Lumintop GT nano on the way

Other Types of Lights Keychain / Pocket Flashlights
657

This is my first experience with Narsil, so I have carefully read the NarsilM v1.3 User Manual included with the GT Nano and the main NarsilM forum thread.

According to the GT Nano manual, the factory default for the "Auto Step Down" setting is "Temperature", but the results from my light's "Driver Temperature Query" are very inaccurate and there does not seem to be any adjustment to correct this.

When I do a triple-click "Battery Status Query" followed by a double-click "Driver Temperature Query" with the light stabilized at 24º C room temperature, the light reports that the driver temperature is 38º C which is 14º too high.

If I continue on by doing a double-click "Firmware Version Query" followed by a 2 second button hold, the light blinks 4 times confirming that I have successfully reset the light to the factory defaults.

After resetting the factory defaults with the light still at ~24º C room temperature, the "Driver Temperature Query" initially reports that the driver temperature is 44º C which is now 20º too high but in a few hours it drifts down to reporting 38º C again.

I have not yet used the "Auto Step Down" configuration mode to select "Temperature" which then turns the light on at 100% brightness while you hold the light to feel it's temperature and then click the button when you feel the desired temperature level that you want to set the thermal limit to. I am not sure how well this will work with a low capacity battery in a small light.


Some issues I wonder about:

1) Does the "Driver Temperature Query" from Narsil lights report the temperature accurately and is there an easy adjustment to correct an inaccurate temperature readout?

2) Is there any way to confirm that the "Auto Step Down" configuration mode is set to "Temperature" or should I just enter this mode and quickly click within 5 seconds which keeps the previous configuration which (since I have not set my light) would be some unknown factory default temperature limit?

3) Is it always recommended to do the "Auto Step Down" mode "Temperature" calibration (where the light runs at 100% brightness until you click) both initially before first using the light and after resetting the factory defaults (since this is supposedly the factory default setting)?

4) How does the light behave thermally if you never do the "Auto Step Down" mode "Temperature" calibration (where the light runs at 100% brightness until you click) since this is supposedly the factory default setting?


I doubt any of this makes much difference when using the GT Nano with the miniature 10180 Li-ion battery but it may be important for thermally protecting the LED when using a larger 10440 Li-ion battery and I am also curious what thermal strategy others use with NarsilM in the larger GT-series and other NarsilM lights.

658

For anyone who wants to know, an email from Lumintop tells me that only the first batch of Nanos in 2019 had aluminum boards and also that the 10440 tube is still under testing and will be released as soon as available. So that means….absolutely nothing.

659

thanks for sharing info

I got replies from all 3 email inquiries to lumintoponline.com, lumintoplighting.com and lumintop.com

they all said the copper nano is not yet in stock

I wrote back to ask each of them, whether all 3 sites are part of the Lumintop company, or if any of them are separate private resellers.

660

Unprotected Efest IMR10440.

661

I wrote Narsil/NarsilM, but doesn't mean I remember everything

1) --> Temp and voltage calibration are compile time settings - there's no UI to set them, and no way to see what they are set to

2) --> Don't think there's any way to see the current setting. If in doubt, set it the way you want it

3) --> Hhmm. I think so if that's what you want.

4) --> Not sure. Based on the driver design, you cant be sure the temp is accurate, and heat depends on amps, which depends on what the battery can deliver, which is based on how charged the battery is, plus how much resistance there is (springs, wires, etc.). There's no definitive answer here. I'm surprised lights are still being shipped with NarsilM actually. I gave up on it a couple years ago.

Also I don't know what their factory default is. NarsilM can be custom configured with compile time settings, and I don't know what the exact source code is they used. They don't even tell me a light is using my firmware, yet alone ask me to help tweak it for the specific light.

662

Thanks for the response.

One of the reasons I purchased this light was to experience Narsil and it is definitely a bonus having the historical figures involved contributing to this forum.

I have not changed the factory default thermal limits and the highest temperature my light has reported while repeatedly pushing it to Turbo is 54º C (which is not an accurate reading). I am using the included 10180 Li-ion battery which only lasts a few minutes with multiple low voltage blinking warnings before the final low voltage cutout where the light will not turn on. This highest temperature is 16º C (29º F) above the 38º C (which is also not an accurate reading) that the light reports when at a room temperature of 24º C (75º F); so the actual highest temperature of the light that I have been able to achieve is most likely 24º C + 16º C = 40º C (104º F).

I will monitor the temperature and thermal step down capabilities more carefully once I have a 10440 battery with 4 times the capacity of the 80mAh 10180 battery.

663

Just keep in mind the performance of the cell. All 10440 cells are not alike. Some have lower resistance than others, but none of them can compare with the better 18650's or 21700's. Also the 10440's increase resistance with age/use, faster than the bigger cells.

