[Postponed] Sofirn SP10R - deep red AA/14500 EDC

I think this is a wise decision :+1:

OK :+1:

Very interested. I love the xp-e2 photo red version and can only think the SST-20DR will be better. Even if it’s similar, I used mine today and they’re great lights. Thanks for making this happen.
Is there any point in the photo red xp-g3 and a reflector for a tiny flooder?

I’m interested. Thanks!

Interested

Actually, Barry and I were thinking already what other Sofirn flashlight could maybe benefit from SST20-DR. I suppose IF25A could be a nice host for a quad array with around 1.000lm deep red light but it takes a different (constant current) driver, ideally aiming 8A of regulated maximum current.

I’m interested.

Driving leds in parallel is 0K but not the best approach; over time the sharing of current among leds could unbalance. There are nice boost drivers available who could handle a quad in series at 2A with ease.

Gracias Barkuti. Do you have a link to one of these drivers? I'm not sure if Sofirn has ever used 3rd party drivers in their lights, though. Anyway, I will be glad to talk about this with them.

I hope this will be crazy overdriven the emitter if possible thanks.

A couple examples:

Please note that since deep red emitters have quite a bit lower Vf, driving them the actual current ouput of these boost drivers could be increased to at least 3+A without difficulty. And much beyond if they were to change stuff like Agnelucio. :-)

Edit.- Remember: boost driver, all emitters in series receive the full current. You must think in terms of power. At 3+A driving current total Vf could be close to 10V and the drain from the battery will be noteworthy. No less than 10 or 15 A rated batteries, just in case.

Whether in this case they decide to use a driver like this or not is up to them, but it's time for they to get better buck and boost drivers. They also need some good buck ones, really.

Tue, 08/18/2020 - 14:53

Interested

Agreed!

As much as I would like Sofirn to build more lights using buck, boost or high constant current drivers, I see some (market) constraints that counteract this plan. So far, their largest target group is what I call "standard customers" (not those flash'o'maniacs like us), people who want to get a decent, powerful light for a very competitive and reasonable price, regardless of tint and CRI. I'm not saying low-budget because that would be insulting, looking at those myriads of crapfire lights for less than $ 10.00 that you can find on Amazon, eBay, AliExpress etc.. So, let's just state they aim for customers who are willing to spend $ 30 - $ 80 for a flashlight. Sofirn is really good in this market segment, getting better and better. If we now ask them to build more lights with more efficient, more complex and - most important - more expensive components, they will need to enter a new pricing level that is already taken by brands like Fenix, Acebeam, Olight etc. pp.. They will also need to put more resources in driver development (assuming they want to keep on using their own drivers). All of this needs to fit into their long-term business strategy. My hope is, if we keep asking, begging and longing for better drivers long enough, they will eventually decide to step up with a "premium" product line including BLF's most wanted features.

Can I assume it’ll be significantly brighter with lithiums like the other one?

About the strobe; I never needed it so I’m fine without it.

“click for ON/OFF and hold to cycle” That is a welcome change.

That's yet to find out but I expect a truly visible difference between SP10R and C01R on full power. While Sofirn applied a bit more than 1A on C01R's XP-E2 photo red (on high mode), SST20-DR can possibly driven with 2A (or even more) on full power. In the end, the thermal design of the SP10S host will have a significant impact how far Sofirn can push the limits. As much as I love hotrod lights that can burn your skin (at own risk), there will need to be a reasonable balance between shorting the lifespan of the LED, having a safe maximum temperature and draining the battery.

Interested in 2

SP10S appears to single click to Low and then cycles through Low, Med, High, Eco, Low.

I hope that the SP10R UI is different. E.g. Hold to access firefly. Single click through each mode in a uniform manner (Low, Med, High, Med, Low, Firefly, Low, Med, High…).

Nope...

The UI is drafted like this:

Hold from OFF ► firefly mode (~0.2lm)

1 click ► ON/OFF

Hold from ON ► Cycle modes low-medium-high (no mode memory from OFF)

2 clicks from ON/OFF ► Turbo ► 1 click to turn OFF / 2 clicks to return to previous mode

4 clicks from OFF ► electronic lockout (on/off)

It is set that there will be no strobe modes at all.

Like.

I am interested in 2! Let’s make it happen!