Mine stopped working a while ago. Opened it up and it was just a wire disconnected from the battery. Tiny wires, two minute fix, all working, happy bunny. Many thanks for showing the lock off feature. Now I can stop discharging it in my pocket. Wonderful!
You just allowed me to revive one of these, that was just in the mysterious lockout mode. Thanks so much! It might also allow me to revive a couple of others. these are handy little lights!
I have a nitecore tube from way back from the early days when it was new (january 2015) on which I can't trigger this lockout. - Single click followed by press + hold makes it cycle through brightness levels - Double click from off results in full brightness, followed by press + hold just turns it off without lockout Even after it cycles through all the PWM levels 6 times it doesn't lock out, did they change this at some point? I got it through a proper website that has always sold me authentic products and this one + the two I've given away as gifts from a different source were consistent, match the product specs and have held up well. Ordering IPA though is interesting, are the UK rules stricter than the EU based regulations? I can easily order up to whatever volume the ADR specifies just fine by postal package from a few retailers in the country online. Something with being below the LQ (low quantity) rules of that agreement of shipping hazardous materials. The last time I could order at least 5L (in 5x1L bottles) this way without issues. When entering things on their website I can fill in many times 1L bottles without issues (other than increased weight based charges), but a single 20L container is an ADR item rightaway and incurs the cost penalty of ADR registered courier based shipping.
Clive: I really enjoy your videos. Having been a tech for about 50 years now, I have found that lacquer thinner from the hardware store makes an excellent circuit board cleaner. I have been using it for over 40 years. I discovered this when I worked as a tech with Motorola. Cleans flux residue, and deposits caused by water or sweat. Does not seem to bother components. The plastic case may melt. I use it on pocket pagers, hand held 2 way radios, and power amplifiers, as well as circuit boards in general. The corrosion from alkaline batteries, ( includes alkaline cells, Nickel Cadmium, Nickel Iron and Nickel metal Hydride) which have Potassium hydroxide as an electrolyte can be cleaned with a Phosphoric acid preparation from the auto paint store. This is called "metal prep" here, must be used before paint is applied to steel. I use the brand "Rust Mort", Not a jelly prep, you need a liquid applied by a stiff brush. Wash with water after treatment, dry.
This is a great video. The whole idea that electronic things can be fixed is something that I have learned from Bigclive and others. I am no longer afraid to at least try to fix things. Have soldering iron, will succeed.
I rushed out and bought one of these on Clive's recommendation from a previous video. I was very pleased until it apparently failed a few weeks later. We didn't know about the undocumented lock-out feature. The retailer absorbed the cost and exchanged it for a new one. I suspect that this scenario is being repeated thousands of times the world over, and the result will be far fewer retailers carrying this product.
I'm sure you're right. What Nitecore should do is make it so that when in lock out mode, the LED pulses on for a fraction of a second when the button is pressed. Not enough to add much power draw for accidental button presses, but enough to indicate that the light is working. If there were brief pulses for each subsequent 500ms that the button was held, users might then discover that a longer press resulted in 2 pulses, then 3, etc. until they manage to unlock it.
If I'd known about this, I would have salvaged the battery out of it for my dash-cam. It happens to be a special size that fits into a tiny space inside the camera. Unfortunately I had already bought one online for considerably more than the price of the Nitecore Tube.
Thanks for posting the video in 2017 because it is still very useful during the last days of 2020. Covid has made me stay home but I have all sorts of little projects staring me in the face and my Nitecore Tube was one of them. It too had been through the wash and had a nice coat of detergent and corrosion. After cleaning it off with a toothbrush and rubbing alcohol it worked for a bit and then failed. The key symptoms were: Blue LED stays on for charging but never went off. Holding down the button and inserting the charging cord could elicit a momentary flash of the light. But the battery voltage never increased during charging. At 4:25 in the video there is a discussion of a corroded copper trace and I had the exact same issue. I carefully scraped clean the copper and bridged the divide with a small bit of wire soldered in. Now the light appears to charge normally and functions as expected with a bright LED on command. I will let it complete the charge cycle and attempt to reassemble the whole package. Later on I will reply here with the results.
I put the unit on charge and after 40 minutes or so the blue LED went out! When i unplugged the charger the light functioned normally so I went ahead and reassembled the whole thing and attached it to my keyring. Thanks again Big Clive.
You are such a dedicated man to do such a search. I've done similar things and it's just so rewarding to see things almost ready for the bin, spring to life.
Thank you so much. I was using mine yesterday and it stopped working. I thought it needed charging but the charge light kept going off. The light wouldn’t come on and I thought it was broken after 18 months of use. I looked where I bought it and they wanted $10.95 and $10 shipping. I googled to see if I could get one locally and saw your video. It was locked out! Thanks again. Anyone ever told you that you sound like my friend and celebrity designer Justin RYAN of ‘Colin and Justin’ 😊
Well what do you know? Thought my Tube had crapped out for good, but this video showed me the hidden lockout function and sure enough, it sprang back to life. Thanks!
Most people would toss that into the bin and move on. We are becoming so used to tossing what fails and getting a new one. Causing more and more crap into land fills that get by the recycling watch men at the dumps. I stand and salute you sir!
I believe in Denmark (or one of the scandis ) the government give tax rebate on repairs, it has simulated a lot community repair groups and small shops.
