# Deal Extreme MTE Rebel Review



## ltiu (Aug 20, 2007)

The MTE 5-Mode 100 Lumens Rebel Flashlight (AA / 0100 BIN):

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6162

Bright sxn of a bxtch. 

From a ceiling bounce test, it seems brighter than the:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1995

And as bright as or slightly brighter than the Rayovac 3watt 2AA:

http://www.rayovac.com/flashlight/selux2aa3w-b.shtml

The 5 modes work well, similar user interface as Fenix lights minus the twisty head, half press changes modes. Remembers the last mode before being switched off.

Light is small and feather light. Perfect in the pocket EDC.

Cons:

1) Light is not smooth, plenty of artifacts.
2) HOT! Run on high for even a few seconds (30 seconds), you can feel the metal heat up in your hands. Not too hot to be unbearable though.
3) Strap is useless. (as with all MTE lights).
4) Light is yellowish. May be a pro for some who prefer yellow light.

Overall, not bad for a less than $18 light.


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## TooManyGizmos (Aug 20, 2007)

, thanks ...... that report convinced me NOT to buy one .

L.E.D.'s are not supposed to be yellow .

AND too many other problems with this one.

:thumbsdow
.


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## fishx65 (Aug 20, 2007)

I wonder if the artifacts are from the Rebel led. I just got the MTE Seoul 5 mode and the beam is very smooth and artifact free.


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## nanotech17 (Aug 20, 2007)

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/172631


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## cranphin (Aug 21, 2007)

I just ordered it 
I like bright, and for the price..
Impressed it beats the SSC by so much 

I was already assuming it would run hot, it's smaller rebel brother, and even the MTE 5 mode SSC run quite hot. That's ok, low mode for normal use, high if I want to highlight something or impress someone 

How far can it be disassembled ? Think some heat paste can be applied so at least the led doesn't burn out easily ?


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## jirik_cz (Aug 21, 2007)

today I just recieved 3 pieces. 

hotspot has some artifacts, not so smooth as my MTE SSC (I think that they used same plastic reflector). But it is much brighter. I like the tint, all pieces have warmer tint then SSC. Tailcap is better too, not so stiff to press but can't tailstand. Head is glued to body. I tried to unscrew it with force, but wasn't successful. Maybe I will try harder 

Overall it is very good light for the money. Only drawback is reflector which is IMHO designed for SSC and not for REBEL.


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## cranphin (Aug 21, 2007)

jirik_cz said:


> Head is glued to body. I tried to unscrew it with force, but wasn't successful. Maybe I will try harder



I managed to do that with the 5 mode SSC, by accident at first  It moved a little when I tried to unscrew the head instead of tail by accident, then I unscrewed it entirely since I felt more confident about it  Now it's got a nice lubed non glued head  Only the light assembly I still can't remove from the head (need some super thin pincer or so, and then not sure if the head or the pincer will give in).

They might have used a stronger glue on the rebel model though, since it's a new body and all.
It's not -that- important, but I like to be able to clean and fix things


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## jirik_cz (Aug 21, 2007)

cranphin said:


> I managed to do that with the 5 mode SSC, by accident at first  It moved a little when I tried to unscrew the head instead of tail by accident, then I unscrewed it entirely since I felt more confident about it  Now it's got a nice lubed non glued head  Only the light assembly I still can't remove from the head (need some super thin pincer or so, and then not sure if the head or the pincer will give in).
> 
> They might have used a stronger glue on the rebel model though, since it's a new body and all.
> It's not -that- important, but I like to be able to clean and fix things



Yes, I unscrewed head on 5 mode SSC too :thumbsup: But the rebel version is glued much better :sigh:


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## nanotech17 (Aug 21, 2007)

welcome to the REBEL group boyzzzzzzz


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## ltiu (Aug 21, 2007)

fishx65 said:


> I wonder if the artifacts are from the Rebel led. I just got the MTE Seoul 5 mode and the beam is very smooth and artifact free.



I got the single mode MTE Seoul SSC P4 and that one has a flawless beam, no artifacts. But the Rebel MTE is noticeably brighter. If you need raw throw, the MTE Rebel wins out by quite a bit.


