TK's Emisar D4V2 review

Lovely! I’ll have to upgrade all my other lights. :slight_smile:

Thank you!

Ah, that’s a good point. I completely forgot to update those. Anyway, it’s on the todo list now.

thank you…its working:))

Hey, TK and everyone else! I am new to the world of enthusiast flashlights and to this forum, and my research on a flashlight that would be pocketable, versatile, and fun lead here after a month or so. I am excited about this flashlight, and I have been enjoying skimming this thread (I’m only up to page 30 so far). I have loved flashlights since I was a child, but never bothered to do much about it until now.

The reason I am posting is that I have a safety question about the flashlight for anyone who is educated in this: what happens if a standard, low-discharge cell (4.4A, for example) from a laptop is used in this flashlight? Would the flashlight over-stress the cell and possibly cause it to fail, overheat, or explode? Or would it merely limit the ramping and turbo based on the cell’s limits? Would the max ramp and turbo merely be limited to around 700-800 lumins? If so, by what mechanism is this achieved? I have read that vapes can cause low-discharge cells to burst due to trying to pull more amps than the cells can safely deliver. That is why I am concerned about the flashlight.

The cells I intend to use are Samsung ICR18650-22F from an aftermarket laptop battery. They are unprotected and have a max discharge of 4.4A from what I have read.

I do not care about ultra-brightness right now (I may later, just to show off). I just want a fun and functional flashlight for tasks that will rarely require more than a few hundred lumins. I do, however, want to find a use for the nine 18650 cells I harvested that still hold 88% of their capacity. That was actually what motivated me to start shopping for a new flashlight. I have an old single-AA Fenix LD12 that mostly serves my needs, but I would like a brighter flashlight. On a partly depleted alkaline cell (I know I’m supposed to use NiMH) it can only achieve 27 lumins (mode 2 of 4, 4 being 115 lumins). These cells gave me the motivation to finally get a better flashlight, and one based on a Li-Ion cell.

I would assume that the Fenix fails to achieve its max brightness due to the low voltage of a partly depleted AA cell. All modes the cell cannot power simply output the same brightness. So eventually the upper three modes are equal to the first mode in output. There must be something in the circuitry that causes the flashlight to output a brightness equal to the previous mode rather than a partial step up. I do not know enough about Li-Ion technology or electrical engineering to know if what is happening in the Fenix and its alkaline cell would also happen with a hot rod flashlight and an 18650 cell, especially since the limitation here is not primarily voltage, but amperage. And alkaline cells are not known to burst when stressed. Li-Ion cells are. EDIT: I just went for a walk and found that the Fenix actually does do partial step ups. I never noticed that before. I put a fresh cell in and the step from 2 to 3 is much greater than with the depleted cell.

By the way, I’m planning to get the Nichia 219C 5000K 83CRI emitter. I want to experience this high CRI, neutral white the enthusiasts rave about, and avoid the green tint that reportedly plagues the SST20. I would try the 4000K 219C if it were available. But maybe that would seem too warm for daytime use. I will be using this flashlight for all purposes, night and day.

In the regulated modes (up to ~140 lm or so), almost any li-ion cell should be fine. It only draws up to 350mA in those modes, and they’re typically bright enough for daily use.

In moderate levels above that, most cells should still be fine.

It’s only really at turbo and really high levels that weak cells become an issue. It can potentially cause cells to overheat and become unstable or damaged. But it can’t sustain those levels for long anyway, due to heat, so it ramps down to a more reasonable level within the first minute.

If you’re using questionable batteries, I’d suggest avoiding turbo. Or at least, probably don’t use it for more than a few seconds at a time. Lower modes should be fine though.

That’s nice! May I ask starting which firmware version/date did it have this feature?
Also, does this feature only apply to the Noctigon K1, Emisar D4v2 and Emisar D4Sv2, at least for now?
Or do any other Anduril flashlights have this aux-LED-voltage feature?

I think the first builds with that were 2020-03-18, aside from the K1 which had it since launch. It applies to anything with a “voltage” mode for RGB aux LEDs… which currently means just Emisar and Noctigon products.

Excellent :slight_smile:

How about this idea, which includes “Aux mode” into the main operation mode:

- From On, you reach aux mode with 3C (currently this switches between smooth and stepped ramp)

- From Aux Mode, you reach regular mode with 3C

- In Aux mode, 1H is used to turn the aux LEDs brighter or dimmer

- In Aux mode, 2C will reach max aux brightness (aux turbo), another 2C will go back to previous aux brightness

- In Aux mode, 2H will cycle through the various aux operation modes (R, Y, G, C, B, V, W, Rainbow, Volts)

  • In Aux mode, 1C will turn the light off

friends,is possible to dim the aux leds? thanks a lot…stock aux led lumens are a lotttt…

7/3 clicks with a “hold” on the last one cycles colors too.

I just updated the firmware on my D4V2 to 2020-03-18. Is there any documentation that has all of the changes that have been made recently (like the 15 click to get the firmware level) ?

Thanks,
Mike

The most accurate place to get that info is in the change log, a.k.a. “Recent revisions” on this page:

https://code.launchpad.net/~toykeeper/flashlight-firmware/fsm

Are the D4V2’s Aux emitters wired/coded in such a way that they will not vampire a cell past typical LVP? I remember TK confirming way back when that the original D4S’s aux had no intelligence with battery voltage, but I was hoping that the D4V2 did with the voltage aux setting.

When the RGB aux LEDs were added, LVP for those was added too. It checks voltage every few seconds while off, both to make the “voltage” mode work and to turn off the aux LEDs when the battery is low.

I was thinking today that I’d love to see a 21700 sized D4. However, the “twist” would be that there should be two different battery tubes for it. One with a relatively thick wall for 18650s and the other with the “normal” wall for 21700 cells. The idea being that the “thick” tube would give the light more thermal mass and make it tougher. Maybe use the same optics/electronics as the current D4v2 but enlarge the OD of the head to match the tube?

Anecdotally I don’t think battery tube mass affects thermal performance much except maybe in hosts that are have a single piece head/tube like Zebralight.

Indeed.

Am I correct that the side switch is on a separate pcb? Thinking about a custom switch already, depending on how tight everything is inside. Doesn’t look like there is much room to do what I am thinking, though.

Also, is the FET used just for turbo mode or is it being pwm’d in other modes like ramping, strobe, etc?

For the aluminum D4 and D4V2, I don’t think the switch is on a PCB at all. It fits very tightly into a pocket machined in the head right below the switch boot. Below that pocket there’s room for 2 tiny wires to connect from the switch to the driver. There’s no room for a special pcp for the switch unless you start dremeling or glue on a custom raised switchboot.

I haven’t tried opening the head in the Ti and Brass D4v2. Presumably those have a larger pocket with room for a custom illuminated PCB.

I think FET is used for the final 2 modes (turbo). I think the power right below full power uses PWM.

the FET is PWM’d in every output level over 350mA up until the final ramp step of 150 where it is wide open.