I've watched this video and have had a Nitecore Thumb malfunction big time. The blue and red LEDs on the "flasher" part of the flashlight got stuck and began the process to set my pants on fire, had I not sensed the increasing warmth in my pocket. Thanks to your tear downs of such things involving lithium power packs of doom I was able to diffuse the impending fire that would've taken me back to my days in home economics class where I managed to light my pants on fire with a hot stove. Yeah, don't ask... This Nitecore Thumb was off and did have a lockout feature, but was not enabled at the time, nor could I enable or disable such a feature. The red and blue LEDs just stayed on, and got warmer, and warmer, and then got quite hot. Just as I spudgered it open and cut the power leads it was almost to hot to handle. Again thanks for the tear down video. And for the wisdom of keeping a container nearby should something reach the "Oh SHUCKS!!" phase of fiery enlightenment. And also thanks for saving my fall-a-particle board desk!
Thank you for posting this interesting video Clive! I always look forward to your posts. No matter what the subject is, I turn up the volume and align the screen angle of my tablet so I can concentrate and enjoy your latest RUclips video. Thank you again!
Had about 4 of these over the past years. Forget how the previous failed, but my latest v2 has just barfed. Was plugged into a usb charger which will do 18w (over usb c to my phone) Taking it off charge and it now flashed constantly when on higher than 50% output. Think I have had others fail in the same way. Just this time is was noticable - torch ok, charge using phone charger, and failed immediately I switched it on again. Did the charger do it? Hmm. These are so useful, and I hate large keychains, theres enough going to go on there. Just not seen anything as compact which is rechargable. So keep buying them. But can no longer recommend them with this failure rate. A
As usual, another informative and nicely produced video. Thank you. Now, in full disclosure, when I first glanced at the title my mind read it as "Fixing two naughty Nightcore Tube flashlights." Hey, I make no excuses.
I love the way that Clive gets better images with his mobile phone and printer, than certain other RUclipsrs (no names but we all know who) do with their freebie Mantis, super duper digital microscopes and the like!
If you can't get IPA (I don't mean the beer), try brake cleaner, obtainable in an aerosol can from your local car accessory shop. It is very volatile, so evaporates quickly and leaves no residue. Legend has it that it will clean almost anything- including red wine stains! Love the Clive at the Castle reports during the Edinburgh Festival. Changed days from the fleet of Lee Electric generator trucks parked in Johnston Terrace below the castle to power the TV arc lights, which were “turned” on and off by two guys holding a board in front of the lens.
Another Light Life Saved! So, they are Not 'waterproof', unless Clive is near to fix. Good Job! And you'll Show use Exactly How you did it. I can picture it, but i define things differently.
Sadly my nitecore tube has died too, I wonder if it got rained on while i was on the motorbike. No luck wth the lockout feature, but it still indicates a blue charge light.
I have three of these Nitecore Tubes, all appear to be genuine Nitcores and not clones, and I had no idea about the lockout function. I checked all three and my two newest ones have the lockout, yet my oldest doesn't. I've had a problem with them coming on in my pocket and that's the reason I stopped carrying one on my keyring...now I'm putting one back with my keys. My oldest Tube quite working at one point, I took it apart and the solder joint where the LED joins the board was bad. I was able to get the light working again by dabbing on some flux and melting the glob of solder that was already there with a fine point soldering iron tip.
currently sitting on a deck in Lisbon Portugal listening to the music that's in the background down the street while watching this video. It goes fairly well together idk why.
If you watch out for such lights. The HUGE price difference of the "Nitecore TIP" (like really - TIP is about 25 USD) is really worth it... The TIP keychain light can really outperform any of the little Maglites... If it ever suffers from defects I'll purchase another to ship it to clive as a thanks for showing me how to repair.
Clive: Can you get "rubbing alcohol" locally? I buy the 70% version (70% isopropyl alcohol, 30% water), and super-saturate the water with table salt, then let the near-pure isopropyl alcohol separate from the saltwater and siphon it off. Just keep adding table salt and shaking until some undissolved salt settles on the bottom, then leave undisturbed for a few hours.
Carlton Dodd that's a GREAT idea! thanks for sharing! I've always wondered how to do it myself...I buy 90% Isp Alc and always wondered why the 99 stuff cost so much more and if there was a way to get mine closer to 99 easily n cheaply. gonna have to give this a shot! THANKS
well clive you sure help sell alot :) just got mine today and ordered one for dad for fathers day. figured banggood would not get here on time so might as well go amazon's prime route.. Although figuring out who's a fake and who's not I wouldn't know. Banggoods version seems legit, although saving $2 wasn't that big of a deal , that'll go right on the keychain. as I have too many cree flashlamps about inside the house..
i am a volunteer firefighter in new york and i was wondering if you would lile to take a look at a no longer functioning fire alarm strobe. i have 2 of the same type and both refuse to strobe. neither have a horn or buzzer.
The Isle of Man pretends to be independent but is still effectively run by Westminster. UK postcode, UK dialling code and UK national insurance number.
How did you work that out? I've had my tube for ages now, since you reviewed it, in fact. I'm sure there was nothing about it in the instructions or the two or three other reviews I've seen. Goodonya mate.
When my brother came over with his I routinely tried pressing the button for several seconds. Some microcontroller based devices use that as a reset if they are still capable of running.
