If you have wondered how much power an Aimpoint T1 uses...

[alank2]

Hi,

If you have wondered how much power an Aimpoint T1 uses, keep reading. With the very impressive battery life they claim I thought I'd measure the power consumption on different modes and see what it actually consumes. I tested two T1's, one that went back because it had too much sealant on the lens, and one that was its replacement. It is really amazing the consistency between the two units and speaks to the quality Aimpoint adheres to - Many of the current measurements are in microamps which is a VERY small amount of current. This was measured with a Fluke 189 meter:

http://www.pressmonitordevice.com/misc/t1batt.gif

Note that many of the modes in the year columns exceed the shelf life of the battery, which is likely in the range of 7 to 10 years depending on battery quality/composition. In these cases (913.2 years!), the battery is obviously going to die of being old before its power capability is ever realized.

Mode 10 according to the manual is supposed to last 10 months and this one is right on the money at 10.2 or 10.3 months. I found that the mode they claim will last 5 years (Mode 8) actually should go 11.5 or 11.6 years based on the power it consumes. It makes me wonder if the 5 year estimate is a conservative one based on battery shelf life and not the power it actually consumes. It uses so little power below Mode 4 I can't measure it!

I think what is interesting here is that there really is no point in turning the unit off or down below Mode 8. You are probably putting more wear and tear on the switch flipping it between all those modes rather than just leaving it on Mode 8. For me, I'm going to consider Mode 8 as "off" and may turn it up to Mode 9 or 10 on a sunny day, etc.

It really is an impressive little optic, I can see why people make such a fuss about it.

Thanks,

Alan

[mkmckinley]

Nice post. Any chance you could explain how you actually, physically measured that? I'm not calling you out, I'm just interested in what you did here.

[alank2]

Hi,


Nice post. Any chance you could explain how you actually, physically measured that? I'm not calling you out, I'm just interested in what you did here.

Sure. The Fluke 189 has a current measuring mode that requires you to "break the circuit" to take a measurement. So you have to run the power through the meter to measure it. This can be difficult if the device is constructed in a way that makes it hard such as a battery cover must be on, contact is deep inside, etc. In the case of the Micro T1 when you remove the cover, both the positive and negative connections are easily accessible. I have a jumper with spring loaded hooks on the end, so the first thing I did was connect one side of it to the + on the battery and the other side of it to one of the + legs sticking out on the T1. So there is the positive connection. I then connected one meter lead (red) to the micro T1 center conductor (-) and the other to the negative on the battery (-). This forces the current to go through the meter so it can measure it. Microamps are very small and the meter was reading 0.09 uA when the leads weren't connected so I use the relative function to take that to 0 uA, that way when I was measuring, the value would be accurate. I got lucky that the spring hook jumper I have was able to grab the + side of the battery and stay, otherwise I would have had to use a wire and a magnet or something to keep it connected since I only have two hands!

Thanks,

Alan

[mkmckinley]

Nice job, thanks for sharing. I'm actually surprised how much difference there is from highest to lowest. It's also crazy to realize that mode 7 and below exceeds the life of tritium powered sights. If only Aimpoint made a nice 1-4X or an ACOG equivalent.

[alank2]

Hi,

I agree, I find it interesting that the light diode they use has such a wide range. Mode 8 (which is not the low end) for example only uses 2.39uA, and yet the super bright mode consumes 1357uA (1.357mA). That is 567 times the power!

I don't have a ton of red dot experience, but I did have a cheaper red dot sight, and its high end brightness was about mode 8 at the most. Mode 12 is unbelievable how bright it is.

Thanks,

Alan

[Failure2Stop]

I have found the published life of the T-1 to be higher than reality.
Maybe I am getting sub-standard batteries, but I have had the battery go tits-up twice, in less than 3 months.
Not a huge deal, even 3 months is impressive battery life, but proof that inspections should be done regularly on items that you might have to pin someone's life on, regardless of how dependable it is reported to be.

[stinkyDrunk]

Thanks for posting, I didn't know the higher settings sucked so much more juice.

[alank2]

Hi,


I have found the published life of the T-1 to be higher than reality.
Maybe I am getting sub-standard batteries, but I have had the battery go tits-up twice, in less than 3 months.
Not a huge deal, even 3 months is impressive battery life, but proof that inspections should be done regularly on items that you might have to pin someone's life on, regardless of how dependable it is reported to be.

What mode do you leave it on?

Coin cell batteries in general are really tough to buy because I hardly ever see a date on them, thus you don't know how far they are along in their shelf life. Try to buy at a place where you think they sell a lot of them and their inventory is fresher.

Not that I'm making this offer to everyone, but Failure2Stop if you want to PM me your ship to, I'll drop a Sanyo FDK CR2032 in the mail to you. I have a pulse load battery tester that says it is 100% and I just ordered it from a major electronics supplier (Mouser) so it should be fresh. You could see how long that lasts...

Thanks,

Alan

[wahoo95]

I have found the published life of the T-1 to be higher than reality.
Maybe I am getting sub-standard batteries, but I have had the battery go tits-up twice, in less than 3 months.
Not a huge deal, even 3 months is impressive battery life, but proof that inspections should be done regularly on items that you might have to pin someone's life on, regardless of how dependable it is reported to be.


Sounds like you got some duds. My two have been running strong on the same batteries for 2.5 years. While I love my T-1's, there's a lot of truth in your statement about regular inspections.

