I see, then it is far from the normal TK75 that has 3pcs XM-L2 U2 LEDs.
This is the triple LED independent drivers, based on the sales thread link.
Thats teflon wire. I have miles of that stuff. I think its solid or close to solid silver. Tarnishes pretty quickly when exposed off the end.
Hank should start selling it without emitters, would save him time :bigsmile:
Nope, the boards can be ordered from oshpark with whatever you want written on them. Richard makes his drivers, I have one of the large drivers in my TK61 with MTN written on it. Vinh has acknowledged this in his “DriverVN” thread. At the end of the first post it says thanks to Richard for production and DrJones for the firmware…
Anyways, just wanted to clear that up. But let’s get back on track with the topic of this thread…
Link to Vinh’s “DriverVN” thread on CPF: DriverVN
In his initial post in that thread, Vinh wrote:
“Special Thanks:
Dr. Jones for the firmware programming
Richard at mtnelectronics.com for production”
Just to be clear: I don't make all of his drivers. For a lot of the lights he builds or modifies his own. He's one of the few who has truly dared to blow a ton of LEDs and fry a lot of expensive lights to figure out how to modify the drivers (high risk, high reward). I've just done the TK61 driver (wouldn't have happened without his help) which I shared here with his blessing along with some FETs drivers, of which he was instrumental in pushing some of the options that everyone here uses now.
I hear a lot of negative talk around here about Vinh, but honestly after meeting him and spending time with him in person I think that most of the opinion I hear around here is dead wrong and is based on a mixture of jealousy, misunderstanding, and imputation the acts of others to him. I don't know many who work harder than he does and in my opinion he has earned everything he's got. If you have the stamina to build lights until 3AM on a regular basis, week in, and week out (probably 70+ hours a week from what I've seen of him), and put your livelihood on the line to deal with running your own self-financed business, then step right up.
I've read some of his threads and while I agree that some of his fans are a little too militant for my tastes, I don't think that's his fault. He's like that really popular sports team that has a few fans that are a little too dedicated and will never admit that their team isn't perfect (even though the team itself never claimed to be perfect).
He's answered a ton of BLF member's questions about modifying the stock TK61 and TK75 drivers, including giving exact resistor values and part numbers for FETs and other parts. I think he's always been pretty willing to help those who ask.
He works his butt off for sure but like ive said a few times, his minions will buy absolutely anything he touches and for any price he wants. They are the crazy ones and soooooo many people buy his stuff just to turn it on once and either sell it or let it sit on a shelf. He used to and still does have a few things that are cheaper and worth it but a lot of his stuff, IMOnis pushed way to hard or get hot wayyy too fast and make it a hand warmer aka useless. Ill stick to stuff pushed less but harder than stock that I can actually use for extended time.
No doubt he is the hardest working flashlight guy around he deserves the respect he gets but some of his followers…….come on, get a life and a clue. Stop direct depositing your paycheck straight into Vinhs bank!!!
I have talked to him a lot of times and he has helped me a lot. I really cannot afford any of his lights but this doesn’t mean the prices are irrational. I am curious how will he act afted HI led era.
I've recently just became aware of this vinh craze. Seems like a very hard worker and knows his stuff. We are lucky to have him in our community. I wish him all the best!
If he’s truly accounting for his time and paying himself a living wage I bet his prices are reasonable for most of his lights. I think lot of people forget the difference between a hobby and a business. It’s completely reasonable for a person with unique skills gained through personal financial investment to charge whatever the market will bear for said skills. If what he is producing is cheap and easy why don’t we see more clones of his work at lower prices that match or exceed the performance he’s able to produce?
Even my humble venture into flashlights is well past the $6000 mark after 6 months, with untold hours spent reading and testing. I’m not going to build a flashlight and sell it unless I make a minimum of $15 an hour for the actual time invested in the modifications(except for hiccups in the build, I have to eat that time), and that’s best buddy pricing. Sometimes I’ve given away a stock light because I know the finished product after modifications would cost me more than it’s worth in time.
Think of it like cars. A performance car that costs $70,000 is capable of 90% of the performance of a $150,000 car. Yet the $150,000 car still sells, why? Because it pushes what’s possible and, yes, is a status symbol. For almost anything we do here it’s far past what most people consider necessary, we’re already making $150,000 cars. The argument that the McLaren P1 is overpriced compared to the value for the money of our stuff sounds more like envy than anything else.
Full disclosure, I have 1 K50vn bought secondhand here, and a Meteor in the mail. I like budget lights, but I like to know what the boundaries are too, as a yardstick to compare myself to. Right now the K50vn is the longest throwing light I own. It inspires me to correct that situation. The Meteor will be in a race in the mail with the highest output lumens monster I’ve owned, the 12x XM-L2 Kinfire 18sixfifty sold here. They both push the envelope, they’re just in different size classes.
The Meteor will be in a race in the mail with the highest output lumens monster I’ve owned, the 12x XM-L2 Kinfire 18sixfifty sold here. They both push the envelope, they’re just in different size classes.
and I get excited awaiting a Sipik! I can’t imagine these (2) on the way. I’d probably be camping out by my mailbox.
I like having a guy like Vinh on tap to purchase from if I wish to buy a light that pushes the limits. Like many other things whether it be computers, motorcycles, audio equipment, etc. It’s nice to be able to get something that’s tweaked closer to the edge. A lot of Vinh’s lights have multiple modes, you’ll be able to coast in the lower levels so the heat is more controlled. Many of his lights in High mode is the stock light in Turbo mode, but the heatsinking is increased so it can deal with his Turbo mode better. He also beefs up the wiring, soldering, thermal paste, and tunes the beam to further enhance the mod. He also adds thermal pads (optional) to protect the driver. I’ve never heard of any light company that does or offers that. Plus he stands behind his work if you have a problem, refunds your money if not satisfied, and responds to your emails and turns around your repairs quickly. His prices does seem to be rising, but his business is also growing, and as far as I know he still is a one man show that does the light mod and repairs, does email reply’s, posts info and answers on his CPF threads, and still set aside time to experiment. I hope he can cope with the increasing work load.
This is actually one of the main purpose of BLF. I stopped buying finished lights and started modding and building my own since I moved to BLF. I’m no longer a collector, now I’m an hobbyist. Nothing beats the feeling of accomplishing something unique by yourself… the M43 will be the only stock light I will buy for the past year.
Now… I know I started this Vinh conversation thus derailing this M43 meteor sales thread, it would be good to stop derailing it further by discussing Vinh’s works. 
This is the one that made me believe Vinh is making drivers.
I had to post this so it is clear why I said "the one made by him".
"V54" is his signature, same is adding "vn" at the end of stock flashlight he modifies.
Now that I see the image again, I can see a tiny "MTN" as in mtnelectronics.
All good it’s understandable.
Anyways, lets try and get this thread back on track.
We have managed to supply small numbers of M43 Meteor S2 1D dedomed version which
can be shipped immediately, but only in dark grey color.
http://intl-outdoor.com/noctigon-418650-meteor-m43-p-864.html
Thanks.
Hank
Hank is the "S3 3D" and "S2 1D dd" almost the same temperature with the naked eye.. or is there still a clear difference?
both around 4800-5000K
There is clear difference by the eyes.
you forgot to mention his new wheels :bigsmile:
tracking says :
got the shipping mail on may, 11th / ordered may, 1st…
waiting is not my strength… 