My sample is doing 1725 lumens at about 9A with Sony VTC5.
My Maxtoch Sniper M24 which is much much more less amps spending 1.7A ( 2x cells in series ) and have smaller reflector also with 1350 lumens have clearer picture ( better visibility ) on long distances than FT03 which is more lumen, larger reflector, much more spending current, so in terms of that I’m not satisfied with this what I see and want to improve it, it is ridiculously for me that light that have better predisposition is worse. :person_facepalming:
It is ALL preference. I am NOT a fan of low lumen and pencil beam. I prefer my Beautiful stock tint NW w/ SST-40!
I have Eagletac M25C2vn T w/ Oslon Black Flat. I hardly use it anymore.very intense center beam but I can not handle that it is a pencil beam w/ low lumen. BEST LED I have is CFT-90,5000 Lumen and 1.1Mcd in my TN42vn 90,what a beast compare to pencil beam!
Your numbers sound low. I measured over 1900 ANSI at 30 secs, and 235+ kcd. The Sniper M24 has several variations, but that 1.7A is maybe 3.2A to the LED at best, so even with the dedomed U3, the amps sounds low for a Maxtoch, though a dedomed U3 is a very efficient thrower LED, much better than a stock SST-40, but the 1350 is higher that what the dedomed U3 M24 is rated for.
I rest a light and get 1870 lumens now and that is best ( I play with it and I won’t cool it enought first time ).
Sniper M24 is latest from this year U4 dedomed. It is 2x 18650 in serial configuration so it is about 3.5A, factory rated is 1450 lumens ! Sniper M24 is very efficient light and very well made, it is better than this FT03 there is no doubt in that, I see difference with my eyes and I don’t need any measurements to do more…
That’s an impressive result given the size of the reflector !
DO you know the current drain on Turbo ? I would be afraid to kill the poor LED… the sweet spot for this one is about 4,5A only
Of course it's better made and should be at that price - their overall quality and finish is top of the line. I have several Maxtoch lights and worked with Amanda from Maxtoch in the past - I should know. Plus they offer rare dedomed LED's in a stock light, being they specialize in throwers. Of course they specialize in gun mount, long, tail switch lights, but I much prefer the shorter FT03 form factor, plus the way better UI of an e-switch light with smooth ramping.
Generally with buck drivers, there's some loss's in amps, so what you measure at the tail with a clamp meter is less than doubled - that's why I'm guessing at 3.2A for 1.7A measured.
So for $80, you can get a 302 kcd thrower here, which is a great deal, if that's what you want. Unfortunately it looks like they haven't worked with us at BLF for quite some time now, so no reviews, no BLF deals.
With buck or boost drivers the tailcap current really doesn’t mean much to be honest. You need the voltage reading as well to get any kind of usable number.
This is why I talk in wattage when working with buck and boost drivers.
If you know the driver is taking 20w input power, then you can make some guesses that the LED is getting ~16-18w of power depending on the driver efficiency. Current will change wildly based on the input voltage.
If you have an adjustable power supply you can see this for yourself by doing a voltage sweep with a buck driver.
Sorry, single XM-L2, 2S cells, buck driver, a common light to me - got a bunch, worked on a bunch. We are talking the Maxtoch M24, so it's a very common form factor. I've tested tail amps vs. LED amps before on these lights, and seen #'s posted. All ol' school now it seems, but the U4 is still a very efficient LED (lumens/watt), overlooked now mainly because of the tint/CRI limitations.
5.95A turbo my FT03. 4.50A was never a sweet spot for me. I have 10 white flat lights (wf1) and (wf2) I do a lot real world test 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5A the sweet spot for my test is 5.0 - 6.0A on (wf1). I like my at 5.5A, even led4power sweet spot is 5.75A and I agree with him.
battery and bypass play a role too!
I don’t use high drain battery 10A or less. I don’t bypass either, except (wf2).
Sometime I use long thin led wire. PS. I got GT mini, L2 and FT03 video take with my old iphone 6 So not very clear I got one more I forgot to add in jaxman x1 totally 11.
Damn I had to make another one from an old work access card and drilled a 7mm hole. Just figured I’d want a hole as tight around the emitter as I could.
Will make another one and buy the 28mm Manker MCPCB.
