A fwd or rev clicky cuts power between clicks, so the MCU is not in control of timing, state, etc. With an e-switch, the MCU is always running, well aware of active states and timing, giving you precise control of clicks, hold times, delays times between clicks, etc., allowing us to do a more advanced UI on a single button. We can time things down to the msec level -- big advantage. Generally human feedback is 10-20 hz, 20 hertz generally covers it, but having finer precision gives you more control of the UI/UX timing which can be critical to the overall experience.
When you think an e-switch light is OFF because you turned it OFF, think again. Just like TV sets or cell phones, etc., just because you turn it off doesn't mean it's not running on power. In our firmware designs, we take advantage of the MCU's ability to run in low power standby modes. Actually we have to drop several sub-systems on the chip into low power/standby modes to achieve the lowest power drain, but a click is configured to act as a "wakeup" call.
Technically it doesn’t “float”. The tube has to be squeezed on both ends to make contact between the rear switch and front driver. I guess you can say it “floats” when the ends of the flashlight are not on, but that’s a unique situation.
The tolerances are tricky for me to understand, but tightening the tail fully first just seems to result in proper contact.
Maybe tightening the head first can push the inner tube too far back which prevent the tail from being able to screw down fully?
Maybe it’s like Teacher said, the lip in the rear of the tube needs to be locked into position with the tail cap.
I know the head can thread down a tiny bit further (2-3mm of a turn) if the tail cap is loose. So the tolerances are very tight. Maybe someone knows the details? I’m curious myself.
Technically you have to have a pull-up resistor for the momentary switch anyway (possibly the internal one of the microcontroller), so a possibility would be to reduce that resistor in value to maybe 1kΩ and connect the LED across the switch in the tail cap. That way the LED would be on whenever there’s a battery in the light, pretty much just like lighted switches work for lights with clickies and a “bleed” resistor on the driver. You could also leave the resistor at a high value, that’d provide a faint glow (that’s actually what anduril uses for the two diff aux led brightness levels, it either switched power to the led or just connects a pull-up resistor). I don’t know how much space there is above the tactile dome for a small SMD LED though, connecting it with very thin magnet wire might be an option, maybe replacing the “nub” with an LED encased in clear resin or something…
I’m beginning to wonder what the hell Heathrow customs is doing with mine, been there 9 days now and coming into the 10th - seems a bit excessive to me….
Yes, +1. A SMD LED can be mounted in epoxy or something, like what CRX did with a trit vial, and the bleed resistor could provide the batt+ power to the tail for the SMD LED -- that's a possible way for sure.
I did think about a lighted tail, would be Difficulty Rating-9+ I think, but possible.
The MCPCB issue was bothering me so I swapped in a Noctigon and applied decent paste, also changed the driver wires to 20AWG.
Here’s how the stock compares with a noctigon.
Stock MCPCB 1.45mm thick
Noctigon 1.72mm thick.
I would recommend changing the paste and lapping the MCPCB in these if you can.
GOOSE… I found this picture on Heathrow Customs website. Some Customs Agent bragging about a light he had ‘borrowed’ for a while before sending it on through processing. Hope it’s not yours……
My TWS i10’s (earbuds) turned up today which I ordered 5 days after the light, and I have a feeling the GITD tape will arrive before it too as it came into the UK yesterday I ordered that on the 9th!
I won’t mind so much if it has actually been opened to check, but I’d like to bet it won’t be. Of course then Yodel will eventually get their hands on it - oh well, hopefully it’ll be here by Christmas!
Of course I blame Neal for putting it in those crates of Tea - bacco I told him it might look dodgy!
Obviously I’m kidding before someone takes that seriously
Whoop woop, yay a bit of movement has accured
Destination : Unknown
Origin : Unknown - Tracking consuming: 481 ms
2019-05-14 15:05
Your parcel has arrived at your local depot
2019-04-30 00:00
Your parcel will be with us soon
but seriously, if it has a clip on the tube, how can it possibly be considered slippery? I mean I get it, but you are now just complaining about the tube material and surface not the grip anymore.
For anyone interested. Ordered April 27th arrived in the UK today. Delivery in 24-48 hours. Super excited! Thanks to all involved
“Your parcel has arrived at your local depot”
Mine arrived this morning, 6 days after the day it was sent, not bad at all for china post!
As first impressions, it seems to be a much better edc than my d4, thinner and lighter.
Also, I find that the firmware works much better than my d4, specially thermal regulation. My d4 (219c) with stock firmware is more inconsistent, sometimes it becomes very hot even with a lower temp set, and then overshoots. My FW3A (7A), when calibrated, and set in my case to 45C, steps down fast and mantains an stable power, and a warm but not burning hot outside temperature. The d4 works very nicely, just have to take a close look, but the FW3A seems more optimized. The extra modes and features are also very nice and cool. ToyKeeper has done a really good job, and the firmware is what in my opinion takes it to the next level.
Overall, I like it more than the d4 as an edc (I also love my d4), it feels more refined in many ways.
Edit: Forgot to mention that the retaining ring was untight, it was the first thing that I checked, and tightened it. My tailcap was nice and tight.
My TWS i10’s (earbuds) turned up today which I ordered 5 days after the light, and I have a feeling the GITD tape will arrive before it too as it came into the UK yesterday I ordered that on the 9th!
I told him it might look dodgy! 
… Hopefully…. long before that! 