664

Got my Nano today:

  • switch LED is not working (should be RED from the pic), tried to enable it through the config UI but it didn't help. The LED is there and looks like the resistor is there, so not sure how they disabled it. I was expecting it to be factory configured with the LED off, but allowing you to turn it on. Probably a good idea to have it disabled because when NarsilM sleeps, it doesn't do LVP, unlike Anduril, and with such a small capacity cell, not a good idea to keep the LED ON.
  • appears to be pretty decent throw, considering the battery
  • I got a copper MCPCB, and appears to be DTP. I got pointy needle type of leads on my meter, and you can see bump outs of the center pad, so I pocked one of the leads through the top layer and got continuity with the MCPCB base.
  • charging works! Light went green, batt measured 4.16V

Of course I took the driver out, and as expected, it has a 20 pin ATTiny85, no pogo pin I/F, and also the CPU is on the top surface of the bottom PCB so blocked from any type of clip. Dismantling the 2 PCB's looks risky for me to do - easy to get apart but re-assembly would be tricky to align it, and level them perfectly.

Would like Anduril2 in it so could do voltage and temp calibration, and enable the switch LED, since Anduril2 monitors LVP even when asleep.

665

As many have reported as I did in my post earlier. No biggie as who cares as it’s probably a battery drain anyway but it’s weird that Lumintop would tout it as a nice feature.

666

Red Led comes on when battery gets weak.

667

Nice but if it doesn’t work at all?

668

GT Nano Manual

669

Thanks for that Jon and understood and whatever you do, the back button switch light on many of ours doesn’t work at all! If yours does, great. Mine doesn’t but IMHO, I don’t really care.

670

Disregard my low voltage comment, mine seems to be on even now with high voltage but it is so dang weak you can not see it in well lit room even up next to your eye but in dark room it is dimly lit.
Did seem brighter outside in dark when cell was weak so that is why I thought low voltage alert.

I am so used to doing mechanical lockout it will make no difference.
Cool little flashlight when used with 10440 tube.

671

I wrote to the three lumintop sites asking if they are official lumintop factory sites, all 3 replied.
two are, lumintoplighting is not

===
this came from ec@lumintoponline.com:

lumintoponline.com is a part of lumintop, and it is official site from us.

I am sorry we do not know the site https://lumintoplighting.com. And I have already reported this to the management.

===
this came from lumintoplighting@foxmail.com:

The website www.lumintop.com is Lumintop official website.
The website lumintoplighting.com is an online shopping websites

===
and this came from leo@lumitop.com

www.lumintop.com is official website

672

The EDC01 that I had would screw on part way but does not reach.

Confirming what others have already discovered the UT K18 works well, offering the choice of pocket clip or keyring.

673

You are right Jon_slider. I placed an order with lumintoplighting and it turns out to be a fake Lumintop site with fake inventory. They showed the copper GT Nano as being in stock but after I ordered it showed as shipping in 10 days, so they were actually taking preorders or are drop shipping. I requested cancellation and a refund 3 times and finally got a response asking for my Paypal address for the refund which I sent and they said it would be 2 working days. I hadn’t receive it after a week so emailed them and they said that they “regret to inform me” they’d shipped it on the 10th (despite my 3 cancelation requests) as they didn’t get the Paypal address but would try to “withdraw” the shipment! on the 12th and have been silent since. I very much doubt that they actually shipped and I won’t know for months as I have no tracking number and the mail is very slow here. What BS!

So I’ll file a case with Paypal. I’m sure I’ll win as things are pretty clear and in 20 years of using Paypal I’ve only opened 1 claim (against Nealsgadgets) so I have some
credibility but I understand it’s a hassle if they contest it.

It looks exactly like the official Lumintop site, uses their logos, photos and descriptions, shows the number of items in stock and and answers questions as if they are Lumintop. It seems like a lot of effort for what can’t be that much money. I’ll let the real Lumintop guys know about it.

Bizarre.

674

My ultratac k18 doesn’t fit. Threads are different. Mine is also the newer model k18, slightly different than the one pictured above.

675

What’s more bizarre, I purchased two lights back in December and January (GT MICRO, GT MINI, both NM1) from Lumintoplighting without issue. Both were received timely, and I have no reason to believe they aren’t genuine. Not saying these guys aren’t shills, but if they are, they surely do a good job at it.

676

there are a lot of flashlight vendors that try to give the impression they are the manufacturer, when they are actually resellers

fenixlighting, fenix-store, nitecorestore, are all Not manufacturers, they are private businesses.

In any case, paypal dispute is the quickest way to Stop the frustration of unaswered and misleading emails back and forth. Vendors are motivated to protect their Paypal relationship, disputes go to a different email address (listed in Paypal).

Filing a dispute immediately escalates to resolution. I recommend not wasting time negotiating with the customer service staff on a vendor site.

good luck with your resolution, Notmyrealname.

fwiw, Lumintoplighting would probably still ship your item, once they get it in stock… Neal does the same thing, he takes orders before he has stock, then ignores email questions he cannot answer, such as, did it ship, when will it ship, and other consumer support questions. otoh, Neal immediately gives a refund, if a clear request is made. By clear request I mean, not an exchange, not a modification, not an addition, just Cancel and Refund.