Johnny,
I agree, 2A+ would be killer output, but one thing with the lower amperage is that heat management will not be so much a problem. Just a thought, but I respect your option to pass until something more to your liking is available.
2A is 3000L OTF initial, but it'd drop very slowly. 4A to the DRY can net you 2700-2800L OTF but can only be sustained with a couple of ice cubes in contact with the bezel directly. :) This is from my measurements experience + confirmation with the LED calculator.
I agree, I would be interested if reflectors were bigger to get a better throw and also at leaset 2.5A per led.
I don't need 6 leds, in fact I would prefer 4 than 5 but with bigger reflectors using all the area, with four of them it would be easier to mod in in case the driver says good bye.
Other than that, I find it to be the nicest looking budget flashlight of its class.
chuck a lump of copper where the 6th LED should be to help with heat I think
copper rod off ebay seems an okay price in the right sort of sizes.
SOLID Ric, thanks so much!!
Thinking out loud...
2A per LED in a design this size / mass makes a lot of sense. On a cold-start, thats still initially 3430 (moderately long running) bulb lumens, from ~35W to the LED array. So the design shouldn't suffer from turbo-burnout, provided it gets ambient air around the heatsink. I like how the LEDs are arranged in a circle perimeter, its a shorter thermal path for heat to transfer to the outside heatsink surface.
Assuming 85% driver efficiency, you'll need to draw 41.5W from the cells to get 35W to the array.
41.5W / 4 => 10.37W pulled from each 18650
10.37W / 3.6V-nom => 2.88A current draw from each 18650
3.1Ah / 2.88A => 1.07 hours from 4x Panasonic 3.1Ah cells. Looking like a ~1C application, which is well within the power zone for a quality 18650 cell.
Someone double check my math, but on paper it looks like a very sensible design. By comparison, my Stanley 35W HID generates around 3200 bulb lumens for 20 minutes (if I'm lucky). The big spotlight will still out-throw it by a mile though.
Actually what I'd love to see is this body with 3*XM-L and larger, deeper reflectors. With a 92mm diameter you could make each reflector C8 sized with just a little trimming of each where they'd overlap in the middle. The head would have to be a little deeper to accommodate the extra reflector depth. You'd find yourself with a killer triple that throws like the best of them. Just a thought.
Forget I said all of that. I don't know why I thought the head diameter was 92mm. It's 70. Duh! That's what happens when I start spit-balling without all the facts. 
Yep, i'd still expect the intensity to be around 28kcd mark, if not 30k.
Just wanted to thank Ric for good service (again!):
I got mail from Merry (Ric's assistant) asking whether I would like to have v1 shipped now or the updated v2 in one week => I'll happily wait a week to get the v2 (driven harder, get rid of blinky modes) :)
=> You all have to wait one more week for the review. Sorry about that!
+1 Ric is one of the good guys! Interested in what we want (more lumens!) and is willing to take it back to the manufacturers and ask- "can you make it better?".
Got to say though Ric, all the guys above have talked me into now wanting at least 2A per LED.
Fingers crossed!
Do you have a light meter?
Yes I do. And it shows results, which are in line with yours.
_the_
Thx for the update, that really is a true testament to their customer service! Looking forward to your shots and review.
Cheers,
Tim
I'm sure this will be a decent buy if Ric comes through with the right price, but two things still bother me:
1.) The tail cap seems a little outrageous and probably cumbersome, considering it uses a tail swtich. It does look kind of cool though. Just not all that practical.
2.) Seriously, no emitter in the center? I'm not saying it has to be 6 x XM-L but it seems to be wasting perfectly good real estate.
Has potential to be the best budget multi-XM-L, however, it doesn't possess the coveted side switch that instantly became popular with the KING. But at least there's less to go wrong with the simpler mechanical switch.
I really want to see a sixth emitter in the center and then I am in on the group buy.
We made 2 samples, 2A and 1.7A.
2A version is not so stable. So we will release the 1.7A version. It will be ready for sale next week.
1.7 A per LED, 3mode: LO>MID>HI
Current Regulation
Cost is abit higher, so the price will rise 5usd.
I’m interested in this flashlight, especially if we can get rid of the flashing modes.
I’m wanting a multi xml emitter to mount on my bike, for both showing off and practical reasons.
The king and Ultrafire UF-T70 lack mid modes, and I’ve heard the dry has heat issues in high mode. I read somewhere someone had the dry mounted on their bike and the thing started smoking on high, even with the air flow.
Every second driver in Vietnam drives with their lights on high beam at night anyway, so I’m not too worried with the higher lumens piss off other drivers J) .
This sounds like the best pick out of the multi-emitters for cycling, although I’m new to this forum…
I would like to see some beam shots when it's ready next week.
TR-J12 may be a good one to look into, although it is a 2 cell series light so it is long.
Wise decision. The “typical” TR-J12 runs about 1.35A to each XML. It is warm after a few minutes, hot after ~3 more and “painfully hot” after the 10-11 minute mark. These numbers improve however when the light is carried with ambient air circulating.
At 1.7A lights this size/mass will run hot to the touch for sure after a few minutes. IMHO 2A into each XML would put it in DRY-turbo territory (short burst only).
Can you guys post back when the item SKU number opens for purchase?
+1