[Update]Wurkkos dual LEDs 21700 Headlamp design Photos/UI update~

The goods news is that this light is planned to come with an overhead headstrap, as far as Mark told me today. This overhead part should give more support for weight balancing and distribution. For reference, a headstrap comparable to this one...

Acebeam's H30 is also quite heavy and big in size but I don't know how well their sales were running for this light. Did many people complain about PL47's weight? What headstrap did Fireflies supply with the PL47? Maybe we can use some best practice here to get a better product. ;-)

I hope Mark or I will soon be able to get to tell the interesting specs about the driver. What I was told so far...

  • Type C charging unit incl. reverse charging (= "powerbank feature")
  • Sofirn's in 2019 revised ATR (advanced thermal regulation) with a 50°C threshold

Please note that the UI is still work in progress. Mark and I have talked a lot today on how to improve the UI for more convenience and flexibility. My plan was to remove the entire strobe modes (I hope everyone here agrees to this point of view) as strobe modes are proven to be quite ineffective against assaults by human beings or animals and often considered as a nuisance in BLF flashlights, especially in a headlamp. However... there are reasons to keep strobe modes and so my suggestion was to put strobe modes in a hidden section of the UI and leave more room for direct access to turbo mode from ON and OFF. We also try to improve the access to moonlight without getting into conflict with the nice powerbank feature while reverse-charging an external device.

I thought the PL47 was completely useless as a headlamp. I have one, the original, and use it more like an EDC. I recall lots of criticisms. Funny, the Amutorch E3 is very light for a 21700 light, but of course it's not a right angle head.

Yes, if strobe is no need , ad the most important is that access to instant moonlight and turbo, we will probably give up all strobes modes ( strobe, SOS, beacon) :arrow_right:

My opinion concerning headlamps (and flashlights) used for hiking, camping, mountaineering and other remote outdoor activities:

1) The SOS mode would be useful in case of an emergency.

2) The beacon mode would be useful to help someone find their way back to camp or another location.

3) The SOS and beacon modes should be able to last a very long time without draining the battery too fast.

4) The magnetic tail cap should be an optional accessory or have a way to add or remove the magnet in the same tail cap.

Problems created by magnets:

a) They alter the reading and accuracy of a compass even from quite a distance away, so the compass cannot be used to find the correct direction of travel or take a bearing or accurately orient a paper map.

b) They erase the magnetic strips on credit cards when they get too close, so they cannot safely be near a wallet or in the same bag as a wallet.

c) They attract unwanted metallic objects.

d) They add weight.



Agreed! That makes sense. As long as these modes do not appear in the default stepped mode order, this should be fine. For instance, I could imagine activating SOS or Beacon mode i.a.w. the given UI like this:

When the headlamp is ON:

3x click = Turbo mode (both LEDs at full power)

from Turbo 2x click = SOS strobe

from SOS another 2x click = Beacon mode

from Turbo/SOS/Beacon 1x click = return to previous standard mode

When the headlamp is OFF:

Long press = Check battery status (will also work while reverse charging or while locked out)

1x click = turn ON (unless locked)

2x click = Moonlight/Firefly mode (0.5lm) (will also work while reverse charging or while locked out)

from Moonlight 1x click = turn OFF

3x click = Turbo mode (both LEDs at full power)

from Turbo 2x click = SOS strobe

from SOS another 2x click = Beacon mode

from Turbo/SOS/Beacon 1x click = turn OFF

4x click = Electronic Lockout mode

Since headlamps and flashlights are uni-directional, a "diffuser" accessory would help the SOS or beacon signal to be visible in all directions even though the light level would be less (but at least you would have that option and the diffuser could also be useful in camp, but I realize it is not as easy to design a diffuser for a headlamp as it is for a flashlight).

Yes, but it will probably get more difficult to diffuse the light evenly in a 90° angle headlamp beam than in a standard flashlight which emits light vertically upwards into a diffuser cap (attached to the head).

If you want something universal for usage both as headlamp and lantern (with diffuser cap), the head would need to have an adjustable angle.

ohh, this design seems not bad

Thank you for this details, we are talking with the factory now to make the UI better. Can’t wait to see the final version and start production.

Long press is very valuable do not waste it for not very often used batt check.
2*click in many lights is turbo. It will be inconvenient.

So
Long press - moonlight
2 * click turbo.
3 * click batt check
4 * click lockout

I think convenient control of two leds is impossible using one button.

The Astrolux HL01 (in 18650 format) weighs even heavier than the Fireflies PL47, so I think that’s one downside of the HL01…
I’ve also gotten the PL47 (Nichia 219B very nice tint), but as Tom E mentions, use it mostly as a flashlight rather than in headlamp format…

I suppose headlamps will really have a weight limit to be useful (and not feel too heavy)…

Good point, agreed. I will check with Wurkkos if they can use this scheme. Спасибо :-)

Strobes sometimes are really useful for locate yourself. But you can make strob with any light just waving or covering the light with your palm

I‘m not against having strobe modes included but I guess the majority here will agree to have them hidden in the UI to prevent accidental activation. Strobe modes are often advertised to drive away / disorientate people or animals assaulting oneself. This has been more or less proven to be quite ineffective. However, to catch someone else’s attention as illustrated above, I agree that SOS and Beacon can be useful.

Yes, please keep them hidden but available.

If you are lucky you will never need SOS, beacon, or strobe as an emergency signal.

But if you are not lucky, it is very valuable to have all three of these features as they each provide a unique capability for very different situations.

It would be helpful to have some hints in the instruction manual so people can better understand when to use these features because while most people know what SOS is for, many have never used a beacon or realize how visible a strobe would be during daylight hours.

Include LOL mode, too. It’s only 1 extra blink.

Intrested please LH351D 5000k for flood and SST20 5000k for throw.

I tried to tweak the UI a little bit, put a bit more emphasis on accessing Moonlight and Turbo mode more easily as well as keeping strobe modes available but hidden. I hope this chart is easy to follow. Any feedback is welcome. THX.

Can the light be locked out with a quick half-twist of the tailcap? If so, just put the battery-check on first-connection, just like my MH20. Why waste a 3click or 4click for that?

My GTmicro, ’mini, Q8, etc., all doubleblink on first connection to power. Just swap that with blinking out the cell voltage instead. Like with my MH20, a quick untwist-then-retwist blinks out the voltage and it’s done. No wasted clickyslots.

Frankly, I wish that would’ve been done on all my doubleblink lights…

I guess so, as I assume the threads are anodized as usual in Sofirn‘s/Wurkkos’s products. I also agree that it would be nice if the battery status is being indicated when the tailcap is tightened. This should be feasible for Sofirn to manage but it depends on their engineer‘s and Mark‘s decision.

HD20 will not blink out the voltage. It is meant to indicate its battery status by a colorful illuminated switch button (as many of Sofirn‘s lights). Personally, I would not want a flashlight to blink out the voltage automatically. There might be certain situations where starting a flashlight needs to be unobtrusive (e.g. during night and you just want to check something by using moonlight mode without waking up your spouse). Most people here will probably know what I mean. :-D