Hi , EasyB !
Good to see that this Jerommel thread triggered so many questions and opinions !
I 'll try to answer to your questions briefly , please forgive me , and do not forget that this thread was intended to help Jerommel to decide himself , what path to chose for modding the HaikeLite , but as ussually, all the derail from the subject are in the best interest of everybody...
How critical is the exact inductor value ? In Math , if 2+2 is not equal with 4 (!) , we have a BIG problem ! In drivers we do not work with fixed , critical frequencies , like in NASA communications.., for years I tried to get the exact value from calculations , until , one day , I changed an inductor in a chopper , with one with the value 5 times bigger than the original ( was a mistake that I discovered too late , after I started the chopper ).., and guess what ? everything worked perfect !!!
Since then , (doing a lot of tests on DC-DC converters), I understood that a critical value is extremely relative , and only values of teens times bigger or lower will cause a malfunction . Oh , man , I said I'll be brief , and look what happen ! Hm , I 'm getting old and talking too much...sorry !
So , the value is not critical , but the quality and size is !
About the "smart diode".., this is a beautiful dream that will NEVER be true ! i mean that this kind of diode was not , is not , and will be not used in converters.
In fact is not a real diode and can be used only with clear DC voltage . Was created especially for photovoltaic panels. Is working as a micro fast switch , with fixed frequency !!! Try to imagine a convertor within a convertor , syncronized for EACH driver built !... A nightmare ! A p-n junction is a diode, since the beginning of electronics , can be improved a lot , ten years ago Schottky was a revolution , and I'm sure that will see better things in classic electronic...
Stop , I think I bored you enough !... Cheers !