Thanks everyone with the support. I'll continue to reiterate to Neal that using the proper designated components for the driver even at a slightly higher cost is much preferred over cutting corners.
For the rough time frame, I don't have specific dates myself yet and will post updates as soon as I receive them from Neal or Lumintop. However, Neal has conveyed to me that the drivers are indeed in production at the PCB factory, and the first batch will be done in a week or two at least. The initial idea Neal has is to incorporate these drivers in the new special-edition FW3 flashlights (Mokume and Damast metal versions), and to also sell the drivers standalone. So I'm expecting the timeline to be more like 2-4 weeks instead of months. I am just as anxious as you are in getting these drivers produced! I'll convey to Neal about the original interest list, but I'm pretty sure the number of drivers produced will exceed the total number reflected in the interest list since greater production quantity = lower cost.
This. Anyone going for a premium upgrade component like this will want premium components on it and is willing to spend a few extra $ to make that happen.
I am going to get a few of these drivers with RGB boards to replace in all my FW3A lights, ONLY if they are produced with the matterials proposed by the designer. No cut corners for me please.
I have little faith that Neal and Lumintop won’t value engineer this into a lower-quality product eventually. I guess I’d best get mine early.
But to echo what’s been said, I’m content with a higher price if it means the components will be high-quality and consistent over time. I’d have been happy to pay more for my FW3A if it was better-made as well, and kind of wish the project hadn’t been trying for a $30 price point.
If anybody involved in the business side of things is reading this thread, know that the availability of this driver will cause me to buy an FW1A, and possibly more FW series lights.
How much cost could we possibly be talking about? Decent FETs are around $1 in low quantities. In bulk, there can’t be more than pennies to save there.
I know integrated boost modules are more complex, and this will be one of the critical components of this driver, but even the big one I see in the GXB172 parts list is $2 in moderate quantities.
I doubt there’s a single person interested in this driver, much less a premium light like an FW3exotic, who wants the efficiency of a boost-buck driver over a linear driver, but would trade 5 percentage points of efficiency for $1-2 in cost savings.
Basically, this driver should be popular if it is well made, but if it doesn’t have the same performance as the prototype because the manufacturer tried to save a buck by substituting parts, it will ruin the business case.
Pretty sure I read in one of Lexel’s thread the FET was changed in the FW3A after only the first batch or two. People can change components for reasons other than cost as well. I agree with zak’s sentiment. Assuming they even get the first version right it’s probably going to be the most authentic one.
My recollection is a good buck-boost driver is still more efficient than a linear driver for intermediate and low modes. Turbo should have the same efficiency.
A boost driver to enable use of higher voltage emitters in the FW3A would be pointless. 20mm direct copper triple stars for larger than XP footprint don’t exist. And even if they did, 20mm optics for larger emitters also don’t exist. It probably wouldn’t be too hard to get a custom star made, but making a custom optic is a whole other deal.
You have a point, but it basically already exists (4x XHP35):
9V triple is more interesting to me but no one else seems to want it (besides LUX-RC drivers) and boards would have to be remade or old Noctigons brought back from the dead
I think the point being raised is not about the efficiency, but about regulation.
In basic theory, a good buck driver can maintain regulation until the battery voltage drops to the forward voltage. In practice, I’m not sure it tends to work out quite as expected. Also, while a forward voltage around 2.9V may be common at an LED’s standard rated current, at 3A, the forward voltage rises to typically 3.2 to 3.4V depending on the LED (the 219C is known for having a low forward voltage. The XP-L HI tends a little higher). So even with a perfectly performing buck driver, you could fall out of regulation with 1/3 of the battery charge left.
As far as efficiency, a lot of current generation LED’s have a forward voltage around 2.9V at rated current. For a battery that averages 3.7V throughout the discharge, that should yield 78% driver efficiency. Loneoceans report 93% efficiency from his driver. Of course, linear drive efficiency improves at higher currents due to the higher forward voltage, but LED efficiency decreases, so there is a net decrease in overall efficiency.buck-boost driver over a 95% efficient buck driver, and definitely over a 78% efficient linear driver.
That said, as I understand it, boost-buck circuits tend to make a small efficiency compromise compared to buck-only circuits.
the moon mode is important to me and is used often.
The moon mode at the driver is higher than the output of the stock driver. But you wrote, it is possible to reduce this even further. Do you mean by software (me) or hardware (you)?
