The 2-mode Tool that Selfbuilt tested more than a year ago was current controlled, the newer model 3-mode Tool that I tested half a year ago was PWM controlled, with a fairly low frequency. So Lumintop changed that at some point.
It would be great of course if this copper GB Tool would use current control for the three modes, but I guess that would imply a new driver design by Lumintop.
(btw, if this gb works out with this 0.5%-20%-100% driver (PWM or current controlled), I would be interested in a couple of separate drivers for modding, if that could be arranged :-) )
good, I hope it works
fwiw, the Copper Tool looks and acts just like a Maratac Rev3, which uses PWM and has a 40-1.5-132 lumen sequence with XP-G2. Even the pocket clip matches.
My bet is all the parts are already made, we wont have a choice of driver, it will be PWM M-L-Hā¦ now prove me wrong please! Im impressed that the BLF Tool WILL have a Nichiaā¦ I LIKE!
And, IF this copper tool gets a no PWM circuit and Nichia, Im guessing the next Maratac will offer those as well.
so, Kudos! for pushing Lumintop in a no PWM, yes High CRI directionā¦
Its very difficult to please everybody, but .5 lumens is a setting that would be too low IMO.
Consider that the .5 lumen setting is not a usable amount of light for 99% of the time (perhaps even greater than that). The light will come on in a mode that is useless for 99% of the time? It just doesnāt make sense.
AAA lights are best with 3 or fewer modes, and I think that the poll proves most people agree with that. Again we all want what we feel is our own vision of the perfect light, but simpler is better IMO.
The original tool had a low of ~1.5lm and a high of ~70lm. If you could get the low to be anywhere above 1lm, the med to be somewhere around 18-25lm, and the high to be the highest lm you can get at least 1hr of regulated output with an Eneloop - That would be perfection.
You have chosen the best emitter, the best clicky AAA body, and what I believe is the best 3 mode circuit in all of AAA lights. Iām sure whatever you decide, the modes will get the same consideration.
Youāre right, itās hard to please everyone. I find 0.5 lm a bit on the bright side.
But seriously, Iāve been trying to figure out what people can agree on and what they canāt, and I think moon is one of those things people will never agree on.
When you switch one word in a statement, attributed to Abraham Lincoln, you get:
āYou can please all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot please all the people all the time.ā
+1. I love the Zebralight & Thrunite moonlight/firefly modes in the middle of the night, and 0.5l seems quite bright. No biggie though, horses for courses.
I like a 1 lumen low like the xeno Es1 has ,it's bright enough to read by and yet when you turn the light on to go to the bathroom at night etc it doesn't hurt your eyes . My definition of a decent low low is one that actually works ..not one that impresses you about how low you "can go" .
i have about 5 lights that have 1 lumen lows and although i've been a fan of the zebralight lows, i think one lumen is a smarter choice than the really low moons .
some moon modes are just too low to serve any purpose unless you're trapped for 100 days in a cave . If thats the case you deserve to die for bringing a AAA light.
I agree. And it does not need to come first. The thrunite pattern, starting on .04 lum is silly to put first. It is the least likely brightness needed for most uses. I always have to skip past the thrunite moon first mode.
And the moon is waaay too dim for most uses.
Iāve come to prefer MLH. IMO 20-100-.5 would make most practical edc
Im flexible, L-M-H with 1-20-100, or .5-20-100 can work fine. Stoked about the N219, hoping the PWM can be avoided, but even that is not a deal breaker.
A copper Clickie Maratac lego sounds all good to me! Thanks to everyone that got it togetherā¦ Ill take one and try to stop turbo posting
I absolutely couldnāt agree more with the last sentence of your post. That needs to happen, I would have asked myself but I figured it was probably too early to start asking for that.
Now as far as the .5% mode. First I want to say that even though I vastly prefer 2-3 lumen ālowā modes, there is nothing that bothers me about having moonlight in theory. The problem comes from the fact that AAA lights are best with 3 or fewer modes and that is what this light will have.
Now if the first mode is moonlight, then you end up with a light that turns on in a mode that is useless 99% of the time. That is a problem. Furthermore, you now have no room for a useful, real ālowā mode because there absolutely HAS to be a āmediumā and a āhighā.
Of course everyone is 100% entitled to their own opinion on this matter, but I believe for these reasons that this light should not have a moonlight mode.
Now you mentioned that we donāt know whether .5% produces below 1 lumen or not. This is true for many reasons and even the best manufacturers in the world have a large amount of deviation in their lowest modes. However, I think that because this is a AAA Nichia 219 light, we can make an educated guess that .5% will likely be below 1 lumen. Theoretically if the high mode was 100 lumens, which would be remarkably high if it was a regulated output on an eneloop for at least 1hr, the .5% would be .5 lumens. We canāt know for sure until we have more info.
Obviously this is just a guess but .5% could result in .5 lumens or lower and that would not be good for this light. We should all try to agree on a low mode that will make most of us happy.