LD-1 driver (5A pwm-less linear) info thread

i have been waiting for this driver for a long time it is really one of the best drivers, the addition of this driver in any light makes it a much more quality light , but i hope for a good price also, so when we can buy it ?

I will finish OP and open separate selling thread,probably today.

They are manual assembled,but solder paste is applied with stainless steel stencil,which makes huge difference,solder joints look perfect to me,even 0402 aren't problem.

One small note on pcbs:manufacturer did a little error on bottom solder mask layer(red stuff),half of solder "moon" is covered,but it's easy fix,just scrap that part with scalpel or knife until you see copper,so you can bridge it with solder(only necessary if you want disable moonlight and/or enable timer on high).

I want to thank RaceR86(and Grumpy Cat) and TomE for ramping UI suggestions,now it's based on those suggestions and feels much much better,and also RaceR86,TomE,djozz and HKJ for extensive giveaway-prototype testing and suggestions.

I’m waiting for the selling thread…

Ciao

I want to buy 5 or more.

Great!

Gonna buy some of these for sure!

Led4power, you might link to your LD-1 sales thread in your OP here :wink:

Just bought 3, hardly can wait.

Can you recommend a European / German shop to buy sense resistors? I’d like to resistor mod one of the drivers to ~3A for a smaller light and will need the resistor. Somehow these larger, higher wattage sense resistors play hard-to-get.

When the driver is used in a light with both a tail switch and an e switch:

  • What does the driver do when the tail switch is closed? Does the LED come on, or do you have to press the side switch after the tail switch?
  • If the LED comes on, what mode is it in? Does the driver remember the last mode when the tail switch is turned off and back on?
  • Does the tail switch just enable the e switch to operate, or will the driver change modes when the tail switch is cycled?

5A (default) means that there is a way to get more?

what happened tp “turbo / DD” when closing Moon2 ?

I'll add link,thank for reminder.

Big distributors like Mouser,Digikey,Farnell and their local distributors usually have them. Good thing you reminded me,i will have range of those resistors in next batch,but I can do that for you in software for now,just tell me exact current on max. and do you also want other modes to be scaled down.

LED lights up in last stored mode,so just like there is no e-switch at all, they work independently,when you change modes with e-switch,modes aren't stored in EEPROM.

Theoretically you can (by stacking resistors)-see expander boards example.

Turbo is removed because current was just little a bit higher than 5A with xm-l2,too little difference to notice.

Is there any efficiency differences between resistor modded and software current limiting?

No.

Thanks.

Ok, thx.
hope they sell in quantities I need :slight_smile:
I’ll take a look.

No need to adjust, I’m perfectly happy with the mode spacing.

5000-1000-100-10 makes a good powerful light and 3000-600-60-6 makes a perfect allrounder. Especially when low-low can be tweaked down a bit. So I just take it as it is and try to get some R016 or R018 sense resistor.

One of disadvantage of software scaling is,that moonlight can't go lower than ~10mA.Another disadvantage of software change is that resolution remains the same (~5mA),for example in ramping UI minimum step equals resolution.

But if you change sense resistor,both moonlight and resolution are scaled down properly;that's why I recommend sense resistor adjust.

The extensive amount of work you've done on this is greatly appreciated. Just ordered 4 and will more than likely set up each one differently. The tips and tricks section is also a great idea, knowing we will be utilizing these in so many various ways. ;)

Very eagerly anticipating putting these to work. :) Now for the right light selection...

Wish it were 10mm for my Texas Poker, lol Oh well, can't have everything All the time. :bigsmile:

One question though, can it be left in stock form to run a quad? I have a quad XP-L recently built on a modified qlite running 3.77A that makes 1600 lumens and it's a nice range for many uses. So I'm considering this driver for it's lower output efficiencies and perhaps even at less than 5A output. Would this cause issues?

Thanks again, really excited to put these in action.

Hi Dale, in the OP it says that the voltage in a quad is so low that without cooling the driver has to burn too much power.

Come to think of it, this driver, a quad xpl and a LiFepo-battery might make for a very efficient light with moderate output.

I'll probably stick to the recommended single emitter, at least to begin with. I have an L2m shorty with a copper P-60 module from mattaus that has an XP-G2 in it. This driver will give it the absolute maximum efficiency and make it a fantastic little pocket light. The 18350 isn't, of course, ideal for run times when using a 5A max setting but a light like this seldom really needs the top end anyway. Lower modes (1 and 2) would be utilized and the increased run times would be very beneficial.

Also thinking about utilizing this driver with an MT-G2 and additional heat sinking applied but left in 5A form for one of Sinner's Ti lights that uses an 18650. These have copper pills already so that's a plus right off the top. Would have to look at this application deeper and probably wait for some feedback from the electrically minded folks here before attempting that one. Need to do some research on just how to best apply heat sinking for max gains while maintaining electrical separation.

Remembered the 2 cell series necessity, never mind.

Send a couple to Gene and let him play around with them and experiment. :wink: I’d love to see some of these in the new Malkoff 3 mode lights! I hate PWM noise.