There is no thermal regulation. Older version of Bistro. You can choose 7 or 4 levels, last mode memory on or off. That’s it.
Edit: This may seem to be taxing my memory, but I built so many Bistro drivers from the beginning that this is deeply ingrained… on the original group buy, when ToyKeeper first wrote Bistro, she upgraded from the UI of the A6. The primary difference between the A6 firmware and Bistro at that time was that Bistro had a Tactical strobe and the Batt Check mode in Bistro blinks out actual voltage in tenths where the A6 firmware only has 4 blinks… 4 for 100, 3 for 75, 2 for 50% and 1 for below 25%. Then she wrote the new Bistro with the table and before it could be acknowledged they started production early. So the early Bistro drivers had this A6 adapted form of Bistro. And this is what they seem to be using in the X6S. They’ve resurrected the old original driver from the X6. And added a pair of stacked capacitors between the ground ring and the power (red wire) lead to the emitters to stabilize the driver’s functions. And in some way, this has enabled the hidden modes to be locked in last mode memory… if you turn the light on then reverse to … say… Batt Check, watch it blink out the voltage then turn it off…. when you turn it back on it will still be in Batt Check. This is not supposed to happen. The hidden mode group is not supposed to be visible to last mode memory. But it is. And in this way this driver is different from the original X6 driver.
I can ask ToyKeeper to step in and verify this, and I believe I will, but I’ve built the Bistro driver so many times I feel I could do it in my sleep while dreaming of umbrella drinks in the tropical sunshine.
Sometimes two units of the same flashlight can perform very different. Your R90C measures 4,000 lumens higher than mine and both of our TA spheres are calibrated with Maukka lights. I even cleaned all contacts multiple times with alcohol on my R90C to make sure it wasn’t grease getting in the way. I’ve measured duplicate lights at different output too. It’s luck of the draw sometimes.
Therefore I don’t trust measurements from any lumen spheres calibrated using flashlights with manufacturer’s specs.
Ah, but that’s where the law of averages comes in! My light box was calibrated with no less than 25 lights, not just one low powered unit.
I would love the chance to take my light box, a few dozen lights, and a big box of cells and chargers and sit down next to a big high dollar sphere for some comparison testing. Maybe a few hours of side by side would have some illuminating consequences…
And what does Fenix use? And Nightcore? And Lumintop? How many times have we seen that big green ball pictured in the corner of the lab? They all use expensive equipment, much more so than our PVC P Traps. How is Maukka’s better than theirs?
I’ve been doing this here for a long time, don’t need any calibration lights, already been done. And if I only had a dollar for every time this has been discussed…
… they must have made their own version. I never made one like that.
The early version which got used on the BLF X5 / X6v2 had 8 mode groups, even though I also sent a 9-group version.
Anyone know how to contact Mateminco? They’re legally required to publish the source code for what they’re shipping in the light, so I probably need to have a talk with them about how the license works.
Oops! Sorry! My Bad! The first blink in configuration mode doesn’t do like I expected so I ASSUMED the second blink was for last mode memory. It in fact is not… it goes through 8 blinks for the table like the original Bistro. Sorry about that.
The first blink, if selected, changes 7 modes into 3 with no moon. I was confused there and made the assumption. Since I never engage last mode memory, I didn’t go further.
I have used the 9 level table from the beginning, since you (TK) sent it to me before the initial release.
The original released 8 level table called for the first blink to put it in muggle mode, an on/off mode. This one has 3 levels. (EDIT: Dang my memory! I never used the 1st blink for Muggle mode either, so I really didn’t know if it was 3 standard modes or not. More ASSuming on my part. UGH!)
Hmm, that’s strange, the boxes I got only indicate 1A, 3B and Nichia 219C… Didn’t realize there would be a 3A and a 3B model. Will have to ask Neal if there indeed is a separate X6S “3A” and X6S “3B” model…
d_t_a, mine has the sticker on the top right hand bottom corner of the box, not the end, and only has listed XP-L HI or Nichia 219C. Beside the XP-L HI is hand written 3A. Mine is probably from a prototype batch.
So, his sphere is possibly a good bit smaller than that of the “Big Name” manufacturers. But, I’d trust his calibration lights to at least be the most accurate method of calibrating that we at BLF could get for less than $100. But, I’m sure your way is great too. Just a lot more expensive, a lot more time consuming, and a tiny bit more accurate. :partying_face:
