The effective voltage will remain the same of course. So for the MT09R 70 version this is 8.4V max. The standard battery tube is 2S2P, but the 8x18650 version will be 2S4P. Max voltage will remain 8.4V, but voltage sag under (heavy) load will be a lot less. This results in a slightly higher voltage under load at start-up, resulting in a higher output. Higher output means higher current through the driver. The latter is probably not tested, and there is also a good chance that Texas Ace is not aware of the 8x18650 tube option in the near future; at least this is how I see it.
When Dale ships the version 2 TA driver I will be happy to send you replacement drivers.
Yes, as was stated the thermal protection will indeed work with this driver. I have spent the better part of 2 days playing with the thermal protection to make sure it keeps the light within safe limits.
Narsil also allows the end user to easily set the thermal protection to whatever level they want in the menu. You simply go to the menu option and it will turn the light on turbo and leave it there. Then you simply turn the light off when it is as hot as you want it to ever get. That becomes the new set point for the thermal protection. You can set it as high or as low as you want.
We might want to leave him to his work so we can finally see the outcome lol....
Maybe Haikelite should name it the M*TA*9R. Haikelite should really use TA to design all of their future drivers.
I hope someone can convince Haikelite to offer this exact same 80CRI M4 70.2 4000k emitter in this new TA version. I wouldn’t mind paying extra for the spectacular performance and great tint.
The xhp70.2 version will handle this no problem, at least with the LED’s he is using now. They current pull around 25-30A max. The LED’s I installed have a lower Vf and pull around 40A, I did this purposely so that I could stress test the driver under the worst case conditions.
These drivers have also been used in lights pulling even more power then this without trouble and Del suggested some added changes that should make it even more stable, just in case.
So in a nutshell, the xhp70.2 version should be just fine with an 8 cell tube and it will give you a bit more lumens as well along with keeping your hand further away from the heat source.
The xhp35 version the driver will be just fine but it is possible it could push the LED’s a bit further then I would like.
Right now with freshly charged 30q cells at 100% duty it is pulling right at 9A, which is about 3A per LED. This gives slightly higher lumens for the first minute or so until things get hot, then it will actually fall slightly below it’s peak of 2.5A each LED. The tint also gets slightly cooler under these conditions (although in my testing I have found no damage to the LED’s even up to 3.5A each).
Now after the light has been on for a few minutes the voltage drops enough that the LED’s are only getting maybe 2.75A each, which is just fine. and things get better from there.
So basically on the CW xhp35 light I am testing with, I can use 100% duty and everything works out fine with 4 cells (still need to test the NW version).
With the 8 cell tube on the other hand, it is possible it could drive the LED’s a bit too hard. Not enough to damage them if I had to guess but enough to go well past peak efficiency.
With this in mind I might have to limit the max power to keep this from happening. There are a few options for doing this, just not sure which is best yet. It would also reduce peak output with the 4 cell tube as a side effect. So it is a tough choice but I have a feeling HL will want the most reliable setup over the most powerful. My drivers will come whatever way you want though.
I will know more once I test everything next week.
Thanks for the props.
If you really want those LED’s I can mod your light with them for you, they are not cheap LED’s though.
They are my favorite XHP70.2 LED right now (until I get a 4500k), with some DC-Fix over the light the tint is truly fantastic and a lot of lumens too boot.
Good. No funky surprises in the future then. :+1: 
Just out of curiosity, where does this leave those of us with ‘working’ lights? From my perspective, while our lights to work, there are still several deficiencies with the driver, thermal regulation being the biggest and a not great UI a close second.
I mean, in the end I can deal with the issues but it is a little bit of a kick in the pants to the rest of us if you are only replacing those drivers that are completely DOA and not the ones that just fell short of the advertised claims.
At the end of the day, $20 more for a proper driver still puts this thing in the decent value category but that’s still $20 more than we all signed up to spend.
Thanks for offer. I will keep this in mind but in the meantime I’m going to wait for the new version to see what changes there will be besides using your driver. I’m hoping Haikelite will incorporate your suggestions for physical modifications to improve heat dissipation.
Yes, I also hope they will listen to the suggestions. The light will cost more for sure but should still be a good deal for the performance and it should be good enough that even I would not have anything to mod on it out of the box.
All Haikelite lights should have a rock solid TA driver. Period.
If you really want those LED’s I can mod your light with them for you, they are not cheap LED’s though.
They are my favorite XHP70.2 LED right now (until I get a 4500k), with some DC-Fix over the light the tint is truly fantastic and a lot of lumens too boot.
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I would be interested in this if not totally ridiculous, I love this light and with that kind of wow factor it would be awesome.
At no time has anyone said that.
I have said myself if you make sure to contact Dale I am sure he wil be willing to send out a driver swap out..
Please read the last 4 or 5 pages for matters that have already been addressed. We are seeing a lot if repeated questions already and it has only been a couple of days that this new was officially released.
Thanks very much again to everyone.
You can PM me about this if you want.
I feel that if one needs to be replaced they all need to be replaced, it will be up to the end user if they want or need to actually do the replacement. Kind of like if you are happy or content leave it be but when or if it fails you will have the replacement.
I am definitely wanting the TA driver that he hand makes over the replacement I will be sent.
Forgive me, apparently my tone never comes across as I mean it online. I’m not upset or angry, just trying to get some clarification. At the end of the day I do like my light but as a consummate devils advocate I cannot help but ask the tough questions that don’t see being asked
I have contacted Dale about a couple other issues and he has been responsive, so I appreciate that. I have yet to get any resolution to any of my issues but so long as I’m getting responses I am confident that things will work out in the end. I have been holding out on contacting him about the driver issues because, I understand how busy he is and I am hoping for an official word in this thread. If the official word is that I should send all my questions to Dale though, then I will be happy to do so.
I have read every single post in this thread. I see a lot of responses to those who have non-functional lights from the factory but a lot of handwaving for those of us who have functional lights that are not performing as advertised. There were a lot of promises made about this light that were not delivered but despite that I think most everyone, including myself, have been more than accepting and accommodating.
As an enthusiast I would love to see both Terry and Haikelite hit one out of the park. Unfortunately I think this light which was expected to be a home run, really turned out to be a solid double. I’m still happy and I’m still rooting for the team but there’s still a ways to go before coming home.
Lol no I think it is my tone that comes off as far too harsh...
Your fine... the last part of that message I was adding just so I would not have to make a seperate post.
There will be thousand more questions even after all this is done.
lol if we keep it up we may set a record for one of the longest group buy threads to date. I would really hate to be the one that kept up woth that imformation....
^^hey, think of it this way, if this is one of the longest group buy threads, that means it’s also one of the most interesting. Like they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity 
Personally the only reason I keep posting in this thread is because this is is the most exciting light to me since the BLF GT. I can see how great it can be, and I want it to be there.
@ Terry: I think i already know the answer, but just to make sure: You do not deliver your lights to customers outside the US correct? So only US citizens can order from your shop?
EDIT: Just checked your store…now im not sure anymore, as i could select germany… :question: