“REVIEW”: RovyVon Aurora A8 UV – 350 Lumens – Nichia 219C – Keychain Light

alchemi · 2019-02-25T21:16:06.000Z

Mine arrived today

Here it is next to some AAA flashlights (top to bottom: Astrolux A01, Thrunite Ti3 (my EDC), Aurora A8, Sofirn C01, Manker E02). Diameter is same as Thrunite and Sofirn.

I like the UI (1 click for tactical, 2 cicks for moonlight then cycle L-M-H, 3 clicks for UV side light then cycle red-red flash-UV, 4 clicks for white/reading sidelight).

I got the Aurora because I wanted to try the white sidelight, as something I use on a desk without a diffuser.

MascaratumB · 2019-02-26T23:11:22.000Z

alchemi:

Mine arrived today

Here it is next to some AAA flashlights (top to bottom: Astrolux A01, Thrunite Ti3 (my EDC), Aurora A8, Sofirn C01, Manker E02). Diameter is same as Thrunite and Sofirn.

I like the UI (1 click for tactical, 2 cicks for moonlight then cycle L-M-H, 3 clicks for UV side light then cycle red-red flash-UV, 4 clicks for white/reading sidelight).

I got the Aurora because I wanted to try the white sidelight, as something I use on a desk without a diffuser.

Eheh, glad you like it It is a sweet little light How do you like the side (white) light ?! I’m carrying both the A5 and A8, love them

alchemi · 2019-02-27T06:10:24.000Z

It’s bright, I say that! I have only played a little with it, as it’s gone back in box until April (for my birthday!)

It is light-weight, and UI is good. Feels like a USB memory stick!

EDCba · 2019-02-27T08:00:56.000Z

Agro:

Yes.

BTW, here’s transmission curve for polycarbonate:

According to it - PC doesn’t realy pass UV.

Here’s ZWB2:
Filter Transmission Charts #1 - Filter Discussions & Tests - UltravioletPhotography
Together there should be only small transmission around 400 nm. Is that enough to exite the phosphor? Maybe… or maybe the body is not PC or is some different type of PC?

Yes polycarbonate blocks UV. That’s why it’s used to make sunglasses. Not a good material for a UV flashlight.

It’s appearing blue in some pictures because the camera’s UV filter isn’t filtering out all the UV, and the UV is being captured by the blue pixels. Same with infrared light.

EDCba · 2019-02-27T08:16:54.000Z

Rovyvon’s build quality is actually quite good, and their designs are innovative. It’s a shame their website and manual do a terrible job of explaining the modes and levels. It’s so simple, right? What modes do the side emitters in the A8 UV have?

UV
Constant red
Blinking red
White/reading light

This is 4. Four.

MascaratumB:

According to specs it uses a 365nm LED! But…it’s the specs. I have another UV light (SK68 clone) that uses a 395 nm LED and emits a more purple light. The one from the Aurora A8 seems closer to that and not from the Nichia UV :zipper_mouth_face:

Why the heck are there only 2 entries in the table:

365nm/1h
12Lm/3h

Not to mention the fact that the lumens/runtime specs are not available from them directly.

MascaratumB · 2019-02-27T08:34:09.000Z

EDCba:

Why the heck are there only 2 entries in the table:

365nm/1h

12Lm/3h

Not to mention the fact that the lumens/runtime specs are not available from them directly.

Hum, I hadn’t notice that the specs for the White LED were missing :person_facepalming:

You are right, the side white Led has no runtime on this table! Maybe it will be a little like the amber light? I don’t know if their level of battery consuming will be similar or not :zipper_mouth_face:

I guess I didn’t understand correctly your last sentence! What do you mean by not being available from them directly?
Maybe it is too early for my brain to understand

G’d morning

EDCba · 2019-02-27T13:32:26.000Z

MascaratumB:

I guess I didn’t understand correctly your last sentence! What do you mean by not being available from them directly?
Maybe it is too early for my brain to understand

G’d morning

My bad phrasing, I knew it sounded weird. Most brands put their instruction manual online. If Rovyvon doesn’t want to, fine. But at the bare minimum they should state the lumen levels of the main emitter, somewhere. They only put it on the website for some models, and we’re forced to turn to reviews for such basic information.

MascaratumB · 2019-02-27T14:09:52.000Z

EDCba:

My bad phrasing, I knew it sounded weird. Most brands put their instruction manual online. If Rovyvon doesn’t want to, fine. But at the bare minimum they should state the lumen levels of the main emitter, somewhere. They only put it on the website for some models, and we’re forced to turn to reviews for such basic information.

Eheh, no problem
Hum, they have the information about the main emitter output in all of their lights (as far as I perceived) and now with the Nichia versions they also added the output with those emitters.
However, the side emitters don’t have references in the site (not about the lumens, but about the runtimes), only in the user manuals.

As example, both the A5R and the A8U have Red emitters, but they have very different outputs as shown in the images above

So yeah, maybe RovyVon could include that data in the site!!

tundraotto · 2019-02-27T15:38:06.000Z

EDCba:

Agro:

Yes.

