ASTROLUX MF01 Mini - common issues thread

[Dr.Phillip]

@man of light

@JasonWW

I think a quick fix could be to just add a metal ring, aluminum, copper, etc…, just to connect the edge of the driver to the battery tube. Give the heat some mass to soak into so the MCU doesn’t get too hot, too quick. Touching the top of the 7135 chips may not be necessary.

Yes, there will be definitely a positive effect. Was also one of my first thoughts. I tested it with one aluminum ring without the two screws and without thermal paste. The ring was 3.7 mm high, so that there was proper contact to the battery tube. The results where better but I was not statisfied yet, step down on max ramp was around 1 minute. Ich thought there is not enough mass for the heat and designed the described plate.
Sure, a copper ring (Outer-Ø 29,8mm, Inner-Ø23,5mm, height 3,7 - 4,0 mm) will show better results with some thermal paste. But I would recommend to add two bores for the two screws to fix the driver and the ring.
If there is interest, I could provide a design proposal with a drawing for such a ring, for somebody who want to try it.

@Texas_Ace

Nice mod, that should be made standard in the next run of lights honestly.

I bet you could sell some of those to other BLF members as well.

Unfortunately, I have no possibility of producing such parts, I’m depending on others who have such toolings.
I can provide the 3D-CAD data and drawings, maybe somebody is able to manufacture a small batch for a reasonable price.

Hell man, those look amazing. Great design, now I am envious :D. Such an elegant and well executed solution. Texas_Ace is right, this should become standard in future lights. I would buy 5 of these if someone produced them. Or at least two for my sad copper and brass ones to give them that premium feel. How long did it take you from idea to fully functional prototype?

[JasonWW]

@led4power

That’s why decided not to use internal MCU temp. sensor and use external NTC sensor on LED MCPCB, which is the simplest and best way for accurate light temperature measuring - all my MCPCBs have place for NTC and in case of 1S lights it needs only one additional 30AWG wire, I expected BLF drivers would switch to this logical step, but for some reason till this date no BLF drivers have NTC support.

External temp sensors are definitely the way to go. Unfortunately a lot of BLF software (Anduril, NarsilM) are still tied to the Attiny85 chips. Toykeeper has been working on using Anduril with the attiny1634 MCU (as seen on the Emisar D4 v2). I have not looked into this MCU, but it does have a lot more input/outputs. Does anyone know if it supports an external temp sensor?

[man_of_light]

@Dr.Phillip

Hell man, those look amazing. Great design, now I am envious :D. Such an elegant and well executed solution. Texas_Ace is right, this should become standard in future lights. I would buy 5 of these if someone produced them. Or at least two for my sad copper and brass ones to give them that premium feel. How long did it take you from idea to fully functional prototype?

In total it took me 2 working days, with some waiting time for the prototype in between. For such a design i don’t need much to time, have some years of experience developing heat sinks and cooling solutions for electronic devices.
At the moment i’m in contact with some possible suppliers for a small batch of this heat sinking cover plates. They will be CNC-machined out of copper and a further improved design. No magnet needed at the positive pole, more efficient space usage.
Estimated price 10 - 15$ / pcs. depends on batch size. It’s clearly not an low budget mod and maybe not that interesting for many, but sure for some of us.

[shirnask]

@man of light

Estimated price 10 - 15$ / pcs. depends on batch size. It’s clearly not an low budget mod and maybe not that interesting for many, but sure for some of us.

I would like 3 of them

[middle_age_man]

I would like to buy one.

[nobody]

Definitely interested

[JasonWW]

@led4power

Removing AMC no5 and/or 6 would show if all this is correct (I don’t own this light,but I suppose stacking them onto other AMCs is not possible due to height).

I think this can be done. If someone wanted to test the theory they would ditch the plastic cover, screw the driver down, remove these two 7135 chips and stack them on nearby ones. Then maybe use a magnet to move the battery away if you need more height.

I don’t have this light, so I cant try it out either.

How could Mateminco change the design to improve the light?
Ditch the screws and plastic cover and make the battery tube longer to press against the driver? I think the battery tube screwed down and pressing firmly into the driver should get some good heat transfer. Man of light says it extended top of ramp to about 1 minute. Would this mod be a good enough fix for Mateminco to do?

@man of light

I tested it with one aluminum ring without the two screws and without thermal paste. The ring was 3.7 mm high, so that there was proper contact to the battery tube. The results where better but I was not statisfied yet, step down on max ramp was around 1 minute.

[Dr.Phillip]

Well, I would take at least 3! It looks like a great mod that allows the flashlight to reach its full potential.

[eneoros]

I am in too for mu unit. Just curious what the shipping and payment method will be.

[ZozzV6]

Maybe I will try this 7135 remove thing if it helps.

[ZozzV6]

I also saw another design flaw that one of the purple leds on aux led board is too close to the main led and the optic sits right on it and crushed it.

[oweban]

Mine wasn’t too close - but putting it all back together after reflashing was a pain. I think I’ll replace the wires with longer ones and stuff them in the cavity next time.

Image opens to larger size.

edit:: while I’m at it:

[christoph]

I would like one heat spreader made of copper too.
Chris

[korpzgrinda]

I was wondering if any MF01 mini owners can say anything about the charging port cover. Is the cover useful and functional? Does it stay in place when carrying it around?

I once ordered an Astrolux S42 and the charging port cover was garbage. It just wouldn’t stay in place, felt foamy instead of solid soft rubber, and flopped around every which way. I ended up getting a refund and selling it on eBay but ever since then, I vowed to never purchase any Astrolux lights especially with built-in charging.

Thanks for any input.

[JasonWW]

You mean you got a refund by selling it?

I got the S43 and that cover seems fine. It’s made of silicone I think.

Vowing to never by a brand based on one bad thing, sounds extreme. Like people vowing to never by a ford, because one broke down on them. No lights, or cars, are perfect.

[GioScar]

@ man of light
I’m in with 2 !

[oweban]

Silicone cover is solid, takes a decent pull on the tab to pull it out.

[RantapihanKauha]

I’d buy one or two heatsinks as well.

[christoph]

The tab on the cover is a little annoying, I may shorten it.
c

[Di_Joker]

DEL