When do they drop out of regulation? 3 volts? Which ones convoy,etc?
It all depends on the type. Theoretically buck or linear constant current drivers will drop out of regulation when the battery voltage is equal to the LED specific forward voltage at the target drive current, while boost and buck boost drivers will not drop out of regulation till LVP kicks in. In practice there might be some programmed step downs intended to improve the device stability, so you don’t get to see it drop out of regulation, or to maximize the available runtime (as the battery gets depleted it can’t source as much current before LVP kicks in so the driver is forced to run at lower currents instead of going full blast and immediately tripping LVP)
2 Thanks
There are a lot of space for manipulation. In real life you have to test - measure every setup to see real picture. It depends on hardware and software. Do not expect cheap drivers (brands) to hold stabilization at lower voltage or high power output.
2 Thanks
I really like the overall design idea of the Malkoff m61 series but with the 21700 body/cell. But his lights drop out of regulation at 3.4 volts, plus according to the zeroair website they’re not quite even making 500 lumen spec. It’s like 400 something
I’m asking cause I’m thinking about getting Vinh at skylumen or someone else to put a Lumex1 driver or something similar/ better than the stock malkoff driver, hat can hold 500 lumens for 3 hrs without dimming
+1 quadrupel.
It depends on the driver type (boost, or buck), quality of the control IC, the firmware, battery type and capacity/CDR, even the LED has an effect. The best boost drivers I’ve tested in flashlights typically come from Acebeam, Fenix, and ArmyTek. Olight makes good ones too. The LumeX1 driver in the FireflyLite lights with the newest version of Anduril also do great. For cheap ones, Convoys newer boost drivers are good, and Sofirn/Wurkkos are grtting better.
In a perfect world, regulation ahould drop out when the boost IC can’t provide the 5 volts the MCU needs, which should be around 3 to 2.9 volts on the battery.
I meant the ones I can buy like convoy, or from jlhawaii guy, or mountain electronics. I’d like to put one in a malkoff
Convoy sells bare drivers, Hank (Emisar/Noctigon) does too, but i think you have to ask him for one. Mtn Electronics sells nice boost and buck units alao, but they’re pretty expensive and come in onlynine size. You cannot buy bare LumeX1 drivers that i know of unless you find someone who will sell you one (maybe ask FireflyLite real nice?) Your best bet is Convoy.
Malkoffs are thoroughly potted, so replacing a driver is probably somewhere between difficult and impossible to do non-destructively. You’re probably better off starting with a different light if you don’t like the Malkoff driver.
1 Thank
I could be mistaken, but isn’t the M61 a P60 platform? If so, it would be very easy to buy a “P60 shell”, emitter and driver from Kaidomain etc and make a drop-in yourself.
I’ve never owned a Malakoff so I can’t say what the P60 compatibility is like.
Yes, his drop-ins are P60 compatible. And I agree that the best way to create something better than a Malkoff is to purchase a copper or brass shell and potting compound, add your chosen driver with firmware plus LED, and put it all together.
As an aside, you’ll never get the potting out of a Malkoff!
1 Thank
Wouldn’t that also require me to get a lens and a reflector ?
If I was to go down that road I think you’ll be easier to just get a convoy m21b and pot it myself, but I don’t like the interior design of the convoy, I think malkoff design is genius
If it’s that difficult to remove the potting then I think I’m just going to buy the stock light and use it as it is
The reason I wanted to do this is because it just bugs me that my zebra light s700 can hold 400 lumens for 4 hours and yet malkoff is less than 2 hours of regulated runtime, that just bugs the hell out of me
^ If you can forego the high lumen requirement, then I strongly recommend buying a Malkoff. Because your not going to find high lumen flashlights designed for individual members of the military or law enforcement because they just don’t need it.
I never said anything about lumens, I’m not chasing after massive lumens, I just want a very robust light that has a very flat run time. Plus he offers the m361 drop in with a 4000k tint in which is my favorite.
I don’t know how to quite explain it, but I just think the way malkoff puts his drop in inside of the body is genius, however, the run time of the m61/m361 compared to the zebra light is not even remotely the same
I have a couple of those drop-ins, which I highly recommend. In fact, while I have several high output, long-running flashlights to choose from, it’s my Surefire Z2 loaded with the M361 that I reach for 90% of the time.
What’s the Malkoff’s drop-in?