Cheers Clive, good to know about the detergent! I had a major fuck-up today, I went and plugged my 5v DAB radio into a 12v charge lead and now it's dead apart from the lcd lighting up white.. Does anyone have any idea if it could be repaired? I have a meter and soldering iron so hopefully it's nothing terminal...
Alright Clive, my nitecore tube stobes when on the highest setting. Haven't damaged it to my knowledge and happened after less than one charge. Any idea what it could be? cheers
@@tomdefig6514 G'day Tom , I bought 3 tubes about 2 years ago and use them every day. I have not had any problems with any of them . I still think they are a great little light to hang around your neck and have a light with you all the time .
One other way I have been successful removing screws that were just spinning was to lever them out (that is, put something very thin under the head and pry upwards) while turning. It often makes them grab again and you can screw them out, without having to apply anything more destructive than there already is. You can screw them back in normally, but in most cases, it requires levering them out again in order to remove them.
Can the corrosion continue under the solder mask? Perhaps not with regular water but sea water could happily carry on. It's not like you could just rinse the salt and leave it to dry..
It'snot so bad with water, but with some chemicals like the electrolyte from NiCd cells it does cause a significant ongoing corrosion issue. You have to strip the resist to neutralise the chemical.
seems they use it as a solvent for food dye, once the solvent evaporates it leaves no trace apart from the colour. I've seen some of my partners work and it is truly amazing. NB she makes wedding cakes.
For corrosion, I usually use a mild acid like vinegar with a toothbrush. Next, I rinse well with water to neutralize the vinegar and to remove any sugary residue. Finally, I rinse with 91% IPA to get anything left, and blast with a clean (no moisture or oil) air jet to dislodge any moisture under components. I repeat the IPA wash after repairs to leave zero residue.
How do you actually activate the lockout? When I try it all that happens is the brightness ramps up. Even people with newer tubes posted the same results over on the Nitecore store RUclips channel.
It depends on the software. Press the button once so it lights at low intensity. Wait for a few seconds and then press and hold it. The light will go out and then several seconds later it will flash once to show lockout is engaged. To unlock, just hold the button until it lights.
Hey Clive, do you want my old Nitecore TINI to take to bits? It works but the power button is stuffed and I can't be bothered to fix it so I bought a TIP 2. If you've got a PO Box or something I can send it to it's yours. It's a great little light for it's size. Thought it might be interesting, you might even be able to repair it.
don't you have a pharmacy store there? they usually have isoprop i'm getting so much stuff for building and pc related works in pharmacy stores. small batteries, isoprop, syringes (for refilling my printer)
It's not a great idea, since the rice isn't that absorbent. It's best to carefully flush the water damaged item with isopropanol if available and place it in a dry warm place and hope for the best.
Thanks for the reply! Yes, I agree with you; I had a person buy a bag of rice (I work retail right now) and tell me it's for fixing his phone, he had dropped it in the sink. I did't' think it would work. I did think along those lines, silica gel packs might do something like that, but not rice.
mostly if it got wet with a battery in (which is all time time) it will never recover, things have got eaten away by electrolysis. people have trusted too many youtuber fakes. along with fix your knackered car battery with epsom salts type crap.
Anything battery powered that gets wet: immediately remove or disconnect the battery. If the item is contaminated, flush wash with clean water. Remove the case. Gently pour more clean water over the PCB. If you live in a hard water area, or additives are in the water, use demineralised water (often available from automotive shops). Prop up at a 45 degree angle in a warm dry place for at least 24 to 36 hours. Check for corrosion damage. Repair, and clean with IPA. Put back together and test...
Clive when our OTIS Lifts were modernized last year I asked if I could have a few of the door call switches. They're the ones with the shiny metal thumb-fit switches with a circular LED-ring around them. I'm willing to send one to you by mail for a teardown. That is if you're interested ?
Hello clive, Can I have your advice / idea about using manucure (the transparent nail one) to waterproof a pcb ? Like garden solar lamp or bicycle led lamp. Thanks. Ps I have found a Nitecore Tube on amazon for 800yen (Japan).
I would suspect that "cleaning powders" that use oxidizing methods would expedite the process of corrosion. But it comes down to what is marketing and if oxiclean ACTUALLY creates a bleaching action by flooding the laundry basin with O2
Paul Sengupta . Thanks for going through the trouble of linking these. I had only watched one of these. I was refering (not very well) to screw on LED bulbs like a normal fixture with a bug zapper built in. a light you can screw into any regular light socket.
Just grab some thin rigid wire, bend it to 90° and solder to the stubborn screw head. These screws are often very soft and your screwdriver just damages the head to a point where there's nothing for the screwdriver to grab onto.
I was under the impression (other than corrosive alkaline liquid) that it was hot water specifically that often defeats "waterproofing". Just like any decent wristwatch that says it'll do 200 meters in the ocean often declares you shouldn't wear it in the shower or hot tub because of that reason.
Hey Clive -- what do you mean when you say the pad "is referenced to" the negative rail? Full disclosure: I'm not an electrician or engineer. I'm a filthy front-end developer.
