Very cool Hoop, its incredible how small that driver is. Sounds like that mode level is pretty good too considering it it varies based on cell voltage. (320lm -> 235)
Im already sold because owning a “custom” light has been growing higher on my list, and what better than to support a KS by a BLF member. I just pledged in today.
What exactly does:
mean?
8+ cycles for a 30 second full turbo timer then it steps down?
Soft start is easier on the electronics and emitter as well as being easier on our eyes. Turbo or level 6 can do 700 lumens on a fresh cell, it will sort of ease into that brightness instead of slamming full brightness, hence soft start. At about 30 seconds it will gently ramp down to protect the light ftom getting too hot. You have to keep in mind this entire light is about the size of your pinky finger and the cell is AAA sized.
Bistro uses a soft start when cycling through the modes, most appreciate it, some don’t particularly care for it. Makes a lot of sense in a light this size for sure.
Yeah, these little 10mm shirt button sized drivers are fun to build!
The turbo starts slowly ramping down after more like 5 seconds and ends up at mode 5 level after 20 seconds or so. Lumens measurements are usually taken at the 30 second mark. Instead of giving run time measurement from a continuous run, which would not be much different than mode 5 run time in that case, I ran the turbo multiple times for a total of 30 seconds each time. You can cycle the turbo 8+ times this way before lvp. There’s probably a better way to word it.
I do not see any glass in mine, but I have carried it a bunch loose in my pocket and have not scratched up the TIR. PMMA TIR’s seem to be very tough! Olight has been running the bare for years and most of mine are still in very good condition.
There’s actually an entire robot set up for that. It tests the voltage sensor on each individual driver, modifies the firmware, and flashes customized code to each driver. It’s pretty fancy.
The thermal algorithm in Crescendo should work reasonably well on this, though it doesn’t have the smooth adjustments of Anduril. Anduril’s algorithm is smooth but still needs some fixes before I’d trust it on such a small light. I suppose I should just bite the bullet one of these days and rewrite the whole thing.
Aw, no pics? Thats such a tease. Might be better left as a secret.
Id like to see a nymph raw or clear anodized, curious how that would shine.
Well, were almost halfway there, still have a ways to go though. I might be upping my contribution if not doubling my order depending on how things go.
I figured the normal method would be used — manually measure a dozen drivers or so, take an average, and use the same values on each. But I guess there’s an automated rig set up to flash the battcheck firmware, run it at specific voltages, count the blinks, compile the real firmware with those values, and then flash it again for real.
This is an awesome light, hope to see it for sale soon not on kickstarter. After being burnt by the Znaps and another kickstgarter project that never came through I don’t waste money on kickstarter anymore!!! It is a wonderful looking light and looks like you have put quite a bit of effort into it!!
If this were some random guy on Kickstarter, I’d be wary too. But it’s not. This is Hoop, not some anon who just wants to take the money and never deliver anything. If the money is transferred, he’ll deliver the items. The R&D is already done, with working items already out in people’s hands. Some Kickstarter projects are pretty high-risk, but that’s not the case here.