs been fixed with the TM11? I'm keen on getting one that's advertised as V1.12 Is that the current version?



V1.12 is the latest version I am aware of, and I've not come across any bugs on the sample on test here.


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## Burntrice (Oct 17, 2012)

Thanks for the rapid relplies and sorry Sub for also spamming questions on the BB forums


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## subwoofer (Oct 17, 2012)

Burntrice said:


> Thanks for the rapid relplies and sorry Sub for also spamming questions on the BB forums



No problem asking questions wherever, I'll answer them where they are asked


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## sidecross (Oct 17, 2012)

subwoofer said:


> V1.12 is the latest version I am aware of, and I've not come across any bugs on the sample on test here.



Version three is v1.1111, version two is v1.1110. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...xXM-L)-Review-RUNTIMES-BEAMSHOTS-VIDEO/page23


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## subwoofer (Oct 17, 2012)

sidecross said:


> Version three is v1.1111, version two is v1.1110. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...xXM-L)-Review-RUNTIMES-BEAMSHOTS-VIDEO/page23



The link you provided states v1.12-1111 (not v1.1111) is the latest version 3, though the -1111 is redundant really as the first part of the version number 1.10, 1.11 and 1.12 perfectly well indicate which generation it is.


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## sidecross (Oct 17, 2012)

subwoofer said:


> The link you provided states v1.12-1111 (not v1.1111) is the latest version 3, though the -1111 is redundant really as the first part of the version number 1.10, 1.11 and 1.12 perfectly well indicate which generation it is.



Do you mean to write that verion 3 would be 'v1.13-1111'?


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## Yourfun2 (Oct 17, 2012)

That would be version 4.


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## sidecross (Oct 17, 2012)

Thank you.

Edit:

_"v1.12-1111 is version 3. i got sent v1 11-1110 which is version 2 and still this years model. so far, it is working perfectly. was in a roof yesterday and accidentally had it on turbo. it didnt cycle down at all (was on for about 5-10mins) but honestly, it gets hot to touch by this time, so you are more likely to cycle it down yourself if you are holding it. on high, it hardly gets hot at all even after about 30 mins or so."

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...xXM-L)-Review-RUNTIMES-BEAMSHOTS-VIDEO/page22_


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## Soltani231 (Oct 20, 2012)

djabi90 said:


> I have this light and I must say one word. BLINDING! Awesome light of the size. I am having a problem with this monster though. When I have it off it blinks once every 4 seconds.When I have it on low, medium, high or turbo it blinks once every 3 seconds. Anyone have this problem? I just recently started having this issue. Anyone else have this problem?



There is nothing wrong with your light. Its supposed to blink as an indication that it is in Standby mode. If you want to turn it off, you need to turn it on (Not in turbo mode) and then hold the button down for 2 seconds and the light will blink once and go into sleep mode. In this mode there is no more blinking and no drain on the batteries. This is also comes in handy when you throw the tiny monster in a bag with other stuff, the light cant get activated by accident. 

To turn it back on you will have to press the power button 3 times quickly and it will come back on and will go back to standby when you turn off.


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## subwoofer (Oct 21, 2012)

Soltani231 said:


> There is nothing wrong with your light. Its supposed to blink as an indication that it is in Standby mode. If you want to turn it off, you need to turn it on (Not in turbo mode) and then hold the button down for 2 seconds and the light will blink once and go into sleep mode. In this mode there is no more blinking and no drain on the batteries. This is also comes in handy when you throw the tiny monster in a bag with other stuff, the light cant get activated by accident.
> 
> To turn it back on you will have to press the power button 3 times quickly and it will come back on and will go back to standby when you turn off.



I think the issue djabi90 was referring to was the low battery indication rather than the locator beacon of the switch flashing.


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## Soltani231 (Oct 22, 2012)

subwoofer said:


> I think the issue djabi90 was referring to was the low battery indication rather than the locator beacon of the switch flashing.



That was something I considered too but they mentioned when the unit is off it blinks every 4 seconds. This is consistent with the locator beacon. I could be wrong though it wouldn't be the first time.