Mike Mitchell ANY measurement requires a reference point. Try drawing a line with only ONE end, or getting to "Point B" without any idea where "Point A" is, or even measuring something with an "end", but no beginning. If you consider an electric toy train, one rail is negative, and the other is positive. All the circuits (motor, lights, sound, etc) derive their power from the rails. That analogy carries over to all circuits. When you see Clive draw a circuit, you'll notice there is always a main conductor at the top, and another at the bottom. By convention, the lowest energy conductor is at the bottom. It may be called negative, neutral, or often ground or earth (though not always used correctly). The concept is generally the same. Also, this negative rail is the reference point for using a meter to measure various points in the circuit.
The corrosion continues afterwards until all the liquid has evaporated, which can be a long time if it gets trapped. I'm aware of not doing too many samey videos, but the flashlight ones are always very popular.
At least on my son, and my TIP, the light has to be on for 3-5 seconds, before you can turn on lockout. However, what I've seen from NightCore, says that it drains your battery quicker, because the chip stays full on, while in lockout. The same warning exists for my TUBE CRI.
I wonder, Big Clive, has anyone sent you towards Shenzhen I/O? It's a microelectronics videogame with mild programming elements. I wonder if it would be your kind of thing!
I have legit one and it doesn't seem to have lockout feature. Edit: It's fairly old though so maybe it has a different firmware. Sucks though, lockout would be useful to stop it turning on in my pocket
I know what you mean about over zealous screwing lol. when you have a thousand screws to screw it is handy having some mechanical assistance however. my drill had a handy torque setting so never caused any damage to the screw heads or the materials either. there's few worse things than finding all the heads chewed, when you have a thousand screws to unscrew.
Mine stopped working a while ago. Opened it up and it was just a wire disconnected from the battery. Tiny wires, two minute fix, all working, happy bunny.
Many thanks for showing the lock off feature. Now I can stop discharging it in my pocket. Wonderful!
You just allowed me to revive one of these, that was just in the mysterious lockout mode. Thanks so much! It might also allow me to revive a couple of others. these are handy little lights!
thanks to the dude that sent those in to be repaired. nice to know about that lockout feature as well.
Andy Rattmann press and hold for three second to stop stand by battery drain
LEXUS-RX300 not standby battery drain, to stop accidentally being turned on in your pocket.
I have a nitecore tube from way back from the early days when it was new (january 2015) on which I can't trigger this lockout.
- Single click followed by press + hold makes it cycle through brightness levels
- Double click from off results in full brightness, followed by press + hold just turns it off without lockout
Even after it cycles through all the PWM levels 6 times it doesn't lock out, did they change this at some point? I got it through a proper website that has always sold me authentic products and this one + the two I've given away as gifts from a different source were consistent, match the product specs and have held up well.
Ordering IPA though is interesting, are the UK rules stricter than the EU based regulations? I can easily order up to whatever volume the ADR specifies just fine by postal package from a few retailers in the country online. Something with being below the LQ (low quantity) rules of that agreement of shipping hazardous materials. The last time I could order at least 5L (in 5x1L bottles) this way without issues.
When entering things on their website I can fill in many times 1L bottles without issues (other than increased weight based charges), but a single 20L container is an ADR item rightaway and incurs the cost penalty of ADR registered courier based shipping.
I have one that does not go dormant. tried and tried, now I have a blind spot.
next time, don't stare into the LED sun.
Can you please start recording the repairs again. The troubleshooting/investigating and repairs are why I enjoy this channel.
Clive:
I really enjoy your videos. Having been a tech for about 50 years now, I have found that lacquer thinner from the hardware store makes an excellent circuit board cleaner. I have been using it for over 40 years. I discovered this when I worked as a tech with Motorola. Cleans flux residue, and deposits caused by water or sweat. Does not seem to bother components. The plastic case may melt.
I use it on pocket pagers, hand held 2 way radios, and power amplifiers, as well as circuit boards in general.
The corrosion from alkaline batteries, ( includes alkaline cells, Nickel Cadmium, Nickel Iron and Nickel metal Hydride) which have Potassium hydroxide as an electrolyte can be cleaned with a Phosphoric acid preparation from the auto paint store. This is called "metal prep" here, must be used before paint is applied to steel. I use the brand "Rust Mort", Not a jelly prep, you need a liquid applied by a stiff brush. Wash with water after treatment, dry.
This is a great video. The whole idea that electronic things can be fixed is something that I have learned from Bigclive and others. I am no longer afraid to at least try to fix things. Have soldering iron, will succeed.
"Sorry Marcus ..." I was half way expecting Clive to say "...it's mine now." :D
I rushed out and bought one of these on Clive's recommendation from a previous video. I was very pleased until it apparently failed a few weeks later. We didn't know about the undocumented lock-out feature. The retailer absorbed the cost and exchanged it for a new one. I suspect that this scenario is being repeated thousands of times the world over, and the result will be far fewer retailers carrying this product.
I'm sure you're right. What Nitecore should do is make it so that when in lock out mode, the LED pulses on for a fraction of a second when the button is pressed. Not enough to add much power draw for accidental button presses, but enough to indicate that the light is working. If there were brief pulses for each subsequent 500ms that the button was held, users might then discover that a longer press resulted in 2 pulses, then 3, etc. until they manage to unlock it.
codebeard
They could also etch some instructions on the case. Just basic ones like "Long press to disable/enable button lock".
I had exactly the same problem, couldn't be bothered to return it with delivery etc. I thought it was a has-been! Thanks Clive
If I'd known about this, I would have salvaged the battery out of it for my dash-cam. It happens to be a special size that fits into a tiny space inside the camera. Unfortunately I had already bought one online for considerably more than the price of the Nitecore Tube.
I also had to get one, seeing as it was $8 and I had Amazon credit far more than that.
Thanks for posting the video in 2017 because it is still very useful during the last days of 2020. Covid has made me stay home but I have all sorts of little projects staring me in the face and my Nitecore Tube was one of them. It too had been through the wash and had a nice coat of detergent and corrosion. After cleaning it off with a toothbrush and rubbing alcohol it worked for a bit and then failed. The key symptoms were: Blue LED stays on for charging but never went off. Holding down the button and inserting the charging cord could elicit a momentary flash of the light. But the battery voltage never increased during charging.
At 4:25 in the video there is a discussion of a corroded copper trace and I had the exact same issue. I carefully scraped clean the copper and bridged the divide with a small bit of wire soldered in. Now the light appears to charge normally and functions as expected with a bright LED on command. I will let it complete the charge cycle and attempt to reassemble the whole package. Later on I will reply here with the results.
I put the unit on charge and after 40 minutes or so the blue LED went out! When i unplugged the charger the light functioned normally so I went ahead and reassembled the whole thing and attached it to my keyring. Thanks again Big Clive.
You are such a dedicated man to do such a search. I've done similar things and it's just so rewarding to see things almost ready for the bin, spring to life.
I have just stumbled across this... your videos are oddly satisfying. The depth you take your investigations is impressive. Bravo Sir
Thank you so much. I was using mine yesterday and it stopped working. I thought it needed charging but the charge light kept going off. The light wouldn’t come on and I thought it was broken after 18 months of use. I looked where I bought it and they wanted $10.95 and $10 shipping. I googled to see if I could get one locally and saw your video. It was locked out! Thanks again. Anyone ever told you that you sound like my friend and celebrity designer Justin RYAN of ‘Colin and Justin’ 😊
I love how I can watch youtube videos on this channel, have fun, and learn things at the same time.
Well what do you know? Thought my Tube had crapped out for good, but this video showed me the hidden lockout function and sure enough, it sprang back to life. Thanks!
Most people would toss that into the bin and move on. We are becoming so used to tossing what fails and getting a new one. Causing more and more crap into land fills that get by the recycling watch men at the dumps. I stand and salute you sir!
I believe in Denmark (or one of the scandis ) the government give tax rebate on repairs, it has simulated a lot community repair groups and small shops.
Outstanding and very practical advice for the novice and experienced
repair technician. Thanks!
I've watched this video and have had a Nitecore Thumb malfunction big time. The blue and red LEDs on the "flasher" part of the flashlight got stuck and began the process to set my pants on fire, had I not sensed the increasing warmth in my pocket. Thanks to your tear downs of such things involving lithium power packs of doom I was able to diffuse the impending fire that would've taken me back to my days in home economics class where I managed to light my pants on fire with a hot stove. Yeah, don't ask...
This Nitecore Thumb was off and did have a lockout feature, but was not enabled at the time, nor could I enable or disable such a feature. The red and blue LEDs just stayed on, and got warmer, and warmer, and then got quite hot. Just as I spudgered it open and cut the power leads it was almost to hot to handle.
Again thanks for the tear down video. And for the wisdom of keeping a container nearby should something reach the "Oh SHUCKS!!" phase of fiery enlightenment. And also thanks for saving my fall-a-particle board desk!
That's a bit scary, but one of the risks of microcontrollers when they crash.
I finally find a video where you actually put things back together :-D
I put most things back together afterwards.
I thought my Nitecore Tube was dead! I am going to have to try this when I get home, since it's probably just locked out. Thank you for this!
Thank you for posting this interesting video Clive! I always look forward to your posts. No matter what the subject is, I turn up the volume and align the screen angle of my tablet so I can concentrate and enjoy your latest RUclips video. Thank you again!
Had about 4 of these over the past years. Forget how the previous failed, but my latest v2 has just barfed. Was plugged into a usb charger which will do 18w (over usb c to my phone)
Taking it off charge and it now flashed constantly when on higher than 50% output.
Think I have had others fail in the same way. Just this time is was noticable - torch ok, charge using phone charger, and failed immediately I switched it on again. Did the charger do it? Hmm.
These are so useful, and I hate large keychains, theres enough going to go on there.
Just not seen anything as compact which is rechargable. So keep buying them. But can no longer recommend them with this failure rate.
A
Although possibly annoying, that lockout function is a nice, useful feature! Good design!
I would seriously cry from laughing if video would stop after 45 second when you unlocked them, and then just say: "fixed" end of video xD
As usual, another informative and nicely produced video. Thank you. Now, in full disclosure, when I first glanced at the title my mind read it as "Fixing two naughty Nightcore Tube flashlights." Hey, I make no excuses.
I love the way that Clive gets better images with his mobile phone and printer, than certain other RUclipsrs (no names but we all know who) do with their freebie Mantis, super duper digital microscopes and the like!
The trick is that Clive actually draws all the pictures manually, this sneaky liar.
