The driver should be easily reflashable if you have the tools to do so, and the tools cost perhaps half as much as the light. So, yes, you should be able to modify it.
As for drivers with 3 or more channels… Wight released a 4-channel one in mid-2014. As far as I’m aware, no one ever built one and there was never any firmware for it. His FET+1 layout was much more popular. I think Mike C then made one, but only for his personal use. Fast forward a while; DrJones and pilotdog68 both released one within a couple weeks of each other at the end of 2015. A version of blf-a6 could run on it, but the FET was turbo-only with no PWM for dimming. Then the Q8 started in 2016-04. In 2016-05 I got one of the 3-channel drivers and promptly made bistro-tripledown, which IIRC was the first open project with 3-channel PWM. I released it in a dev branch but didn’t merge it into stable until 2016-09. Mike C continued his designs well ahead of most of what BLF was doing, and even released some including code, but they haven’t been part of a big project so they’re not widely used. More recently, several 3-channel designs are available and multiple firmwares support it, and there’s even a new project which should make it possible to buy a light with one.
So… progress is happening, just slowly and it has been a little disorganized.
The LDO is just a way to power the attiny on higher-voltage lights without exceeding its voltage spec, like a zener but with lower parasitic drain.
Right at the beginning of post #2 is a link to the google drive share that has the manual in docx and PDF format - it's 4 pages.
Smooth ramping, quick access to lowest level ,highest level and last level used. 12 sets of modes are featured, plus has timed stepdown or temperature stepdown, all configurable. Lots of options can be configured.
The FW3A, right? Already on the list for that one too.
That 3rd round prototype looks nothing short of perfect. In fact, there are some improvements that I thought had been given up, like the 18 AWG wire, instead of 20 AWG.
Just to clear up any confusion, does the Q8 actually have a larger hotspot than the Securitlng or is it set at a brighter level and the camera is blowing it up to look bigger?
No tri blade endcap? No biggie. This one looks fine. :+1:
Thanks for the triple channel firmware info.
Yeah DrJones is highly respected but doesn’t do open source a key factor for the projects I do.
He did, with TK helped with the first parts list for the driver though, pretty awesome in my book when little me asked these two heavy hitters and they answered and gave input.
Tom wowsers, gonna edit topic title later
Looks good.
Gonna check with Barry where the samples for the team are, for it seems a good check by us all is all that it needed to give the go!
Thorfire did good, also our German friends will love the Chinese Export marking as I do
I missed that hot logo before.
Dang it looks professional, sweet!
The markings look great
Guess how I know……
Oh yeah
…
I just found
…
A small parcel in the mailbox
…
The usual plastic baggie
…
Didn’t think much of it so tore it open
…
Some white sheet padding
…
A small pristine brown box
…
Opened it
…
A sheet of black padding
… YAY
It
Is
Here
.
This is prototype 2 of 7
I so hope other team members will find something too!
First look (not even put cells in it) sweet
SO HOPE WE CAN LABEL THEM SAMPLES!!
Great news Miller! That answers your question if the other 6 prototypes were send out as well as Tom’s one.
(oh, no, I’m so busy ’till sunday night that I will not even be able to even check the mail for middle-of-the-road plastic bags :person_facepalming: )
