Shame the LTD can't just place an order ;)
CULNM1 again you say? I'm not a "larger quantities" kind of guy but please update here when that's ready.
Have you posted before what the plans are for new drivers? Any plans for any of the following driver types: buck, boost, buck/boost, e-switch?
It's not that simple, and I want to get rid of "old stuff" anyway.
I have CULNM1.TG and new 16 and 20mm DTP PCBs, I'll put some in "wholesale" section (min. order 40pcs or something like that until switch to LTD-only occurs).
Regarding drivers, for start new linear drivers (clicky and e-swtich), after that we'll see.
Looking forward to your e-switch version!
In case anyone else was wondering….
Aluminum spacer for the C8 is not a drop in fit for the Sofirn C8F - 21700.
It is 13.2mm too long and will need a taper machined onto the outside.
I’m not sure if I want to machine my own spacer for a closer fit to the inside of the light or modify what I purchased. Does anyone happen to know what the thread on the brass part is? Seems to be maybe M8x0.5?
M8x0.5 tap is ~$30 :-/
On the other hand, I think the replacement spacer could probably be hacked out a 3/8” aluminum plate with a holesaw and then filed on the sides to fit.
Either way, now I’m pondering the problem and looking for a solution.
Lights have been built with spacers on here for years and most were never secured by anything but pressure from the bezel. It’s not ideal but this bolt solution is surely over engineered and severely limits what wire gauge you can use.
I built exactly what you are talking about with a prototype spacer and did not use any bolt:
If you want to eliminate rotation you could use thermal epoxy for a permanent bond to both the PCB and host. If you want a YOLO solution like me you can do this: leave driver ring off / loose, rotate MCPCB counterclockwise carefully twisting LED wires just a little so when you screw down the bezel and it rotates clockwise it will not “pull” as tight. You can also help the driver spin some with it as you tighten bezel to keep it from bunching up. If you can put pressure on glass while tightening it may help but I only have two hands personally so I never do.
That is an interesting point about how the light is assembled.
I wonder if a 10mm shim would fit… Math says it would be TIGHT when the bezel is screwed down.
3/8” will likely be a fairly loose fit so that is less than ideal.
Being a machinist without a machine shop is frustrating.
Today I made a wood shim to check dimensions and fit. Seems that 9.8mm is a pretty good size as it forces the lens into the front o-ring a little as you snug up the front bezel on the C8F.
I also did some pricing on having a batch of these made. 1-2 is kind of expensive but 10 isn’t bad at all.
I got my order of some Luxeon V LEDs and A4 drivers.
I have a triple build that had a bad driver and the driver I’m planning to use may or may not ever arrive, so I threw the 6A LD-A4 in there to try it. I really like the firmware.
I really want the LD-B4 for this triple now, but the MOSLED 3535 boards are out of stock… I assume they aren’t coming back, but is there going to be an updated version that will work with the B4 driver?
The A4 drivers are going to be paired with the mounted Luxeon Vs that I ordered, which already have the NTC onboard.
I have not tested it in a M21a but it should fit. Unless I am mistaken, it uses the same reflector as the C8 and I doubt anything else differed significantly in the head. The M21c has a larger head and it would not fit well in that light. I put one in a manta ray 26650 c8. It took some work though but was not bad. It has great runtime though on “reasonable” modes :). Hope that helps.
Would it give 6V and 12V drivers again in future?
Can luxeon IR be soldered on a copper DTP board?
So I used and have been happy with the Dr. Jones H17fx It is a 17mm driver but you can get an adapter ring from MTN or Kaidomain to use it in a light built for a 20mm driver. What I like about it is I can set 2x clicks for turbo and then set a “high” at something much more reasonable. So, for instance, if you want a “normal” 3 mode that you can use most of the time but still have some access to a full power giggles mode, you can do L-M-H (set at like 1,000 lumens) and then 2x clicks for full turbo. I find the programmability of that driver especially helpful for crazy builds like this. With Luxeon V2’s (what I’m using) and a 26650 you can get roughly 1,500 lumens and 2 hours of runtime!
I have only 3 spare mosx 3XP boards with sodlered fet+ntc left, if you want to buy it please let me know before purchase and I'll put them in stock.
MosX boards, after this clearance sale, will no longer be available, reason is there will be no need for them because new driver(s) should have better thermal performance, so there will be no need for external fet, at least for currnents <15Amp, which means all 20mm sized MCPCBs. While external fet works great, assembly is more complicated, more wires, more difficult soldering to MCPCB etc., so I would like to avoid it for small lights (20mm MCPCB size).
Yes, but probably for driver diameters >19mm, I'm not sure about 17mm.
Luxeon IR doesn't have isolated thermal pad, just like Osram IR, so you can solder it to 3030 DTP boards, but this would cause short if you use such board in flashlight.
For flashlights I still have some aluramic 3030 boards which have close-to-DTP performance, but they are isolated, so they can be used in flashlights.
Now I’m more interested in the new drivers. I’ll wait and get a couple of those when they are available.
Will the new drivers still require an external NTC for the thermal regulation to work properly?
I know it’s better but it limits compatibility with standard MCPCBs.
They will use NTC, but you'll have a choice to have them on LED MCPCB, or on driver PCB (that could work good enough with new PCB design, we'll see).
L4P, has anyone ever reported a Ledil Cute optic melting and hazing from too overdriven emitters? I rebuilt an old BLF EE X6 with a triple XPLHI on your MosX mcpcb. Its running an old 70N02 FET driver from an LG HB1 and in about 3 minutes of intermittent turbo runs yielded a destroyed optic.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an optic being destroyed from heat. Have you?
I didn’t grab a current measurement but after the cell recharges I’ll get one. I just can believe an XPL could do this…
@JaredM: my guess is that it overheated for some reason. Maybe one of the leds wasn’t reflowed properly or perhaps there was dirt in the lens.