Andúril 2 coming to Sofirn - The general Sofirn development thread

[contactcr]

@djozz

@rost333

@Barry

Is there any plan to release soon any light with USB charging and E21A emitter(s)?

My suggestion: altered SC31 (as SE21A ) with first low starting at 3 lm

Fitting an E21A in a commercial flashlight requires some skilful designing: you can not use a centering piece because the led is small, shallow and fragile, the force of the reflector via the centerpiece easily kills the led. And still the small E21A requires precise centering, even in a reflector as small as in the SC31. I have not seen a commercial solution for that yet.

We need centering rings with pegs in them like a TIR

[DavidEF]

Remind me again what the advantage of a E21A is over other emitters on the market?

[contactcr]

Extreme high CRI and a bit less shift I think. Everything else about it makes it very hard to practically use

[jasontheguitarist]

@djozz

@rost333

@Barry

Is there any plan to release soon any light with USB charging and E21A emitter(s)?

My suggestion: altered SC31 (as SE21A ) with first low starting at 3 lm

Fitting an E21A in a commercial flashlight requires some skilful designing: you can not use a centering piece because the led is small, shallow and fragile, the force of the reflector via the centerpiece easily kills the led. And still the small E21A requires precise centering, even in a reflector as small as in the SC31. I have not seen a commercial solution for that yet.

Folomov appears to have done it… If only they’d stop inventing goofy battery types and use normal cells.

This is the EDC C2. The one that takes that stupid little 14300 battery.

http://www.folomov.com/en/upLoad/image/20190507/15571972152309263.jpg

[djozz]

Nice little flashlight Appparently a centering piece works with that small reflector, but even there I wonder what mechanical stress the led experiences?

[hank]

a single emitter light like the SP32A V2 but with Anduril

This. Please.

Call it “… V2A”

[pennzy]

@hank

a single emitter light like the SP32A V2 but with Anduril

This. Please.

Call it “… V2A”

And chop an inch off.

[Agro]

@DavidEF

Remind me again what the advantage of a E21A is over other emitters on the market?

• Very high CRI
• Very nice tint
• High efficiency for the CRI
• Tint-mixed quad E21A can act as a very rosy 5050 emitter. And a quite powerful one, though working around the hole in the middle makes it a flooder-only option.
• Lov Vf which is a mixed blessing really
• Very low profile - in a light designed for it it saves almost 1 mm compared to XP-L HI and over 2 mm compared to XP-L HD. As long as you can focus your optics properly.

[aswang]

@pennzy

@hank

a single emitter light like the SP32A V2 but with Anduril

This. Please.

Call it “… V2A”

And chop an inch off.

+1. And none of that L shaped driver so that it can be used on other lights like the SP40.

[oweban]

Question - is the “All Products” tab in the AliExpress app on the Sofirn store just showing everything in order of newest product? So any time anything new is added, it’ll be immediately visible there?

(If not, I think it’d be a great idea - very fast way to see what’s new and interesting)

[rost333]

@Barry0892

@1stein

Why not to use advanced processor and program it (flash the bios) just before sending? The same way we choose led temp. or ref type, we could choose software. Like at MTN. This way the light could reach more people, be more flexible and satisfy each group. Moreover, modding this light could be extended by multiple software versions.

A programmable driver is cool. The default UI is for muggles and if Flasholics want it with customized UI, sofirn can program it before shipping. Or you program it yourself. But I don’t know how to fulfill it and how difficult it will be.

@Barry
Would customized UI (programmed before shipping) be possible in all new lights or just in the 2*AA side-by-side light (still in development)?

[Lux-Perpetua]

Hi Barry,

In terms of a summarized feedback on Sofirn's C8G I have some suggestions for a C8G V2.0:

• Please increase the current from 1.7A to 2.2A to drive the XHP35 HI to its sweet spot. You should easily reach actual 2,000 OTF lumens.
• Please reinstate the C8F user interface, i.e. standby functionality by side switch.
• Please increase the thermal threshold for stepdown to 60-65°C as 50°C is way too low to ensure proper usage of turbo mode. Or even better: Please think about implementing a user defined threshold like HaikeLite did with the SC26 (please click here to see more details: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/54158/1011).
• Please improve the ramping mode as it does not appear linear to the human eye when ramping up.

The sample I received from Sofirn has also some factory faults like an offcentered LED and a fogged up glas lens (inner side affected). I know this is not the usual case with Sofirn's good quality but in terms of quality assurance I wanted to let you know about it anyway.

