A couple of quick queries about this light …… The Astrolux S1 you can either go “up” modes ie low, med, high etc but you can also decrease / go backwards ie high, med low … can you do the same with the BLF A6??? This is really useful for cycling when you go from poorly to well lit areas without having to cycle the whole way through.
Also I’ve seen quite a few reports (and experienced it myself with a faulty product) that the S1’s QC has gone through the floor since they switched from having them produced by Manker, does anyone know if the A6 has suffered the same QC issues or if they’re still produced by the original manufacturer???
So, yes they operate the same as you say “up and decrease”
Both versions of the torches have had reported declines in quality over the past year or longer. As with most China connection electronics, the first runs are generally the best. Then you get copies by copiers who copy copiers….and well, you get the idea
Last I heard a month or so ago, on this forum, the BLF A6 vendors were sending out some very good samples.
@streamer not really true in this case i think the first run BLF A6 was the worse lose threats and many troubles then they got better and better maybe after that it might have gone done again i didnt order any of them recently
Well, I have one of the BLF A6 first runs. It’s perfect. No slop in threads and runs perfectly with short tube also. No complaints. Luck of the draw I guess. Win some lose some.
I’ve purchased three BLF A6’s. The first (ordered early 2016) was of excellent quality. The second (ordered mid 2016) was of lower quality. The coating on the clip started flaking off as soon as I used it, and the inside diameter of the battery tube was smaller and it wouldn’t accept protected cells with double wrapping. I received the third one in late 2016 and it is between the first two in quality – accepts protected cells and the clip coating is good, but there were two small chips in the anodizing on the head.
Hmmm …. seems like it’s fairly mixed although I’m not too concerned about the odd chip here or there … I’d be more concerned about it’s reliability and if uses the same driver as the S1 … it’s the driver they’re currently having problems with.
The obvious vendor is probably Banggood but does anyone happen to know if the quality varies much from one vendor to another and if so which are the good ones??
Also … do the Convoy’s use the same driver and have the decrease as well as increase mode option or are they just the one way???
yes the vendor is banggood but first producer was manker in 2015 the first series been hit and miss quality wise but they got it right later and after the groubbuy of the BLF a6 was done they “invented” the astrolux S1 i think the brand astrolux was even born for this light it was the very first of astrolux brand i think.
after this manker ( the original producer) and banggood ended their cooperation so a new factory and producer had to be found for this light and i think this might also explain the quality difference in recent history.
On October 19, 2015, I bought the version without anodizing. This one has a little better quality control, with a few small adjustments… perfect, but the short tube does not works… do not screw.
On November 26, 2105, I bought the Astrolux S1… perfect. The short tube came without o-rings.
On January 08, 2017, I bought the BLF A6 (flash sale, $18.95), Except for the springs that were soldered out of center… PERFECT. It has some differences with the previous ones… driver PCB colour, PCB switch, head diameters…
All are incompatible with each other, can do not working lego.
The short tube without anodizing works only with the last one.
Yeh, it's pretty much a crap shoot with China lights. Ask anyone here, you'll eventually get the answer you want to hear. Not that that's a bad thing.. O:)
Really, that's the way it is pretty much with a lot of the China Connection electronics including flashlights. Most good, or we wouldn't buy them. Then there's always the "fix" you can administer yourself...or return or credit.
Yeh, crapshoot. :-) Butt, in the end O:) satisfaction is usually achieved :FACEPALM:
I’d agree for the money they are great lights so expecting a pure trouble free light that would lego with all it’s brothers etc without some issue may be asking too much .IMO it’s twice the light at half the price and certainly a great light to recommend to any noob asking about what light they should buy . I’ve started always answering with ….ANY BLF designed light .
.IMHO the U.I. is so good on these lights everything else is a secondary issue . I’ve heard people talk about lights that had memory issues but to me the light always starting on moon is always the way I’d want this light set up…So if the ability to switch memory didn’t work on my lights I’d never know or care .
I just got two blue s1 short/18350 versions of this light off amazon for 13$ each and felt like I stole them considering the price of the driver on sale is still more than 5$.
The drivers in both are the original BLF/Alex wells that were in the BLF A6.
// The answer to your question about any convoy lights using this driver is …No
I’d recommend these lights to anyone who can’t or doesn’t want to mod or make their own lights
I’ll tell you what I think the ridiculous thing is and a great shame … if it’s a good light and they charged $2/3 dollars more and put that all into assuring the quality and manufacturing to a higher standard … instead of being a good light, it’d be a great light and they’d probably sell an awful lot more with the same profit margin!!!
I actually sent my S1 back and whilst I got a refund it’s the hassle factor and personally I’d rather avoid it and hence why I was looking at these as an alternative.
I did ask earlier and maybe no one knows the answer hence who nobody commented but any idea if the Convoy S2 has a similar driver and if you can decrease as well as increase mode???