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## ltiu (Aug 21, 2007)

jirik_cz said:


> Tailcap is better too, not so stiff to press but can't tailstand.



I found out I can interchange the tail cap of the MTE single mode SSC P4 and the MTE 5 mode Rebel. The 5 mode works regardless of which tail cap I use. The controller circuit must be in the head.


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## coldlocus (Aug 21, 2007)

@Ltiu
Thanks for the review. I saw that you also have the Fenix L2D. How would you compare that against the MTE Rebel when it comes to brightness?


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## ltiu (Aug 21, 2007)

coldlocus said:


> @Ltiu
> Thanks for the review. I saw that you also have the Fenix L2D. How would you compare that against the MTE Rebel when it comes to brightness?



From a ceiling bounce test, the MTE Rebel is as bright as the L2D's High.


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## jsr (Aug 22, 2007)

Hmm, sounds like a really bright 1AA light...might pick up one just to try. I got the SSC version for a friend and it's pretty bright already and the beam is really smooth. I'm not a stickler on artifacts. Rings bother me more than artifacts. Sounds like the driver's really sucking some major current from the battery. I like yellowish tints. I got the head off the SSC version, but there was a bunch of dried glue in the threads. I cleaned off as much as I could, but there was still some there. Didn't affect performance. It'd be nice if the head could be removed from the Rebel one...I just like to take things apart (tho, I usually end up breaking them then).


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## jirik_cz (Aug 22, 2007)

Hello rebelholics I used a clamp and rubber glowes to get more grip and finally managed to unscrew mte rebel head:twothumbs





Threads were full of glue so I cleaned them with piece of cloth. 









MTE Rebel head on the left and MTE SSC head on the right. Rebel head is approximately 2 mm shorter, difference is caused by lower base of rebel emitor (reflectors are same)





MTE SSC on the left, Rebel on the right













rebel detail





ssc detail





And here is little beam color comparison
from left: MTE SSC P4 5-mode, MTE Rebel 0100 5-mode, Ultrafire C3, Ultrafire WF-606A


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## cranphin (Aug 22, 2007)

Woot! 

Nice photo's, thanks! 
Great beamshots too!

And now I know it can be taken apart >
Hope mine 'll arrive soon ^_^

Interesting to see the Ultrafire WF-606A seems to outshine the C3 a little, hmm..  Is that on 2xAA ? 1.2V rechargable or 1.5V ? OR CR123?


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## jirik_cz (Aug 22, 2007)

cranphin said:


> Woot!
> 
> Nice photo's, thanks!
> Great beamshots too!
> ...



All flashlights are running on 1.2V ni-mh rechargeables, but it wasn't meant as brightness comparison, they are overlapping too much. But yes, WF-606A is brighter than C3 and from all four flashlights it is the best thrower. And after modding with Q5 it will be even better Sorry for little offtopic


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## Nake (Aug 22, 2007)

Mine came today, nice light, I like the annodizing on it. The beam pattern on a wall must be how all Rebels with a smooth refector will look. I have an Ultrafire WF-R1, same beam. 

When I saw jirik_cz's pictures, I couldn't believe the glue on his light, wow! Mine just had a little dab, broke open easily in my hands.


edit; Something I noticed when I screwed the pill out, the little star with the emitter just floats not touching the heatsink, no thermal compound. I realize when it's screwed into the bezel the reflector against the lens will push it down, but I put some compound in there anyway. I used an injector blade from a razor to push some under the star.


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## ltiu (Aug 22, 2007)

jsr said:


> Hmm, sounds like a really bright 1AA light...might pick up one just to try. I got the SSC version for a friend and it's pretty bright already and the beam is really smooth. I'm not a stickler on artifacts. Rings bother me more than artifacts. Sounds like the driver's really sucking some major current from the battery. I like yellowish tints. I got the head off the SSC version, but there was a bunch of dried glue in the threads. I cleaned off as much as I could, but there was still some there. Didn't affect performance. It'd be nice if the head could be removed from the Rebel one...I just like to take things apart (tho, I usually end up breaking them then).



OK, when I said artifacts, I actually meant rings on the spot too. The spill however is pretty clean.

It is a thrower and when using on real objects, you will not notice the rings.

It is brighter than the MTE SSC P4. So imagine the bigger "WOW that's a bright light" you are going to get.


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## meuge (Aug 22, 2007)

I just received this flashlight today. It's very very bright. Certainly the brightest 1xAA flashlight I know of - even brighter than my L1D-CE Fenix. 

The hotspot artifacts seem to be related to the LED packaging, and I will assume that's the reason why the Rebel-series Fenix lights all use textured reflectors, rather than smooth reflectors. 

I am testing the runtime of the light now... I don't have a lux meter, but I will record its brightness relative to the various modes on the L1D, every 30 minutes.


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## meuge (Aug 22, 2007)

Rough runtime results (using a freshly-charged Sanyo 2700mAh NiMH battery)

HIGH: 
~1-1.25 hours without dimming - maybe 20% brighter than the L1D-CE
~1-1.25 hours of continued dimming down to about L1D-CE low

LOW:
~1 hour @ about ~medium on L1D-CE
~2 hours @ about ~low on L1D-CE
~1 hour @ about 1/2 low on L1D-CE

Conclusion:
All in all, I like the physical form factor, and the workmanship of the light... they seem quite satisfactory. The initial brightness is excellent too. If all you're going to do is use the light at 100%, then it'll work out fine (but then why the modes). What's bad is that the regulation isn't anywhere near where it should be... and there is no real "low" mode. It should be at least 4X dimmer than what I was seeing.


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## cranphin (Aug 30, 2007)

Did you ever manage to get the tail cap out ? 

The end button looks identical to the GITD ones DX sell. But it seems the glue is stronger then any tools I have available, and the two holes are starting to widen from the force already


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## cranphin (Aug 30, 2007)

I don't think I should try the tail cap..

During my attempts to remove the head I made holes in one of my mums towels, and the light now has several scrapes, dents, and bald spots on it. 
And after all that I can still only twist the head a few degrees, not certain it'll come off still..

I hate glue.. ^_^

Atleast now I don't have to feel bad keeping it in my pocket with no protection ?


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## cranphin (Aug 30, 2007)

Well, finally got the head of, yay me.. ^_^
Ordered a newone too and gonna consider this a 13 euro learning experience 
Still works fine, but it's ugly now 

'll sand some of the outside a bit to get rid of the sharp scratches, and then it's my don't care if it gets damaged light 
mayby it'll look cool with the alu coming through the coating 

Or any other suggestions on what to do with it ?


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## selfbuilt (Aug 30, 2007)

Just got mine today ...

Very yellow tint on Hi, with plenty of artifacts, just as others have reported. Don't really mind that - I prefer warmer tints.

But I get huge purple shifts on medium and low. On low it is really bad - color reminds of the first generation of the <$1 photon clones. This smiley should give you the idea: 

Haven't done runtimes yet (in the middle of a few other lights), but odd to see such a dramatic tint shift.

Anyone else notice this?


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## LEDdicted (Aug 30, 2007)

selfbuilt said:


> Anyone else notice this?



I received 2 of these lights, one by mistake (I ordered the CR123A version) and they are quite different lights. One of the lights has that drastic purple shift on medium and low, the other does not. My light without the purple shift also has a very different low level, I'd say less than half of the other one.

The beam pattern is different too. The hotspot is larger on the light without the purple shift. I tried to capture this on camera:

First shot is QIII on left, MTE rebel 100 without purple shift (MTE 1), MTE rebel 100 with shift (MTE 2), as a control shot. (The QIII does not look this green in real life, must be camera white balance) QIII running E2 Primary 3.0V, Both MTE's on fresh Energizer 2500mAh NiMH.







Same layout, -2 stops






next shots, MTE 1 on left, MTE 2 on right

High





High -2 stops






Medium






Med -2






Low






Low -2






This is my first time posting pics so please go easy on me.... any suggestions would be helpful.

