I build something like that idea of a Skilhunt DS20. It has Luxeon V2. OP reflector. Fet+7135 driver. Andúril firmware. around 1400 lumens.
Used the battery low warning window to put an orange led behind controlled by Andúril.
If Hank couldnt do it with a D1S, I really doubt he would make it happen on a D1m(icro)
His problem was that his driver lacks regulation - and a single strong 18650 heavily overdrives a single White Flat.
But a single 18650 won’t overdrive 4 White Flats.
Though you don’t need Hank to do that. You can buy one from Vinh (or any other modder) or mod one yourself. With ready boards from Led4Power that’s one of easier mods (though the host is not the cheapest to learn on so I wouldn’t recommend that as the first mod).
I completely misread your post. I thought he wanted a single White Flat in a D4 Body.
So it sounds like it’s a hot idea, that may be almost already made, like a ZL with a different UI? If not, would this be something I could put into an S2 host or do I need an electronic switch? I don’t know much about making flashlights so I’d need help, I mainly just have an idea. Or maybe taking a ZL and flashing it to a different UI? Would you guys maybe recommend talking to Zebralight and seeing if they might be interested in taking one of their more popular models and making a standard and a new ramping UI version?
The Mk IV ZL’s already have a “programmable” UI. E-stwich UI’s, eg. Anduril won’t run on a mechanical switch light like the S2+. Flashing or modding ZL’s is nearly impossible due to their unibody, press fit bezel, potted electronics one piece driver - led board. Correct me if I’m wrong. However thare are a few people here who actually managed mod them. [MOD] Zebralight SC64c emitter swaps
Zebralight is a very proud and stubborn producer. From my point of view they refuse to listen to the helpful suggestions and demands of the flashlight community. They made a series of really stupid mistakes in their new lights which could have been easily avoided. A collaboration between ZL and Toykeeper would result in near perfect lights but I don’t think it is going to happen anywhere soon if ZL sees their own UI as perfect, while it’s not.
So true….
If Zebralight really wants to distinguish their Mark V’s once it’s time for another generation, I think an Anduril-like ability to switch between ramping and the Zebralight UL would interest a lot of people.
D4 light with one led mmmmmm sounds like a d1 to me.
No, it’s not a D1. I have the D1 and it would basically be a D1 with a different head giving it different beam characteristics. I find the D1 too spotty to be a good EDC light. Great mini thrower but not an EDC light. Would have a single emitter with something similar to a D4 head (mainly the size) basically giving it a combo spot/flood like any other flashlight has.
I tried to talk to ZebraLight about UI stuff, but they weren’t interested. Granted, that was a few years ago, before any major BLF projects, but I haven’t really seen any reason to believe the response would be any different today. So I’ve mostly stuck with companies who have demonstrated an interest in working with the community.
I like zl ui but would absolutely love one with ramping ios3. Wonderful UI!!!
I’m a big fan of Emisars’ clean and simple designs. Coupled with ramping iOS that can be relatively easily reflashed to Anduril make them hard to resist. Exception being the D1S which looks a bit funky to me.
There are so many lights out there that nearly hit the mark but are held back by ugly designs and UIs (or are not budget friendly). If Hank made more sensible/practical lights I think they would sell very well, however I understand if this isn’t his target market. I know I would absolutely snap up a single emitter reflector style D4 and D4S. Here’s hoping he does something with 21700 
Honestly, I have no “need” for most of my lights so I can afford to be very particular about the ones I buy. Although I must admit the “budget” prices sometimes push me over the edge 
I’d love to see something along these lines, with a way to change tint with an switch and ramping, using different temp LEDs.
It just occurred to me that a similar effect could be achieved with Lumileds Luxeon CZ.
Similar beam shape to that of White Flat, higher CRI.
Though the LED was not yet tested by BLFers and even a quad might have hard time when driven directly off a strong 18650.
Tint ramping is coming, in the BLF Lantern project. But getting two different-color LEDs into a single reflector usually doesn’t work very well. The beam ends up looking bad. So I don’t think that will be feasible in a single-reflector design like the one being proposed in this thread. It would probably need to be a quad like the D4, with a frosted optic to help blend the two beams together better than the clear optic does.
Additionally, the BLF Lantern uses a really simple version of tint ramping. It has one power channel per tint, which is easy but means the dynamic range of brightness won’t be as wide as a D4. It doesn’t go as low or as high. To fix this, it’ll need two power channels per tint, which requires updating to a bigger MCU, which requires a large amount of plumbing work under the hood of the firmware. It’ll probably happen, but it might take a while.
The dual FET+1 design also has some other complications. It’s physically difficult to fit the parts onto a small driver. The mixture of regulated and unregulated power channels also means the tint and brightness won’t follow perfectly straight lines through color space. At the boundary between FET and +1, there will often be an elbow of sorts, like when light refracts through water… and the degree of this elbow will change according to the battery type and voltage.
I guess what I’m saying is… don’t hold your breath. It’ll probably happen, but it’ll take time.
Would think the D4 form factor would have to be extended a bit to accommodate a full parabolic reflector, but you could maybe get one made as low as possible, like the larger BTU PK26. Potting the light though seals in the driver, unless we go with external programming - exposing the pins out the spring side.
The 5000K SST-40 would be interesting in this light, depending on how it's tint/beam works out, but an XPL HI V2 5D would be great as well.
I’d imagine this could work with an OP reflector and a quad E21A board, no?
Ish. Maybe? I haven’t tried it. However, I have tried an Olight S10 with MELD, and even with some DC-Fix on the lens the colors still don’t blend very well.
I’m definitely interested in spring-side flashing pads / vias… especially if we can get someone to make a matching flashing key. I should be able to at least use Lexel’s and HQ’s layouts soon though, because dingwat volunteered to make a few HQ keys and send me one. It’ll still be important to get a regular manufacturer to make some though, to make these things more widely accessible.
About the reflector, it won’t be hard to make a single-emitter D1 more throwy than the quad D4. Even a pretty shallow or narrow reflector could do it, especially if it uses a throwy emitter like the XP-L HI. Actually, given how throwy the XP-L HI Convoy S2+ is, I’d be worried about it being too throwy. Something like LH351D or SST-40 might be just about right.
I got in a couple Spark lights, fully potted, and it was fun ripping out all the pot material - least it was somewhat pliable and don't think I even damaged any IC's.
Guess the criteria here is using a D4 head to keep the width small - a D1 being too wide for pocket comfort (I agree), so using a shallow reflector shouldn't lose much in throw, just want to keep the light's length as tight as possible. Most super short lights use TIR's because they are shorter, more compact than reflectors. I think a lot of manufacturers don't try super short reflectors though - not sure why, but maybe it's difficult to maintain the parabolic shape, and therefore higher lumens output -- or is the parabolic shape just to optimize throw?