INOVA T4 RECHARGEABLE
LED FLASHLIGHT

Inova T4 Rechargeable LED Flashlight, retail $90.00 (www.inovalight.com)
Manufactured by Emissive Energy (www.inovalight.com)
Last updated 04-03-07




The Inova T4 is medium sized, rechargeable LED flashlight with a single Luxeon V LED and a custom-made TIROS (Total Internal Reflection System) collimator to produce its beam. It has an almost all-aluminum body, hard anodized to stay newer looking for longer.

The Inova T4 has a stainless steel ring present on the front of the flashlight to help protect the lens.


SIZE



To use the new Inova T4, first you'll need to get it out of its packaging and charge it - just to be on the safe side. All rechargeable products should be charged prior to first use; the T4 is no different.

Press the rubber button on the side of the barrel firmly until it clicks and then release it to turn the light on in continuous mode. Press and release it again to turn the T4 off.

Press the button more lightly (before it clicks) and hold it that way for as long as you need light; release it to turn the T4 off. This is momentary or signalling mode.



The Inova T4 feeds from a rechargeable lithium ion battery in the barrel; there are no disposable batteries to recycle or dispose of, and no parts to tell you to throw away, stomp on, kick in the weeds, or flush down the toilet.

To charge this internal battery when necessary, insert the flashlight into the charging cradle, so the button on the barrel faces outward and is positioned more or less above the two metal contacts in the cradle, and the two deep screw holes on the cradle are positioned closer to the flashlight's head than the flashlight's tail (see photograph below). Plug the short cord into the plug on the end of the wall-wart transformer's cord. It's designed to fit just one way, so you can't screw the polarity up here. Finally, plug the wall-wart into any standard 110 to 130 volts AC 60Hz two- or three-prong receptacle.

The blue light on the charging cradle should now come on; if it doesn't, jiggle the flashlight in the cradle until it snaps into place and that blue light on the cradle comes on.

From a state of full discharge to full charge, figure it will take approximately three hours. When the charge cycle is complete, the blue light will turn green.

According to the instructional material, you may charge the battery at any time; no need to wait until it is fully discharged because Li:ION batteries do not have the chemical "memory" that is often found in NiCd rechargeable batteries.

Flashlight draws 793mA off its battery (Li:ION, 3.6 volts, 2.150 amp-hours); the DMM was set on the 4A scale to help minimise shunt resistance error.


The above picture shows the blue LED in the charging cradle - usually they're red.
That's why I considered it noteworthy enough to furnish you a photograph of it here.



The Inova T4 appears to be very well built like its little brothers, the X0, X1, X5, and X5T. It is made primarily of anodized aluminum, with a stainless steel ring on the light's business end and a rubber button on the front of the barrel.

When the tailcap was removed, the flashlight was relieved of its battery, and that dreadful suction test was performed, there was significant air leakage. It should be weather- and splash-resistant, but *NOT* waterproof or submersible. So please try not to drop it in creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, oceansides, docksides, puddles of whale pee, slush piles, mud puddles, tubs, toilet bowls, cisterns, sinks, fishtanks, dog water dishes, or other places where water or water-like liquids might be found. A little rain or snow probably wouldn't hurt it though, so you need not be too concerned about using it in moderately bad weather.

If it fell in water and you suspect it got flooded, unscrew and remove the tailcap, dump out the water if necessary, and set the parts in a warm dry place for a day or so just to be sure it's completely dry inside before you reassemble and use it again.

If it fell into seawater or if somebody or something peed on it, douche all the parts out with fresh water before setting them out to dry. You don't want your Inova T4 to smell like seashells or piss when you go to use it next. Besides, salt (from seawater or pee-pee) can't be very good for the insides.

The lens is made of mineral glass, which protects the custom-made TIROS acrylic optic underneath. The lens is recessed for protection, so the usual "drag and wipe" technique for cleaning lenses won't work here. I'm not certain how you should clean this lens to keep it pristine and keep the AR coating intact...guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
A Sima LensPen is probably appropriate to use here, but since my T4's lens isn't dirty (since I just received the flashlight on 09-14-05), I can't say how well it will work.

I tried to cut through to bare metal with the blade of a Swiss army knife, and was not successful. This shows the unit most likely has a Type III hard anodized finish to it. So it should stay looking new for a long time, even if it goes up against keys, tools, or other flashlights during storage or transportation.
Would I really try to cut up a brand spanken new flashlight I paid perfectly good money for?
You bet your sweet patootie I would, if it's in the name of science.

The T4 can be stood on its tail to serve as a room light.

The beam is a very slightly warmish-white, with no pink, yellow, blue, purple, or "rotten porpoise urine green" tint to it.

The T4 features regulation that maintains brightness throughout its entire battery life, meaning the brightness doesn't decrease as the battery poops out as flashlights using alkaline disposable batteries and no regulation do.



Beam photo at ~12".
Measures 1,484,000mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.



Spectrographic plot
Spectrometer plot of the LED in this flashlight.
Ocean Optics USB2000 Spectrometer on loan from TWO-CUBED.


ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis.
Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.



Beam photo at ~15'.

That red star thing on the wall is from an American DJ Laser Widow.



TEST NOTES:
Light was purchased on Ebay on 09-07-05,and was received on the afternoon of 09-14-05.

The "wall wart" charger has a stated output of 9 volts DC at 1.12 amps.

Product was made in the United States. A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:



CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: Emissive Energy
    PRODUCT TYPE: Medium handheld LED flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: White Luxeon V LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Medium spot with soft fall-off at perimeter
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton momemtary/on/off switch on barrel
    BEZEL: Glass window protected by stainless steel collar
    BATTERY: Internal Li:ION rechargeable, 3.6 volts 2.150Ah
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 793mA
    WATER RESISTANT: Splash- and weather-resistant at minimum
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: Charging cradle, AC adapter, DC adapter, screws
    WARRANTY: Limited lifetime

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Inova T4 * www.inovalight.com/






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