Received mine from banggood and its superb! I might have gotten lucky but I have no problems so far with it. The PCB of the tailcap is yellow with two springs. Only thing is the oring of the battery tube is slighly too big so it get crushed.
Wow, that’s good news !
I hope the two units i ordered will be the same as yours. :laughing:
It’s strange though.
Some Astrolux products are much cheaper on Banggood, and some are much cheaper in the A.E. ‘Elfeland’ store.
And the prices fluctuate enormously too.
hi guys! any updated promo code for s41s?
Can someone briefly explain Astrolux S41 lumen levels.
I know max. = 1600 lu
How many seconds before it steps down?
Does it keep stepping down to moonlight or does it hold on a certain level below 1600 lu? I need 300-500 lu to remain on until I manually switch it off. Yes?
Do the step-down phases get longer or is it a fast rush down to moonlight?
thanks
AaLF
Flashlights with FET+1 drivers cant have constant regulated output more than 350mA. All modes over this current depends on many factors - cell internal resistance, springs and wires resistance, switch resistance, soldering quality, leds quantity and Vf, and cell voltage.
The S41-series lights automatically step down from maximum after about 35 - 40 seconds. They then remain at the second highest mode - about 800 - 900lm on my Nichia-equipped units - until the user changes mode, switches off or the cell runs down.
However, you should step down manually from that mode when it gets too hot, or you are liable to damage the light.
The next mode down is about 400lm and seems to be fine for continuous operation. I run my S41-series lights on 18650 cells and I can get a couple of hours at that level, although they do slowly fall over that period to about 250lm before finally starting the low-voltage stepdown sequence. 18350 operation would probably be more like 30 - 40 minutes.
Mine steps down from turbo straight to moonlight with 18650vtc6. It is strange because it doesn´t do that with 18350 Keeppower???
Yeah, it´s a very annoying bug in the driver. My original S41 made by Manker does not have this, only the newer “Mateminco” models. Depends on which cell you´re using, seems like on 18650 high drain cells it happens more than on 18350 cells even if they are unprotected high drain versions.
Ok, so it´s a common “problem”…My 18350 Keeppowers are unprotected imr ones.
Yeah, i just got my 18650 tube in the mail today, and i have the exact same as you describe (but i have VTC5 and ‘Enercig’ 18350).
Must say though, on VTC5 it’s considerably brighter and gets hotter much faster.
I got my S41s quad nichia colored with 18650 extension tube recently from banggood. Mine steps down from turbo to high after about 40s. I am using this cell LG 18650 MJ1.
Yep, same here, naturally with vtc6 too. Probably the different behaviour is heat related…?
Maybe it also has to do with the Vf of the LEDs.
Mine has XP-G3 which have the lowest Vf of the 3 options.
The 18650 VTC4, VTC5 and VTC6 are high drain cells (rated 30 Amperes) with very low internal resistance.
So i think my set up draws more Amperes than yours, because LG 18650 MJ1 is rated 10 Amperes.
Unfortunately i have no way to measure the current.
I’m not sure what it will do when the VTC5 is a little discharged (i tried a fully charged one), but maybe it’s only good that it drops down to low mode so it can seriously cool down after seriously heating up on 40 seconds “turbo”.
Maybe something on the driver board gets (too) hot?
I don’t know.
I ordered mine on Dec 6 and it’s still not here yet. I wonder it’s lost.
I would give it a little time. Something is going on with shipping from China. Maybe has to do with all the Smog. I ordered a VG10 on the 15th of November, and paid the upgraded shipping charge to make sure I got it before Christmas. On Dec 27, I contacted Banggood because tracking hadn’t been updated since Nov 20 (Host is preparing Shipment, or something like that). They were quick to refund. On Jan 5, I got a tracking notice, and received my light yesterday. I’m awaiting response from CS on how to repay.
Some of the FET+1 drivers (specifically the X6 driver, maybe others) have a Turbo > Moonlight bug caused by a spike from the FET causing the MCU to reset. Sounds like only the highest performing cells pump out enough juice to make it happen. Stacking or replacing the capacitor should fix the problem. (I’m only regurgitating what I’ve read elsewhere, like here)
I thought the S41S was using the A6 driver, not the X6. But who knows, maybe it sometimes can display similar behavior.
All of the drivers before the Q8 and Texas Avenger have the voltage spike issue, it was an issue all along, we just didn’t notice it with the tiny13 because it had a lot more tolerance for it.
After DEL figured it out on the Q8 driver the ones since then have the new components that fix this issue.
The MTN FET+1 is a middle ground, it still has the spiking issues but it is bled off with a zener.
Thanks, TA. Are you using a higher value C1? Or something more technical?
(feel free to take this to another thread or PM if you feel we’re derailing)