I did include the fasttech sku number, you can check with it.
Yes, I know, but your 7135’s are marked 38P (380 mA) in your photo. Fasttecs photo shows 350 mA type, giving 2.8A as stated in the specs.
The photo (and test) is of the one I received from them (I do not have any other drivers laying around at the current time).
I do not know if 38P is for 380mA, datasheet says 340mA is marked with A.
38P is 380 mA. That’s why you get around 3.0A in your measurements.
I wonder if all of their stock of that sku number is in fact 3.04A drivers. That would be an opportunity.
They do not have an A printed on them, that could also mean 380mA or rather between 340 and 380mA.
I would have expected the 38P to be a datacode, i.e. week 38 in year P.
Do you have any documentation saying that 38P is the current?
Don’t want to trust others experience without proof - eh?
To find specs you have to know the maker and find his specs sheets which I can’t.
But look at the V2 driver 3.04A at Kaidomain. You can’t see anything from the pictures but the 7135’s are marked “38K” the same way as yours “38P” (I have one in my hand right now). This is a common way to mark the bin and the letter is not relevant, but often a package code.
If you don’t trust me now that you have a 3.04A driver then it is your loss.
I do tend to trust datasheets more than random Internet postings (I do not know your level of experience). But I can see the one on FastTechs website is marked 35F, this does kill my date guess.
It is not really a loss for me, just some other numbers in my test. The "low" current version has the advantage that it runs slightly less hot, with many drivers close together it might allow it to run longer at full brightness.
I agree with HKJ, no one is saying your out to spread misinformation, but it does happen, there are many posts by people who did not understand something correctly and explained it to a new member with mistakes, or people who came up with wrong conclusions based on many factors, with no malicious intent or occasionally with intent.
When you have built a reputation as a respected member and a reliable source of information then people are more likely to take you at face value (there are many members who people trust for technical advice, including HKJ), but the adage trust but verify does also come in handy, and a datasheet is something that a company is using to drum up business so they are generally used as a source of verified information.
Correct, I have not rejected his specification, I would just like to see some documentation for it. In my first post about the AMC7135 I did link to the datasheet from ADD, where it specifies the A for low current version.
ADD might have changed the way they mark the chips (Datasheet is from 2006) or the 7135 might be from another manufacturer.
When I start to test all the drivers from intl-outdoor, I might be able to see what is correct (If some of the uses the low current driver).
When I get started on testing these drivers, it would probably be a good idea with some sort of index or table of the tested ones.
I was thinking something like this:
| Name | Type | Min. input V | Max. input V | Leds | Led current | Max. modes | PWM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 4.2 volt 800mAh driver (East 060A) | Buck | 3.3 | 4.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | none |
| AA/AAA battery 550mA driver (Nanjg 102) | Boost | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1 | 0.37 | 1 | none |
| 3 to 4.5 volt 2800mAh driver (Nanjg 105c) | Linear | 2.9 | 4.5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | xxxHz |
Types:
Buck: Driver uses an inductor to decrease the voltage, input current is less than output current.
Boost: Driver uses an inductor to increase the voltage, input current is larger than output current.
Linear: Driver uses a linear chip (like 7135) to reduce the voltage, input current is the same as output current*.
Direct: No current regulation (except resistance) is present, input current is the same as output current*.
All driver types can use pwm for brightness regulation, the first 3 can also use linear regulation.
*Except for current for the control circuit.
It is possible to copy the table to a spreadsheet and sort on different columns.
Any comments?
Great info here, HKJ. Thanks for making the time to do it all! :)
You should be able to cut and paste it straight to Excel. Just tried your table and it worked on my computer.
Great work, very interesting, thank you. Is there a way to monitor the driver temperature during testing? I would be interested to see what performance drop there would be due to high temps, also the performance gains when heatsinked well. Or maybe point out which drivers are more temperature sensitive than others.
No, it would require the driver to be mounted on a heatsink.
I try to do the test rather fast, to avoid heating the driver. Looking at the efficiency you can estimate how many watts is lost in the driver.
Now I am just waiting for the drivers to arrive, the led test modules are ready:
The wires and current test resistor adds about 11mOhm resistance, i.e. at 3A I will have an error of 0.033 volt. I expect there are more variations between leds than that.
Drivers has arrived:
Any last minutes ideas, before I start testing?
Yes, check if they have modes as advertised (number and order L~~H or H~~>L)…
Thanks
While testing modes, a quick test of the memory? Some say last mode memory and actually give us next mode, which most of us can’t stand!
Thanks for doing this, will be watching closely for the results!
Do you have a Q-Lite 3.04A? This is my preferred driver at the moment, quiet, dependable, love the default modes.
PWM whine include that.
Slow mode changing, check that too.
Oohh. and please publish the KK 4200 battery review before you get your hands full with all these drivers. Im into buying some cells sooner than I though. Would be nice to see a review before I pull the trigger!
BTW, really looking forward to see these driver circuit reviews! So in advance, thank you for doing them! :)
Btw, what kind of emitters will you be testing them with?
Ok, I will see what I can do with checking the modes.
I do not believe it is on the list (See post #1).
If it is really bad I will include it. Inductor whine can also be because you have some iron close to the inductor in the flashlight!
What do you mean by slow mode change?
The review is done and will be published in the near future.
Depends on the driver, see the link when I publish the first review.