I received my D1 (gray, 3A tint) and D4 (green, nichia) with short tubes and batteries (2x VTC6s and 2x KeepPower 18350s) from Neal’s Deals today and they’re just awe-inspiring. As expected, they’re both smaller and brighter than any of my other single 18650 lights. The particular Nichia LEDs I got in the D4 were surprisingly blue compared to another 219c that I put in a S2+ last month. Not sure what’s up with that. The D4 also starts ramping down immediately after hitting max, which I can understand but will also probably try to change too.
Momentary is a LOT of fun. I’ll have to update my Q8’s firmware so it does that, too. It’s still on Narsil v1.0. I’m also digging the switch of all things; it just feels better to use than any of my other lights (some Armyteks, a Convoy S2+, and the aforementioned Q8). I highly recommend the short tubes and some quality 18350 cells. That much light from something that small is just darn cool.
Order was placed 12/22, so a little over a month to get to me here in Atlanta, GA. Never received any tracking information. Finish was excellent on gray. Finish was pretty good on the green, some of it rubbed away when I put on a clip. I too noticed some slight color variations between body pieces, though. My gray tail cap is a bit darker than the other gray pieces and the green short tube was a little darker than the other green pieces.
Nitpicks aside, I got a great deal from Neal and all was correct with my order. If anyone has a clip they would recommend for a shorty D4, please let me know! I don’t expect it to leave my pocket for a little while
I used a SF L2 clip on my shorty D4, but I had to carefully grind it down to fit. And it’s not the greatest; the clip sticks out a bit far for such a short body.
I have only the older 80CRI 219c emitters, and they seem both colder and greener than the rosy 219b tint I’m accustomed to. I hear that improved with the 90+ CRI version though. I’ve mostly switched to a Cree 3D mixed tint, 5D+3D+3D+2B, which is nice but almost too rosy.
About the early step-down… The thermal ceiling can be raised, or the firmware is available for modification, or there are other firmwares available. No matter what it uses though, the 219c is going to be hot. It can’t stay at full power for long without overheating.
The Q8 is much easier to regulate, since it has about the same power but several times as much mass. I’ve been enjoying Anduril on mine, particularly with a diffuser on top to make it work as a lantern or candle. I’ve posted this before, but here’s how that looks:
I can’t really say Anduril is completely ready for use on a D4-219c yet. Its thermal regulation is currently too slow and may allow the light to overheat. However, it’s fine on something with less heat or more mass, like a Q8.
Yes, it is. It does a good job diffusing the light in all directions and warming up the tint to work better as a candle.
I must admit I’m tempted to grind off the text though, and maybe sand the top a bit thinner to let more light pass through. Maybe foil-coat the cone to reflect more light sideways.
I figured this one out - the 219c in my modded S2+ is a 4000k. oops. Cool idea about mixing the LEDs though!
I upped the thermal regulation to 70C and dropped in a 30q as opposed to a VTC6 and got the desired result :+1: a little less light, but a good 20 seconds until it steps down now.
Next question: is there any way to modify the moonlight setting from the firmware? I’d love to get it just a smidge lower, but I don’t know what that entails.
Also (not a PWM indictment, just curiousity): I can hear a slight whine when ramping after the light leaves regulated territory and enters FET. Granted, I have to hold the light next to my ear to hear it. But I’m curious why I don’t hear it in regulated territory and I’m also curious why the whine doesn’t stop when it reaches max output?
Hey barry, you should definitely think about mixing leds… i got dual 219c and dual xpl hi v3 6500k tint on my p60. The tint came out really nice… not too cool. Not too light… its about perfect…
Adjusting moon is pretty difficult anyway, since the resolution on the low end is very coarse. Usually I find the PWM levels steps are like 0.6 lm apart on a 1x7135 channel, which makes sense because that channel goes up to ~150 lm and there are 255 levels, and 150/255 = ~0.6. But while changing from 100.0 lm to 100.6 lm is imperceptible, changing from 0.2 lm to 0.8 lm looks like a huge step.
At a guess, you probably want to change it from like ~0.2 lm to ~0.1 lm… but that’s lower than the hardware’s resolution, so it’s not very feasible. I have some later firmware which lets the user adjust the floor and ceiling of the ramp, but it’s still limited by the resolution of the hardware.
Do you have tweezers? Try and pull a little on the cable, bend it over the solder pad and hold it down while soldering. Do you have a little vice or something to keep the light fixed while you do this?
It’s usually pretty easy, as Mike C described. Takes only a few seconds. It may also be necessary sometimes to gently clean the nearby emitter domes with isopropyl alcohol if any smoke sticks to the domes… but that probably won’t happen unless you’re adding flux. A decent loupe can help too, to make sure everything is as it should be.
1. Put the light in a vise to hold it vertically. I use a small metal-jawed table vise. I added indoor stairway grip tape and gaffers tape so I can put lights in the jaws without the jaws damaging the finish.
2. Take a small flat toothpick. Cut off the tip of the wide end and file a notched “V” into the end.
3. Use tweezers to grab the loose wire then drag it into position.
4. Press on the top of the wire just above the insulation with the notched toothpick.
5. Apply soldering iron to the tip of the wire and the bondpad on the star. the iron should touch both the wire and the bondpad below. Even after the solder melts you may wish to keep the iron in place for several seconds. The trick is the underlying material (wire and solder pad), must both be hot enough to melt the solder. If they aren’t you won’t get a good bond. If you’re having trouble, it may be you should re-tin the tip of your soldering iron, or perhaps you need a higher wattage iron.
if i greased up all the o-rings prior, what do you think about me submerging this in the ocean for night swims.
would be nice to see how the thermals go in real world submersion’s. late night ocean dips would be a great place for extra modded Hot Rods.
i have had little issue with Fet driven S2+ in the past, say 3ish meter’s under, but risking my fav light atm plus $100 Aud investment, thought i should ask.
As the D4 is not IPx8 rated i wouldnt go dive with this light beyond 1m of depth but thats just me, it might take more but u risk getting water damaged later on who knows…
Waterproof and dustproof to IP67 standard (up to 1 meter)
