Loneoceans GXB172 Driver Group Buy

I have one that’s been used here and there for months using the factory omten switch in a convoy S2+. I did however add a wire bypass to the switch.
The omten switches are cheap if one fails. This driver has a soft start function that seems to contribute to the switch surviving where it shouldn’t. This driver pushes the switch to it’s limit and beyond so your mileage may vary on how long it will last. Also the GFS16 Fet switch board is all that’s needed to turn the switch into a high current one. The add-on led board just adds some battery level indicator function to the switch.

What is a safe and reliable option for the tail switch?

I fixed the miss spelling of the GFS16 fet switch. :person_facepalming:
The reliable is the GFS16 Fet switch. That was the reason Loneoceans created it. From his writings, I think he said he had omten switches that melted. I haven’t experienced that yet in the bypassed switch on mine. I have both switches in two different S2+ lights using this driver and both are working fine but the omten switch in heavy use would probably not last long. I’m just stating that one can use the factory omten switch if bypassed and not used frequently. The way to go is difinitely the GFS16 Fet switch for reliability and heavy use.

Well It would not surprise me being a cheap chinese switch and is being pushed over its limits probably anyway with 6A or more of current going through it.
The main benefit of the switch though is the much lower voltage drop and/or resistance that is experienced.
Thats why its important to construct the unit well and solder braid onto the springs, etc.

I think 30 USD (~44 AUD) is too much for me since I don’t really have a plan for the driver. It doesn’t seem unreasonable for a small run of a unique product, I just can’t justify it for myself.

What kind of quantity is required to bring the unit cost down?

Depending on the final price, I would be interested in two pieces.

With 30 USD driver cost I may buy only one, with 20 USD two 17mm.

It maybe cheap but its quite robust. Alot of modders here have pushed them quite hard and they just keep on working. Nothing like this driver does though, upwards of 15 amps across the switch.
I built a few of the GFS16’s with blue spring’s and modded them to fit in a V11R just for the lower v drop. It’s a very nice low resistance designed switch that can give you a little more output to the led.

Yeah, quite true, I think the switch would be fine in most applications.

Ive just got a quote on the boards for the tailcaps, and they come just under $1 each, so you are looking at $2 for a pair of boards for a tailcap switch.

The highest cost of the board is the components, coming in just shy of $20 per board, the total costs for production and assembly of the PCB’s is $549.

Please note that this cost of the assembled board is far cheaper than if you were to assemble it yourself. Even if we did a group buy of the PCB’s themselves, you are still looking at least $30 or more, not to mention shipping costs.
Mouser quotes me just shy of $22USD for the components to do a single driver. Then you have to buy the inductor off coilcraft which is around $4USD, so there is definitely a big saving made here.
We definitely could get the driver cost down under $30 with more orders.
As it stands, the quoted price for 100 boards stands at $2567 USD, so already is under $30USD, but im taking other factors into account, such as 15% import tax I will face upon receiving the goods.
They also charge $52USD for shipping to me.
So taking all that into account the total is $3004.
So im not out of pocket, I will have to charge extra for paypal fees on top of all of this, then there is international shipping on top of all this for each buyer, I dont imagine this to be much, and will use the most cost effective method.

The only way we will cut down costs is by making more boards.
Question is, can we fill up this first 100 orders? I dont want to be out of pocket with a whole bunch of drivers I cant sell. I think we could easily fill up 50 orders, but not sure about 100 quite yet.
Are most builders from candlepowerforums over here too, or should I start a thread over there too?

Although I am not using Reddit apparently a lot of flashlight enthusiast are. Perhaps there too?

Actually thats a good idea, there is quite a strong reddit community, either way, feel free to share this thread round and point them to it if they are interested :slight_smile:

Since I was getting 1 out of curiosity rather than for a specific need, $30 would be over my limit.

I was going to suggest revisiting your idea of bundling/kitting the components for a DIY build until I notice how incredibly small the parts are. There’s no way I could hand shoulder those parts.

:frowning:

Interested depending on price… cool!

lol this is exactly why I explored this option in the first place! Not many people have reflow ovens or stations either.
I probably can carefully solder the components alright, and have already ordered some boards, so probably will end up doing that at some point just for the exercise i guess!

The main benefit is that doing a bulk order is actually still cheaper than assembling by hand and you dont have to worry about damaging anything, testing, troubleshooting etc.
Building this driver yourself can easily cost over $40USD, by the time you take shipping for components into account.

Price per driver will definitely be around $30 +/- $1 at current quotes for 100 boards.
Will update the thread to reflect this.

Are all the components going to be quality and to loneocean’s specs precisely?

What are the UI options Going to be?

I will keep it standard spec, per loneoceans guidelines.
You can change a few options through the jumpers or tweaking values in the firmware.
If I end up having to program them all manually, I guess I can do custom settings if people request it.

Though to price is a bit high, I might be interested in 1.

I have to cut on half my requirement, 1x17mm and 1x20mm. Several FET switches board are still needed.