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24.11.2011, 14:15
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Увлеченный
Регистрация: 26.04.2011 Последняя активность: 10.11.2015 10:40 Адрес: Canada
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Thrunite TN10 & TN11 Review (XM-L - 1x18650, 2xCR123A): RUNTIMES, VIDEO, BEAMSHOT
Warning: pic heavy, as usual.
   The TN10 and TN11 are general-purpose 1x18650/2xCR123A lights from Thrunite – similar in features to the Thrunite Scorpion V2, but with a revised switching-control interface. Let's see how they measure up … Common Manufacturer Specifications:
  Packaging includes a good number of extras in both cases – along with the light, you get a decent quality holster and wrist lanyard, extra o-rings, stainless steel clip, anodized aluminum grip ring (attached but removable), 2xCR123A battery plastic tube (to prevent rattle), and manual. With the TN11, you also get one 1xCR123A-length body tube extender included.    From left to right: Redilast protected 18650; Thrunite Scorpion V2 Turbo, TN11, TN10, TN12; NiteCore IFE2; Lumintop ED20; 4Sevens Quark 123-2 X. All dimensions are given with no batteries installed: TN10: Weight: 154.7g, Length: 145.5mm, Width (bezel): 35.1mm TN11: Weight: 176.8g, Length: 154.0mm, Width (bezel): 41.0mm TN12: Weight: 64.0g, Length: 126.9mm, Width (bezel): 24.1mm Scorpion V2: Weight: 171.2g, Length: 168mm, Width: 35.0 (bezel), 37.0mm (tailcap grip ring) Scorpion V2 with Turbo Head: Weight: 188.3g, Length: 171mm, Width: 41.0 (bezel), 37.0mm (tailcap grip ring) As you can see, the TN10 bezel diameter exactly matches the Scorpion V2 (standard head), and the TN11 exactly matches the Scorpion V2 Turbo. In fact, the lights seem to use the same reflectors as those earlier models. Overall length is lower on the TN10/11, due to now-standard size tailcap.    Note: The TN10 and TN11 share an identical body and tailcap – only the head is different (although threading diameter is the same). Body tube extenders thus work fine on either model. While overall build and dimensions seem fairly typical for this class light, build is distinctive for the fluted ridges along the tailcap, body tube and head. These are fairly sharped-edged, and provide surprisingly good grip (although they can also be sore on the hands if you are doing a lot of repeated twisting). There is no knurling per se. Anodizing is glossy black. Labels are bright white against the black background. Lights can tailstand, but are quite wobbly if not clicked on. Lights have a slightly beveled stainless steel bezel ring Lights use high quality square-cut screw threads, anodized for lock-out.  Body tube extenders can be combined to add support for multiple battery formats. However, I found you had to crank the extenders on tight for them to make contact on my samples. User Interface The lights use a forward clicky switch for on/off, and head twists for mode control. Press and hold the clicky for momentary, press and release for constant on (i.e. click on). Mode switching is controlled by twisting the head. With the head tight against the body, you get Max output. Loosen the head for the user-controlled setting. To set the user-controlled setting, do a rapid tighten-loosen-tighten-loosen double-switch (from loose) within two secs. The light will now ramp through its output modes, starting with Firefly (pause of ~2 secs), a ramp from Lo to Max (~7 secs) with a double-flash to let you know you have reached max, a slow strobe (~4 secs) and a fast strobe (~2 secs) before starting over at Firefly, in a repeating loop. To select the mode you want, do a tighten-loosen switch in under half a second. I found selecting a mode to be somewhat inconsistent on both my TN10 & TN11 samples. Sometimes a tighten-loosen select at the level I wanted caused it to restart the ramp (i.e. acted as a double-switch), other times it caused it to return to the previously memorized set mode (i.e. acted like it cancelled the double-switch ramp).  Not sure the source of the issue, but I found the variableness frustrating at times. Here's a comparison of the continuous output ramp – you'll see the actual continuously-variable ramping pattern is very similar to the Thrunite Scorpion V2. Note I am not showing the strobe sequences on the ramp below:  For a more detailed examination of the build and user interface, please see my video overview: 
