So jacktheclipper wins the haircut contest with his selfie, and as with the Starry light’s reported problems, his head does not seem to fit correctly to his body. haha
I got the pre-production sample a couple of days ago, and have been using & testing it a lot.
This sample has still CW emitter, so I can't comment on the final tint yet. Modes and PWM changes are implemented in the new driver, but it doesn't have mode memory yet (= forgets in 2-3s, always starts on low)
My measurements confirm that the manufacturer has fully understood the mode and high PWM requirements:
Modes are 0.4 -> 4 -> 165 -> 592 lumens (OTF, after 30s) and the PWM is totally unnoticeable at 10kHz.
=> Very good!
Threads are a hot issue, so I have been testing & investigating them as thoroughly as I can. However, I can't say a definitive yes or no:
The threads are smooth, well lubed, and of a seemingly good quality. It's not easy at all to get them misthreaded. They still work fine after being opened & closed more than 100 times (yes, I have been opening and closing them many many times to see how they really work).
On the other hand, some possibilities to misuse the threads exists:
1. The head can be seated the wrong way around with some force. This will cause excessive force to the threads and might lead into thread failure => User must be careful not to do this.
2. Head can be tightened too tight, causing the threads to "jump". I did this on purpose five times, yet didn't manage to cause any visible damage to the threads.
Here's a photo of the threads after >100 opening & closing actions, and being overtightened five times:
Another angle of the threads (tube seam visible):
As a personal conclusion, I would be 100% confident to use this light without any problems. But there is a chance of user error, which is never a good thing, and should be prevented in the future models.
Here's a photo showing the head reversing protection. See the wide and narrow slot in the head vs. wide and narrow shoulder in the body tube. Narrow shoulder is a bit damaged due to my head reversing tests:
Yet another possibility for user error is the battery insertion direction (and the confusing marks):
Plus and arrow means that the positive end goes in to that direction. See photo below:
Luckily, reversing the batteries doesn't cause any damage to the light, as the head has a reverse polarity protection ring around the positive pole.
All in all, I'm ok with the quality of the sample, and will continue with the GB.
[Threads might still be an issue if giving the light to someone, who doesn't know or care how to use the light..]
Just ask if there's something I forgot to mention, or if you want to get more information of anything.