[Review] Astrolux S42 4xNichia 219C Rechargeable Mini LED Flashlight supplied by Banggood

So I am getting into modding this light with TA Narsil driver

the original FET is this one g16n03 with 22mOhms

its resistance is no where near top ones like SIR800 or PSMN3R0-30YLDX

VDS (V)
30V

Rds(on) @10V(Typ)
0.022Ω

IDS (A)
16A

So sorry I don’t know. I’m not mechanical enough to mess with flashlights. Sorry

SIR800DP, SIR404DP, or the high performance Infinity FET is the best way to go. The 800 and 404 stay cool at high amps, better than the 3R0.

Thanks for the teardown :+1:

So I am in the final stage of getting the electronics sorted out

there are basically 2 options to go:

- The charging circuit works without the old MCU, but no status indicator LEDs as they are controlled with the MCU

- Letting the old MCU active but disconnecting the switch, the light shows proper charging indication and is always in the breathing mode draining 1mA from the cell down to 2.38V, when the MCU shuts down, physical lockout needed like lighted tailcap

I'd scrap the charger, least that's what I'm gonna do. More room then - I plan on adding some copper under the shelf, least it's some added mass. Probably use thermal glue to hold it to the shelf.

I have thought about scrapping the charger

thought about it, but not about extending the shelf with a copper block from inside, you can easily double the heads thermal mass
yes adding some mass helps getting a longer turbo mode
The main issue with NarsilM is it does not support timed step down plus temperature, like v1.4 did, so I stick with v1.4

it is a lot easier to get it mechanical done scrapping the slave board with MCU and charger

Still can't figure why you would want both. Don't think I ever heard of any light using both. Are there? That's why I did away with it - could not figure a reason to have both active. Shame because there are bug fixes and enhancements in NarsilM.

I probably could get a compile switch in there to enable both modes somehow, just gotta figure out the UI for it the combined version. I got a ton of other things to do on NarsilM though, and haven't spent any time on it as of late at all.

nice review and pictures! :beer:

The charger is one thing that I liked about this light. Being that it’s powerful and uses 18350 cells, I’d rather be able to charge it without waiting to get home and fire up the charger. I guess I’m stuck with the light as is.

driver replacing without keeping the chargin circuit is easy, a 21mm driver fits with minor sanding

with AWG18 and SIR800 FET pulling 18.9A on cold start
instead the 9.95A with fresh Samsung 18650-30Q cell

I went with a solution I like, keeping the old drivers slave board electronics with charging

I did wire the old electronics with the LED+ wire on the star, so if I want deactivate the USB charger and breathing lighted sideswitch to get rid of the parasitic drain,
I can unsolder the thin wire on the star

The drivers contact board and TA 21mm LDO driver

trimed the board to fit easily

used my Dremel to get rid of unsoldering the leads to the switch board

trimmed the old driver contact board to fit inside the head, cut the bolts connecting both boards by 4mm and sanded it

Driver assembly before gluing the old board on top of the TA driver to fix the position USB slave board
I had to cut the USB opening a bit as I trimmed not enough leng of the bolts

The lead connecting the old slave board with the battery, can be easily disconnected

Thanks for showing.

Would it be possible to exchange only the MCU to a Attiny 13 / 25? Are the other driver parts compatible or at least the solder pads of the driver?

The contact board has pads for the FET and 2 7135, add one 7135 for dual channel firmware
the FET has already the 2 nessesary resistors

it is possible to add an attiny MCU with a small PCB with LVP resistors, capacitor and reverse protection diode

you could wire it with to the right spots and then glue it to the driver

then if you just remove the switch from old MCU board it is always in breathing mode

or if you unsolder the OLD MCU the charger works but not the LEDs showing it charging and when it is full

maukka tested the efficiency at 48lm/w on the ~450 lumen mode. That’s atrocious efficiency. It probably uses a really crappy FET.

thanks for the review :wink:
have you tried using the tailcap from the skilhunt h03? if the threading is the same as all the other astrolux it will match (only thing is, you need to move the oring to the threading groove)

:s :s :s

Simple solution to the USB cover problem: I thought I would have to cover it with Gaffer tape, but there is a simpler inbuilt way: just slide the clip around, until its tip is on top of the unruly cover §;) it also gives you the right grip with switch facing you and clip locked in your fingers. - I am not a technical nerd so could someone enlighten me on the reason for the need of an unprotected battery ? - Is it only a question on physical size or will a protected battery damage the flashligt or damage itself ? - I first ordered a Soshine 18350 and it does fit, even being a protected one, - and the light seems to work. I have the recommended: Keeppower 3.7V IMR 18350 750mAh - on its way, should I also expect it to put out more power ? - as it has the very high: Max 15A discharge

Just tried a H03 tailcap as suggested above and it works great.
Its also about 3/8”overall shorter….thanks for the suggestion.

Unprotected batteries are usually recommended for high-drain lights because many protection circuits will, or should trip when the light is used on its highest setting. They also add resistance, decreasing current and output.

The best 18350 is the Aspire INR 1300 mAh[1]. It’s rare that there’s a single unambiguous best in any product category, but this is one of those rare cases. With a true capacity of nearly 1200 mAh and better high-current performance than any other 18350, the Aspire is the 18350 to use right now.

[1] Test of Aspire INR18350 1300mAh (Black-yellow) - because I’m not sure how to escape the parens in that URL for BLF

Thank you zak.wilson - very informative !

I got this mail from Banggood today, hopefully everyone did or else you have it here:
From : cservicesz@banggood.com
Dear customer,
This is Mandy from banggood . Thanks for your order .
We are sorry that the issue of Astrolux S42 battery tube design has a little bit shorter that may cause some 18350 / 16340 batteries are not compatible with, and the usb cover is higher than the flashlight body which may cause the usb cover to be easily to be opened.

After re-researched and retested by manufacturers and the assessor, we have redesigned and produced the Astrolux S42 battery tube and the usb silicone cover which can be compatible with the currently popular 18350/16340 battery and the Astrolux S42 usb port.

We will resend you these two parts for free to your address before 08.07.2017.

If your address has any changed, please reply the the new address to us before 05.07.2017.

It will appreciated if you send a short video (youtube link )to us when the item have any issue ,we will make a solve way to you as soon as possible .

We apologize for all inconvenience and thanks for your great support.

In addition, we will provide you a 16% OFF coupon for all Astrolux products, the coupon code is “ALTCS” and the using date is from 01.07.2017 to 20.07.2017.

Thanks again for your kindness and understanding to Banggood and Astrolux brand.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions, we will bring you a better quality consumer experience.

Best regards Mandy

thanks this was my first TIR light and I thought the Beam is OK
I did glue the paperclip only on 2 sides where the optics is filed down because otherwise it blocked light from the TIR

after I modded the TIR I could see it does throw better and beam looks better overall
if you need a driver how about a TA one I can make you one with Narsil just for material costs, the light is great with Narsil