Sofirn SP36, impressions of a sample

@TomE, do not forget the XP L2 has a lower forward voltage than the LH351D.

So while it is technically less efficient, it can still beat it by drawing an insane amount of power.

Yeah, that's my point, what I was think'n - real world usage. So what would be the highest output LED in a SP36?

Maybe the ugly SST-40's (XM form factor though), perhaps the Luxeon V (non-std form factor) but the Luxeon V I believe had issues under high amp usage (think it loses output over time/usage). That leaves the also ugly beam/tint of the XP-L2 V6 in 5000K even. I'd like to re-visit the LH351D 5000K W6 because I'm thinking the M8 is a poor host and was not a good platform to test it in (suspect the optics - glass/reflector/LED position). Since then though, I moved on to the LH351D 4000K 90+ CRI, and the XPL HI V2 5D. I really prefer the ~4000K tints, plus liking these now high CRI LED's, so the combo of both is fantastic. The XPL HI V2 5D has the best beam/tint consistency I've seen anywhere, but unsure of the CRI - probably 70's. Put it in a SMO thrower and the consistency is mind blowing.

Supposedly the 5000K SST-40 is out or very near so.

I keep hearing about “the larger die” of the Samsung LH351D, is it really? It is the XP footprint and the die surface is smaller than an XP-L die, I’ve sliced a few of em and it shows up smaller than an HI for example. Of course, there’s a price to pay in output when slicing and they don’t strike me as impressive this way so I have stopped slicing them. I have seen increased lumens in quads though, over the HI. I rarely use the flip chip Cree’s as I truly dislike the beam profile. If it comes with XP-L2, it’s gotta go! 50.2 I slice and dice, removing the phosphor from the surface of the substrate around the die really improves the beam quality, no bond wires to interfere so a clean slice is easily achieved. XP-G3’s that come here go straight in the trash.

I have a few of the 80 CRI U6 left, I’ll re-check. Try one in a straight FET light. I think the only one I’ve done singly is the little TK05 with Anduril.

Yeah, agree - XP-L2's and XP-G3's are pretty bad look'n. I got XP-L2 U6 4000K 90 CRI's in a recent triple X6R mod, and it's the best looking XP-L2 I've seen. It's our classic X6 triple optic from way back, forget who/what brand/model but has that dimple surface and I used the stock AR glass over it.

I found that I had one Samsung LH351D W6 5000K that I’d removed from another light, still on an mtnelectronics 20mm copper star, so I swapped that into a D1s to check on Anduril. On a Sony VTC5A it does 2060 lumens at start.

We used Ledil CUTE-3 over triples in X6’s, still do… a favorite build of mine. Optics can help tame the odd irregularities of the flip chip, sure better than a reflector over one!

I have my last XP-L W2 2B in another D1s, using the same Sony cell it makes 1828 lumens. This is an XP-L, HD, but NOT an XP-L2… it’s an W2 tint from Cutter back when they first shipped the real deal to me. It’s showing bond wires, but no flats on the sides of the dome. An interesting emitter, this one. Don’t think I’ve seen it’s like since that one shipment from Cutter.

Cree

Samsung

Ahh, ok, then I definitely will try the W6 5000K in more mods. I bought qty 10 from Mouser a while back, still got 9 left.

Yep - ok, Ledil CUTE-3, does sure cleanup the beam. thanx Dale!

Hhmm, think I still got some marked XPL W2's but not from Cutter, so probably not real. There were some bad ones around.

The Samsung LH351D are cheaper at Arrow and free next day shipping. I could drive to Mouser in a couple of hours, far easier to get the better deal at Arrow. :wink:

(when I was about to assemble the 458 Ham’r Arrow was out of the W2 5000K, expected them in a week so they should have them now… if I could have gotten them then I probably would have put 16 LH351D W6 5000K 70 CRI in the Ham’r)

Oops, was Digikey back in July, $29.47 shipped for the qty 10. I always do check Arrow first, sometimes though the searching is a mess.

Arrow shows no stock: SPHWHTL3DA0CF4RTW6, 6400 qty increments - ugh...

Wow, that W2 XPL sure is weird look'n for an XPL with it's round dome.

