Sofirn SP10 Pro (AA/14500/Andúril 2) - now available!

ready and still waiting

gchart, whatever happened with this project? I just got a couple of drivers from Sofirn and this would be the time to try your upgrade. Let us know.

And I have never flashed software like this before. If you can point me to what is needed I would appreciate it. Even better would be to be able to buy one directly from you and then I would try to mess things up umm, solder it in.

It’s been running strong on the updated adapter for a couple months: What did you mod today? - #9717 by gchart

I’ll hit ya up on PM.

Count me in:)

I think I was gonna DIY this one but couldn’t find the ATTiny in-stock anywhere. Similar shortages have put a damper on my other driver-building plans.

The SP10S code fits in 8KB so you can use the 816 instead of the 1616. Mouser has some of the attiny816 in stock

Interested in one, magnetic tail cap would be awesome too.

USB C charging would be good too. Especially for an EDC light like this

In my opinion it would provably add more complexity to an - eventually - already complex light/driver. And an eventual “bulk” that would make the SP10S fatter.

In my opinion, it would be preferable to use USB rechargeable batteries instead .

While I normally have a lot of patients awaiting a BLF project to hit production this light fills a gap I have been seeking for a long time so I am considering trying to DIY. I am not at all technically competent but willing to learn. Can anyone provide any insights on the skills and equipment required to replicate gchart’s success?

Skills: very detail oriented, patient, and decent soldering abilities

Materials: attiny816 or 1616, my PCB, solder paste, desoldering braid or solder sucker

Equipment: soldering iron, a hotplate or hot air station, UPDI programmer

Process:

  • File any excess off the PCB and clean it up
  • Apply a small amount of solder paste to the PCB
  • Carefully align the attiny on the board
  • Reflow it with a hotplate or hot air
  • Touch up any solder bridges with your iron
  • Flash the firmware onto the attiny
  • Remove bezel and reflector from SP10S
  • Desolder the LED wires and gently push them into the holes they’re fed through
  • Push something like a toothpick through one of the holes and up against the outer rim of the driver, gently tap on it to break the driver free (it’s lightly glued in place). Try not to damage the LED wires or any driver components
  • Take the driver and desolder the two boards (it’s a T-shape 2-part driver)
  • Remove the existing MCU. Hot air really helps here
  • Solder the attiny adapter board in place, paying close attention to orientation
  • Reverse the process to put everything back together

Were it not for the global microcontroller shortage, I’d offer to send you a ready-to-go adapter board. But as it stands, I only have a couple attiny’s left and probably can’t get anymore for several months. That could also be part of the reason that this project has been quiet lately.

now that fwaa is out i dont see point in this… they had their chance.

I partially agree, but there are two big differences:

  • Single LED vs triple
  • AA (NiMH / Alkaline) compatibility

And if you’re really big on side switch vs tail, then there’s that too

Keep it the same size. No onboard charging please. I’m in.

THIS!!
So, Sofirn still has the chance!

Unless they come with something like a renewed EDC05 with the specs we’ve been wanting for this SP10 light, and that gchart mentioned above!

I am also still hoping for an Anduril light that supports AA (NiMH / Alkaline) as well as 14500 Li-ion batteries.

Lights that only support 14500 batteries like the FWAA would not persuade me to replace an 18650 powered light, even though they are smaller, unless they were also able to use NiMH and Alkaline batteries.

Even though I appreciate my hair-trigger tail switch FW3A lights; for EDC purposes, I prefer lights with a stiffer configurable lighted side switch that do not have inner control tubes.

+1

slmjim

IIRC Toykeeper posted that Andruil only works with lithium batteries so no hope for AA support. I’m perfectly fine with that.

I guess this post (and from then on) can help understanding why this “joy” here in the thread :wink:

:wink:

The entire point of this thread is to achieve - and it has been done successfully - Andúril with alkaline/Nimh support.

The only limitations for anduril are that the microprocessors it currently runs on require a minimum voltage input. How that is achieved doesn’t matter much, and in this case it can be boosted from a AA input voltage.

Feel free to read the thread for more information.