Astrolux S41 measurements (Quad Nichia 219B, 18350/16340/18650)

That’s professional maukka! Thanks you! :slight_smile:

Wow! Really awesome info. Thanks for all the effort you put into this.

I verified the light pwm. The pwm frequency is 17,2 kHz on all modes other than moonlight which is 8,6 kHz. Thanks for your tip!

Thanks

Ah :smiley:

Very nice for the start :partying_face:

Excellent info. Thank you maukka :THUMBS-UP:

Awesome review! I was searching for over discharge protection and your review answered my question!

Just purchased a pair of Samsung 30Q cells for this light i received yesterday, was wondering if anybody is using this battery along S41? Read on some post that 30Q provides too much Amp for this light and it will over heat very quickly. Any chance of the 30Q damaging it?

I read this at least 10 times. Thank you for your excellent reviews. How many amps is it pulling with 18350, and how many with 18650?

Does anyone know if the S41 has fixed the green tint leds, and the shorting problems?

I am new here. Great review above, I ordered one based off the recommendations. I have one issue with mine, my 18650’s were dead and all I had was the extender tube and two 18350’s so i inserted them and I am afraid I murdered my light… Is there any way of repairing the over voltage the light had from my neglect and lack of knowledge? Or should I cut my losses and just order a new one. It was the nichia version. Thanks in advance!!!

you can buy a replacement driver here

but firtst check if the LEDs are still intact
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=60_94&product_id=740

you can use a 18650 cell and connect it directly to the LED board to see if ther LEDs are fried or not

Thanks for the info!!! I will test the components and see what need to be ordered!

I deeply enjoy reading your reviews. Thanks for this one also.

Great review. I use the same batteries in mine and I couldn’t be happier with the tint and performance.

Bob

Thanks for your review, does the Astrolux s41 use same Nichia led as the BLF-348?
I’m looking for a flashlight using the same emitter as BLF-348 but with higher output, i have Nichia 219C but don’t happy with its tint.

There has been some variation on the emitters used in the S41 (and S41S). I haven’t seen any of them with the pinkish tint found in the BLF-348, but do have a couple of excellent neutral ones. It’s a bit of a lottery though, so maybe order two and hope for the best.

Eagletac does have a great higher output Nichia flashlights, the MX25L3C.

For these types of questions, the Parametrek search engine is great, even though it doesn’t cover every possible manufacturer.
http://flashlights.parametrek.com/index.html?led=Nichia%20219B

Wow the MX25L3C has Nichia 4500k which is very rare now but its price is too high for me, it seems that every manufacturers are now switching to newer 219C

I also have the above question — will too high amps like the Samsung 30Q damage it?

I just got the Astrolux S41S (Nichia 219B) flashlight and testing it with different 18650s that I currently have.

Measuring tailcap current (Mastech MS8229 multimeter that may have high cable lead resistance, and not calibrated), with the Samsung INR18650-30Q, I’m getting 7.6A [freshly off the charger] (for sure it’s much higher than that since my multimeter leads have added resistance). Any idea how many amps are being pulled from a freshly charged INR18650-30Q?

One other test I noted is that when used with Liitokala protected NCR18650B (also freshly charged), even at “High 2”, the protection circuit appears to trip (flashlight blinks and shuts down). If the protected NCR18650B is discharged a bit (~ 4.10v), then the protection circuit won’t trip anymore at “High 2” setting, but it will still trip when set to “Turbo”. I’m wondering how many amps is the protection circuit of the protected NCR18650B? (I’ve never seen this protected NCR18650B “trip” before, so at least now I know its protection circuit is really working. FYI, even when freshly charged, the protected NCR18650B used with either Astrolux S1 and Astrolux S2 on “Turbo” mode does not trip.)

Hi,

The NCR18650B with protection will trip at between 5-7A:

Panasonic NCR18650B Lygte

https://liionwholesale.com/products/protected-panasonic-ncr18650b-3400mah-li-ion-18650-button-top-battery?variant=1925834564

The NCR18650B is not recommended for the Astrolux S41. I am using a Samsung INR18650-30Q in my S41 but I don’t leave the light unattended when I am using it at Turbo (or High 1 and 2 for that matter). Could you measure the current draw at every level using thick wires? I am really curious about the current draw of the S41 but I don’t have any DMM that can measure more than 2A. Using high-drain cells like the 30Q, VTC5/6, HG2 is safe as long as you know what you are doing. This is a direct-drive light and you shouldn’t leave the light at Turbo if you can’t monitor the temperature. This guy measured the current draw at 9.4A (!) using the Samsung 30Q cell and a thick wire (equivalent to a spring bypass).

I can confirm maukka’s observation regarding the UI not working when using Turbo for more than a few seconds. This light doesn’t have thermal regulation and will eventually fail if left at Turbo repeatedly, in my opinion. It would have been better if the light were to use the Bistro firmware (but would require the attiny25, the S41 has the attiny13 if I am not mistaken).

EDIT: Had to shorten the Lygte link, the original link doesn’t work.

Astrolux S41S (Nichia 219B) Turbo mode - current consumption with different 18650s:

With freshly-charged INR18650-30Q, draws higher than 10 amps momentary, not sure if the method of measurement is correct (using 18350 short tube, so there’s slightly less resistance; in actual, an 18650 battery with 18650 tube will have slightly more resistance than the testing done above.

You’re correct, the protected NCR18650B trips at somewhere around 6A (also shown in the video).

Thank you very much for your video. That was quite comprehensive with lots of cells tested. I do recognize most of the cells you used except the purple and blue 18650s. The PKcell was not too shabby either. I know I wasn’t wrong in using the 30Q in my FET lights, haha. You could have spoken a little bit during the test to guide the viewers but I’m really thankful that you did it. The solid aluminium body would offer less resistance than the single wire you used, I think. The springs would contribute greater to the overall resistance than the 18650 or 18350 tube. If you have Sony VTC4/5/5A, Samsung 20R, etc. maybe you can try to measure them too.

Bottom line, avoid protected cells in FET-driven lights :+1: . And don’t be afraid to use your 30Q. With great power comes great responsibility.