Depending on the emitter Vf, full circuit resistance, and cells chosen, there is WAY more power available in 3x18650s than is used here. Lets say you pop in 3 Samsung 25S (0.03Ohm) cells and are running L2 flux bin SST20s. Knowing Emisar/Noctigon designs, resistance is pretty damn low, lets say 10mOhm this is the most sensitive variable and also the least informed. Rough calculations show 46.5A against these assumptions and approximations. Comparing against Maukkas output test and assuming 15% OTF losses, these numbers line up with output specs as well. 14000 OTF would require ~915 per emitter which requires about 2.6A each for a total of ~47A and ~150W. Battery pack wise, the cells are seeing ~16A draw a piece, which is easily handled by even 30Qs for short periods. Adding one more cell only increases total output by ~18W (12) and decreases cell load to ~13A each. Lumens increase of say 10.
Is 150W not enough power for this light? If not, does 168W pass? Is 16A the short circuit current of a high drain 18650? Does 10% more output (and heat) seem like an appropriate trade-off for a meaningful difference in diameter?
I think your concern is that each emitter isn’t maximally driven by only 3 cells. That is true. And here the exact point of the design. Getting very close to 100lm/W OTF is the main attraction to a 18x emitter light and something that should be appreciated for what it is. I think HANK balanced the design here very well. KUDOS :+1:
The Samsung 25S can supply 28 Amps to 17 emitters in my Ham’r. At that level it’s making, surprisingly enough, just over 14,000 lumens. (Yes, one single 25S!)
Plugging a single cell into the same calculation as above I got 27.31 amps. Probably luck that everything comes out that way. What emitters are in the Ham’r? Link to your build?
Thanks for the write-up! I didn’t mean to insinuate that Hank made a poor design choice, I should’ve been more clear that I just didn’t understand how it all works. I see now that it will be a very fine light.
Are 30Qs no longer best choice? I know the sony VTC6 was a contender at one time, but I’m not sure the current best choice. What should I get for this light? I am buying this light haha.
Remember that the batteries are only going to give what they can. The voltage will sag and the current will be less compared to 18650 cells. So output will be less. I would not worry too much about the cells getting “murdered”. Lol
30Q is a really good compromise between high discharge and high capacity. Most lights don’t need the extreme discharge capacity of a 25S. Another good thing about the 30Q is that it’s relatively easy to find and inexpensive.
I come from the drone flying hobby, where lipos can and will puff and burn if you pull more amps than they can handle. Even with voltage sag, you can easily pull over 100amps from a 1500mah 4s pack. But if you do that for more than a few seconds at a time, you murder the pack lol
That the Meteor M43 has retained its status as a classic for as long as it has is a testament to the quality and practicality of its design and fabrication. Even the D18 is only an incremental improvement, although a welcome one. I think we are seeing the birth of another benchmark classic - a practical one. Thank you.
I loved the M43 right off the bat, but the UI left a lot to be desired for me with my horrid memory. So ultimately I changed the driver and at the moment I have it running so hot it glitches Anduril in about 15 seconds on Turbo.
I learned though from that, when I built Ham’r I used 5 drivers. lol (3 different emitters in 5 variations)
Is there a beamshot available for this light? Keen to see how those little TIR’s perform… they look similar to some I bought to fill in gaps but ended up not using. Should be pretty neat though… can’t wait to find out.
(Yes, one single 25S!)