[Di_Joker]

Sofirn SP40.
To me, the master replaced the emitter with an LH351D 4000K 90CRI and, instead of a reflector, installed the optics ll01zz-exxxl06-u2_cree xp-e (60 degrees), for which I am very grateful to him. To install the optics you need to cut it. I like this light a lot more and I would like to see this option in the Sofirn store.
High mode (~ 450 Lm) heating test , ambient temperature 27°C: 51°C 10 minutes later.

[oweban]

It still needs a moonlight mode - long press from off.

[Lux-Perpetua]

Sofirn SP36S is now released on Amazon (DE/US at least)

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07TXHXKW8

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TXDV1ND

Basically, SP36S is the SP36 BLF Andúril Edition but with a less complex, simpler and proprietary UI.

• It comes with 2 mode groups (group #1 provides 5 stepped modes, group #2 provides ramping).
• It comes with Sofirn's ATR regulation, i.e. after 2min on Turbo mode or if the temperature exceeds 55°C the flashlight will adjust the brightness level automatically to prevent overheating.
• It can now also be charged with 9V @2A for faster charging.

Manuals in German and English language can be downloaded on my sharepoint. Please click ► here ◄.

[Di_Joker]

@Lux-Perpetua

It comes with Sofirn’s ATR regulation, i.e. after 2min on Turbo mode or if the temperature exceeds 55°C the flashlight will

Why do they still take a brightness stepdown on the timer in the presence of thermal control? What for?!

[DAGG3R]

@Di_Joker

@Lux-Perpetua

It comes with Sofirn’s ATR regulation, i.e. after 2min on Turbo mode or if the temperature exceeds 55°C the flashlight will

Why do they still take a brightness stepdown on the timer in the presence of thermal control? What for?!

Di_Joker,

Barry said that the engineers told him it is a safety redundancy in the event of thermal sensor failure.

It would be nice if they just made it a setting for the user to choose how it regulates temperature (w/ adjustable temperature setpoint)…
Option 1) Use both thermal sensor & stepdown timer
Option 2) Use thermal sensor only
Option 3) Use stepdown timer only

[Lux-Perpetua]

I asked myself that question over and over again but finally gave up looking for the reason behind.

I have asked Barry to reconsider this overcautious thermal regulation and implement a more reasonable and more efficient thermal regulation with configurable thresholds for individual needs.

See here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/54158/1011

and here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/54158/1029

and here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/57353/13

and here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/57353/28

This is what Barry replied to a similar objection:

@Barry0892

The reason why light has both step down and thermal is because engineers told someday thermal may won’t work after years. A diving light can cancell step down but customers may use it on land. Well, what can I say. It’s hard to satisfy everyone with one product.

So, with Barry's answer in mind I think there's enough room for discussion and persuasion for a separate thread.

I strongly encourage Sofirn to reconsider their engineer's opinion for this decision will waste quite some potential their lights could use with a better, less strict thermal regulation respectively without timer-triggered regulation. Personally, I doubt that a thermal sensor will start to fail more often than a timer-triggered circuit. I have presented a solution that should satisfy both the unexperienced "standard" customer and the flashoholics/enthusiasts.

Eventually, it's Sofirn who has the last word on that and they will know best what their target group (in terms of customers) is and what specifications are crucial. We can only offer suggestions how to make a good product great or just better. Until now, Sofirn has been great in listening to the "voice of the customer" and has brought up a great variety of powerful flashlights. But I'm worried to see more and more flashlights with timer-triggered stepdowns like SP36S and SD05 to give some examples.

[Tally-ho]

@Lux-Perpetua

Basically, SP36S is the SP36 BLF Andúril Edition but with a less complex, simpler and proprietary UI.

• It comes with Sofirn’s ATR regulation, i.e. after 2min on Turbo mode or if the temperature exceeds 55°C the flashlight will adjust the brightness level automatically to prevent overheating.

A BLF edition with a glued driver, a proprietary UI, a timed turbo and a max temp set pretty low…AH AH !
“BLF edition” used for marketing. :person_facepalming:

[DavidEF]

@Tally-ho

@Lux-Perpetua

Basically, SP36S is the SP36 BLF Andúril Edition but with a less complex, simpler and proprietary UI.

• It comes with Sofirn’s ATR regulation, i.e. after 2min on Turbo mode or if the temperature exceeds 55°C the flashlight will adjust the brightness level automatically to prevent overheating.

A BLF edition with a glued driver, a timed turbo and a max temp set pretty low…AH AH !

…yeah. The exact opposite of what BLFers want! PERFECT! :partying_face: