Nice review Johhny!
Their #'s were always totally whacky - made no sense why the kcd # is so far off from the distance #. Usually it was the distance is correct and the kcd # was way understated.
Thanks for the review, i dont quite understand how the cd doubles with only 330 odd lumen increase with the same size reflector as the old tn31?
I was thinking the same thing. Excellent question.
My TN31 is measured to be 1132LM OTF, and it is 115KCD at 6meter.
If my TN31 was to be measured 1702LM OTF, its peak intensity should be 115*(1702/1132)KCD, about 173KCD.
So I think it might be the position of LED in the reflector that cause TN32 to get to 270KCD.
I did a couple of lights of upgrading a XML T6 to a XM-L2 U2 and would measure 20% increase in lumens and 40% increase in kcd -- this was repeated/reproducible, and measured by me and others. A thrower's reflector will produce these kind of results. You have to understand though, a 40% increase in kcd is not all that much an increase in distance:
100 kcd = 632 meters
140 kcd = 748 meters
results in an 18% increase in distance
lumens and kcd don't always scale well together - I believe it depends on the design of the reflector, and probably other factors. For the TN32, you have this factor for the increase in throw, but also, I thought the XM-L2 TN31 version did about 157 kcd (here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/22397) -- this is an XML TN31 modded to XM-L2, but no resistor modding. So if the stock XM-L2 TN31 does 150-160 kcd or a little higher, then the 270 kcd TN32 makes a lot more sense, because a 25% increase in lumens is about a 50% increase in kcd, which brings you up to about 240 kcd, and the remaining increase to 270 kcd could easily be from other improved factors, or just variations in production. TN31's have always had variations in quality of their reflectors that Michael at OSTS has posted about.
Looking closer at the pic of the driver I think I see the sense resistor rating as R062 if the other resistor under the thermal grease is the same it would be the same as an R031, lower than the TN31’s original 2 x R082 = R041 sense resistor.
I wonder if the workers assembling the light remembered to remove the kapton cover from the back of the led’s copper star before installing it.
Yes - noticed that about the resistors - not sure if a 25% gain is enough for what this light is doing though. It is interesting they use thermal grease over the resistors now, and the PCB board has not changed, though parts could have.
Thanx Johnny
Yep, If Fenix wants the longest throw title they really need to go all out. Thrunite doesn’t appear to want to give up that crown anytime soon. I recall reading that Vinh could only get the Fenix lights current up to 4.5 amps. But Fenix does have good quality builds and I would enjoy seeing them come out with something that would raise the bar.
Excellent review and thank you. This seems like quite a nice light. Do you know from the board design the current to the emitter? Also, can you confirm that the chrome plated area is just Cu and not CuZn.
Has TN ever considered dedoming a special edition light like this? Other than the Luminous SBT lights, I don’t think there has ever been a oem factory dedomed light. I tested my K40vn to be 426K this would have been more than that dedomed.
My only suggestions would be
- Dedome the Xm-l2 U2 and/or offer it in a killer throw version dedomed Xp-g2 S2
-If some real Xm-l2 U3 become available use those - Use the Supbeam X40 style continuous ramping switch with detents- but honestly for a light like this there is only one main use
Hi Tom E, my experience is kind of inverse of what you have experienced. Maybe your experience is affected by modding where the position of LED has changed to finetune for best throw. I tested multiple lights below namely M22, RC40, SR95S UT and TN31 in the past for their different output level, that means position of LED and reflector have not changed between measurements. Now I pull their data and compare the ratio of Candela/OTF. The observation is OTF goes up faster than Candela. But I am not sure there might be some reflector design to have different trend.
Candela were measured at 6meter.
Oh, you are looking strictly at varying mode output levels. Not sure what lux really means because lux is simply a meter reading of a light measurement on a sensor -- lumens is the important thing, of course I can't read that language so maybe don't understand. I never looked at #'s in that way. I know for sure the mods I did and saw the higher candela ratios in was mods of XML's to XM-L2's, and pretty much nothing else that would effect throw (heavier gauge wires for example) from what I can recall. Sorry, not sure if I have the recorded #'s or could find them too easy. I recall having pm's or maybe posts talking about this pattern though, but not sure where...
I asked ThruNite’s owner this evening what the output to the LED is and he confirmed my suspicion that it is indeed 6 amps.
As for dedoming them, when he first told me he was thinking of making this light I suggested he make a dedomed version but he was very insistent that there was no way he would ever produce a dedomed light for warranty reasons. He asked how we were all dedoming the LEDs and I explained that we have great success using the gasoline method. Since it would completely void Cree's warranty and run the risk of an owner breaking the bond wires by touching them he is unwilling to do it. Now if Cree would produce an undomed emitter I'm sure that would be another story.
I should have explained it clearly. The constant number of my setup is 24.85742. So the lux reading have to multiply this constant to get the OTF lumens.
For example, 45.53 lux for TN31 high output, 45.53*24.85742 = 1132 OTF lumens.
Even if the best tn31 had 160000lux already with with an fitted xml2 , i cant see the tn32 putting 110000more lux with a small increase of 330 lumens using the same size reflector and same led???
It has to do with the intensity of the light on the emitter surface and not the increase in lumens. So that means more than 330 lumens are being packed into the same tiny footprint and beam angle as the original emitter. They could have potentially installed an XP-G2 with a 4amp or so current, decreased the luminous flux, but increased the intensity, and had a higher Lux value.
Just think of 1 million lit candles vs an arc welder. Even though all those candles burning will put out a considerably more lumens there is no way you they could match the luminous intensity of the arc welder.
All right, guys. I've been chatting with the owner of ThruNite this evening and was discussing why his numbers were so low for the TN32. I found out he's been measuring his lights from just 2 meters distance. I suggested that he test again from at least 10 meters. After testing he got back to me to report that he is now seeing 240kcd which is far more realistic and in line with my numbers.
If I order one thru the store, am I going to get a nice metal case, or another yucky cardboard box?
Awesome review! Now i need one!