Lume1-FW3X: Constant Current Buck-Boost & FET Driver with Anduril1/2 + RGB Aux

Outstanding!

Thanks for the update!

I liked the idea of a less common PCB color, but the purple still looks pretty good.

Fantastic! I can’t wait to get my hands on a couple of these!

Did the separate LED RGB boards, the ones that could use hand picked colors, end up on the chopping block?

I think the general thinking was that it was too difficult for a manufacturer to produce, mainly because of the hand-picked colors part. I believe loneoceans made the designs available for anyone that wants to make their own.

I’m very excited for the lume1 and aux board.

Yeah! I do recall that. The question I guess was more aimed towards the boards that omitted just the SMD LEDs themselves, I recalled some mention of that being looked into for folks who wanted to do custom color mixes themselves, although my memory could be off.

Hello everyone,

Thank you all for patience! I'm happy to say that the Lume1-FW3X drivers are now available and can be found on Nealsgadgets.

From Neal:
You can buy the Lume1-FW3X driver with included RGB AUX Board from Nealsgadgets here: https://www.nealsgadgets.com/products/lume1-fw3x-driver

For a limited time, use Coupon Code LUME1 for 20% off!

For now, each driver comes co-packed with an RGB Aux board. Detailed instructions on how to put one together can be found in the datasheet. These drivers come pre-programmed with the latest firmware. Unfortunately, the Tri-LED boards are too complex logistically to work, since different people have different preferences for what LEDs to use. As a result, they are only available as a DIY for now.

Other than bare drivers, I believe Neal will also be offering the Lume1 driver in some versions of FW3x flashlights as well but I don't have the details on those yet.

These drivers are just off the production line and they're so new that I haven't yet got my hands on them! I've only done validation work with pre-production samples. Just an example, in previous samples, the LED resistor values for the RGB Aux. board were a little off, so I requested them to be adjusted, and I hope they made it in the change (confirmed by Neal but I haven't personally verified). Also Lumintop who produced the drivers did not make a final change to the MI and MO lines to swap them, so just a note to those who use a HarleyQuin pogo-pin programmer to remember to swap the MISO and MOSI lines (compared to the Emisar D4V2 for example) - you can ignore this if you don't plan to re-flash the MCU. The silkscreen printed on the PCB is correct. I had sent them the updated fabrication files so hopefully future batches will have this adjusted. This does not affect any functionality of the board.

Many thanks to Neal from Nealsgadgets for his hard work getting the logistics to line up well. It was a challenging process due to all the delays and logistical issues due to the pandemic.

Importantly, many thanks to all the forum members here on BLF for your support, feedback, and suggestions for this project! I really appreciate all the detailed suggestions and comments I received through this process. A big thanks also to ToyKeeper for the amazing Anduril firmware and her expertise and advice. In addition, many thanks to everyone who showed their support in the initial group-buy-interest list, and for your subsequent patience. It's humbling to see how a small hobby project has turned into a product that hopefully will be enjoyed by like-minded hobbyists.

So exciting! These are def worth paying for an international DHL courier in my books :wink:
Can’t wait. Thanks for all your amazing work Lume1, i hope you get your hands on some soon enough!

Yes they will be posted to my github page. You can also buy one to support Neal!

This driver was specifically laid out for the FW3x flashlight and has components specifically chosen to fit the very low z-height. Designing one for other flashlights would allow for larger components at a different price point. Enjoy! :)

:+1: You are the best!

Perfect!

Thx

Ordered 3 of the Lume1’s…. this NovaTac 120 has been waiting a loooong time… :wink:

[quote=KawiBoy1428] Ordered 3 of the Lume1's.... this NovaTac 120 has been waiting a loooong time.. ;) !{width:80%}https://i.postimg.cc/C1qX5jx8/IMG-1622.jpg! [/quote]

That’s what i did too LOL

Excellent! Ordered three. Thanks so much for all the work you put in on this!

is 28 AWG silicone wire small enough for RGB board? Looks like we may have to go smaller or open up hole on already small shelf. I guess I should learn to read. First post suggests 30AWG or teflon so the answer would be a no to that :slight_smile:

Can these new boards (or the the old boards) be retrofit for other traditional e-switch lights if the diameter is similar? Could it be flashed with a mechanical clicky firmware if such a thing was made?

Just trying to figure out how many I should buy.

Ordered! Thanks for all the folks that put this together and saw it through getting it made!

In one of the prototype drivers I received early on, I believe they used AWG28 silicone wire for the RGB board. The wire diameter is fine, but typically silicone wire insulation is fairly thick. This made for a very tight fit. As a result, I recommend using as thin a wire as you can manage, and teflon coated is good since the insulation is thin (though it's hard to strip the wires if your wire stripper is not sharp). Soldering to the RGB board shouldn't be too difficult, just need a pair of tweezers ideally and make sure the wire ends are not frayed (or use solid core).

This driver was specifically designed for FW3x.. I guess it could fit other flashlights but it wasn't designed to do so, hence you'll probably need some modifications. The driver was also designed for e-Switch flashlights, so it will not work with mechanical clicky flashlights, and probably there won't be any firmware written to support it. Likely a different design using a clicky-specific firmware would be more appropriate. Hope that helps!

I remember another user recommending 30 AWG kynar insulated, solid wire for applications like aux LED’s. 30 AWG is thin enough that even solid wire is fairly flexible, but it tends to stay in the position you bend it to instead of the insulation wanting to pull it back straight, and it can be a little easier to strip. I think Kynar was recommended simply for better cost and availability than teflon, and thinner than silicone.

The other recommendation was to just buy white wire and mark your wires with colored sharpies (or number them with stripes if you don’t have colored sharpies). Most of us don’t need multiple rolls of fine wire in all the different colors like to color code aux boards.

This should work fine in an FW1A right?

And how hard would it be to “swap the MISO and MOSI lines” on my Emisar programmer? I don’t see anything that looks readily swappable, and I don’t know what I’m doing :).

It should work for FW1A, yes.

You could probably unplug one side of the adapter and use something like male to female jumper wires in whatever order you need. You could probably unplug both sides and use female to female jumper cables too but I dont have an Emisar one to verify.

For the soldering advice: Tin your leads (solves the fraying issue) and flux it up. For something that small you shouldn't need much more than a tap. Be sure to clean any flux residue afterwards.

I'm planning on 30AWG silicone. Floppy wet spaghetti-noodle wire.

Also: The driver should fit FW1A light just fine ;)