Thanks for the quick replies guys. Finally got it figured out. Like I said, “user error.”
As soon as I got the lights in my hands, I opened them up to see the driver and what-not, and realized the spring was messed up. If it was a short, someone at the factory must have been playing with the light haha.
Definitely won’t be putting any batteries in it until it gets a new spring.
I Received my four 3D's. No visible defects in body, no dents, dings, color mismatches. All body sections disassemble by hand without grip pads and without having to gulp down a can of spinach. Three operate perfectly as expected.
The fourth is an anomaly. As others have described, in 7-group mode 1 has zero output and modes 2 and 3 are identical. I switched to 4-group and modes 1 & 2 are identical. I switched back to 7-group normally.
Here are some things i haven't seen reported previously:
1. I tried to change back to 4-group again, clicking until the light went dark (careful that it wasn't just in the non-working moon), but the indicator flashes never appears in many attempts. I used one of the other A6's in config mode to get a feel for the timing of the flashes, then tried again estimating the time after it entered config mode and blindly clicking about where I thought the first set of flashes should appear and it switched to 4 group, so the program is running, just no indicator flashes.
2. Backing into the auxiliary group produces turbo > tactical strobe > no output > beacon. There's no bike mode, the beacon is 3 bright flashes very close together, then about a 1 sec. of dark. Pattern repeats 64 times per minute.
Overall great lights, thanks to the whole team. I was also a little apprehensive looking at the UI flowchart but it's quite easy and intuitive in hand once you get a feel for how long a long press needs to be.
I see same behavior with my driver and I think the 7135 is busted. I’m in the process of replacing it now. Will update when done.
emitter wires look a bit thin… should i replace them?
with 30Q i max out at 1700 lumen and 4.7 A (driver spring not bypassed…)
in a triple xml the 30Q gives 10+ Amps
and i worry about the recessed negative at the driver - is that enough contact?
spring bypass at the switch gains 150 to 200 Lumen btw…
Just received mine today in the mail. Quick run-down reveals that of the four, both 1A lights work in all modes and I get 4 blinks on batt check mode with a ~4.18V cell (before testing, sure it went down some while testing turbo). So, my batt check mode seems to be close enough as well. I know others have found batt check off by up to several tenths of a volt. Both of my 3D lights also work with all modes, including batt check seemingly within range.
I only found one significant issue in my very cursory look-over, and that was that one 3D light has the o-ring sticking out of place. In my case, a part of it shows sticking out from under the bezel on one side. I mean, it’s under the glass, but visible in one spot in front of the reflector. It doesn’t stick out far enough to be in front of the beam but I noticed it without actually looking for it.
I haven’t tried getting any heads off yet, and haven’t thoroughly checked Ano either. But, just looking over, the lights look decent on the outside. The 3D lights do also have the off-center bored tubes, but I find that to be a minor issue that I’m not going to worry about. Overall, I’m not displeased with the lights. I was hoping for Eagle Eye quality level hosts, and these are not. But, I have to admit, with no major issues, mine are worth the price I paid. I may enter bugsy’s video review contest if I ever get any free time.
My head threads are good and I couldn’t make out any systematic problems at all. No dirt but also no lube. Under the star is evenly placed thermal grease a bit to much like always. The wires are absolutely how they should be a bit stiff but not these absolute cheap wiring which melts away just by seeing the soldering iron, elegant and neat soldered.
I just dedomed my 3D and the result is very pleasing.
Nice warming tint, maybe one of the nicest after dedome tints I ever had. No Ugly green.
I am still unsure if the method of dedoming makes an differance(it’s my feeling) but I can clearly recommend hot dedoming this light.
I just let it run on turbo until hot than I cut a bit with a scalpel in the dome from all sides put it on turbo again for an minute then switched off and pressed with the scalpel on the negative side…plop the dome was gone…
I don’t know what the actual truth of the matter is, but here’s one thing to keep in mind… The 3D tint sold more units than the other two combined, so statistically it should have more issues than the other two combined. It could be just a normal distribution.