I much prefer MTE 1.


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## jirik_cz (Aug 31, 2007)

I have 3 pieces and all have purple shifts on medium and low. I have some beamshots, but it is not so obviuos on them as with naked eye. I've made runtimes (with sanyo 2700mAh) and they are quite different between flashlights on medium and low. Please note that my runtimes are not 100% accurate because I don't have a lightmeter. 

mte ssc 5-mode (1 piece):
high: 1:07
medium: 2:20
low: 4:05

mte rebel 0100 5-mode (3 pieces):
high: 1:05 (2. & 3.), 1:10 (1.)
medium: 1:50 (2. & 3.), 2:20 (1.)
low: 2:45 (2. & 3.), 4:45 (1.)!!!

here is composed image from runtime test on low.
from left: 3 x MTE rebel 0100 5-mode, MTE ssc 5-mode.


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## light_emitting_dude (Aug 31, 2007)

Got mine today. That sticker was a pain to get completely off! Noticed the purpleish tint on the lower modes also. Not a bad light for the price tho. I'm pretty satisfied. Great output for just one AA battery!


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## selfbuilt (Sep 1, 2007)

jirik_cz said:


> I have 3 pieces and all have purple shifts on medium and low. I have some beamshots, but it is not so obviuos on them as with naked eye.


Yeah, I tried doing beamshots, but hard to get the white balance right. 

I've taken a shot of each mode at a different exposure to try and equalize the overall intensity, then "tweaked" the white balance a little in photoshop. Still doesn't show the magnitude of the shift my eye sees ... it's a lot worse in real life (especially the  shade of purple on low):














Frankly, neither the bright yellow nor deep purple extremes are acceptable in my view. Along with all the artifacts, I'd have to give this light a real :thumbsdow


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## jirik_cz (Sep 1, 2007)

selfbuilt said:


> Frankly, neither the bright yellow nor deep purple extremes are acceptable in my view. Along with all the artifacts, I'd have to give this light a real :thumbsdow



I have to admit, that first time when I saw mte rebel white wall beam i just said "wow it is pretty ugly". But 99% of time I use my lights outdoors on high mode (night riding on MTB). And outdoors the artifacts are absolutely not visible :huh: And color rendering is better than with my other lights. Thus I am quite satisfied with rebel :thumbsup:


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## selfbuilt (Sep 1, 2007)

jirik_cz said:


> And color rendering is better than with my other lights.


I'll give you that - from my limited testing, I've found the same thing in regards to better color rendition (odd given the tint shift). 

And I don't mind beam rings and artifacts outdoors either, but I find the purple shift when switching modes rather nauseating. :green:. Oddly, my older R0070 MTE (in the old body style) doesn't show anywhere near the number of artifacts as this new one, which is probably part of what's biasing me against this new model.


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## cranphin (Sep 21, 2007)

cranphin said:


> Well, finally got the head of, yay me.. ^_^
> Ordered a newone too and gonna consider this a 13 euro learning experience
> Still works fine, but it's ugly now
> 
> ...



The replacement finally came in, yay! 
I had to wait cause they had to get a new batch I think.
And I'm glad about it! 

-INTERESTING-
I noticed some changes on thisone, which might go for the whole new batch?
- No longer solidly glued, -YES!- Could undo it with my bare hands 
- There's now a O ring on top of the lens, that's a good improvement! 
- It's a lot whiter, and a lil bit brighter then my oldone, this could be random luck though 

I'm extremely happy with it now  Glad I broke the oldone 
Well, didn't break it, still works fine, just looks ugly, so now it's in my pocket with my keys 

Yay ^_^


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## nanotech17 (Sep 22, 2007)

o-ring on top of the lens?That's great mine doesn't come with o-ring on the lens so i thot it still water tight,so i dip it in the bath tub once it's hot and i can see some water inside the lens 
but after leave it ON for 15 minutes the water gone :thinking:
but it is still functioning like before :rock:


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## manne (Nov 3, 2007)

nanotech17 said:


> so i dip it in the bath tub once it's hot and i can see some water inside the lens



Same experience i had with mine, yesterday received. But anyway i feel a compulsion to disassemble every technical thing, so now there was a reason. After demounting the second reason was visible, no heatsink compound between rebel plate and driver insert. To fix this i've desoldered it, and cause now was everything demounted, started some tests with the driver (rebel mount on a big cpu heatsink):

It looks similar to this: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7880

A simple transistor step up and LED to ground PWM-controlled by a PIC for the modes (other program than sku 7880).

