Running 5 seconds on Low mode the light will flash, then you can change group by turning off and on.
Group I: 100%-50%-5%
Group II: 100%-50%-5%-Strobe-SOS
I had high expectations with this driver because of the hidden flashy modes and a high of .8 amp .It falls short at .65 amp which compared to other drivers tested by me is pretty good. Unfortunately this driver also has next mode memory which as I have stated before is useless. These drivers are not what I would call cheap and why manufacturers do this I don’t know. The two group modes work as described above. The height of the driver I had was 7.5mm, not 7mm as stated. The LED wires came soldered to the driver.
Sorry DNF, they’re single mode. I used some and they are good drivers in my experience; they give better 2xAA performance than the other cheap boost drivers I’ve tried and they are easy to mod. I have no numbers though
Again, thanks for the testing and data. It really is a shame about the poor memory implementation. Agreed though....650ma is very good. I've yet to see a stock driver deliver more off of one eneloop.
Those second one's you linked to look promising. Only one mode, but that would be great in a little minimag mod.
Thanks for providing the detailed test data on these boost drivers. I would really like to find a 1-2AA driver that can do better efficiency than these; 50-55%.
Hope the next one does better….
My favorite 2AA right now is Sandwich Shoppe BB Nexgen. Single mode, expensive, but efficient at 80-90%. Swapping sense resistor configs the drive current up to 1A. It won’t run on single AA though.
Thanks Slim Pickens. Yeah I knew they were single mode and said it tongue in cheek. I seriously am in the poo if the memory on them doesn't work. Cheers.
Just a quick update. In testing this driver in an identical flashlight as the IOS 3 mode driver with memory, the last link in the first post, this driver running a NiMH rechargeable and XP-G LED and the other a LiFePO4 and XP-G2 LED, this driver LED combination had a slight but noticeable better light output. I was impressed to say the least.
Hi MRsDNF, thanks very much! Sticky’d. Sorry I didn’t make it frontpage too, the layout is just fine for a review, but it doesn’t blend with the frontpage layout very well.
I moved this here to ask a question on this topic.
Has anyone managed to Reverse-Engineer one of these to discover which is ‘that’ Resistor? Wouldn’t it be salvageable if the reset were eliminated?
Or has the IC been identified (I am looking!!)? It seems the datasheets provide the schematics for a lot of these “proprietary” circuits… Except for the IC programming (e.g. hiding blinky modes)… I have that skill, so I’d LOVE to have a go at this one.
Would you tell us more about your testing methodology and equipment. It would be nice to know the accuracy of the tools and stuff like, if you if you go in series to measure current at the same time for the input and output? Leads length and AWG?
Here's a link to said resistor mod on the Jacob A60 to remove its "next mode memory" issue. This has been done on quite a few lights. I'm not sure which post has the best details explaining it. viffer750 is the king of these mods!
Hi and welcome Maks4er. I would recommend a good Ni-MH battery with this driver as the high current drain would possibly cause the battery to leak. The strobe and sos are separate modes which can be activated by the below method which is copied from the first post. I'm not sure what you mean by Ni-MH accumulator.
Good AA NiMH battery is recommended
Running 5 seconds on Low mode the light will flash, then you can change group by turning off and on.
Group I: 100%-50%-5%
Group II: 100%-50%-5%-Strobe-SOS
I did not like this driver because of of the next mode memory which means that when you turn the flashlight of in say medium the next time you turn it on it will be in low mode. I prefer drivers that turn on in the mode that you turn it of on which is called same mode memory. Good luck on your search.
From my limited electronic understanding, all next mode memory drivers have a capacitor that stores energy to keep that memory working. As soon as you discharge that capacitor, the memory is wiped off and the light will restart any time in high (if that's the first mode programmed, of course)
I see on your driver there are more than one capacitor, but a simple test should not be harmful.
Switch light on, switch off. Now short for a moment the terminals of one of the capacitors (I used the tips of the tweezers), then switch the light on again. If you did discharge the right capacitor, the light will start with the first mode. If the capacitor was not the right one, it will still next mode. There should be no harm in doing this, as discharging a capacitor in a non-powered circuit should not harm anything at all. Experts correct me if I'm wrong.
When you have found the guilty capacitor, then just solder a resistor across it. Try with 1Mohm first, and see if a lower value is needed. The lower the value, the shorter the memory-wiping time.
