Hi,
You say āno PWMā but the picture suggests otherwise.
Hi,
You say āno PWMā but the picture suggests otherwise.
Jerommel, from what Iāve recently ālearnedā, those traces seem to be from the Constant Current driver.
It can only be seen with the camera really on the top of the Led. If used on filming of photography , they wil not appear.
Iāve compared some lights with PWM and others that donāt have it. Examples:
Sofirn SF10 (PWM) > Lumintop Tool AA (PWM, Low and Mid) > Sofirn SF14 (No PWM)
Please note the differences in the lines in the left and middle. Those are PWM.
Well, i have a SP32, and it has PWM too, but the frequency is very high, like >20kHz
Regulated current will not produce lines.
Maybe youāre right! I donāt know what to think on this anymore :person_facepalming:
I thought the ārainbow coloursā produced in some levels were not PWM, but apparently they are ! But in a higher frequencyā¦
Iāll change whatās writtenā¦
Nice beam shots and good review sir.
Thanks 264
BTW, after the āshortyā version mode last night, I decided to try something different: change the reflector and put a TIR lens on it
As I mentioned on the review, the tint is not the one I like the most, specially because I expected it to have a more Neutral White look.
So, I gave it a try [glass lens + o-ring + TIR + original gasket]
I also added some Glow-in-the-dark tape over the MCPCB and around the TIR Lens! Just because :sunglasses:
GITD tape
EDIT (30 December):
I took some beamshots with the TIR lens installed!! The range of illumination doesnāt seem to be much affected with the TIR vs Reflector!
40m >>> 70m
After seeing this video, the Sofirn engineer (through Tracy Wan) said that the stop on/āslowā ramping āmay be due to the driver have not debugged to the best conditionā. So I donāt know if the other drivers of this light will behave the same way, or if it was a āissueā of all the lights. On further models, the ramping will be improved.
MascaratumB,
Well done on a very thorough review and sharing with us.
Just got one of these myself.
Could the Obvious pause in the middle of the Ramping Mode be some sort of indication to do with Driver efficiency?
Just a thought as TK mentioned that the Emissar D4 powers up at the Max Regulated point after a Battery Change or Physical Lock Out.
Anyway, really loving this light, and lots of itās Sofirn siblings, SP35 Heat-Sinking Doubts excepted, (smells Very Hot inside when changing batteries, even on lower modes!).
They do seem to be trying really hard to please.
Wouldnāt be surprised if they build a BLF project for us in the future!
Many Thanks for your Hard Work reviewing this.
S-L
Thanks for your words and reading Splott-Light!
Well, Iām not sure about this, but it may have something to do with the driver (the channels?) used. Tracy from Sofirn said that their engineer said that the issue on ramping āāmay be due to the driver have not debugged to the best conditionā. I donāt know what does this mean, but maybe it was some technical issue on the driver, and maybe not extensive to all the units.
Does yours have this?
Hum, the SP35 seemed a solid modelā¦ Maybe some heatsink issues, then?
Aside from the SP32A, I only have the SP32 and their smaller lights (SP10A, SP10B, SF14 and a dismantled SF10).
But yes, they are working well and they are asking for some contributions to one of their new models (named K6, you can see in my signature).
If they keep up with this work, quality and good ārelationshipā with their buyers, I see them working with a BLF team for sure
BTW, currently Iām using the SP32A in the short + TIR version and I like it a looot
Thanks for reading and enjoy your flaslight :sunglasses:
So, I decided to disassemble and mod my SP32A!
I turned it into a triple!
Here are some photos of the original components, and of the mod!
TRIPLE mod
āPillā ā I bought a piece of brass, as I didnāt find copper in the adequate diameter; later it was cut in some pieces, tall enough for the height need for a pill to sit over the in-built shelf. I filled it and made a hole in the middle. The rest you see below
The MCPCB used is from Jaxman Store and this is the CW XP-G2, and the TIR optics was also from Jaxman.
I soldered new wires to the driver and re-done the spring bypass as the original was not in place anymore.
I added glow-in-the-dark tape all over the fins and other places, including arount the TIR, on the inside
ORIGINAL > SHORTY > TIR LENS > TRIPLE
:sunglasses: :+1:
Very cool. What is the max run time?
Thanks 264
Humā¦I canāt tell the runtime as I donāt have ways to measure the battery drain :person_facepalming:
I donāt have DMM or clampmeter (yet) to measure that, Iām sorry! Iāll post it as soon as I get one :+1:
I bought all the XP-L2 Sofirns including the SP31, SP32, SP32A. SP32 had the warmest tint but not red/peach enough compared to my better tinted XPL lights such as the Emisar D4 and BLF A6. The SP31 and SP32A is too cool white for me. The SP32A had the best UI though. I also bought the SF36W, which to me has the best rear clicky I have ever seen but it is too warm. I havenāt found a really good Sofirn that I liked.
Hum, from those lights I only have the SP32 and SP32A, and I totally agree with you on the tint! SP32A is too much Cool White, and the XP-L2 has a big tint shift, with a greenish look!
The SP32 has a better tint, more Neutral to Warm, but still it does not render those colours so good! This is my bedside flashlight with a Convoy diffuser to use it like a āgo-to-sleepā light Used on Moonlight or Low levels it is nice!
About the UI, I prefer the SP32A on the quick access to turbo, though I miss the quick access to (a) moonlight level like the SP32.
Both are solid lights, tough!!
The SF36W I donāt know, but I guess Lightbringer has it and likes it a lot!
I guess they are learning and improving with time! And they are really wanting to āhearā us, their customers, to know what is best to manufacture! I guess in the future we will continue to have better Sofirn lights and still on the budget side! Maybe youāll find one you really like meanwhile
Sorry I meant to say SP32A had the best UI not SP32. I edited my post above.
SP31 UI is horrible. You need to untwist it to turn it off. Unless Iām missing something.
Some beamshots after the triple mod!!
I must say that the tint and beam with these LEDs and triple TIR are not the best on close range and white walls. But, at a distance and with other non-whit environments, it has a nice beam and even being CW emitters, they look nice!
Button in tailcap. You miss a button
Great review, thanks for posting plus all the tips and mods, I really learned a lot from this, I especially like how the convoy 350 tube fits. Iām planning to order one of these.
In the beam shots above it appears the tint is more neutral with the TIR, (at least it doesnāt appear to have the bluish tint shift in the spill anymore) Are you seeing that improvement in reality or is it just the camera playing tricks?
Also what is the degrees of TIR you used and where did you get it? Please post a link if possible. Thanks.
Thanks for reading beam0!!
Yup, with that lens the tint indeed tended to more NW, there wasnāt āgreenishā tint shift and it didnāt look, indeed, so CW.
The camera picked it but in reality was even better! The cellphone tends to distort the reality a little bit!
Unfortunately I am not able to post a link for that lens because it was from another flashlight I have, so I borrowed it! About the degrees, I can only say that it was a bit narrow (making the hotspot more dense), despite the spill was pretty nice and with a good amount of light!! Iām not sure if Iāve seen those for sale, but Iāll check it and let you know if I find it
Thanks, Iām curious what flashlight was the TIR from? (if it was the stock lens it came with?)
Also do you happen to recall the size of it? Height & Dia.(If you measured it)