Haiklite MT09R GB replacement drivers

No, it’s actually FET+ resistor array.

Look at all the SMD resistors on the left.

This allows for regulated output up a certain point.

I’m curious how different this production driver from Haikelite is compared to TA’s hand built driver. Did HL change the design or try to make it cheaper/cut corners?

Interesting that they are already selling / shipping these drivers. I asked this weekend when they would be ready and they said they were not done yet. They were supposed to send the rest of the payment before they started selling these.

The drivers are the same design, the only changes are some of the components to work correctly with the voltage change.

Since the PCB is the same the only way to tell them apart is by looking at the components.

The easiest method is to look at either the bank of resistors or the R8 resistor to the right of the MCU.

Bank:
XHP70.2 = 47ohm
XHP35 = 150ohm

R8:
xhp70.2 = 22k ohm
XHP35 = 47k ohm

There are some other component changes as well but these will be the easiest to see.

This batch of drivers at least use my design exactly along with the exact components I used. I actually sent them the components myself to build this batch.

Now what will happen with the next batch, that I don’t know.

The pictures above look like a prototype driver or a driver that has been worked on by hand, the production line drivers should have better solder joints I assume.

Well it’s been almost a month since HL told me they shipped out my replacement driver. Usually I get packages from China in about a month’ss time at most, I’ll update everyone once I get it. TA, I would ping HL about the last payment since it seems like HL has been shipping out the drivers for a while now (assuming their messages are true).

Hot damn, I’m not such a fool after all! Lol

What’s funny is I don’t think I’ve ever seen this MT09R driver until now. I don’t remember the row of resistors. TA, did you specifically not show any pictures of it in your driver replacement thread? Maybe I just forgot seeing a picture of it.

I do remember that row of resistors.

I have spoken with TA before and I had asked if the driver was FET+Nxlinear regulator for regulation.

He said no, and he said that he is instead using a resistor array for current regulation at low modes.

Now that is whack…….If that spring bypass wire breaks off will it touch ground….could get interesting…

On the driver spring my by- pass wire is always inside the spring, kind of like being contained with in the spring…

You are not a fool at all. You made a good educated guess.

You are also correct, I never posted any pictures of the drivers so it would not be stolen. It took me months and several prototypes and a ton of testing to get this design stable. In one case moving a component a few MM was enough to make it significantly more stable. Along with a few other equally minor but very important changes.

This driver really changed how I look at building drivers in general, even the smallest details start to matter when messing with these kinds of currents. I was very surprised at the effects some of the changes had but the results are worth it, I have not heard of any issues with the almost 100 final versions of this driver that are floating around.

Once I have time to put together a final version of the driver for release on oshpark I will upload it for personal use of course. Just got several other projects in the fire that are more important right now.

Yeah, I was worried about this. I even sent them some sample drivers should good bypasses but it seems that was ignored. This is the first I have seen of it. They have not sent me any samples even though I have asked.

Indeed, I never hid what I was doing, just exactly how I did it. The smallest details proved key to making it work stable under extreme conditions.

This one is not bad, one is worst.

I do wonder why they are still using steel springs instead of phosphor bronze or beryllium copper for the main spring, and make it even thicker since it screws down on a battery tube and not bare cells.

Would avoid such bad solder jobs.

Unfortunately many of my spring bypasses look like that. It takes me a few tries before I get one without solder sucked all the way up the wire and making it look like those. That’s not an excuse though. They should have practiced. At least folks with patience or good soldering skills can fix that.

Yeah, that type of bypass works, for awhile anyways. I find that wrapping the wire “around” the spring so that it does not flex as much when the spring is compressed lasts orders of magnitude longer. I have yet to have one break on me doing it that way but had most of my old ones like this break over time.

luckily they never hurt anything when they broke, they just stopped being bypasses and the output dropped.

I am still waiting for my replacement driver for almost a month now. To the member that received the replacement driver, how long did you wait for your replacement driver?

Your driver should come very soon.

I was waiting for my Haikelite MT01 driver and reflector, and they came today!

I had emailed him, and he said the reason for the drivers taking time to be shipped, is that he was waiting to ship every spare part from almost every Haikelite light, the MT01, MT07S, MT03, etc, for lower cost shipping.

This is why it’s taking time.

Thank you

I was waiting since Group Buy was over.
I buy 3 pcs new MT09R and Dale send drivers with it by DHL.
Probably they will send drivers by normal shipping method registred/unregistred so to europe it takes 3-4 weeks

I’ve emailed multiple times about a replacement driver for mine but I’m not getting any response. I’ve given up on my light though at this point so if it comes, it comes, if not whatever, this thing will just sit in the bottom of a drawer somewhere.