BTW, here’s transmission curve for polycarbonate:

According to it - PC doesn’t realy pass UV.

Here’s ZWB2:
Filter Transmission Charts #1 - Filter Discussions & Tests - UltravioletPhotography
Together there should be only small transmission around 400 nm. Is that enough to exite the phosphor? Maybe… or maybe the body is not PC or is some different type of PC?

Yes polycarbonate blocks UV. That’s why it’s used to make sunglasses. Not a good material for a UV flashlight.

It’s appearing blue in some pictures because the camera’s UV filter isn’t filtering out all the UV, and the UV is being captured by the blue pixels. Same with infrared light.

WOW! Thats a deal-killer right there, I mean frankly how asinine is that? Especially at the price - glad I held out. SMH

Thanks for the review MascaratumB!

pooptoast · 2019-02-27T15:42:04.000Z

xevious - Interesting, mine has the exact same issue. I’ve tried to get a photo of it but the particle keeps moving around. I’ve decided to just keep it as is since it doesn’t appear to have much of an effect on the light.

Bardo219 · 2019-08-13T21:58:20.000Z

Does anyone know if Rovyvon still has visible PWM? If so, is it bad?

I really want one of these but that would be a deal breaker.

xevious · 2019-12-16T17:29:44.000Z

I was hoping to review the latest release to see how it fares with PWM, but RovyVon hasn’t been responsive at all to my inquiries. I don’t see any recent reviews of their new model lights. Strange…

MascaratumB · 2019-12-16T18:49:32.000Z

Zeroair has a review of the A3x

ZeroAir Reviews – 18 Nov 19

RovyVon A3x Keychain Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews

RovyVon has released the A3x Keychain flashlight to their very popular Aurora A2/A3 light, which addresses some issues. Read on!

Est. reading time: 10 minutes

And here’s the copper one:

jon_slider · 2019-12-16T19:24:45.000Z

MascaratumB:

Zeroair has a review of the A3x

thanks, sounds better

ZeroAir:

PWM is still present, but it’s greatly improved from the originals. I can’t even see this PWM by eye, and the older model had extremely evident PWM. So this is much better.

for those who dont mind PWM, there is now a Low CRI (primary LED) version for half the price… Nitecore Tiki

and fwiw, these lights are moddable, scroll down this link for full Rovy teardown photos

xevious · 2019-12-17T07:20:55.000Z

MascaratumB:

Zeroair has a review of the A3x
RovyVon A3x Keychain Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews

And here’s the copper one:
https://youtu.be/Zb6HKXrmYcw

Thanks! ZeroAir always has great reviews, lots of details. Wish I could figure out how to do those graphs. Bummer that PWM is still noticeable, but at least better than before. The more I use my A8 v1, the more I’m just so aware of the PWM because it’s non-existent in all my other lights. Just don’t get why they weren’t able to eliminate it altogether in this release. :person_facepalming:

The copper A3 looks very nice. I really like this body shape.

SubLGT · 2020-02-03T15:09:19.000Z

The new A8X should be available soon:

https://www.rovyvon.com/products/a8x?variant=31714368192615

Has a larger battery, higher output, reduced PWM.

Here is the Aurora A8x upgraded from the Aurora A8. It has two options for front LED - CREE XP-G3 cool white and Nichia 219C neutral white. Thanks to the optimized driver, the PWM was improved and the standby current is also much lower which means it can last longer before use. The 330mAh battery also contributes to the longer runtime and standby time, the max runtime goes to 66 hours at ultra low mode.

jon_slider · 2020-02-03T15:24:16.000Z

SubLGT:

reduced PWM.

ZeroAir Reviews - A site for things that interest a flashlight fan! – 7 Mar 19

RovyVon A8 Keychain Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews

The RovyVon A8 Keychain Flashlight is a special run of the Aurora series - it has a Nichia emitter with a special user interface. Read on!

“PWM is quite noticeable on the lower modes, and can even be seen on the third mode.”

SubLGT · 2020-02-03T15:40:59.000Z

jon_slider:

SubLGT:

reduced PWM.

RovyVon A8 Keychain Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews
“PWM is quite noticeable on the lower modes, and can even be seen on the third mode.”

That review is of the earlier A8, not the latest A8x.

Battery Junction says the A8x will not be available until around Feb16.

jon_slider · 2020-02-03T16:10:10.000Z

SubLGT:

That review is of the earlier A8, not the latest A8x.

true
I would wait for a zeroair review of the A8x PWM

xevious · 2020-02-04T07:45:09.000Z

jon_slider:

SubLGT:

That review is of the earlier A8, not the latest A8x.

true
I would wait for a zeroair review of the A8x PWM

Yes. I trust Zero Air’s perspective on this. I used to be OK with some PWM in low modes, but so many makers have vanquished PWM. For anyone to have visible PWM now in their lights is just negligence, cheapness, or impatient to deal with it. And RovyVon is NOT cheap!

I can’t remember… is this something to do with boost vs. buck driver architecture?