I guess I could of explained that better when I said “I smell copper”, I meant that we were getting closer to that goal. I apologize for not being clearer.
Edit:
I did say this in the OP “There are a couple other changes I would like to make, but we would have to have a huge commitment…at least 500 units…which I am not sure is possible considering we already had huge numbers on the X6-SE…but we’ll see. Here are the other things we would like to see:
1) Copper MCPCB. (They say not in the cards…but I am working on it. We’ll see).”
Oh I see. I also think 500 is optimistic for this light. Will this be as much as a “hot rod” as the X6?
As people have said, with the newer XML2’s emitters this might not still pull 4 amps…
I agree, it is a big honkin’ challenge…but not impossible. Regardless, I believe it will be an awesome light, copper or aluminum…because the stock light is already amazing at 4+ amps.
That is the $64,000 question. There very well could be a drop-off due to the Vf/vF (however it’s written) issue. We should know more next week when samples are tested. We all have DMMs and there are 3 testers with lumen measuring equipment, so we should get a pretty good idea what the output is looking like.
500 is not that easy - meaning it can take a little time to get the commitments but by no means is it an impossible stretch for a $20 light. Also, if the XM-L2 turns out to be troublesome Kronos may be able to see if XM-L's are available. (This is HIS show and I am just talking out loud)
About the copper...the D80 does fine without it (for now) but it is a nice addition to include and worth the wait if possible. Good stuff cannot happen overnight :)
The waiting is the hardest part LOL
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This light's only detractor is the stock UI. Turbo is after the strobe....ugh. There's lots of junk out there so when "I" am fortunate enough to experience a true quality budget light I am 100% behind it. This comes with a real stainless bezel, AR glass, nice throw but very usable spill, and is very comfortable in the hand...for just $20! Well worth it IMHO.
I don’t get why you have to get 500 for DTP copper, LED stars are usable on any light they could convert all their lights to copper for a competitive advantage, since they have the ability to produce them already the tooling costs are already paid for, and a DTP star has less material then a regular star.
I wonder what the actual cost is for a DTP star, it could easily be less then a regular star.
Personally I'd rather see the later generation LED kept. Even though the current reading may be less with the XML-2 the output would still be greater than the older XML led with higher current reading. As mentioned in another thread there is a lot of rubbish XML and XML-2 leds on the market that are not worth the star there soldered to.
I'm in no hurry to receive this light and quite happy to wait.
X6 did not turn out to be a hot rod at all, so I find it hard to fathom a driver already pulling 4A+ with an XML could not push an XML2 at higher output and easily beat what the X6 does. I don’t expect it will push an XML2 at 4A, but probably around right where the X6 was intended to be. We will see soon I hope!
While I like the idea of it, I also don’t see that copper will make much difference on this light, even if driven above what we wanted X6 to do. The current 4A+ XML model heats fast and doesn’t get burning hot, so that integrated pill seems to do pretty well at heat conductivity and the body at heat dissipation. So while I’m all for 500+ and copper, I don’t see it as a big loss without it, and would rather have an improvement I can see, like better tint selection (4C, 5B, etc). Here’s hoping for both!
One with Copper would be an Upgrade, additional $2-3 whatever, Regular one without at the GB price.
Premium gas still sells for the same reason, you wanna play you gotta pay
Personally, I do not want to wait for 500 possible commitments to get this light released, too much time for more bickering, JMHO.
The deciding factor will be how the test samples turn out, and whether we want to make further changes. I can’t just see waiting forever for the quantity to reach 500. However, it there is significant interest and tons more people express interest, as in the X6-SE GB, well give it a little bit to see if we can reach that goal.
But I’m with you Muto…I’m thinking this light will be a beast, and I don’t want to wait forever for it…be it copper or aluminum.
Yes, well we’ll tell you if the upgraded D80s are under driven, I don’t want it to be like the X6 ended up either, I was wanting that a hot rod as well. And I’m not a great modder like DBCstm, so if I say its performing better, it can’t be because I’ve souped it up and made it awesome
There is one thing about expectations on this light compared to the X6 though, it has a somewhat wider focused spot and slightly wider spill (I have a purchased pre-BLF D80 model to compare with), so those of you wanting maximum throw, this is a mid range thrower, and the spot intensity is probably not going to appear significantly brighter than the X6, but its more useable. Since there is more light distributed over a bigger area, expecting it to completely “blow away” the X6 is not within reality either. If you look at the charts, the difference driving one LED at 2.2 vs 4A even is not enough lumen difference for a huge perceptual change, then add in the wider spot…just keep in mind you can’t expect a skyray king type output out of a single LED light!