Niko Andruloni You should see the amount of crayons he goes through. Boom there goes his video budget.
ive never seen a grown ass man love a little light so much :3 adorable
If you can't get IPA (I don't mean the beer), try brake cleaner, obtainable in an aerosol can from your local car accessory shop. It is very volatile, so evaporates quickly and leaves no residue. Legend has it that it will clean almost anything- including red wine stains!
Love the Clive at the Castle reports during the Edinburgh Festival. Changed days from the fleet of Lee Electric generator trucks parked in Johnston Terrace below the castle to power the TV arc lights, which were “turned” on and off by two guys holding a board in front of the lens.
Another Light Life Saved! So, they are Not 'waterproof', unless Clive is near to fix. Good Job!
And you'll Show use Exactly How you did it. I can picture it, but i define things differently.
Thanks for that Clive on the lock out on the tube flashlight I have one and will now lock it out when in my pocket.
Sadly my nitecore tube has died too, I wonder if it got rained on while i was on the motorbike. No luck wth the lockout feature, but it still indicates a blue charge light.
I have three of these Nitecore Tubes, all appear to be genuine Nitcores and not clones, and I had no idea about the lockout function. I checked all three and my two newest ones have the lockout, yet my oldest doesn't. I've had a problem with them coming on in my pocket and that's the reason I stopped carrying one on my keyring...now I'm putting one back with my keys.
My oldest Tube quite working at one point, I took it apart and the solder joint where the LED joins the board was bad. I was able to get the light working again by dabbing on some flux and melting the glob of solder that was already there with a fine point soldering iron tip.
Props to Clive because had I been in his position and seen the state of those boards I'd have just said "just buy another one"
currently sitting on a deck in Lisbon Portugal listening to the music that's in the background down the street while watching this video. It goes fairly well together idk why.
Hi. The microcontroller you mentioned in there, can you let us know which it is please
You sir are a legend. Mine was just “locked out”
If you watch out for such lights. The HUGE price difference of the "Nitecore TIP" (like really - TIP is about 25 USD) is really worth it... The TIP keychain light can really outperform any of the little Maglites...
If it ever suffers from defects I'll purchase another to ship it to clive as a thanks for showing me how to repair.
There is a full TIP teardown in a video.
nice to find out! don't have one of these but I will bet there are others with the same secret function! have found a few things myself
inspiring video Clive. what is the best way to remove a alkaline battery from a touch that had leaked and dried. want to repair my Gerber recon torch
Clive: Can you get "rubbing alcohol" locally? I buy the 70% version (70% isopropyl alcohol, 30% water), and super-saturate the water with table salt, then let the near-pure isopropyl alcohol separate from the saltwater and siphon it off. Just keep adding table salt and shaking until some undissolved salt settles on the bottom, then leave undisturbed for a few hours.
Carlton Dodd drink it
LEXUS-RX300
Why would I do that, when there are much tastier alcohols to be had?
Carlton Dodd yes most grocery stores have it i prefer 90 percent alcohol.
Carlton Dodd that's a GREAT idea! thanks for sharing! I've always wondered how to do it myself...I buy 90% Isp Alc and always wondered why the 99 stuff cost so much more and if there was a way to get mine closer to 99 easily n cheaply. gonna have to give this a shot! THANKS
MyBigThing2010
Yeah, I was surprised how easy it was when I first learned about it. 70% Isopropyl is dirt cheap, so I just get that.
Speaking of fixing things, I would like to see you make some videos of some fault finding, and then fixing things
I know you have had it for a while but I like the "new" camera with the zoom.
Yeeaaaa... BigClive fixed LittleTorch... YEEAAAAH. That's why I love BIGCLIVE !! I just wish he could fix my life !!!
well clive you sure help sell alot :) just got mine today and ordered one for dad for fathers day. figured banggood would not get here on time so might as well go amazon's prime route.. Although figuring out who's a fake and who's not I wouldn't know. Banggoods version seems legit, although saving $2 wasn't that big of a deal , that'll go right on the keychain. as I have too many cree flashlamps about inside the house..
i am a volunteer firefighter in new york and i was wondering if you would lile to take a look at a no longer functioning fire alarm strobe. i have 2 of the same type and both refuse to strobe. neither have a horn or buzzer.
Get ready for sticker shock from the postage rates to the UK. :)
And even worse to the Isle of Man lol
Only just, but because it's an island getting anything to it is more expensive than the rest of the uk.
If they're xenon strobes and have seen a lot of use then the tubes may have failed.
The Isle of Man pretends to be independent but is still effectively run by Westminster. UK postcode, UK dialling code and UK national insurance number.
How did you work that out? I've had my tube for ages now, since you reviewed it, in fact. I'm sure there was nothing about it in the instructions or the two or three other reviews I've seen. Goodonya mate.
When my brother came over with his I routinely tried pressing the button for several seconds. Some microcontroller based devices use that as a reset if they are still capable of running.
Worth remembering with any gadget that "fails"
nitecore tube removed from pocket, locked out, returned to pocket. Thanks clive!
Can you do a tour throug your room?
Cheers Clive, good to know about the detergent!
I had a major fuck-up today, I went and plugged my 5v DAB radio into a 12v charge lead and now it's dead apart from the lcd lighting up white.. Does anyone have any idea if it could be repaired? I have a meter and soldering iron so hopefully it's nothing terminal...
