QLite is good. That’s what I did to my M1, swapped the QLite in and put the emitter on a Noctigon.
Not sure of any others, but for that host, the QLite is a no-brainer.
Ultimately this is the path I want to take. But this light is for a camping trip that is in a few weeks so I won’t have time to learn how to make custom drivers.
I’ve not yet tried a qlite (ordered some tonight though) I can tell you I need a high speed fan or high reving engine to see the pwm on a normal 105c nanjg driver and qlites are supposed to have higher frequency pwm so you should be fine.
the only constant current 17mm driver I know of is the ld-25 and whilst I love it, the low is really not that low, it easily lights up a room.
Super easy to send to the driver, just paste a line of text into a command window. After that you can change it up without removing the driver from the pill just by changing the solder bridges at the stars. Close #2 to get 4-mode moon-low-mid-high, close #3 to reverse the mode order, close #4 to disable memory (no memory works best with a forward clickie where you pick the mode before turning the light on fully, memory works best if you want to change modes after the light's on).
Install WinAVR, open a command prompt in the folder where nlite.hex is saved, then paste the string:
Be aware that the moon mode on the Qlite driver (particularly the A rev version) may not light up all LEDs. I have never seen the A rev light up an XML2 and only one XML (which was too dim to be useful).
I just did up two Q-lite ‘A’ revisions with Noctigon XM-L2s. They both behaved differently, to the point that I wonder if one is an original version sent by mistake.
One has a very low moonlite, less than half that of my Olight S20. Certainly a small fraction of a lumen; you can look directly at the emitter. It has little usefulness except in total darkness after your eyes have adjusted, but then it has distinct advantages. The emitter is quite neutral, but faintly pinkish compared to the other. On its own, it’s not noticeable.
The other has a moonlite slightly greater than the Olight S20; perhaps 1 lumen - a bit more than I’d like. I suspect this one is an ‘original’ Q-lite that mistakenly ended up in my order. The emitter is the most pleasing neutral, with an almost creamy white tint.
Not that it matters, but one went into a Convoy S3 and the other into an S2. Both hosts are somewhat overwhelmed with those drivers & emitters and I may change them out, but for the moment I’m kind of pleased with them.
I have two more Q-lite ’A’s here, and will put them in hosts soon - I’m very enthused with them and already have more ordered.
I say go for it.
The driver adds moonlight; excellent.
The Noctigon fixes the horrible thermal transfer of the original star, more consistent output as the hos heats up.
This upgrade cost about $5 (and you can use the original driver elsewhere, so really it’s about $2). Getting the driver out and the new one in is the toughest part.
Another thing I will mention. The original star is screwed into the pill. If you go with a 20mm star, you will not be able to screw it down. The main thermal problem with this pill was the star mounting surface was slightly raised near the edges, so the star only contacted at the edges. I recommend using a 16mm Noctigon star and letting the reflector center and hold it in place. I didn’t think of this before spending the time to lap the pill flat.