Ohhh - Digikey goes down to $1.67/piece for qty 25 - wow! Also can get shipping pretty cheap, but they charge NY state tax... Qty 10 price is cheaper now than it was in July at $2.25 now, $2.34 then.

Still, marginally, maybe cheaper in higher qtys than from Richard, but Richard's prices are very fare for these.

Arrow doesn’t show to have any in stock, saying 6 weeks lead time. Looking like they don’t plan to re-stock, they show a T6 in stock but in increments of 800. Always something.

I was looking for this part descriptor… SPHWHTL3DA0CF4RTW6

Digikey says they have over 2500 of em, at $2.55 each. LH351D W6 5000K

(down to $1.67 each at a qty of 25)

Edit: Well I’ll be doggone! Going in to DigiKey to order some of these I found my order for 25 of each back in August. Guess I didn’t get them at Arrow after all… dang memory…

Ooops, sorry - been updating/editing my posts... Richard still is a good deal - all depends on shipping, qty, etc.

I’ve got an idea. How about I add this LED to my spring GB+high CRI LED GB? It would allow us to get even lower price.

Man I’ve always wanted this LED, by my high CRI tendencies prevented me from it.

I normally charge cells in a charger which stops a bit early. However, on the SP36 I generally charge cells inside the light, with the light on in battcheck mode, and then just unplug it when it gets to 4.0V or 4.1V. And if I forget and let the charge cycle finish, mine stops right at 4.20V so it’s not too bad.

I like that the SP36 can charge all three cells in parallel, while a voltage readout mode is running, and I can stop it at any time. So if it gets down to 3.5V, I can charge it up to 3.9V and stop. Or whatever charge I need at the time.

But if I take them out of the light and use a separate charger, I don’t have a way to keep the charge balanced unless I let the charger complete its cycle. I could put them in a battery carrier and wire that up to a charger, but that’s kind of a pain. So it’s easier to do partial charges while they’re inside the light.

Wait, wut?

It actually has a charging voltage reading? Woah, that’s amazing.

The S43S seems to do this too - It appears to be charging but the blinked out voltage seems to be varying between 3.7V and 4.2V, weird....

The charge port and the main LED functions are independent of each other. The light can be on while charging, and that includes battcheck mode.

The button won’t blink while charging though, like it normally would during battcheck. The button LEDs seem to get overridden by the charge function.

okay . i think im gonna get this flashlight. but here are my questions …

  1. does it fit protected cells?
  2. whats the limit of discharge on protected 18650? like will 3 cells of 4A protected cells work just fine?
  3. whats the total current on 6000lumens?

i hope someone who has this flashlight can answer my questions. i really want to buy this light but i need to know which kind of batteries i need to get. thanks guys

1) Yes, Sofirn even recommends to use protected cells. However, you will probably get better results with unprotected button top cells.

2) 3 cells with max. 4A should work fine but the flashlight will be driven far below its capabilities.

3) I do not know but the Q8 draws about 16amps out of 4 cells, so rule of thumb might be comparable here.

Just adding some further comments.

2) 4A for a protected cell is a very low rating. There are protected cells with well over a 10A rating. If the cell performs well (has a low resistance) and trips the protection circuit at 4A, you run the risk of tripping the protection circuit and not sure if that's recoverable or not, depending on the battery protection circuit design.

3) Yes, the SP36 will get about the same output as a Q8 so that means it draws more amps per cell, since the SP36 has 3 cells not 4. The XP-L2's in the SP36 have a lower voltage than the XPL's in the Q8, so it's easier to get higher amps in the SP36 than a Q8.

I personally would not recommend a 4A protected cell. My cell of choice for this light would be the Samsung 35E, but with a button top. A button top SANYO GA would also work well. You don't need the lower resistance 30Q or VTC6, but they will get a little more output. Again like the Q8, you need button top cells or solder blob the tops of flat cells. Some use the flat top GA because of it's protruding top.

ive tested my battery. its tripping at about 6-7 amps. not 4A . so 4A is just a rating. it should be fine ye? anyways. how do i know if the batteries are limiting the turbo? like how can i tell? this is the first flashlight for me with a more than normal firmware. so im still kinda confused. btw the batteries are NCR18650B . its protected pin top rated at 4A . but ive tested one of em and it trips at about 6-7 amps. so 3 of em should be able to get to 20amps no problem. do you think its gonna be fine ? thanks