Video was recorded in 720p, but YouTube defaults to 360p. Once the video is running, you can click on the 360p icon in the lower right-hand corner, and select the higher 480p to 720p options, or even run full-screen. PWM/Strobe Like the Thrunite Scorpion V2, there is no sign of PWM that I can see, at any output level. Either they are using a frequency that is too high for me to detect, or the light is actually current-controlled as claimed.   Slow strobe was measured at 4.8 Hz, fast strobe at 9.5 Hz. I would prefer an ever slower strobe for signaling purposes – something around 2-3 Hz would be plenty. Beamshots:    As mentioned above, the TN10 seems to use the same reflector as the standard Scorpion V2, and the TN11 uses the same reflector as the V2 Turbo.  The reflectors have a smooth finish, both with Cool White XM-L emitters. Emitters were reasonably well centered on my samples, but not necessarily perfectly centered. For white-wall beamshots, all lights are on 1x18650, about ~0.75 meter from a white wall (with the camera ~1.25 meters back from the wall). Automatic white balance on the camera, to minimize tint differences.                 And now for the outdoor shots. These beamshots were done in the style of my earlier 100-yard round-up review. Please see that thread for a discussion of the topography (i.e. the road dips in the distance, to better show you the corona in the mid-ground).In this case, I have used the S65, since greater output is needed at a distance.  For all intents and purposes, you can consider the TN10 to have the same beam profile as the standard Scorpion V2, and the TN11 is the same as the Scorpion V2 Turbo. Testing Method: All my output numbers are relative for my home-made light box setup, a la Quickbeam's flashlightreviews.com method. You can directly compare all my relative output values from different reviews - i.e. an output value of "10" in one graph is the same as "10" in another. All runtimes are done under a cooling fan, except for any extended run Lo/Min modes (i.e. >12 hours) which are done without cooling. I have recently devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values (ROV) to estimated Lumens. See my How to convert Selfbuilt's Lighbox values to Lumens thread for more info. Throw/Output Summary Chart: My summary tables are reported in a manner consistent with the ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. Please see http://www.sliderule.ca/FL1... for a description of the terms used in these tables.    Note: The Min estimated lumen values are based on Firefly mode in the table above. The number in (brackets) is the lowest output level I detected on the continuously-variable ramp. Although the TN10 has slightly lower output than the TN11 on 1x18650, on 2x sources the lights have similar output (which is comparable to the Scorpion V2). Note this is different from the specifications, which report the TN10 as having a consistently lower output on all battery sources. Output/Runtime Comparison: First, a direct comparison of Thrunite models on 1x18650  My TN10 sample suffered from some sort of flickering on 1x18650 (not apparent on 2x sources, so I am not sure of the source of the problem). It also start flashing a low-battery warning relatively early into the 1x18650 run (i.e. almost half-way into the runs, as shown by the wider swings on the runtime traces above). The TN11 certainly seems to have an identical circuit to the Scorpion V2.      On 2x sources, there is less to distinguish the TN10 and TN11 – both had equivalent initial outputs (despite what the specs report). The difference is how soon the samples step-down – my TN10 stepped down at around 3 mins, my TN11 stepped down at around 10 mins.  This of course affects overall runtimes – but the TN10/TN11 are certainly well in keeping with other high-output lights on 2x sources.Note that 10 mins at these Max levels may be longer than some primary CR123A cells can stand before tripping their built-in PTC circuits. See a discussion of this issue here, based on the Scorpion V2. As you can also see above, my TN10 sample began flashing a low battery warning on 2xCR123A shortly after it fell out of regulation. Potential Issues There was some inconsistency in mode setting on both my samples (i.e. tighten-loosen only correctly set the user-defined mode about half the time in my testing). My TN10 sample had some flickering on 1x18650, and an early trigger for the low battery warning halfway through the 1x18650 and 2xCR123A runs. On 2x battery sources, output was higher than spec (and comparable to the TN11 and Scorpion V2). The introduction of the step-down feature on 2x sources is welcomed, although there is variability in the length of time before step-down occurred between samples (i.e. 3 mins on the TN10, 10 mins on the TN11). The delayed step-down on my TN11 sample may be an issue for primary CR123A batteries (i.e. potentially triggering PTC circuits due to excessive heat – see discussion of the Scorpion V2). Personally, I do not recommend running 2xCR123A lights at these sorts of Max output levels for longer than ~5 mins without automatic step-down, or manual lowering of output. I find the fluted ridges along the length of the lights to have relatively sharp edges, making handling potentially uncomfortable during repeated switching maneuvers. However, grip is better than expected. Battery extender tubes required a fair bit of force to screw down fully (and were subsequently difficult to remove, given the complete lack of grip elements along their length). The switch retaining ring in the tailcap can easily loosen up with repeated battery changes, leading to incomplete activation (common symptom: light only works in momentary mode, or not at all). To tighten, just bend a paper-clip open, and insert the free end into one of the two small holes on the white-plastic retaining ring in the tailcap. Turn counter-clockwise to tighten. This issue is not specific to TN-series lights, and is actually quite common across makes and models (although I did observe it on both TN samples, eventually). It is nice that Thrunite has offered the option of two strobe modes, but I would have preferred a slower slow (i.e. currently only 5 Hz or 9.5 Hz choices). Preliminary Observations To sum up: the TN10 and TN11 appear to be revised general-purpose versions of the Scorpion V2 and V2 Turbo, respectively. The circuit performance and overall feature sets are very similar (although with a few new features, see below). The main difference is in the control interface (i.e. simple head-twists on the TN-series lights, as opposed to the more complicated tailcap of the Scorpion). That said, there are a few other differences between the lights. The build is obviously different from the Scorpions, as the TN-series lights are using a new type of styling. The sharp-edge fluted ridges along the length are distinctive, and provide considerable grip (although I personally still prefer standard knurling). Extra battery tube extenders are also a thoughtful idea. In principle, I like the new control interface. It is quite versatile and straight-forward – in fact, it reminds me a bit of the original Nitecore Defender Infinity and original ITP C-series lights. However, both my TN samples frequently responded unexpectedly when trying to save the setting (i.e. often cancelling the ramp and returning to the previous setting, or re-starting the ramp, rather than saving the desired setting).  Another change from the Scorpion V2 is the new step-down feature when running on Max on 2x battery sources. This is a thoughtful safety feature, as sustained runtime at these levels could trigger the built-in PTC thermal safety circuits on primary CR123As (see discussion of the Scorpion V2 here). That said, I don't understand the why the TN11 steps-down much later than the TN10, for the same drive level (i.e. 10 mins vs 3 mins). In any case, I personally recommend you don't run 2xCR123A longer than ~5 mins at these sorts of drive-levels.Aside from this minor circuit difference, the main differences between the TN10 and TN11 are the throw (further on the TN11) and Max output on 1x18650 (higher on the TN11). In all other regards, they seem largely comparable (including in output on 2x battery sources). I like the inclusion of dual slow/fast strobes on the TN-series lights (although would have preferred an even slower slow). I have personally found it frustrating that most manufacturers only include disorienting fast "tactical" strobes on their lights, when what the vast majority of regular users need is a slow signaling strobe/beacon. It's not like we are all taking down charging rhinos here.  So at the very least, the TN-series slow strobe is a step in the right direction.I appreciate the effort here to translate and update the excellent performance and feature set of the Scorpion V2 into a more general-purpose build. The TN10 and TN11 are a thoughtful addition to the 1x18650/2xCR123A class of lights. ---- TN10 and TN11 supplied by Thrunite for review. |
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