Yes, 500 hours.
That’s mainly why I don’t like the lighted switches: they are quite innefficient.
Ideally, they’d be sub 1mA so that the drain would not be noticed much.
Where are the objective data to show that the SW45K is unmatched in its CRI numbers? The SW45K has been famous for being a subjectively pretty emitter, but it has healthy company for R9080 rating.
Here are some actual objective data courtesy of Maukka:
E21A:
219B SW45K:
Optisolis:
SST20:
You are correct - thanks. E21a is outstanding and I actually mentioned it in my post above. 
I have both Emisar 219b 4500k and Emisar E21a 4500k. I compared them with pictures and use them often Convoy S21D w/ legendary Nichia 219b :) - Review & comparison w/ Nichia 519a, E21a & other LEDs & lights (D4V2, Convoy S21F). - #16 by cannga . Both with my eyes and with photography, they look very similar (E21a a touch more yellow). So at least with the LED’s I have, subjectively IMHO E21a is nearly a 219b twin, meaning top-class CRI, but my opinion is to pass if you already have 219b, and partly why it didn’t get mentioned.
Thanks for the confirmation. :+1:
1 mA might be too dim to see? I have a Wurkkos TS21 that has the same problem with light button drain, but since it has Anduril I could change the light it to lower output setting. Don’t know what the drain is but then it’s so dim I can’t see it.
That depends actually.
Sub 1mA is very easy to see in the dark, especially if you’re willing to get a green/blue LED.
One other reason I recommend 219b over E21a @4500k is, at least with my Emisar, the E21a requires frosted optic 10623 which makes it looks dimmer, and too dim for me.
When I replaced that frosted optic with a clear one, brightness is better but then I discovered the beam shot has yellow greenish ring/corona. 219b 4500k with same clear optic still shows beautiful & smooth magenta beam.
The 219b is still the reigning champion for best beam and tint. It is something special.
My green lighted switches run at around 0.07mA (5.7 years on a 3500mAh battery) and blues at 0.15mA (2.6 years). Plenty bright under clear silicone switch boots.
The green 0805 SMD LEDs are by far the most efficient of the available colors.
My criteria is that I need to get a year or more run time with my lighted tail switches, given the color/battery combination.
What lit tailcap do you use, self made, modified, or say one of led4power’s ILCs ? And were any mods such as bleeder resistor required?
(I’m interested in one for a Jaxman E2L, for me same requirement: 1 year minimum runtime not using the main LED, low voltage protection would be nice but at 1 year not that essential)
Lately they’ve been the Convoy 16mm light switch for convoy S2+ S2 C8 C8+ S21A.
In the past, they were the Astrolux SC/SS/S2/S3 BLF X5/X6 Flashlight 2LED Lighting Switch For DIY. The Astrolux used to be cheaper and I like how it has 2 springs, but adding a bypass wire to the Convoy switch is pretty easy.
All of them are modified since I usually don’t like the brightness of the stock, or I make my own unique colors by mixing different color LEDs.
A bleeder resistor is usually needed for the driver, but some of the Convoy drivers are compatible with lighted switches.
Here’s an example of a modified lighted tailcap and a pic of some of my lighted tailcaps:
@NeutralFan that’s a beautiful collection of tail lights . So even when you use the Convoy tail lights you replace its LED and modify it?
Wonder why manufacturers can’t do the same thing you do?
Quite simple:
- Cost.
- Battery drain in the current Convoy configuration.
Cost = more components and man hours to have the LEDs soldered.
Battery drain = LEDs draw power. With the default config, 5-10mA is very high.
Keep in mind too that different drivers respond differently to lighted tailcaps. I need to use more resistance for the same amount of brightness with a Mountain Electronics MTN-DDm driver than with a Convoy SST40 driver.
And people have different preferences on how bright they want them to be.
But if you like modding your flashlights, lighted tailcaps is a fun (and sometimes challenging) sidebar!
Wont neccessarily work. I tried it with mine.
The rubber boot requires this black plastic “spacer”? Not sure exactly whats its called, but since its not clear, it completely blocks the light from being visable at all.
EDIT: Nevermind, I just seen the lighted switch comes with a clear version of the plastic ring.
Interesting to see how a frosted TIR optic smooths out the beam.
Upper is Emisar E21a 4500k with clear optic, lower is same Emisar with frosted optic.
(The 219b light has clear optic in both pics.)
Thx for this helpful post!
I’m new here, do you recommend the S21D or the D4v2?
You are going to get me in trouble answering this question. :innocent: There are a lot of passionate fans on either side of these 2 brands. I actually have more Emisar D4V2’s than Convoy S21D because Emisar offers 219b in multiple CCT choices, whereas Convoy only offers the most famous and popular one, 219b 4500k. Some considerations strictly IMHO-YMMV
Emisar D4V2: IMHO a “prettier” light than Convoy, with beautifully-done knurling and multiple colors and metal available (although the brass and copper versions are very heavy, almost too heavy). Smaller and fit very nicely in the hand. Battery 18650 so lower capacity. If you get this light don’t get the option of raised ring around the button (I really dislike it in use) unless you really need it to prevent accidental activation. D4V2 has Anduril UI which I much prefer to Convoy UI. Set at 55 max temp the central hotpot is brighter than Convoy at Turbo start, but after a couple minutes, step-downs occur and brightness begins falling behind Convoy and the beam covers a smaller area. I think this is due to the smaller thermal mass of the Emisar.
Convoy S21D: Bigger light & less expensive than Emisar. Does not look as nice as Emisar to my eyes but at 30 bucks I’m not complaining. 21700 battery a plus. The beam covers more area and stays brighter longer.
If I were to have just 1 light it would be Convoy S21D w/ Nichia 219b 4500k (aka sw45k) because of the 21700 battery and better brightness, but this is personal preference. Some people prefer D4V2 for reasons listed above. But why not get two lights: Convoy S21D 219b 4500k and Emisar D4V2 219b 3500k - this would be a great Nichia 219b start and IMHO 219b is a classic and will never become obsolete. Some examples of newer Nichia’s (E21a 4500k - very close but yellow greenish corona with clear optic, 519a 4500k - yellow tint; pictures and discussion previously in this thread) have not matched that legendary tint of 219b and I don’t think this will change.
Do you personally prefer 219b 45k or 35k?
Thoughts on 519a de-domed vs 219b 45k?
for me, sw45k is the gold standard
I recommend a Reylight Pineapple Mini in the metal of your choosing
or better yet a Jetbeam RRT-01 w an LED swap
I like 519a 4500K dedomed (it becomes 3400K), better than sw35
suggest a Convoy T3 with domed 519a 4500K, so you can compare it to sw45k, and then decide if you want to dedome the Convoy
.
I agree with Jon (who knows A LOT about different Nichia’s) that 219b 4500k is first light to get. Then add others, 219b 3500k, de-domed 519a, etc. as the hobby slips down the slippery slope and expands.
I think what Jon talked about (pls correct me as needed) is once you’ve de-domed 519a 4500k, the CCT goes down by around 1000, to 3500k, so the comparison should be de-domed 519a 4500k versus 219b 3500k. Then it is a matter of personal preference which one you like, not necessarily one is “better” than the other.
BTW personally I prefer 4500-5000k CCT not just in Nichia lights, but in all of my other lights. Higher CCT than 4500k then the beam color becomes too harshly bluish and depth flattens, lower CCT than 4500k then it gets too warm/yellow for my taste. The only exception is my super-thrower lights (Sofirn IF22a, the awesome Wurkkos TS30S, etc.), where for various reasons they are all higher CCT bluish.