[deuce9166]

Very cool, thanks for the info.

[jsebens]

I was told at SHOT this past January by an Aimpoint rep that the battery in a T1 will actually last longer if you don't turn it off, but instead turn it down; apparently, the controlled low setting gets more life out of the battery than the uncontrolled deterioration if the optic's turned off.

[Failure2Stop]

Thanks for the offer alank2, but so far both of mine have been running fine after a battery swap. It was most likely a battery issue, but it was left on "7" for 3 months while I was overseas, and when I got back- no dot. The second one was turned off and 8 months later no dot appeared when it was turned on. Battery was removed, inspected, wiped down, and reinstalled. Still no dot.

It happens. There have been several reports of this kind of thing with all kinds of optics. Doesn't mean that Aimpoint is abunch of lying Swede bastards, just that sometimes weird shit happens. Don't take anything for granted, reduce potential failure points, have a Back-Up or spare, and conduct regular checks.

[Wiggity]

Incredible, thanks for posting

[alank2]

Hi,


Thanks for the offer alank2, but so far both of mine have been running fine after a battery swap. It was most likely a battery issue, but it was left on "7" for 3 months while I was overseas, and when I got back- no dot. The second one was turned off and 8 months later no dot appeared when it was turned on. Battery was removed, inspected, wiped down, and reinstalled. Still no dot.

Sounds like a defective battery for sure. Do you remember what brand it was?


It happens. There have been several reports of this kind of thing with all kinds of optics. Doesn't mean that Aimpoint is abunch of lying Swede bastards, just that sometimes weird shit happens. Don't take anything for granted, reduce potential failure points, have a Back-Up or spare, and conduct regular checks.

So true, you can never go wrong with checking things from time to time.

Good luck,

Alan

[duece71]

This thread confirms why I need a T-1 on at least one of my ARs. Thanks Alan, nice job with the info.

[skullworks]

Great work! Would be interesting to see the same done to an Aimpoint H1 for comparison.

[alank2]

Hi,


Great work! Would be interesting to see the same done to an Aimpoint H1 for comparison.

I agree, I would have loved to know the differences between them and if the H1 has more brightness choices because it lacks the NV modes.

Thanks,

Alan

[Tomac]

Great work! Would be interesting to see the same done to an Aimpoint H1 for comparison.

Or the CompM4! :)
Tomac

[Belmont31R]

Thanks for the offer alank2, but so far both of mine have been running fine after a battery swap. It was most likely a battery issue, but it was left on "7" for 3 months while I was overseas, and when I got back- no dot. The second one was turned off and 8 months later no dot appeared when it was turned on. Battery was removed, inspected, wiped down, and reinstalled. Still no dot.

It happens. There have been several reports of this kind of thing with all kinds of optics. Doesn't mean that Aimpoint is abunch of lying Swede bastards, just that sometimes weird shit happens. Don't take anything for granted, reduce potential failure points, have a Back-Up or spare, and conduct regular checks.





http://www.adorama.com/BYD2032.html




Get the "medical" ones.

[TehLlama]

http://www.adorama.com/BYD2032.html
Get the "medical" ones.

Another case of $500 hardware being limited by a $5 battery - medical are the best ones you're going to find as far as QA on the assembly line, but all you need is a couple of them... as the saying goes, nobody has the designed the battery your next Aimpoint will use.

[Belmont31R]

Another case of $500 hardware being limited by a $5 battery - medical are the best ones you're going to find as far as QA on the assembly line, but all you need is a couple of them... as the saying goes, nobody has the designed the battery your next Aimpoint will use.






Nothing is fool proof but Ive had irons fail on me more than RDS's (Aimpoint and SB)...all of which used 2032's.


Its my understanding the medical ones are more tightly controlled and tested.

Never had one fail on me in at least 6 different units from T1's to 3-12X50 Schmidt and Benders going from sub freezing to 100+ on the same batteries.

[brit]

alank2, thanks for sharing!

[Beat Trash]

Would the outside temperature effect the battery life/power consumption enough to be a concern?

I only ask out of curiosity. My plan is to purchase a new battery on my birthday every other year. I'd rather buy one $5.00 battery every two years then be standing on a perimeter wondering exactly how many years ago it was I changed batteries.

[RogerinTPA]

Would the outside temperature effect the battery life/power consumption enough to be a concern?

I only ask out of curiosity. My plan is to purchase a new battery on my birthday every other year. I'd rather buy one $5.00 battery every two years then be standing on a perimeter wondering exactly how many years ago it was I changed batteries.

I would think so. As long as we've all been alive, we know that cold weather zaps battery life. I'm sure a T/H-1 owner in AK will swap batteries more that someone living in a more temperate climate. The battery will always be the weakest link in cold weather environments.

[alank2]

Hi,


I would think so. As long as we've all been alive, we know that cold weather zaps battery life. I'm sure a T/H-1 owner in AK will swap batteries more that someone living in a more temperate climate. The battery will always be the weakest link in cold weather environments.

I agree, all electronics are effected by temperature even though manufacturers try their best to make the product perform the same across a range of temperatures. Luckily lithium batteries perform better at cold temperatures than alkalines do.

Good luck,

Alan

[will_dearborn919]

Hmmmm....now I'm curious to see how the battery life is on the new gen primary arms t-1 clone compared to the real t-1. I'm sure it'll be way less but can't help but wonder.....besides the clear ruggedness difference, I wonder what the power efficiency difference is.