TEKTORCHES V12

Tektorches V12, retail ??? (www.coastcutlery.com)
Manufactured by Zwiebruder (LED-Lenser Optoelectronics) (www.led-lenser.com/)
Last updated 11-12-07




I received this flashlight sometime in (I'm guessing) 2002, and just found the package last night (02-06-04). I don't even know who sent it anymore; if this was you, please pipe up so I can say thank you.

The TekTorches V12 is a Zwiebruder (LED-Lenser Optoelectronics) product, marketed and sold by Coast Cutlery. It is a powdercoated black aluminum flashlight with a bright white LED in one end, feeding from 3 size N cells, which it comes with, already installed in the flashlight. A wrist lanyard is attached at the other end, so you can carry the flashlight around that way if you wish. The V12 comes with a belt holster with a velcro closure.


SIZE



The V12 is ready to go as soon as you get it out of the package. Cutting down one side of the package with a razor blade or a good knife will allow you to remove the flashlight and holster from the plastic hell they come in.

To use the flashlight, press the button on the barrel partway in to get momentary light; release it to not get light.

Press the button harder to turn the V12 on in continuous mode. The light will run hands-free; press the button firmly again to turn it off.

The V12 comes with a black nylon belt holster with "Coast / TekTorches" embroidered in red on the flap. The holster has a loop on the back that will fit belts up to approximately 2" wide. You can put the flashlight in the holster either headfirst or tailfirst. In either case, some of the wrist lanyard will still come out the top. How you choose to deal with this is up to you. With the flashlight put tailfirst in the holster, you can kind of "bunch up" the short loop of lanyard around the flashlight head, so it does not protrude from the holster.



To change the batteries in the V12, unscrew and remove the tailcap, and throw it away...O WAIT YOU'LL NEED THAT, so just set it aside instead. :-) Tip the three dead N cells out of the barrel, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit. Insert three new N cells into the barrel, button (+) end first, then screw the tailcap back on. Glad you didn't get rid of that tailcap now, aren't you? ;-)

Current was measured at 223mA, so it's overdriving its LED by a significant margin. That "200,000 hour life" printed on the package will never be realised at current like this. :-(
Kapeesh?

200,000 hour LED life? Horse puckey! Horse puckey!!! HORSE PUCKEY!!!!!



The Coast Cutlery (Zwiebruder / LED-Lenser Optoelectronics) Photon Pump V12 is a decent looking flashlight - at least when it's new it will be. Since the finish on the outside of the flashlight is powdercoated, and not anodized, it will become scratched up rather readily in a toolbox or banging around in the garbage drawer. I rather easily scratched through the finish on mine right to the bare metal with nothing more than a Swiss army knife blade. (Would I really cut up a perfectly good flashlight? You bet your toilet muscle I would, if it's in the name of science! Just because I happen to have Anthrax "Sound Of White Noise" (This Is Not An Exit) going right at this moment has no bearing on whether I'd chop up a brand new flashlight or not.)

223mA to a single LED...that seems way, way, way too high. Better go measure that again...BRB...211mA that time. But that's still way, way, way too much current for a single LED. O wait, there's a 5.3 ohm resistor in the tailcap, so I guess that LED isn't running quite as hot as once believed. This throws my current measurement off too, so please disregard that. :-O
I got a reading of 106mA when I placed the tailcap in series in the circuit (as it would be when the flashlight is assembled correctly), and while the LED is still overdriven, it isn't overdriven as much as it was with the tailcap bypassed. The LED still won't last the 200,000 hours claimed on the package, but it's still better than my initial readings made it look.

The V12 is not too water-resistant either. I took the tailcap off, relieved the flashlight of batteries, and sucked on the open end. Air had no problems whatsoever getting into the flashlight; water probably wouldn't either. I'm not 100% certain where it's leaking, but around the switch and through the holes in the bezel assembly are good places to start.

The V12 comes with a nylon belt holster. Since I don't use pants that require a belt, and I probably don't have a belt either, I cannot test the functionality of the belt holster for this website.

The V12 has a reflector in it, but it's mostly there for cosmetic reasons. It does rather little to aid in actual light redirection. The LED's integral lens takes care of that part. There is a ring of light well outside the main beam that the reflector does produce, but it isn't a very useful part of the beam as a whole.



Beam photo at ~12".
Measures 20,400mcd using a Meterman LM631 light meter.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight.



TEST NOTES:
I received this flashlight sometime in (I'm guessing) 2002, and just found the package last night (02-06-04). I don't even know who sent it anymore; if this was you, please pipe up so I can say thank you.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:
Nice looking when new
Feels fine in the hand
Produces a useful, if slightly ringy beam


CONS:
Finish is painted on, not anodized
LED is significantly overdriven (100+mA)
"Reflector" could become discolored over time and get lint in it


    MANUFACTURER: Zweibruder (LED-Lenser Optoelectronics)
    PRODUCT TYPE: Small flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: 5mm white LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Narrow flood with rings at periphery
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off/momentary on barrel
    BEZEL: LED inset into a "reflector", no window
    BATTERY: 3x N cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 106mA
    WATER RESISTANT: Light splash resistance only
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: 3x Batteries, wrist lanyard, belt pouch
    WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





TekTorches V12 * www.coastcutlery.com






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