Alright Clive, my nitecore tube stobes when on the highest setting. Haven't damaged it to my knowledge and happened after less than one charge. Any idea what it could be? cheers
I read the title as "two naughty nightcore tube fleshlights" lmfao XD
PuddingWhispers: HA HA HA... GOOD ONE !!!
I have 3 tubes ,but one of them goes to a strobe effect when on full power. Any suggestions to fix would be great ,Thanks.
It might be an LED bond issue.
Thanks mate.
Had mine for a month and it started doing this on high mode not on low..
@@tomdefig6514 G'day Tom , I bought 3 tubes about 2 years ago and use them every day. I have not had any problems with any of them . I still think they are a great little light to hang around your neck and have a light with you all the time .
I wonder if the lockout is a recent feature? I have a real Nitecore Tube but it does not have the lockout. It's from late 2015, early 2016.
Yeah same here.
Apparently, the lock out is a post June 2016 feature.
One other way I have been successful removing screws that were just spinning was to lever them out (that is, put something very thin under the head and pry upwards) while turning. It often makes them grab again and you can screw them out, without having to apply anything more destructive than there already is. You can screw them back in normally, but in most cases, it requires levering them out again in order to remove them.
Going to the tech department in school.
Me: It went to the washer
Tech person: Have you tried turning it off and on?
Can the corrosion continue under the solder mask? Perhaps not with regular water but sea water could happily carry on. It's not like you could just rinse the salt and leave it to dry..
It'snot so bad with water, but with some chemicals like the electrolyte from NiCd cells it does cause a significant ongoing corrosion issue. You have to strip the resist to neutralise the chemical.
As all ways another great video Clive.
You can get high purity isopropyl alcohol in maplin. They label it "electronic cleaning solvent".
You can get isopropyl alcohol at cake decoration/sugar craft shops....apparently
lolwut really, why do they sell such a thing?
here in the USA you can buy 99% isopropyl alcohol in the grocery store. $3 for a quart
seems they use it as a solvent for food dye, once the solvent evaporates it leaves no trace apart from the colour. I've seen some of my partners work and it is truly amazing. NB she makes wedding cakes.
You can drink the meths when your bored, double bonus
For corrosion, I usually use a mild acid like vinegar with a toothbrush. Next, I rinse well with water to neutralize the vinegar and to remove any sugary residue. Finally, I rinse with 91% IPA to get anything left, and blast with a clean (no moisture or oil) air jet to dislodge any moisture under components. I repeat the IPA wash after repairs to leave zero residue.
"Fairly tiny in real life"! Sorry made me chuckle... no kidding?
Clive is the resistor (upper left of the LED) broken? it looks to be sitting at a weird angle and the solder cap is missing....
These units all have slightly wonky components due to the busy layout.
How do you actually activate the lockout? When I try it all that happens is the brightness ramps up. Even people with newer tubes posted the same results over on the Nitecore store RUclips channel.
It depends on the software. Press the button once so it lights at low intensity. Wait for a few seconds and then press and hold it. The light will go out and then several seconds later it will flash once to show lockout is engaged. To unlock, just hold the button until it lights.
Hey Clive, do you want my old Nitecore TINI to take to bits? It works but the power button is stuffed and I can't be bothered to fix it so I bought a TIP 2. If you've got a PO Box or something I can send it to it's yours. It's a great little light for it's size. Thought it might be interesting, you might even be able to repair it.
You can get the buttons on eBay. It might be worth trying a repair.
don't you have a pharmacy store there? they usually have isoprop
i'm getting so much stuff for building and pc related works in pharmacy stores. small batteries, isoprop, syringes (for refilling my printer)
do you think it might be time to change the background material you work on to include the logo. just a thought.
I recently bought one of the nightcore tips, its the higer end version of the tube and I really like it
if you get one def get the newer one that comes with a button cover because you need it.
Thank you, mine works again after long time holding button, thanks again :)
What do you think about using rice grains to soak up moisture from electronics?
nathanallan1 No.
It's not a great idea, since the rice isn't that absorbent. It's best to carefully flush the water damaged item with isopropanol if available and place it in a dry warm place and hope for the best.
Thanks for the reply! Yes, I agree with you; I had a person buy a bag of rice (I work retail right now) and tell me it's for fixing his phone, he had dropped it in the sink. I did't' think it would work. I did think along those lines, silica gel packs might do something like that, but not rice.
mostly if it got wet with a battery in (which is all time time) it will never recover, things have got eaten away by electrolysis. people have trusted too many youtuber fakes. along with fix your knackered car battery with epsom salts type crap.
Anything battery powered that gets wet: immediately remove or disconnect the battery. If the item is contaminated, flush wash with clean water. Remove the case. Gently pour more clean water over the PCB. If you live in a hard water area, or additives are in the water, use demineralised water (often available from automotive shops). Prop up at a 45 degree angle in a warm dry place for at least 24 to 36 hours. Check for corrosion damage. Repair, and clean with IPA. Put back together and test...
Thank you. Mines was on the locked out feat.
Clive when our OTIS Lifts were modernized last year I asked if I could have a few of the door call switches. They're the ones with the shiny metal thumb-fit switches with a circular LED-ring around them. I'm willing to send one to you by mail for a teardown. That is if you're interested ?
