If I understand correctly, I think they were asking about modifying the TS15 driver to allow Anduril to run on it. It probably means changing the MCU to attiny1616 or avr32dd20, moving the circuit traces to fit a new pin map, adding firmware flashing pads on the spring side of the driver, and having me build a compatible version of the firmware.
I can help with firmware, and I can advise on rough concepts for how the driver circuit works, but I don’t have the skills to actually implement a driver circuit. For that, you would need someone like thefreeman or loneoceans, who are both experts in this type of circuit design.
… and the circuit design is the hard part.
Or Wurkkos could modify an existing design like the TS15 or the SP10 Pro, which could probably be done internally by Wurkkos’s engineers. But if you do this, please allow an Anduril firmware engineer (or one of BLF’s circuit engineers) to communicate directly with Wurkkos’s circuit engineer, without anyone in the middle. Things usually go much faster and produce a better result when the engineers can talk to each other.
Wurkkos should probably look hard at the Noctigon KR1AA as the most direct “what else can I buy instead?” competitor and decide what TS10 V3 offers vs that light.
KR1AA is roughly $49, so I’m guessing Wurkkos’ main advantage will be price (like a half of that). But feature-wise KR1AA is a tough benchmark: AA + 14500 support, great boost driver (TheFreeman 18W), magnetic tailcap, and excellent emitter choices.
One concrete way TS10 V3 could differentiate: offer a really good ~3500K option (high CRI, rosy, well-binned). Hank’s KR1AA options jump from 2700K and 3000K to a 4200K (that measures more like 4400K), and there’s basically no true 3500K choice - that’s a gap Wurkkos could fill. If Wurkkos nails 3500K + good DUV, that alone could be a strong reason to pick V3.
I think including a USB-C 14500 battery as the default is a nice (compact and cheap) solution for recharging on the go, and it could cover some of the reasons why people want AA compatibility.
This could be pretty interesting. I think something like a Zebralight SC65C beam but AA and with Anduril. I think an efficient boost driven AA light that doesn’t even support 14500 could be unique in the market.
The KR1AA with NTG50 can sustain ~250 lumens for almost an hour. Give me an AA only TS10v3 with 3000k SFT40. It would probably sustain ~200 lumens. Essentially a Zebralight SC54 but with a better emitter and Anduril. I would buy that.
It is simpler for Wurkkos to put a 219b or 519a into a TS10SG than into a TS10 Triple. Because the TS10SG mcpcb is already compatible. The TS10 triple would need a redesigned mcpcb, similar to the one by Zwerglein02.
But a 219b or 519a in a TS10SG wont have as much throw as an SFT25.
I think a Throwy TS10SG with High CRI SFT25 5700K and Buck Driver would be one of the most unique small 14500 products in the market. It would be in a niche by itself. And I dont think it needs to be AA compatible. Especially if it comes with the USB-C 14500.
It would not have to compete in the lumen wars with Floody lights that have Low Candela per Lumen, such as the dual fuel D3AA and KR1AA.
519A LEDs are quite expensive. A big part of their appeal to enthusiasts is that they can be dedomed, which gives them a rosier (more pleasant) tint.
It might be worth mentioning to your colleagues at Wurkkos that the current trend seems to be manufacturers like Skilhunt, Firefly, and Emisar ordering custom LEDs (high CRI and negative DUV) from Hopthink/HSXLED, a Chinese manufacturer. They’re even slightly better than dedomed 519As in terms of color rendering, tint, and output, while also being cheaper.
true, but then the light would also be better for non flashoholics without Anduril.. For example the way Wurkkos offers the HD12, which is dual fuel, dual channel, no Anduril. (after HD10 was discontinued)
otoh, If the new TS10 is going to continue to use Anduril, I think the USB-C 14500 that Wurkkos included in the TS10SG helps make up for lack of AA.
Another niche that Wurkkos could appeal to is the Fancy Metal buyer.. The way Sofirn did when they made the Copper SC13 with Anduril, Buck driver, and USB charging. Sofirn also targetted the fancy metal buyer with their new Copper Cube… it seems Sofirn believes that Copper appeals to a certain market segment..
While “rosy” is popular it is not universally liked, some of us want neutral tint. The advantage of the 519 is that it can be supplied with dome and if you want to de-dome it you can.
Yes, I oversimplified it. With Hopthink-HSXLED, they can specify exactly how neutral or rosy they want the LED to be. For example, the new custom Skilhunt emitters are very neutral, with a DUV right at zero.
The main point is that these custom Chinese LEDs are significantly cheaper than Japanese Nichias, and Wurkkos needs to keep the TS10V3’s price down if they want it to be a successful successor.
This thread is about what Wurkkos could do to get people to buy the TS10 v3, not about how I could mod a discontinued model. The goal isn’t for me to have a nicer TS10… but for everyone to have a nicer TS10.
I know you weren’t asking me, but I have an opinion.
For the type of light that the TS10 is, I think (obviously just my personal thoughts) the triple is a better option. My use for these tiny lights is entirely close range. The triple is better for this as it is easier to get good flood in the space allowed for the optics. The triple can be more efficient for close range work and that is important with the small cells that they use. It is also easier to get relatively high output from a triple.
Just as an example, I recently got an FWAA and an FW1AA from new stock. I find the FWAA much more useful and it is the one that I carry.
I know that some folks are fixated on throw, but it almost becomes moot for a light this size. The differences between a single and a triple is not enough for me to give up the other advantages of a triple.
Anyway, I hope that the new version, at least, is offered in both configurations. But if I had to pick just one, it would be the triple.
This seems more like an upgrade of TS10SG, using a single high CRI 519A LED chip for better color temperature, or a LED with a long-range such SFT25R. If it’s just a simple upgrade to constant current, it’s currently achievable,but is it necessary to have an AUX light
Don’t forget FWAA also has 2500 lm turbo - which no other mass-market 14500 could match, or even comes close. It’s a most impressively bright and beautiful warm Nichia beam to my eyes. Albeit for less than 30 seconds .
If you don’t need Turbo, it will comfortably handle 300 lm as expected of this light size. I see its typical use: 300 lm most of the time, then temp turbo for when you need to SEE.
Exactly. Small lights for my use is close-up, around the house. I much prefer a floody, wide, even beam than a throwy beam with small hotspot.
Title of thread is TS10V3 (triplet) prototype anyway. Not single LED TS10SG. Perhaps question posed this way due to the popularity of TS10 v1 and v2, and that’s the model that Wurkkos wants to continue?
.