It’s like if you have a dozen socks a drawer and eight of them are blue, if you grab one at random chances are it’ll be blue.
I think this poll is called “contact BangGood customer service”. They know how many units were sold and should be able to count the support requests too, to get an idea how common the issues are.
There is also the likelihood that the batches were done by LED tint. Boards and bodies would be completed first, then LEDs would be soldered in and final assembly.
The one I got with a messed up tailcap spring is a 3D as well
Has anyone tracked down the cause of the “No moon/two modes the same” problem several people have reported?
The only true way to find out and know is (and only if willing) to remove the driver and send to Dale or TK. Unfortunately I am not equipped to flash and do not have the possibly needed soldering skills. With that said..it would only take one or two people to do that. IF it is a 7135 or any driver issue for that matter they can and will be replaced.
Not the most ideal solution but given the nature of what the light actually is, it is the easiest solution and one I know they (Banggood/Manker) will do. I wish it would be as easy as just getting complete new hosts or lights but it is easier to pull teeth from a pissed off horse.
> battery … burnt spring
Holy cow, did they take me seriously? when I wrote above:
With apologies for not reading 4500+ posts, I’ll ask: Anyone else think this would be sweet with an 18350 body available seperately or as an option? I’d take one…
Thanks for the response, bugsy. I just wondered if anyone found an easy fix. Soon as I get a chance I will pull the driver and take a look.
I could have sworn I checked that… but I re-checked and you are correct. Maybe I had it cross-threaded before.
Aside from a few early test units, they actually placed a second layer over the original Noctigon branding. If you look closely with light shining at the right angle, the word “NOCTIGON” should be visible in raised lettering about at the same place where it says “ALEXWELLS”.
Welcome to BLF!
I see the SC62 listed at 7500 cd of lux in selfbuilt’s review. I recall seeing the BLF-A6 tested at about 8500 cd, or it’ll go higher if you de-dome the emitter (which is easy enough that a few have done it by accident). If you de-dome it though, it’s best to start with the cool white 1A tint because it’ll get about 1500K warmer in the process.
However, neither of these lights is a thrower… so it is not specifically intended to have much lux. It has more lumens instead.
That turbo-to-moon flash is something many of the BLF-based drivers have, and nobody seems to have found a definitive reason for it. However, I’ve heard that some have added an extra resistor to absorb the flash. My theory is that the C1 capacitor may be full when the light shuts off and it discharges all at once when turned back on again… but only if it was off for a very short time, and only if the light was using a very high level before. If it’s off for longer, C1 can discharge before turning on again, and if it turns on to a higher level, the flash is invisible.
I did some testing on this, and I found that the flash happens no matter what the firmware does. Even with both power channels turned off and the OTC discharged, it still happens. It’s an unsolved hardware quirk.
As far as I can tell, a few drivers got a bad 7135 chip or a bad soldering job. This breaks every mode which uses only the 7135 chip, which include A1(moon), A2(low), A3(med1), B1(low), B2(med), and battcheck. And it makes the bike flasher look weird.
So, quality control issues again. Contact banggood (email is in this thread’s OP) to get the issue resolved.
I think you’re looking for this:
I replaced the 7135 and all the modes work as advertised. So in my case, these symptoms proved to be due to bad 7135 or badly soldered 7135.
Good to know. That’s what I (and Dale) suspected the problem was. Will try that.
The first batch on sale was the 1A and 5A units. The second production covered the first release 3D torches. Given the production issues we’ve seen, it suggests that they we’re keen to rush out the 3D torches. Common sense would suggest that if they noticed Production issues on the first run, that they would correct to make sure that the second batch were better in Quality. It’s hard to know yet but some of the feedback seen on faults highlights issues all round, tailcap screws, switch not working, glued head, poor boring of tube, driver soldering and anodisation. It’s all over the place. On a positive not for the many who have a properly working torch they are extremely pleased.