...and the search for the holy grail of boost drivers continues!
Today I received this specimen, but to be honest I didn't expect much from it. According to FT specs, it is supposed to draw 3.9 amps from 2 NiMH cells (sounds like a bad joke), it has a weird layout with an extra contact board, and MRsDNF already found that it was underperforming on 1xAA. But maybe it can outperform ye olde DX boost driver? At $4.74 it is twice as expensive, and with a layout so complicated that it doesn't fit on a single pcb, one should be allowed to expect something, right?
Technical specs
| Constant Current | No |
| Driver Type | Boost driver |
| Input Voltage | 1-4.2 -volt |
| Output Current | 1000 mA |
| PCB Height (w/o Components) | 1.8 mm |
| Reverse Polarity Protection | No |
Manufacturer rated maximum currents:
- With alkaline batteries: 1000mA
- With 1*Ni-MH: 1.8A
- With 2*Ni-MH: 3.9A
The build quality looks very good, it has nice and flexible wires. But it has a contact board and requires more space than regular drivers. I also think that the wires between the driver and contact board are too long
Disclaimer from my other Driver Review
[quote]
I performed the test with an XR-E R2 mounted on a fan-cooled chipset heatsink. This is an older emitter with a relatively high Vf. I think one can safely assume that driver efficiency will be better with a newer, lower Vf emitter.
The batteries were fully charged eneloop AA cells, HR-3UTGA, about one and a half years old.
Driver performance in real life applications will likely be better. My testing setup consisted of battery holders, alligator clips and breadboard, which added additional resistance to the circuit.
Since I wanted to include efficiency, I decided to measure the input voltage as well and not guesstimate it from the charge state of the batteries. It is quite interesting to see how much they sag under load.
There's a german saying: Wer misst, misst Mist. It basically says that every measurement has to be taken with a grain of salt and is probably not comparable to other measurements.
[/quote]
Results:
| Batt | U in (V) | I in (A) | U out (V) | I out (A) | P in (W) | P out (W) | Efficiency (%) |
| 1x Eneloop | 0,98 | 1,66 | 2,99 | 0,30 | 1,63 | 0,90 | 55,14 |
| 2x Eneloop | 1,80 | 2,12 | 3,22 | 0,88 | 3,82 | 2,83 | 74,26 |
| 3x Eneloop | 3,62 | 1,13 | 3,23 | 0,93 | 4,09 | 3,00 | 73,43 |
Conclusion:
In terms of drive current and efficiency it beats the DX driver hands-down. With 3 cells it even comes close to its rated output current of 1000 mA. Hower, it is twice as expensive and it probably won't fit every build because of the space requirements.
I'm still anxious to get more of the FT 800mA drivers, which are supposed to be even better, at least on 1xNiMH.