The There Are No Stupid Questions Thread

I dont know, but I do know Neal works with them a lot. You might ask him how to best contact Nightwatch.

What’s the current highest output LED?

Still the XHP70.2?

I know the SBT90.2 is a nice competitor but only because it’s a 3v led instead of a 6v led like the XHP70.2.
The latter one has still a higher (potential) output.

Using a 6v led isn’t a problem, only need to find a suitable driver for it to drive it with some decent amps. Somewhere around 8 or 10A.

Still need to figure out the cell configuration. Right now I was thinking to use 2s high drain 18650’s. Though might change it to 21700’s, however that would require some major redesign.

Cree CXB3590 will do about 16,000 lumen. Its 36v so you need a boost driver and a 12v source. The one driver I know of uses a rotary knob instead of a button. So not very practical.

As far as “regular” leds it’s the 70.2 as it can be driven at around 20 amps at 6v (over 6,000 lumen). At only 8 to 10 amp it is around the same output as the 90.2 when it is pushed hard, about 5000-5300 or so.

Thank you, JasonWW. I will try to ask Neal.

Newbie here, with my first of (likely) many stupid questions. I’m close to pulling the trigger on an Anduril UI driven light, but I’m excited for many of the muggle-friendly features discussed in ToyKeeper’s Anduril (Rev 2) update. When Anduril Rev 2 is released, will there be an easy way to update current Anduril UI with the new operating system? Thanks!

There is no easy way. You’ll need to reprogram the MCU. Some lights need a clip and some use pins to make the contact. Some lights need to have the driver removed, some don’t.

Can a 3.5x3.5mm led be flow soldered onto a 3.0x3.0mm board?

Looks like Kaidomain has copper dtp mcpcbs for 3.0mm leds in 14mm diameter. http://kaidomain.com/S028906-14mm-Osram-3030-LED-Copper-PCB-2pcs?page=4

Another question I could have is…
What options are there for a dtp 14mm mcpcb?

Thanks in advance.

3535 boards are extremely common - though 14mm is an unusual size.

I know some 4040 LEDs have been reflowed on 3535 but it is very challenging and probably reduces performance. If I couldn’t find 14mm 3535, I’d file down a 16mm.

What happens if you stack an extra 7135 on a fet +1 driver? Would it matter if its the BLF A6 fet +1 driver vs the Mtn fet +1? Is it as simple as, low mode is now ~700ma instead of 350? or something else? Would different firmware change the result of doing this?
What about if you soldered on a slave board of 5 or 10 7135’s instead of just stacking one? Same result, low mode is now whatever the 7135’s put out?

Sorry Jason, never thanked you for your reaction.

Those COB’s are indeed very high output in a single package. That driver does sound interesting, do you mind sharing that driver?

Though I was talking about the ‘regular’ leds. So the 70.2 is still king of the leds when looking at raw power.
After some driver search I think it’s better to go to 12 A. It gives a nice boost in output and would still be doable.

Unfortunately my power supply only goes to 5 A so cant test the setup at those power levels…

You basically have the right idea. The 7135 channel outputs a PWM signal designed to produce a certain brightness within this range of 0.35A. Do keep in mind that it will screw up the brightness ramp. Like the Low mode may now be as bright as the Med mode. So what used to be Low Med High may now be closer to Med Med High. You’d need to change the firmware to get the brightness ramp back to being smooth. This is why no one really stacks 7135 chips on FET+1 drivers.

The whole point of the extra 7135 channel is just to get a lower moonlight level. A single FET can do the whole range of brightness, but moonlight is a struggle to be dim enough.

If you're considering the FW3x or FW4x, how about the FW21 Pro?

It's way brighter and maybe it throws further?

The only thing stopping me from ordering it is the fact that it only comes in cool white right now.

Yeah, I wonder if it'll fit in my pocket, but I plan to order it anyway as long as it were to come in a warmer tint.

I would consider the Sofirn SP33 v3 3500lm. It has a ramping mode, 5000K or 6500K, usb charging, is bright, decent throw, good size hotspot, 26650 size gives long runtime and handles heat well. Budget friendly price.

The ’33 is a nice light (all of the above), but again being Mr Glass Half-Empty, if you get a “decent flooder” and crank up the lemons to try seeing far, your immediate foreground will be stoopit-bright and wash out anything the hotspot could reach. And a throwier light without blinding spill won’t be a good flooder, kinda by definition.

I keep beating this dead horse, but nothing beats 2 lights, one flooder and one thrower.

Best might be a zoomie like a Z1. Then you kinda get the best of both worlds(?).

2 lights are good, but my 2 are the SP33 and SP70. Little and big. Lol. There is no one light that does it all. Maybe those dual pattern lights that have flood patterns and a seperate single reflector for throw, but they are usually big and expensive.
Acebeam x10, Fenix LR40R, Ledlenser has their focus technology, etc…

“Between” is almost always a compromise that tries to do both but does neither very well.

Even just going outside for a few minutes, I’ll take my E03 with diffusion film as a flooder, and ’micro if I want throw. Anything else is one of those lousy compromises.

I’m in the same boat. I was very tempted… but I’d like to see it offered with other emitters. I don’t need 10k lumens on turbo, especially since it doesn’t last but a handful of seconds.

The multi-emmiter light is just like a reflector light, just with 3 small reflectors instead of a single bigger one. So you do have a hotspot. It’s a smaller reflector so the hotspot is bigger.

The only reason it’s flood would be better is that it’s brighter. I don’t think there would be a big difference in the angle the light comes out.

You can see a similar comparison here with the EC01 and EC03. The EC03 has a bigger hotspot and is brighter. This makes its spill light brighter as well.

I am really, really lik'n the FT03 mini in SST-40 5000K - beam is a nice consistent white, lots of output, good throw.