Sweet. I didn’t know you had already gotten a MT-G2 working in a Convoy M1 host.
Given what I’ve heard about the MT-G2’s nice white output, that’s really tempting. Pity about the battery life though. Any idea how long it can run at a level near 200 lumens?
Current wishlist:
Triple S3 w/ a wide spectrum of tints and custom NLITE modes: 8* tint, 4* tint, and 1* tint. (1A/1D, 4B/4C, 8B1/8B4/8C1/8C4?)
Nichia 219s (or 119s?) on stars, with drivers and other hardware suitable for plugging them into a 110V wall socket for indoor lighting. (still figuring out how exactly to do this, but I like the idea of selecting a mode by flipping the light switch as if pressing a tailcap button… planning to mount the stars on extra CPU heat sinks hidden behind the TV in my living room)
Parts to make a “Super-er” C8 w/ de-domed XP-G2 @ 3A or 4A. (~100+kcd)
Small 1x18650 waterproof host w/ electronic switch and flashable driver, to use as a waterproof variable-speed strobe light (and the hardware necessary to flash firmware). (UF-T50 might be a good host?)
(?) Parts to make a HD2010 “light saber” (HD2010, de-domed XP-G2, aspheric lens and retaining ring). (~200kcd)
The ZL H52Fw and ET D25A Ti 219 I ordered ages ago but haven’t received yet.
Free time.
A lot of this should be coming from RMM’s store, as soon as I get around to actually figuring out more details and placing orders.
Vf of mtg2 at 4.5A is about 6.6v. If I understand it correctly, the two 18350s will be able to maintain 4.5A until their voltage drop to 3.3v each. That is great news because it means we get almost all 800mAHr of the cells.
I did sort of runtime test and confirmed that on high it did last about ten minutes in total. Of course I turn it on high for about one and a half minutes each time and then let it cool.
Hmm, not bad. I was expecting roughly half the run time of a 1x18650 (3100mAh vs 2x800mAh).
I wonder if Cree will ever make a smaller, lower-voltage emitter similar to the MT-G2. Same many-segment design with a range of tints, but easier to fit into small lights. Their XM-L “EasyWhite” line looks nice, aside from still being higher-voltage. Has anyone around here tried those?
Just released: the S6 "SSSP" Triple XP-G2 Flashlight. This light was built in collaboration with a few other forum members (Comfychair for the machine work & DrJones for the firmware). I think that it is my new favorite EDC! The only thing I have that is "pocketable" that puts out more light than this thing is the MT-G2 Convoy M1!
That new posted e-switch driver is awesome, Richard! I think JohnnyC is doin the firmware (?) but sounds like it works like Werner's. I can't keep up with how fast this stuff is moving.
Could you explain the exact differences between the two PWM options - what are the exact rates for example, and what are the exact moonlight PWM values being used?
Also I don't quite understand the FET option - haven't been able to track the threads too well, so not sure I understand it correctly. I don't know if it's true direct drive or has some current regulation or limiting capability. If you can refer to a thread or post, that would be fine.
Tom, I really need to simplify the options. It really is too much. I will be changing the options in the coming days, most likely adding different groups of options that you can select instead of choosing them independently. The firmware is JonnyC's work, borrowing some of the great UI ideas from Werner's momentary driver.
Regarding the exact PWM values, usually a 7 or 8 works fine with phase correct PWM while a higher value has to be used with fast PWM. From my very limited understanding the fast PWM doesn't ever fully turn off the 7135s, so the moonlight can't be as low.
Fast-PWM is ~18kHz which is twice as fast as Phase-Correct at ~9kHz. Because of the faster speeds, the PWM level can't be as low (I have some of mine set to 8-12 as the moon level). I'm using Fast-PWM for 105C boards because it gets rid of the audible whine, at least for me.
RMM offered the Phase-correct option because when switching to mode 0 when hooked up to a FET instead of 7135, light will still faintly emit as the PWM is never completely turned off (side-effect of Fast-PWM) while still holding the switch. When you let go it goes to sleep though, but it's just a little oddity.
So I use luxdrv as a basis which is 9kHz (not sure if that's Phase-Correct??), and a value of 5 is bout the lowest, which is 2%. So if you use Fast-PWM, lowest you can get is 8-14 which is 3-5%?
Yup, luxdrv is phase-correct. With Fast-PWM it bumps the curve up a bit so a value of 10 will not be as bright as a value of 10 with Phase-correct, at least that's been my experience. I really need to do some more testing though, as I have the luxury (as many of us now do) to just reprogram the driver if the output isn't quite right. That's what makes the mail-order options a little bit harder, because it's hard to choose the correct value right off the bat.
What I should do is get a test array of different emitters and measure output at different PWM levels with the different PWM frequencies/settings - I just don't have the time right now (and no equipment to measure output).
OK, feedback wanted. In an attempt to simplify things both for myself and for customers, separated the new momentary driver into two separate drivers: A standard version and an advanced version. Do the options now make sense? Anything need to be clarified?
The prices reflect the amount of time needed for me to customize and make sure everything works.
The part about designating the modes that you like- the window did not have options when I clicked on it. Just the example. It made me wonder, can we request the number and arrangement of modes as we like? Is there a strobe option? Can we chose ascending or descending emitter levels? I really appreciate your responsiveness to our desires. Doesn’t sound right but you get the gist.
Scotty, it is impossible for me to include all of the possible options in a dropdown menu and too many people were forgetting to tell me what modes they wanted during checkout, so I had to go for the text box option.
Modes can only be ascending, but really there is no need for descending modes once you understand how the UI works. No strobe option.
I gave in and ordered an S6 at 5.8 amps and 2x Panasonic INR 18650 cells. I put a comment in my order requesting one of each of the available tints for the XPG2 leds instead of all one type :bigsmile:
Question: for your new advanced electronic switch driver you mention there’s a shortcut to minimum and maximum, but your description on your site doesn’t say what those shortcuts are. What are the shortcuts?
(and yes, a triple XP-G2 R5 2B)