Is there any fix for when it starts blinking? Especially at highest brightness mine is continuously blinking now.
Because of you i brought two of these
where to?
That Guy ???
Where to?
That Guy Hey hey hey... That's my name.
Hello clive,
Can I have your advice / idea about using manucure (the transparent nail one) to waterproof a pcb ?
Like garden solar lamp or bicycle led lamp.
Thanks.
Ps I have found a Nitecore Tube on amazon for 800yen (Japan).
The clear nail varnish seems to work for creating a localised conformal coating on PCBs.
The lockout feature is [now?] described on the packaging of the Nitecore Tube I bought along with the other modes.
I would suspect that "cleaning powders" that use oxidizing methods would expedite the process of corrosion. But it comes down to what is marketing and if oxiclean ACTUALLY creates a bleaching action by flooding the laundry basin with O2
awesome, I'm going to lock mine now you showed me that
Can I use acetone (or nail polish remover) to clean PCBs if I don't have access to isopropyl alcohol?
Acetone can dissolve some plastics. I'd recommend against it.
Hey Clive. I saw these LED lights with bug zappers in them. Can you take them apart?
Paul Sengupta . Thanks for going through the trouble of linking these. I had only watched one of these. I was refering (not very well) to screw on LED bulbs like a normal fixture with a bug zapper built in. a light you can screw into any regular light socket.
Why cut out the part where you fix stuff?? That's why we come!!!
It took much longer than desired. The tiny tracks and density on a double sided board made it hard to trace.
bigclivedotcom I'm pretty sure nobody would mind :)
We don't mind the longer video's
nope, we like long videos. Go for it!
Timestamping would work for those who are impatient.
Clive... your like the nitecore master...lol
Someone is going to ask, so....
What's the name of that very nice screwdriver set you use? (a link would nice also)
:)
My god that things fully operational. :) LOL
Just grab some thin rigid wire, bend it to 90° and solder to the stubborn screw head. These screws are often very soft and your screwdriver just damages the head to a point where there's nothing for the screwdriver to grab onto.
I was under the impression (other than corrosive alkaline liquid) that it was hot water specifically that often defeats "waterproofing". Just like any decent wristwatch that says it'll do 200 meters in the ocean often declares you shouldn't wear it in the shower or hot tub because of that reason.
nice tool foxy will look for one
Mine does not seem to want to lock out. Is there an earlier version that does not have this function?
There do seem to be different software versions.
Clive! I have a Mac media center power supply I'd love for you to tear down. I'll include treats in the shipment. Interested?
Bad capacitors?
No idea what, if anything, is wrong with it. It just came in for recycling and I thought of Clive.
Hey Clive -- what do you mean when you say the pad "is referenced to" the negative rail? Full disclosure: I'm not an electrician or engineer. I'm a filthy front-end developer.
Mike Mitchell ANY measurement requires a reference point. Try drawing a line with only ONE end, or getting to "Point B" without any idea where "Point A" is, or even measuring something with an "end", but no beginning. If you consider an electric toy train, one rail is negative, and the other is positive. All the circuits (motor, lights, sound, etc) derive their power from the rails. That analogy carries over to all circuits. When you see Clive draw a circuit, you'll notice there is always a main conductor at the top, and another at the bottom. By convention, the lowest energy conductor is at the bottom. It may be called negative, neutral, or often ground or earth (though not always used correctly). The concept is generally the same. Also, this negative rail is the reference point for using a meter to measure various points in the circuit.
Theres nothing better than dropping the Cosbys off at the swimming baths and watching Clive take something apart..
I have one of these and I just tried to lock it. It doesn't seem to work, I don't get that single flash and it doesn't lock at all.
surprised at the amount of corrosion for one wash cycle. Have to add getting a wee nitecored out though.
The corrosion continues afterwards until all the liquid has evaporated, which can be a long time if it gets trapped. I'm aware of not doing too many samey videos, but the flashlight ones are always very popular.
At least on my son, and my TIP, the light has to be on for 3-5 seconds, before you can turn on lockout. However, what I've seen from NightCore, says that it drains your battery quicker, because the chip stays full on, while in lockout. The same warning exists for my TUBE CRI.
I wonder, Big Clive, has anyone sent you towards Shenzhen I/O? It's a microelectronics videogame with mild programming elements. I wonder if it would be your kind of thing!
Where can we send you interesting items for you to try out or "take to bits" :)
thank you for all the great videos?
Poundland does not sale rubbing
Alcolhol?
I have legit one and it doesn't seem to have lockout feature. Edit: It's fairly old though so maybe it has a different firmware. Sucks though, lockout would be useful to stop it turning on in my pocket
I know what you mean about over zealous screwing lol.
when you have a thousand screws to screw it is handy having some mechanical assistance however. my drill had a handy torque setting so never caused any damage to the screw heads or the materials either. there's few worse things than finding all the heads chewed, when you have a thousand screws to unscrew.
What's the point in having a lock out function on a flashlight?
So the button doesn't get pressed while in your pocket and run down the battery.
Me sirvio este video para solucionar mi problema 😊
Encantado de que haya ayudado.
I tried to lock my original nitecore tube bought 2 years ago from banggood and it doesnt locks...
I accidentally took my keys swimming with me, gave key fob a good cleaning and a new battery. It was around 7 years ago and it still works.