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## MSlight (Oct 24, 2012)

Hi, this is my first post, hope i post it in the correct section.
First, i'd like to thank you for providing us with the detailed intro. It's very insightful. 
Second, I've just received my MT11 2 hours ago from eBay and put 4*18650 batteries in it.
It shows 3.7 volt at the beginning, and I thought i'd like to turn it on and try the turbo mode first, but I notice that only 2 LEDs were lit instead of 3, I'm not sure if this is normal or not. So I figure I'd can ask a question and see if anybody has the same problem before. Any reply is greatly appreciated!


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## Yourfun2 (Oct 24, 2012)

MSlight said:


> Hi, this is my first post, hope i post it in the correct section.
> First, i'd like to thank you for providing us with the detailed intro. It's very insightful.
> Second, I've just received my MT11 2 hours ago from eBay and put 4*18650 batteries in it.
> It shows 3.7 volt at the beginning, and I thought i'd like to turn it on and try the turbo mode first, but I notice that only 2 LEDs were lit instead of 3, I'm not sure if this is normal or not. So I figure I'd can ask a question and see if anybody has the same problem before. Any reply is greatly appreciated!



I would think all 3 LED's would light up. Do they all light up on the other modes?


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## MSlight (Oct 24, 2012)

Yourfun2 said:


> I would think all 3 LED's would light up. Do they all light up on the other modes?



No, the other mode also has 2 LEDs lit only.. I'm currently waiting for an answer from an authorized dealer at eBay. wish me luck..:ironic:


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## Soltani231 (Oct 24, 2012)

MSlight said:


> No, the other mode also has 2 LEDs lit only.. I'm currently waiting for an answer from an authorized dealer at eBay. wish me luck..:ironic:



My T-11has never done that even when the charge is low. Doesn't sound right


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## subwoofer (Oct 25, 2012)

MSlight said:


> Hi, this is my first post, hope i post it in the correct section.
> First, i'd like to thank you for providing us with the detailed intro. It's very insightful.
> Second, I've just received my MT11 2 hours ago from eBay and put 4*18650 batteries in it.
> It shows 3.7 volt at the beginning, and I thought i'd like to turn it on and try the turbo mode first, but I notice that only 2 LEDs were lit instead of 3, I'm not sure if this is normal or not. So I figure I'd can ask a question and see if anybody has the same problem before. Any reply is greatly appreciated!



3.7V is a bit low, I would advise charging them up fully and equally. However, even on the low, all three LEDs should be lit. See my avatar, as this is the TM11 on low.


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## MSlight (Oct 25, 2012)

subwoofer said:


> 3.7V is a bit low, I would advise charging them up fully and equally. However, even on the low, all three LEDs should be lit. See my avatar, as this is the TM11 on low.



Just got an email from eBayer seller asking me to fully charge my batteries and try it again, if it still doesn't work, a new replacement will be sent to me.
so I'm currently waiting for my batteries to charge up now.


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## MSlight (Oct 26, 2012)

After hours of recharging to their full capacity, that 1 LED still didn't work.
I'm sending it back later. :shakehead


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## harro (Nov 2, 2012)

Warning-Silly question;
Does physically locking out the tailcap ( ie; quarter turn open ) cause any issues with the electronic switch/programme of the light? eg; if stored for longer periods of time, like 3-4 weeks without use.


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## sidecross (Nov 2, 2012)

harro said:


> Warning-Silly question;
> Does physically locking out the tailcap ( ie; quarter turn open ) cause any issues with the electronic switch/programme of the light? eg; if stored for longer periods of time, like 3-4 weeks without use.



No.


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## harro (Nov 2, 2012)

sidecross said:


> No.



Tks


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## subwoofer (Nov 7, 2012)

As the reviewing wheels are starting to turn again I've decided to try something a little different as an update to this and future reviews.

I'm looking for a little feedback on whether this is a useful change or not.

