AstroLux A01 AAA Nichia 219B Review - Winner winner, chicken dinner. An excellent, Neutral tint High CRI LED keychain light!

BLF-348 was never as nice a tint as the original A01. The 348 tint and CCT was all over the place, depending on the unit (I have several). The A01 tint was very consistent, and a very pleasant 4000K high CRI (I have several of those too).

Pity the new A01 is so bad, now.

My only gripe with the A01’s is the weak lens. I’ve had a few crack/break on me and it isn’t easy to find inexpensive replacements. With my latest replacement for my copper A01, I’ve used Sellotape on either side of the lens to give a little protection to it.

for those who want to get rid of the NMM
The Pencil Mod is here

but the Pencil Mod wont get rid of the PWM
nor the 219c …

the Astrolux A01 is on my Do Not Buy list

More in the other thread at Astrolux A01 about fixing the mode bouncing
(fished out the spring, put conductive lube on its wide end, pushed it back down the tube)

I think it only goes to “next mode” if you’re in a hurry to turn it back on.
Otherwise mine consistently start in low mode.
Haven’t timed it to figure out the delay, which would be set by that capacitor the pencil mod discharges.
But I haven’t tried getting the driver out of mine.

Thank you :+1:

I cant find the post atm, but somebody said that before the pencil mod it took a few hours for the NMM to reset to low…

maybe do a test
try turning the light on and off after 1 hour… 2 hours… etc

how many hours did you have to wait, so that the light turned on at minimum every time?

Several hours or overnight. And I didn’t get “next mode” I got “some other mode” - quite unpredictable, jumping from low to high or low to strobe to medium. As someone else described a few pages back in this thread.

Definitely needs the “pencil mod”or a resistor added over the capacitor.

I’d like to speak to the purchasing agent who saved a couple of pennies per light by dumping the good Manker driver and replacing it with a cheaper one.

Strange — on one of the currently sold A01s with the pencil mod done:

I get this pattern: L-M-H, L-M-H, L-strobe, L-M-H …

So it still has one unanticipated strobe level.

I wonder if adding a resistor would get around that.

There are some lights (Jetbeams?) that will do that. Ie, they’re nicely hidden that you’d have to cycle through at least twice to get to ’em.

Come to think of it, it might be the A01s. Just recall it was a twisty I got that does that.

Mine doesn’t have NMM, though, so no “pencil trick” required.

Yep, both the original Manker driver and the current crappy “some other mode” driver for the Astrolux A01 has you cycle through L-M-H twice before it starts strobing.

It’s the added low-level before it starts strobing that strikes me as peculiar. It’s not supposed to do that.

I’ve got several of both BLF 348’s and AO1,
plus some others to compare.

The BLF is a fine light. Does it’s job. ON/OFF. with plenty of light.
BUT NO SOUL.
Just a smooth stainless tube with the “Singfire” model having more output.

The AO1 has “not so much” light. with differing levels,
But. both looks and feels good in the hand. Bonus.

The little Convoy (Stainless) I carry on keyring. 85ish lum.
On/OFF.
But you can’t hurt or scratch it.

Also. My little Copper O’light, 2 levels. Beaut light.
Second level, on bedroom wall. Equal to MID on AO1.

It’s NOT the strongest but the nicest light.
I just turn it back (or forward) to Low. Before turning off.
Problem solvered.

PS.
What the hell would anybody want a flashing cycle for on a toy torch.
I don’t even use it on the big ones.

PS.
What the hell would anybody want a flashing cycle for on a toy torch.

..................................................................................................................

In case you accidentally fall out of an airplane and end up on the side of a mountain, you can cycle thru all the modes to realize you got the driver without the strobe after cycling twice ...then you get eaten by a bear

I use strobe in crosswalks when crossing any street — even if I don’t see a car coming because one may pull out and race in my direction faster than my reaction time to pull out the flashlight.

So the little A01 is handy for that in case I’ve forgotten a bigger light.

The idea is to distract the drivers from their cell phones.

Soooo would I…. :+1:

You’ve been changing your picture a lot lately. Hiding from the law?

Yeah, pretty much…. so far so good. But I can’t let down my guard. :wink:
Trying to settle on one I like. The one now (Crystal Mill / Crystal, CO) is neat… but not for an avatar. Gonna change it again soon.

Didn’t they redo the EA45S ??

Did you ever get one of the new versions?

The Astrolux A01 paper documentation does indicate that every 6th twist is the “hidden” strobe mode… So that occurs on the original Manker driver or the “other driver with NMM”.

Much like the Lumintop Tool AA v2.0 now has the same “hidden” strobe on the 6th twist (if using the magnetic tailcap) or 6th half-press (if using the tailswitch).
L-M-H-T-L-M-strobe

no has more lumens but less throw. looking for something with more range,

I thought you were joking at first, or just crazy. But, your explanation (drivers & cell phones) actually makes a lot of sense. Maybe I’m the crazy one for detesting strobes so much.

Yeah, I’ve seen several drivers recently talking on their cell phones blow right through a stop sign or red light, while I was in a crosswalk.

They tend to pick off the elderly folks who can’t pick up their feet and skedaddle when threatened.

I stand my ground, glare, strobe, and scream at them.

For this I need to be able to get to strobe really fast. The Sofirn SP32Av2 is ideal —- 3 clicks from off to a stutter/bike strobe.

The Astrolux A01 is more problematic — got to get it set to strobe before venturing off the curb, and sometimes it bounces itself to a diferent setting. But it’s always handy on the keyring.

I’m going to get a few more A01s and do the addon resistor mod, so I can give them to people.