I didn’t even notice those gaps until you mentioned it. Thanks so much lol
Those that own the S42 and the S43… I have various S42… and yes, Turbo is impressive for a few seconds… but the usual Non-Turbo-Light is sort of ‘standard’ EDC-brightness (yes, I know, much of the lumens are ‘wasted’ in the flood beyond the center)… how does the S43 compare to the S42 regarding this Non-Turbo-Brightness?
The non-turbo brightness (“high” on the ramping scale) is about half the output of turbo (“double-click”). I measured 1400 lumens, though that drops rapidly as the battery declines. Basically, it’s similar to single-LED XP-L lights that are driven from a FET driver.
As far as sustainable output without thermally ramping down, it’s down around the 300 lumen output, typical of other small lights. The XPG3 configuration would probably do better, since they generate less heat than the 219C.
You can turn off thermal step-down, though you’d have to be careful not to let things get too hot.
As for the S42, I find it eventually gets hot on all modes above their medium output. It’s probably similar to the S43.
With default temperature settings mine can’t retain 250 lumens in 23°C room temp without additional cooling. Steps down to ~100 lm after 15 minutes.
The default thermal controls overshoot, IMO. But if you feel the light after it settles down for awhile, it will only be warm, not hot. You could try raising the thermal setting in the programming mode, or turning it off entirely. Or just turn up the light again when it overshoots. I’m not sure if there’s a setting for controlling how quickly it steps down. That would be nice, but I’m not sure if Narsil has something like that.
I find the thermal controls adequate, and certainly better than a timed setting, but it’s nothing like the PID that Zebralight uses (which is very responsive both down and up, and maintains temperature almost exactly).
If you want to use the S43 on high output a lot, consider the S43S instead. It has a large copper head, and I find that absorbs a lot of heat. Takes at least twice as long for thermal controls to kick in, compared to the S43. I plan to do a comparison review soon.
thanx in advance, will read tomorrow.
Differences with the Astrolux S43S (copper head version), posted to this thread:
I finished my video review. Added to the first post in this thread.
Hello,
Great review, thanks. I’ve bought one on BG.
Can you help me to understand why the turbo doesn’t work with protected 18650?
My S43 works fine except turbo mode with full charged protected battery Sanyo NCR18650BF. i double click to enter turbo mode , the light blink once and stop working. i have to unscrew the tail cap to reset the problem. With samsung INR 30Q the turbo mode works.
Is there a protection in the S43 that detect the battery can not supply enough power? but why to stop the light? it should works at lower level.
Sounds like the protection circuit on the battery is sensing the huge current draw and, thinking it’s a dead short, shutting down the output.
Yeah, that would be my guess too. The S43 on turbo draws a large amount of current. Around 10 amps or more? You really need an unprotected high-drain cell for proper performance.
@jintian, since the light draws a lot of power on turbo, your protected Sanyo NCR18650BF detects the very high power draw, and shuts itself down.
The 18650 you want is this:
I have exactly the same problem with protected cells. It's due to the protection circuit in the cell itself cutting the power.
Thanks all for your replies. I first thought about a S43 protection because i believed the protection circuit in the cell limit the power without cutting it but if it detect a dead short, it make sense. I don’t know if it’s possible with NarsilM 1.3 but i’ll try to disable turbo. Full power is enough for my use.
I like in this flashlight: wide flood beam, Neutral White, USB recharge, 18650 or 18350, side switch, the price and Narsil firmware (i don’t understand the user manual yet but seems very flexible)
Cons: switch very soft and sensitive, could be place deeper in the head to prevent unwanted activation.
The Acebeam protected 18650 works with a double click to turbo in case you wanted a cell wit a PCB.
All 3 of my Acebeam protected 18650 3100mah are rewrapped Samsung 30Q's
Yeah, that’s a good point to make. If you’re carrying this in a bag or even a pocket where the switch might get pressed, either put it into lockout mode (4 clicks) or (better) just twist the tail cap a touch to cut all power.
This light gets really hot, really fast, on turbo. Even with the thermal step-down, it could cause a safety concern if accidentally turned on if you didn’t know.
…with a Protection circuit board added. Many PCBs can’t handle close to what this torch pulls… most of mine are limited to around 8A and cannot trigger turbo so it’s a good PCB for those who want one.
They run my Acebeam L16, GT Mini, Astrolux S43, Rofis MR30 and MR70 with no trip.
My Klarus 3600mah which are rewrapped LG MJ1's with protection added cant.
thanx!