As a replacement to the beam profile graphs you can see in the main review, which are intended to represent how the beam intensity changes across a cross-section of the beam, I have produced this prototype image.

In this plot, the ANSI beam range (the distance from the light source that the intensity drops to 0.25lux) has been calculated across the width of the beam and plotted as if viewed from above (for some lights there may also be a side view produced - more on than another time).

Please bear in mind that this is a prototype and is not the final version. It has been drawn in a CAD package to give the precise ANSI beam range 'shape' of the beam.

In this case there is a 50mx50m grid and about 120° of beam angle (60° either side of the beam centre) is represented. The local intensity throughout the beam is not represented, only the limits of the beam's range according to ANSI standards.

The difference here is that whereas in the beam profile graphs, the peak intensity across the beam cross-section is shown which clearly shows the width and strength of the hotspot and spill, in this representation the peak intensity is shown as the greatest beam range. I am not intending to do both, it is one or the other.







Comments please...


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## sidecross (Nov 7, 2012)

Subwoofer

Thank you, you are among the best people providing data on this web site and the reason I check in every day. :thumbsup:


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## Yourfun2 (Nov 7, 2012)

MSlight said:


> No, the other mode also has 2 LEDs lit only.. I'm currently waiting for an answer from an authorized dealer at eBay. wish me luck..:ironic:


Now I'm in the same boat. Just checked my light and 1 LED has stopped working. Hopefully the seller will take care of me.


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## Dimitri Stephan (Nov 26, 2012)

I just wanted to let everyone know that in really cold weather, one or more LEDs will not light up normally and go into a very low lumen moonlight mode. These LEDs will eventually start emitting normal output once the light has warmed up for some time. Keep the light on Turbo mode untill all of them light up with equal intensity and then use the light normally. Reapeat this process if needed.


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## subwoofer (Nov 26, 2012)

Dimitri Stephan said:


> I just wanted to let everyone know that in really cold weather, one or more LEDs will not light up normally and go into a very low lumen moonlight mode. These LEDs will eventually start emitting normal output once the light has warmed up for some time. Keep the light on Turbo mode untill all of them light up with equal intensity and then use the light normally. Reapeat this process if needed.



What temperature are we talking about, and what batteries were you using? I'd like to try and replicate this.


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## Patriot (Nov 26, 2012)

Dimitri Stephan said:


> I just wanted to let everyone know that in really cold weather, one or more LEDs will not light up normally and go into a very low lumen moonlight mode. These LEDs will eventually start emitting normal output once the light has warmed up for some time. Keep the light on Turbo mode untill all of them light up with equal intensity and then use the light normally. Reapeat this process if needed.



With regards to cold temperatures I would lean towards blaming the cells as the culprit. If the cells are warm then I probably wouldn't except that this is just a normal circumstance of cold weather use and would then suspect an actual issue with the light. That that stated, I have no experience with LED's in -40F temperatures either and I don't know what kind of "cold weather" you're speaking of.


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## sidecross (Nov 26, 2012)

Patriot said:


> With regards to cold temperatures I would lean towards blaming the cells as the culprit. If the cells are warm then I probably wouldn't except that this is just a normal circumstance of cold weather use and would then suspect an actual issue with the light. That that stated, I have no experience with LED's in -40F temperatures either and I don't know what kind of "cold weather" you're speaking of.



I would agree. 

I would try batteries at 60F and see if you have the same problem.


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## Dimitri Stephan (Nov 26, 2012)

I was camping in the mountains and the temperature should have been between 10 and 13C. the batteries were inserted inside the light when this happened so it might very well be them causing the led dimming but I highly doubt it because wouldn't all three of them decrease in output similarly since all 4 batteries in parallel are powering all 3 LEDs at the same time?
I was using 4 new AW 2900 mAh batteries when this happened. I think this scenario can be easily duplicated if I place the light inside the freezer for some time once with and once without the batteries and test the light each time to see if the problem is caused by the batteries or the LEDs. Maybe even just place the batteries in there and insert them in the light when it is at room temperature. I will try to do this test and let you know what happens.


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