Please update my request to 2 of each of each CCT, thanks!
The list is now updated through post 1187 (nordlicht). Total count is 777.
Shortcut to the current list on page 10.
These changes are included in the update.
I completed the runtime test, which was not easy, it took mostly place during a family trip to Rotterdam, during the trip the ALS of my phone had to stand-in for my integrating sphere. Here it is, but it needs some discussion:
*You can see that I did not take datapoints between 12.30 and 15.00 hours, but the curve suggests that it is rather likely that the voltage that started at 1.19V soon after switch-on took a nosedive, which is to be expected from an partly depleted alkaline (under rest a typical almost depleted alkaline battery recovers to a temporarily higher voltage and power capability, but soon after load is applied voltage and power collapses again). A starting voltage of 1.19V under load implies about 75% of the energy is gone already, but the starting voltage under load was probably even lower than that, so the battery was likely further gone.
*I got 11.5 hours of light, but went to bed at 12 o’clock with some light still left. Next morning the light was out. I twisted power off and when I got home in the afternoon measured the (recovered) voltage at 0.8V. The light could be switched on again and I got another hour of dim light (did not measure) before the C01 went out again. I was now able to measure voltage directly after the light was gone, and measured 0.350 V.
Conclusion: yes, this light sucks the very last bit out of an alkaline.
Good work, it is almost immortal :laughing:
Eh… Because of the way this driver sucks voltage down, you would need to closely monitor it while using NiMH cells so that you don’t permanently damage the cells. The driver in this light is meant to take an Alkaline cell down below what most lights and other devices would find usable.
Fair enough, but I’m willing to chance sacrificing the occasional NiMH in exchange for avoiding the risk of an alkaline leak.
I’d use primary lithium, but those are ludicrously expensive here. I can almost buy Eneloops for what the lithiums cost, and I prefer having the reusability, so I’m happy to pay the small extra cost for the NiMH cells.
Even if I only get three charges out of them, they’ve already come in cheaper. I’ve discovered by accidental experiment 
that abused Eneloops will still do better than that.
In for 1x 3200k
. . Yeah, I have had a couple of those “accidential exleriments” over the years. :person_facepalming:
So far, never killed an Eneloop yet. One was down about 100mAh (no big deal) & never recovered completely, but the rest are still going strong!! . :+1: …
I do love Eneloops……. 
Does the light have a spring in the bottom or is it a battery crusher like the original ARC AAA?
I would be interested in 4 @ 3200K once the issues with potting compound get worked out.
Thanks, picture is worth 1000 words.
I just want to show my support for this project so I'll take 5 x 3200K and 5 x 5600K. If they put out a AA version I'll buy at least 10.
I don't know how this is going to be shipped but it'll be great if Sofirn list the lights on their Aliexpress store, that way shipping won't be a problem for people who aren't in the states.
I just want to ask that the driver board's contacts be covered with a thin brass plate like the Jetbeam JET - I MK. I just can't stand the Fenix E01's bare copper contacts (so much that I had to break out the soldering iron and tin the copper on all my E01) as I fear the rubbing action of the twisty head will wear away the copper and the light will fail.
Just want to say great job making this project happen.
I do not think that a brass plate on the driver is going to happen, but I understand your concern. I have no idea how may twists it is going to take to wear the copper through but tinning the contact area would also be my own solution. At least the contact strips on the driver are extensions of a larger area that goes further under the solder mask, so if you think you are close to wearing them out, there is enough “meat” close-by for the solder to hold. You could even scratch away some solder mask and solder two thin flakes of brass on it for a final solution.
Btw, Sofirn is going to make the trit hole a bit smaller and the magnet hole a fraction larger, so that both have a better fit.
They are still sorting out the potting and I got no clear answer yet if they are going to succeed in getting it right. I now suggested to Barry that I’d rather see no potting at all than the mushy pea stuff that is in my samples. I gave this option for Sofirn because I have little faith in it atm, and because my (my son’s) and Sofirn’s brutal testing showed that the light is pretty robust already without a functional potting.
There is indeed going to be a group buy, for the people on the interest list, to get the light a bit cheaper than retail, no details yet how it will be arranged. Barry did sort of warn that the lights for the group buy will probably be only in black (I did respond that some people would be disppointed by that). I asked for the prices, for the gb and retail, but I did not get them yet.
If it is not too late, I would be interested in 2 pieces of each
I have EDC-ed the 3200K C01 for a week now, as a second light next to my SST-20 high CRI triple and it is growing on me. Before I got these samples I was concerned by the wide 60 degrees leds but now I like that nice even floody beam, it is really pleasant and nothing like the ugly Fenix E01 beam. When playing with it when there’s ambient light around it does not impress, but in total darkness it does its job very well: close-up at 10 cm it gives enough light for proper illumination, for reading a book the amount and the spreading of light is very good, and when your eyes are dark-adapted it lights quite an area in front of you: if every other light fails when you are lost in the woods at night, this light will get you home. (you have over 40 hours of light on a AAA alkaline).
Thanks for the reply djozz it would be nice to have the brass plate contacts but at this sub $10 price point I'm more than happy to tin the contact pads myself. Thanks for making this project happen!
djozz, thanks for the update on this! It is good to know that the holes will be re-dimensioned
I won’t say a word about potting because I know nothing about it! If Sofirn sorts it out, I guess it would be a good “extra” to keep things in place! But seeing your son’s test…I believe it will be a strong light after all :smiling_imp:
The only thing I would be a little more “bored” (not upset), is about the “black lights for all” on the group buy :zipper_mouth_face: Most of my collection is black, but I was really expecting this to come in different “flavours”.
In this way, I guess that for me and for many other people it would be pertinent to know:
a) the GB price and the “normal” prices (I know you’re on it)
b) if Sofirn will still do “coloured” versions independently of the GB (I say this because I may change my choice and get 1 black light of each tint on the GroupBuy, and then 1 or 2 coloured lights of each body colour, of each tint)
c) any clue if a diffuser will be an option as extra? (or even better, can you point the bezel’s edge diameter?)
Once again, thanks for your work on this
Bezel diameter 14.5mm, length 71.3mm
I have only asked once for a diffuser, and forgot about asking for it more often. I ask many questions, some are answered, others ignored, it is easy to overlook the questions that get ignored unfortunately.