I've measured with two DMM at same time battery and LED currents, after this the voltages (with DMM was on LED current before), on battery side include the voltage drop trough DMM, on LED side without (should not be relevant there), used a freshly charged, but not very powerful NiMH AA Cellcon 2500, the results:

High
1,04V 2,50A - 3,33V 0,58A 
Mid
1,22V 0,85A - 2,64V 0,17A
Low
1,27V 0,56A - 2,44V 0,11A

Same battery type at middle or near end capacity:

(no voltages measurements except battery side include DMM drop on high)
High
0,98V 1,80A - 0,42A
Mid
0,68A - 0,14A
Low
0,46A - 0,09A

So i think on high mode its great efficiency for a 1AA on a relative cheap light. But poor on med and low, maybe there is no harmony between the step up circuit and the PWM. By the way, you can eliminate the modes by connecting the LED ground to battery ground, so the LED ignore the off-times (no fear, i've already try it). This must be the reason for the missing screws as you can see here: http://www.dealextreme.com/feedbacks/browseCustomerPhotos.dx/sku.6162~id.933 so i think it could make to one mode without desoldering the driver.

For first impression i'm very happy with it, tint is great for outdoors, i want to use it for night biking and it will be the most time on high (hope the air circulation gives enough heatsink). Nearly forget the first reason i disassemble it: I took the o-ring from the middle part to seal the front (i've greased the thread with heatsink compound, o-ring seems no need) dunk tests attest enough waterproof now.


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## moon lander (Nov 4, 2007)

does it look like it would be easy to replace the driver? i havent seen a pic of the underside of the heatsink/light engine. looks to be the standard sized board tho. how is it held on?


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## manne (Nov 4, 2007)

On mine it loose already by screwing off the alloy insert. Maybe a bit of poor glue (same on thread), no real obstacle.


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## Nake (Nov 4, 2007)

Mine screwed out fairly easy. There was a little resistance as if there was a dab of glue, like manne said.


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## Scott_T (Nov 4, 2007)

I tried to center my LED and put some hot glue down the screw holes to hold it in place. It holds well but is still off center. Close enough though. 
And I rewired mine and must've connected the ground to the wrong place and now its stuck on high. I didnt realize what I'd done wrong until you mentioned it. I prefer it this way.


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## Nake (Nov 5, 2007)

moon lander said:


> does it look like it would be easy to replace the driver? i havent seen a pic of the underside of the heatsink/light engine. looks to be the standard sized board tho. how is it held on?


 
The board just pops out of the heatsink. There is a ledge in the heatsink where the board rests against. Standard 17mm board. I'm putting a sku6190 in mine. Looks like a McR18 will fit well, should improve the beam considerable.


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## Nake (Nov 5, 2007)

I went ahead and swapped convertor boards. This board is for a 14500. Not good. It goes from 8000 lux to 4000 in about 5 sec. Gets hot fast. The med and low levels maintain the lux they start at. I used thermal compound and screwed the emitter PCB down to the heatsink. :thinking: The PCB is a lot thinner than Cree and Seoul ones. I wonder if that has something to do with it. Oh well.


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## manne (Nov 5, 2007)

Nake, do you have strobe and sos or is it only one mode?

Cause when you "screwed the emitter PCB down to the heatsink" and dont isolate between screw head and copper surface on PCB ground side, it could be possible that your LED is direct driven now.


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## Nake (Nov 5, 2007)

manne said:


> Nake, do you have strobe and sos or is it only one mode?
> 
> Cause when you "screwed the emitter PCB down to the heatsink" and dont isolate between screw head and copper surface on PCB ground side, it could be possible that your LED is direct driven now.


