I don’t know. I have not seen the driver. There are no pictures of it either.
These do look gorgeous - wish they had the blue at 4000K in stock. All they got in 4000K is sand and silver.
As usual with Astrolux, it's as clear as mud what's under the hood. Very tempted...
That is the high frequency PWM causing some of the components to oscillate and make audible noise. Pretty common.
When I ordered my blue 4000k on aug-3, it said in the cart "last one" so maybe it was really true.
This is also common. It doesn’t mean the PWM frequency is 4k hertz, though. I’m sure both lights are much higher. You see the lines in the video due to a combination of shutter speed and the particular duty cycle/pulse width.
If you use the long battery tube will the lumens go up?
I don’t think the lumens go up but oddly my first thought was that it seemed brighter. Probably just my eyes playing tricks on me.
They should go up a little simply because you’ll have less voltage sag. The extra springs and contacts might add a bit more resistance, but doubling the batteries should more than compensate.
I’m guessing you can pretty much maintain near max output until the batteries drain?
Maybe I should try with my other battery carrier.
I had to put the head on the tail cap end of the tube. Once I did that, I placed the other head and both lights worked.
You will not see those flickering lines for non-pwm lights even it is at 1/4000s camera shuttle speed.
1/4000s is not the pwm freq. It is only a setting that i usually use to capture lights with low pwm freq. From my experience, pwm effect is already visible through naked eyes @ 1/1250s, when there are a lot of beam movements. An oscilloscope is definitely needed for more accurate pwm readings.
I took some comparison shots of my MT18S vs my ROT66
Of course not. PWM by definition is a flicker. No PWM equals no flicker. This should be clear.
- Note that 100% duty cycle on any PWM channel is essentially a solid signal, so this means no flicker, at least in theory.
What are some examples of lights that don’t use PWM? I can’t think of any.
But I don’t think the MF01S or D18 are using “low” PWM freq. The D18 uses 15.6K frequency. This is quite high. The duty cycle you set the light to makes a big difference.
Let me ask, on your camera, I assume a dslr, does it take pictures at 1/4000s only, or does it record video at that shutter speed as well? Video is maybe 30 frames per second? Maybe the frame rate also plays a factor? IDK, it seems pretty complicated.
I just think of it as a combination of shutter speed, duty cycle of the light and how they might sync up that causes the camera to pick up the lines.
I’m trying to find drivers that don’t use PWM. It looks like linear drivers do this. They somehow are able to output a stable reduced voltage current level to control the brightness of the LED. I’m not very familiar with this driver design but it makes sense and that there would be no flicker. Usually LEDs have a limited voltage range and if the voltage goes too low the LED simply turns off. So it’s really tricky getting moonlight and low levels.
Edit- This design seems to limit the current through the use of a linear regulator (adjustable current limitor). I’m still trying to understand it.
I ordered the sand 4000K one - missed the blue one, and didn't want to take a chance on the supposed Aug 25th expected date.
The PWM's should be 15.6K, like all our other versions - TK should know for sure. She might have used a lower PWM on lowest or moon mode, not sure. If the PWM pics above were taken on moon mode, than that might explain it.
I wish I knew more bout the driver - if the LEDs are 18P or not, and if 18P (most likely), if using the resistor bank for sure instead of 7135's. TA came up with resistor bank design initially and I know it wasn't easy, but sounds like Lexel is more in mass production mode for the same driver design, I would think with TA's blessing -- I'm guessing here all around, but the silence on these Astrolux designs is deafening...
I'm becoming less of a fan of these video reviews as of late. Generally less technical than the old fashioned written ones. Box openings and beamshots are good, but real world measurements and pictures of a tear down are of more value to me.
My light hasn’t arrived here yet and I’ve yet to order the batteries, should I order flat-tops or button-tops? As for what type I was going to go with Samsung 30qs. I’m still relatively new to the flashlight game so recommendations are welcome.
Welcome! On the BG page they recommend button top 30Q's so they are a safe bet. From the picture of the battery tube shown there, looks like button tops are needed, or at least batteries with a protruding top.
Actually from the pic on the battery tube, looks like the carrier is 2S2P, so the LED's are probably wired 9P2S - not sure if anyone knows for sure?
Ooops, TA says it here at post #175: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/55962/175
Yes, so definitely a 6V setup - 2S9P.
Lexel stepped in and told Banggood he would build the driver for way less money than TA, so they went that direction. At least they paid TA a little something for his initial work. So there’s no blessings involved. :confounded:
OMG I was guessing incorrectly (later corrected BTW...). Lata... Sorry, won't post ever again!