Yeah, I guess that makes sense. You actually need to MCU to be operating and taking samples of the voltage in order to determine whether or not it’s above or below the threshold and that process is just going to create increased parasitic drain.
Mine was from the second batch (#501-1000), which had the first batch issues fixed. It has been working great since I got it, and it gets used quite a bit. In terms of sheer number of hours, it has probably been my most-used light over the past year, but I’m not sure if that counts since it’s a whole lot of candle mode.
Anyway, no issues at all. And the button LED has been on pretty much nonstop the whole time.
The MCU also has BOD (brownout detection) enabled, but that doesn’t activate until 1.8V. So, if it gets that low, it’ll shut the MCU off even more than it normally can. Which probably won’t have a significant effect on the parasitic drain.
But LVP (which shuts off at 2.8V) only works when the light is actually on. And it sounds like whatever is draining happens when the light is off. So get out a DMM and start measuring things. It’s probably a hardware issue.
It would make the Q8 suitable for the 3V Luxeon MZ leds (on the 4040 Q8 board): great CRI plus great power with an easy mod, as long as the reflectors are heavy OP to prevent the donut hole!
Not just MZ, but there would be less beam color separation with most other LEDs too - OP reflectors always give smoother, more uniform beam which is important for high CRI builds.
I am very interested in a 3x18650 light and mentioned it in an interest thread a long time ago. The smaller diameter and lighter weight will make it easier and more likely to be picked up and put in my pocket. The 3 cells will allow for very good runtimes and being larger than a single cell light, it should handle heat a bit better. People with smaller hands might prefer it as well.
There have been a few 3x18650 lights released and the Firefly seems to be a success, but it costs quite a bit more than the Q8 does. I don’t care about usb charging at all and would prefer to not have it because of waterproofness if the port is covered by a small rubber flap or plug. If its hidden by the threads, I might like it more. It would have to be a solid design and one that would not add too much weight or bulk or cost for it to interest me.