After seeing reports of better switches and giving it a little time, I ordered a silver V3 KR1AA and redeemed the offer of a free replacement switch for my V2. Happy to report the switches are now excellent: firm resistance, no missed clicks.
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Hi @Hank_Wang any available update on KR3? E.g., planning stage or postponed etc
Im guessig this is the Lume10 were seeing in the Fireflies E12 Eclipse?
The Lume10 is FET above the 10 amp buck limit. The N1 is linear abouve the 10 amp buck. I’m a bit surprised loneoceans would have come out with both solutions so close together given historical production.
I also don’t know that much about driver tech and don’t know whether there are reasons to prefer the Lume 10 to the N1 or whether the N1 is always superior. I’ve heard that at wide open, FET is more efficient than linear, but not sure that matters for the short turbo bursts we are talking about here. Also don’t know whether the two drivers are “exclusive” to Jack and Hank or whether we’ll eventually see each one selling both.
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In terms of driver function, FET isn’t necessarily better or worse than linear regulators. We typically see those as the AMC7135 chips as a substitute for a buck or boost controlled output. Linear regulators are regulated, but FETs are not and limited by internal resistance of the electrical path.
Thanks for the correction. I guess ultimately that’s not a huge difference since none of these small handheld lights can maintain output beyond 6 amps for very long. I should note that my misinformation came from the very poster who made that claim on Reddit.
I said this when the Lume10 came out, we’re really operating at the margins here because of thermal limits and battery capacity. Even more so at 10 amps than 6 amps, but there just isn’t a lot of time spent pumping out that much power.
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O my God, there is KR3 !!!
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Hank, please, tell us more about it.
What driver it uses?
3v or 9v?
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Oooh. Can’t wait to find out more.
Lume X1 9V driver, new advanced aux LED as KR1K.
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Oh… Oh my!!! Yeah, I’ll be all over that! I love it Hank
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I don’t really understand the naming convention - but this is a single emitter 18650 version?
My only regret is having so many old Lume lights without the fancy aux, even though I don’t really have any need for the new fancy aux lol. Live of a fomo flashlight fan.
In general…
- KR prefix = rear e-switch
- D prefix = side e-switch
- DW prefix = 90 degree angle light, like a headlamp
- 1 = 1 LED
- 3 = 3 LEDs
- AA suffix = 14500 and maybe AA
- no suffix = 18650
- K suffix = 21700
- S suffix = 26650
So a KR1K is 21700 w/ 1 LED. KR3 is 18650 w/ 3 LEDs. KR1AA is AA/14500 w/ 1 LED. All with tail e-switches.
… though there are also a bunch of odd cases, like the DM11, M44, K9.3, etc.
Personally, I have a strong preference for the old aux. It uses less power and doesn’t have PWM.
I would like the old aux even more if the resistors were more … resist-y. In other words, make the aux less bright, so it would use even less power. I don’t want it to do fancy color animations… I just want it to glow gently in the dark, showing how full the battery is, without really making a meaningful impact on battery life.
The new dimmable aux can do 5 mA, 10 mA, 15 mA, even 30 mA I think… but all of those are too bright. What I want is a total standby power of 0.1 mA on low, and maybe 1 mA on high… without strobing.
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OIC. I’m dumb. I thought your picture was of 3 different lights, now I realize it’s one optic with 3 different emitters lol. So then I do understand the naming.
I am not a huge aux user truth be told so I really shouldn’t have FOMO. I appreciate you pointing out the PWM and efficiency because that makes me appreciate what I have more! Also I have quite a few FFL X1Qs that only have aux rgb in the button LED.
I do very much enjoy the aux for the specific uses I have (manual voltage/temp checks, occasional red or blue on low in standby.
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Yes, 18650 battery with N203M optic, 94.3mm length, 49g without battery.
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Thank you Hank, you’re an excellent person! KR3 
I’m ready to order!
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Is a side switch version of the KR3 planned?
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