 
All five modes work. I know what you mean about the copper surface. I tried without the screws with just the reflector pushing down on the PCB, same thing happens. I'm going to get one of those 16mm PCBs with a Cree from DX and try that to see what happens.


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## geepondy (Nov 6, 2007)

Guys to put this light in perspective, I'm buying a bunch of the DX keychain lights and am strongly considering buying this light as well. Is there a $20 light available at Walmart or Target that sort of compares to this light (I know it won't have the five modes) that you think is better?


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## RecycledElectron (Nov 8, 2007)

Don't think so. I have one, it's the brightest single AA light I've got. At least on Nimh.


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## manne (Nov 11, 2007)

For all those having problems with the purple tint shift on med and low, here is the way to fix it.

Let me start with a few (theoretical) things that lead me on this way. Today i've tried how this light powered up with a near dead zinc carbon batterie and was wondering about the modes, the brightness was always nearly the same but the huge tint shift was still there very distinct. I've measued the input currents that confirm the brightness sense. On "high" (about 0.3A input) - where is no PWM - it was more yellow than high with fresh batteries, so from what result this purple-white? I think its only possible when current exceed this "yellow level", only one logic explanation: The boost circuit start up with a high output peak, and as shorter cut-off per PWM the on-time, the average on-time-current will be higher, color temperature will be higher.
So we need to smooth this, typical done with a capacitor, now it comes to practical:


I took the first little capacitor i found, a SMD tantalium 33µF, solder it parallel between the output cables. Power on, direct hit. The light on med and low on a NiMH was exactly like high on empty batterie, equivalent like PWM-free.
But attention, this means a darker and bit greenish weary yellow, far away from the fresh white-yellow on high current, maybe someone prefer even the purple-white. You can simply test it before, like i done with a empty batterie, when input current is about 0.5A this is the light what will be after on med and low.
By the way, current rise a little bit, as far as i remember it was from 0.71A to 0.74A med and 0.41A to 0.43A low, but the brightness rise too, not much but clearly more than by a similar current rise without capacitor. I tested this by unsolder one capacitor side and put together during power on, tint shift is really funny to sight on this way.
Would be interesting to find a capacitor value for the golden mean between the two tint characteristics. I've tried a 15µF tantalium too, still enough to give the same effects like 33µF (and small enough to fit in this light). Like the 1-mode change i've posted before, you can fix this without removing the driver, just use the square little solder pads on the "star".

Attention, i cant imagine that the fix will damage anything, but cant except too (no long runtime tests), so you should be able to appraise the risks.


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## manne (Dec 14, 2007)

My MTE is now equipped with this OP reflector: http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=3317





Was not much to do, only the inner diameter of the flange must be turning from 15.6 to a bit over 16mm so the LED-board fit in. Maybe file down the board is possible too, but then pay more attention to dont connect +, - and board plate. The flange height is exactly the height from board plate + rebel ceramic plate what provides a good position, but then you must ensure that the board connecions (include safety distance) measures less than the rebel plate. I've flatten the tinned wires with a hammer, less tin-solder and coat some glue over, so its 0.4-0.5mm. But would be also no problem to mount with a bit more distance, the reflector is not too sensitive on focal point. The most focused point is actually a bit more distance, for my case i've prefered to go nearer for a expanded corona. Of course for the output capacitor (see last post) is no more place on the LED-board but inside the heatsink is enough place, i've glued it over the PIC.





The bezel is turned out to the bigger inner diameter of the reflector (from 15.3 to 16.8mm) so the beam can pass unopposed. Cause i found no such thin o-ring (0.5mm would be perfect) the front is sealed with silicon. A thick o-ring can be also a problem cause the reflector is now at least 1-1.5mm longer and this can inhibit to fit in the battery tube.

Beam has become very nice, 7° defined spot, corona fades soft out around 15-20° and no artifacts except a few flame-like stripes in the corona (like a painted sun) what is only noticeable when turning the light (and AFAIR dont appears when rebel is on a bit more distance).


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