KC1 keychain light is available now

Thanks Hank! So the Nichia is the only one using the medium optic? Or the 35HI as well?

That's too aggressive floody optic for B35. It's almost the same size as XHP35, almost. no need for a flood like that.

Nichia B35AM is the only one using medium optic, others are all with the small angle optics.

As I understand it, the narrow optic results in artifacts with the B35A.

That is my understanding as well. Hank, it would be good to see the B35AM with narrow, just so why know why it requires medium optic.

The B35AM beam is actually very even and smooth. The reason why we choose the medium optic for B35 is because the beam with narrow optic is with a black spot in the center, which does not look good.

I know you can’t truly judge from side-by-side shots but that B35AM’s tint looks terrific!

I wish there was an in-between option for B35AM, narrow optic with very light frosting or something. That hot spot is much larger than I expected, I was also hoping for around XHP35 HI size. I do really want to try the B35AM LED, but I don’t know if I will have a use for it with that floody beam profile.

I wonder if the narrow optic with DC Fix would have more throw and solve the dark spot problem, or if it would basically come out to the same as medium optic? Hank, if I buy B35AM DM11 could I also purchase an additional narrow optic? Might be worth trying.

+1 for option to purchase with second narrow optic.

I know it wouldn’t work with Aux LEDs, but how would the beam be in a orange peel reflector? Any dark spots?

I had the same issue with one of my builds. It turned out the emitter was sitting too low.

After I sanded optic legs it turned out perfect.

All emitters you offer are a bit taller than B35 thus not causing imperfect focus. If you adjust TIR properly you could have even better throw results.

Anyhow I'll order mine with a clear optic if that's ok with you, adjusting it later on.

You nailed it. I would recommend counter boring the optic leg holes on the b35am mcpcb to lower the optic. The emission surface height difference between the sft40 and b35am is greater than 0.5mm I bet (don’t have the datasheets pulled up right now).
We would never think to not tune the height of a reflector, but we seem to all just forget the concept when it comes to TIRs.
It’s easy, especially with flat emitters, once you’ve dialed in one… keep the relative height the same vs the top of the LED.

This is great news and a perfect solution. I hope it is resolved directly from stock light.

Similar observation with the Olga RS (clear TIR) and B35A, if the optic is sitting higher than the MCPCB (like on an aux board) the spot has a darker yellow spot in the middle, if it sits directly on the MCPCB the darker spot is gone.

Have you tested a Z height of zero vs LES? Is there a dark or yellow spot there?

Told ya!

I first notice this phenomenon when i got E17 first time and i had to lower reflector to get proper focus. Ever since all of them E17/21/B35 requires some TIR/reflector tuning.

Just tested 0.75mm (relative to the mcpcb), according to the datasheet the led is 0.73mm high, and the solder layer appear as thin as possible, the darker yellow spot is still visible.
Previously I tested 0.9mm : darker spot visible, and 0 at which the darker spot is gone, the beam looks somewhat more ”ringy”.
0.30mm : still a darker spot.

This is without candela measurements, not sure which way improve or degrade throw.

Is the b35am suitable for any of hanks other lights? Seems like it would be neat in a d18 or d4s

seeing those beam profiles confirms I am definitely ordering the XHP 35 hi first. The temptation is still there to try the b35am because it is new to me and very interesting, but I have been mildly obsessed with xhp35 HI 3000k recently and have about 10 lights now with it. I have to see how the dm11 compares!

Has anyone else been checking Intl-outdoor.com 2-3 times a day, For the last couple of days?

this is so true, I adjust the reflector height and centering ring in almost every thrower I have or I get, and definitely in every single one I change the LED in. I can honestly say I've never adjusted the height of a TIR..

EDIT: now I'm thinking more about it, wish I would've tried that on some of my kr4 & D4 with Osram Before either swapping the emitters or getting rid of them. Wonder if some of the rings in those beams could've been eliminated?? Dammit! Lol. Now I know what I need to do.

The B35A is a 6 volt emitter. Only the K1 offers a suitable driver, though it’s configured for 12V.