[Available again! - BLF special edition light] new Sofirn AAA twisty high CRI 5mm LED

I vote for iamlucky13’s answer as closest to what seems going on, although Barry persists that they are already discontinued now and that Sofirn can not make a new batch after these 2000.

Am still waiting for the GB! Any one knows when will it start? This is taking too long...

Please read here [Available again! - BLF special edition light] new Sofirn AAA twisty high CRI 5mm LED - #1623 by MascaratumB and [Available again! - BLF special edition light] new Sofirn AAA twisty high CRI 5mm LED - #1672 by Lonelydad

I guess that will answer your question!

Still the fastest from-scratch BLF design ever! :partying_face:

For people that have showed up late to the party, most of what you need to know is in the first post…

It started 9 days ago

nobody is sending out private messages to let you know when you can buy, you have to keep reading the new posts until you see something useful :slight_smile:
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When the lights became available it was announced in this post:
Sat, 11/10/2018 - 05:05

I actually found out when the lights were available, thanks to this post:

so I suggest you subscribe to both threads

There are going to be 1700 more lights for sale.

FYI, I do intend to keep updating the list until the planned 2000 are complete, just in case Sofirn checks user names before granting discounts. It will probably be after the US Thanksgiving holiday before I have much time to sit down and do it, however.

:+1: :+1: :+1:

My C01s started “moving” today, 9 day after they were bought! I guess 11/11 is a really complicated time for shipping :wink:
In 3-4 weeks they will arrive (probably) :wink:

Mine too :slight_smile:
Your item was accepted at 9:14 pm on November 20, 2018 in CHINA

We will have them in time for Xmas, maybe :wink:

Usually my packages from China arrive at the mailbox while the tracking has them somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.

The black 3200K and 5600K are back in stock.

Thanks for the notification Tally-ho, placed an order for my two pieces. Waiting for the price adjustment.

Edit: By the way, is it safe to run lithium primaries (LiFeS2) in this? The open circuit voltage when new is ~1.8V but once loaded it will drop below 1.6V. I presume it is safe but can’t hurt to ask.

Thanks Tally-ho for the update :+1:
I edited the first post.

These lights run perfectly fine on Lithium (LiFeS2) primaries, due to the voltage drop under load. For example see the Energizer whitepaper.

To follow up an the Lithium primaries remark: these batteries are great for when using your flashlight in extremely low temperatures (at –40 degrees Celsius), or if you leave your light regularly in your car while in the desert.

Biggest advantage is their shelf life of 20 years at 95% percentage of energy contents (Energizer claim), and they do not leak in contrast to “alkaleaks”.

However, I am not quite sure that at the low load of approximately 60 mA of the C01 you will get really more energy (mAh) or runtime from an AAA LiFeS2 battery than from an AAA alkaline battery, as both are rated at approximately 1200 mAh at low current use.

Biggest disadvantage of Lithium primary batteries is their relatively high price (1.35 Euro/battery at NKON.nl), especially when compared with (LSD) NiMH rechargeables (1.50 Euro/Battery for 900 mAh Ikealoop) or Alkaline primaries (0.18 Euro/battery for Ikea AAA Alkaline).

Unless the input side driver components can’t stand the slightly higher voltage, I would expect it to run better with the Lithium Primary. This is using a boost driver already to get voltage up to the Vf of the LED.

I borrowed Djozz prototypes of the Sofirn C01 to experience the lights and their light (output) in real life.

It runs new lithium primaries fine, but I do not see a visible difference in output in contrast to full alkaline cells, or fully recharged NiMH cells.

When I measure current I also do not see any significant difference between a full Alkaline battery (with an open circuit voltage of 1.60 Volt) or a new Lithium primary battery (with an open circuit voltage of 1.80 Volt), or a fully charged NiMH. Alkaline measures 58 mA, Lithium 57 mA when the LED is on (with the 3200K-C01).

By the way this current when using full cells is the lowest of any 5mm flashlights I own. My both Fenix E01’s measure somewhere around 130 mA with new batteries (whatever chemistry). The Varta/Rayovac indestructible measures 230-280 mA (depending on chemistry). The GP Discovery CLE202 (praised for its long runtime) measures around 80 mA. The CMG Infinity Ultra measures 130mA for alkaline and 140mA for a lithium pirimary cell.

In contrast: my Zebralight H53Fc runs at 20 mA when I select an output mode that is comparable to the output of the 3200K C01. However, it will not turn on with depleted cells at 0.9-0.8 Volts, which the C01 will turn on with, albeit with lower light output.

So I guess for the ‘regulated’ part of the runtime, the C01 light currently probably has the longest runtime within its class of single-cell 1.5 volt battery vampire 5mm led lights.

In order to enact a zombie apocalypse preppers doomsday scenario flashlight fantasy, I did a runtime test with an “AAAA” cell I salvaged from a 9 Volt battery I took from the battery recycling box at an Ikea store. When opened up it contained two leaking alkaline cells measuring 0.1 and 0.2 Volts, and four cells measuring around 1.30 volts. This type of “AAAA” alkaline cell is rated at 500-600 mAh capacity when new. One of these 1.3 Volt AAAA cells ran the 3200K-C01 for over 18 hours until there was no visible light output anymore. I experienced around 10 hours of low light, 7 hours of moonlight low, and finally 1 hour of really dim low light.

Kudos to the Sofirn C01 engineer who cloned the great design of the Fenix E01 boost driver. :+1:

slowtechstef, kudos, respect, applause, and Happy Turkey Day
your dream has become reality, and it is touching the lives of many people around the world

for those who still think a Fenix with its angry blue low cri LED is worthy of your money, that is still an option. It costs more, and the LED cannot compare to the Yuji in the Sofirn C01, but I wont judge.

Speaking of lights that cost more, with LEDs that cannot compare… anyone who is interested in the ARC AAA, that the Fenix copied imo, can still buy one today, for even more money… Go Here to spend the big bucks on Low CRI.

Who has the skills to disassemble it to see if the potting material harden (like Sofirn said) or will it still be gooey?

Ha. I still have a bunch of Arc AAAs, “snow white” — in regular use on keychains, and several on the shelf with different color LEDs —aqua, red, blue. Never did get a red-orange.