SEARCH
Archive |
LAMP TILLY TEC TT2/LED 2000
Appeared in DIVER September 2009
Lamps continue to get brighter and brighter. This lamp proved to be so bright that it was an embarrassment while night-diving on a tropical reef. I ended up putting my whole hand over the front of it, and conducted my dive by using merely the small percentage of light that escaped through the gaps between my fingers - it was that bright!
AT FIRST GLANCE there seem to be a lot of similarities between this product and the ones of the Belgian company GreenForce, but the Tilly Tec is made in Germany.
It has a similar modular construction, with a battery-pack that mounts via a soft bag to the camband of your BC, an umbilical pressure cable that houses the electrical connection
lead and screws in to the battery-pack via a connection protected by three O-rings inline, and another similar one that screws into the back of the lamp.
The manufacturer promises to part-exchange parts in the future at a nominal cost for newer modules as technology advances.
Light Source
The lamphead measures around 6cm in diameter and houses seven high-output LEDs that emit an alarming 45,000 lux. If you thought that LED lamps emitted no heat, think again.
Out of the water, this one can get seriously hot, so it can be used this way only for short periods of time.
Beam
The beam is very directional and gives a concentrated cone of light that penetrates blue water well. You would never guess that it came from seven different points.
Power Source
Fully charged, the TT2 battery still gives up to 110 minutes of burntime, which is long enough to give the fish serious sunburn. It's a nickel-metal hydride battery-pack that can be recharged at any
state of play without damage. In fact, the manufacturer recommends regular topping-up and that it be charged before being stored.
I'm told that ni-mh batteries enjoy regular use, and the maximum achievable capacity is not reached until 20 or more charging cycles have been made in repeated daily use. If you dive only in the UK, this might not be practical.
Included is a fast charger that has a connection that substitutes for the lamp. This has an indicator light that tells you when charging is completed.
The optional larger battery (TT3) allows for double the burntime. Later, should you wish, you can upgrade to a lithium-iron (LiFe) battery
Switching
Simply screwing the lamphead's lead down onto its connection to make contact does the switching on and off.
This system is very simple, but in the hands of some incautious divers I feel it could lead to disaster. Either the lamp comes on inadvertently in their bag, melting the material of their suit, or they unscrew it too far to switch it off while under water, with dire consequences.
This sort of lamp is best transported unconnected, and then switched on immediately before entering the water and not touched again until it's safely out again later.
COMPARABLE LAMPS TO CONSIDER:
Green Force F3 TriStar 15, £662
Fa & Mi MultiStar LED 75, £630
MB Sub LED Cave, £615
SPECS
PRICE £649
BATTERIES Ni-mh
BURNTIME 110min
WEIGHT 2.4kg
DEPTH RATING 2.4kg
CONTACT www.godive.net
DIVER GUIDE 
