Must be fun toy 
That’s awesome. PIONEMAN on aliexpress has some for sale.
Tom E’s test: The BIG LED SFH55 - 11 x 10 mm 3V no dome monster
At 25A it’s brighter than SB90.2 for 1/3 the cost but half the throw
In such a small reflector, there won’t be much coverage anyway, so I’d say it’s a very good deal.
I have sbt90.2 in S21B and it doesn’t have much throw.
I wasn’t aware of a power driver, and from MTN in 17mm form. Fully configurable down to the temperature step-down. By far my interest would be in DD. Dabbling with high-power LEDs, the bottleneck is in drivers.
Curious to know what cell can deliver 25 Amps (and sustain enough Vf)? And what wiring gauge was used (this too is a bottleneck)?
MTN seems like the only company to sell FET-drivers sadly (which is why I ordered PCBs to make my own in the future)
I used the ultra basic firmware with 1–20–100% and the driver without the 7135 because I don’t expect to use the torch much except giggling for a few seconds
The wiring is 22AWG and the driver spring is bypassed directly to the LED and the switch spring is bypassed as well obviously
I used the Molicel P42A as my go to high-power 21700
Looking over some data posted by 2100 (link), the emitter would need 3.2 Vf at 10k lumens. The Moli should be able to sustain that. The 22 AWG is another thing though. I’ve been using 18 AWG and getting poor results at 20+ amps. Like 5.7 amp loss on .6 Volt drop.
I’d like to order some 16 AWG (silicone) but the sheathing makes it too thick for some builds. I think someone mentioned an alternative. Google search result: GORE Aerospace (link).
You can ask sofirn for their drivers. You sound like you could be better served with a bench power supply though, or you need to pour a coolant like liquid nitrogen on it lol. For some reason you strike me as someone who’d enjoy amateur rockets.
I just don’t see how I could use even bigger wires in such a small host like the S21A
I already had to enlarge the holes in the pill sideways
Also I’m not sure the host can handle even more heat, if it were something larger that maybe can even accommodate 25mm LED stars by default sure
Does Sofirn have both E-Switch and mechanical clicky drivers in varying sizes?
I can’t fit a bench psu in a torch and I got too many expensive hobbies already (dancing [ballet, ballroom, Latin], torches, classic car, [Astro]photography)
Yes they do, you can ask. Some drivers are better than others for the same model, like the SP33 driver changed from buck/boost to FET.
Luna your life and hobbies sound wonderful!
Oh, I was just pointing out that Direct Diving the SFH55 your 25 Amp tail reading may translate to 16 Amps at the LED with a Vdrop of 0.8+ Volts (guesstimated). Granted you don’t have much space in the S2+, but it’s to consider when building high-power lights.
I think Lick is referring to the god-awful Sofirn drivers. They’re not in the business of high-power drivers. They design the drivers for the commercially available emitters (SST40, XHP50.2). Not on the same scale as these S series Chinese counterparts of the XHP70.x or SBT90.x
I know they have FET drivers. I don’t know if any can do 25A, The UI is not always the best but I do t think they’re awful, just imperfect like all drivers.
the A6 driver is also a FET but I don’t trust BG.
My Wurkkos TS30A with Molicel P42 and SFH55 does ~30A at startup and starts to drop fast. Like 0.1A/s
Tail amps don’t equate to LED amps. When you do a lumen test, the emitter is clearly underperforming. It’s just to say, having a high-power LED should be coupled with a high-power driver and the appropriate host/electrical path.
Those DD drivers from MTN would be ideal candidates. Don’t know much about those Wurkkos but if they’re anything as Sofirns, well…
I heard that MTN might use sub-par FETs, as in old ones with a high internal resistance but I’m yet to confirm that myself
From their product description, the LuciDrv driver can be configured to bypass the FET. Don’t know if this is also available with the other types – not specified (or I didn’t dig deep enough).
Expensive drivers, but I’ll have to order some to get a ‘feel’. Nevertheless, thanks for the heads-up.
EDIT (~7 PM):
Seems only the LuciDRV has an override configuration (my understanding from the mode selection). Anyways, a couple of drivers would set me back $60 CAD with shipping. That’s not happening. And what’s up with Richards’s site? Takes so much time to load and then buggers when I click about, like just stalls and even once froze.
Been ages since I visited MTN, price wise not in my paygrade.
The FET on those MTN drivers is from the paleolithic era and has high resistance. (IRLR8726TRLPBF) ~5.8mOhm resistance at 4.5V = 3.6W loss in the FET at 25A. You can swap it for a BSC009NE2LS5ATMA1 or Sir404 but you might as well build your own driver with a shared BLF Osh Park board instead. For super high amps, the Omten 1288 would probably benefit from a mod where some copper sheet or wire is added on top of the terminal contacts and on the bottom of the center contact. Or otherwise it could be converted to a FET switch. And of course the springs in the light need bypassed. The 18650 is going to have its limits. VTC6 is the best for high amps afaik.
Here’s my baked, sliced, bled, and bypassed 2700K triple SST-20 S2+.
BAKED the black KD host in the oven at 400F and turned it into a nice coppery brown.
SLICED the KD LEDs down to just under 1mm using a custom made washer. The JA3 binned LEDs were supposed to be under the BBL, but they looked plain yellow compared to my rosy 219B and E17A 2700Ks. Now they’re equally as rosy! I know I took a lumens hit, but the tint was worth it (to me).
BLED the MTN17DDm driver to keep the Bistro firmware intact due to the lighted switch. I found a spot on the back of the driver for the bleeder resistor. In the past I placed it on the spring side.
BYPASSED the lighted Convoy switch spring with 22 AWG wire. I swapped out the stock orange LEDs with 0805 purple and pink ones. It draws 0.15mA (2.6 years). I also glued a spacer to the top of the switch button to fill the gap with the silicone boot. Not sure why the tail had this gap, but it made the switch feel sloppy.
Currently it’s my favorite flashlight, but I say that every time I finish one.
You just made me buy a SC21 pro in green :sunglasses:
Looks like a nice light, that deserves a 519A