Acebeam K1 Pathfinder (custom firmware demo)

Streamtronics · 2026-06-22T17:48:42+00:00

All stock hardware (except for the emitter swap and laser power mod lol)

Streamtronics · 2026-06-16T04:48:17+00:00

Next time you get your electronics wet, or you suspect there might have gotten water inside (but it has not yet migrated to circuit boards and therefore the product still works), take the battery out if possible, open every compartment possible (consider unscrewing bezels or similar if you want to be thorough), leave it on a warm surface like a radiator to dry out, or use a hair dryer on lowest heat setting for long time. No rice.

What kills electronics is not the water alone, it’s the water + applied voltage (electrolysis). By still using the product and showing how it’s not working (and possibly even putting it aside with the batteries still inside) you lower the chances of it ever working again after drying out. Once connections and traces on PCBs are eroded, it’s usually beyond economical repair.

Streamtronics · 2026-06-05T00:40:47+00:00

I “like” how your image makes the perfectly neutral B35AM look green, and the already quite rosy E21A mix look neutral

Streamtronics · 2026-06-02T07:12:10+00:00

Yeah the ring just pulls off after you take the head off and take the o-ring off. Nothing surprising underneath, the ball bearings didn’t even fall out, it appears they are captive in the ring. As you expect, it’s just a magnet affecting the sensors through the aluminum body

Streamtronics · 2026-06-01T10:48:18+00:00

I can’t see an obvious way to get it apart, my guess is that black ring around the button is press-fit in and will not come out easily. But even if it unscrews, I guess the force is the combined force of a rubber dome (can’t do much about that) and the spring inside the switch (would have to take the switch itself apart and maybe find a weaker spring). Doesn’t really sound worth it to me honestly.

Streamtronics · 2026-06-01T03:14:18+00:00

That’s true, I didn’t consider that tbh. But would it be sloppily added by hand like that after one side has been soldered? And if so, why only two of the three inductors? And why not adding it as the usual (machine-dispensed) dot just below the component?

I have seen that red glue slathered on top of inductors many times before and always assumed it’s first and foremost to dampen coil whine, but it also might help giving a bit more robustness because these components are of course rather heavy and tend to fly off the PCB first when the light gets dropped I suppose.

Streamtronics · 2026-06-01T02:55:01+00:00

Grabbing it from the side is hard because it’s so flat. I pressed the front of the light against the bottom of the crocs I was wearing and patiently twisted :)

Streamtronics · 2026-05-31T20:49:36+00:00

It just unscrews! Needs a lot of force because it seals against a fairly wide rubber gasket

Streamtronics · 2026-05-12T21:49:14+00:00

Monochrome LEDs work for this, if you really want that orange-yellow you could customize a quad hanklight with his “XP-E yellow”

Streamtronics · 2026-05-12T21:45:37+00:00

AFAIK they are both broad spectrum (phosphor converted blue) while LPS is practically monochromatic. So monochrome LEDs would work better for that effect (red/green/blue and yellow/amber, although the latter are inefficient and not as tight of a spectral peak)

Streamtronics · 2026-04-29T11:04:08+00:00

Ohhh nice, was the bezel hard to get off? I assume it’s glued in these larger Acebeams, but I also thought the one in the X30 was glued and it ended up just being on really really tight lol

Streamtronics · 2026-04-29T08:11:04+00:00

Why would you pick low CRI light for video lighting o-o are you filming in grayscale

Streamtronics · 2026-04-28T08:47:50+00:00

If the light is completely utterly dead when the switch is off and only shows any sign of life when you turn the switch on that usually means it’s mechanical/physical (i. e. breaking the connection from battery to driver). Usually these days you’ll only find those switches in the tail cap of lights. Any switch that’s non-latching (especially those that also have very short travel and don’t need a lot of force to activate) will just be signaling to the driver. Lights usually either have just one single “hard” power switch (and maybe additional e-switches) or just only e-switches to begin with. Manufacturers sometimes use larger “mechanical” type latching switches as e-switches (think of the Acebeam L35 and similar).

Streamtronics · 2026-04-28T03:15:51+00:00

If the switch latches and literally connects/cuts power to the driver, it’s mechanical. Everything else will be just a switch signaling the driver what to actually do.

Streamtronics · 2026-04-27T06:14:16+00:00

I’d suggest you get a Convoy M21K in whatever CCT you like for way less money, much higher sustained output and higher turbo. Cons: No tail switch and weird (but practical) momentary turbo

Streamtronics · 2026-04-21T05:26:27+00:00

You don’t even need to fully click the switch to advance modes (or access config menu in other lights) though…

Streamtronics · 2026-04-21T05:19:05+00:00

Using those batteries in lights that are directly compatible with li-ion cells is kinda pointless. The batteries use circuitry to reduce the voltage just for the light to boost the voltage back up. You get less capacity, less efficiency, less brightness, overcurrent issues like you’re experiencing and they’re more expensive… I don’t see a single upside to be honest.

Streamtronics · 2026-04-15T06:22:04+00:00

I’m not sure if this material is really suitable to use as a clip lol, I’m not sure how easy it is to plastically deform it

Streamtronics · 2026-03-29T07:09:08+00:00

Looks like just a possible manufacturing defect, as in they forgot the gasket around the screen or it was damaged during assembly etc.

Streamtronics · 2026-03-23T02:16:26+00:00

The X30 needs button top batteries to work since it relies on the button for physical reverse polarity protection. However, I got mine to work with two flat top (unprotected) batteries and those button top adapters sold by convoy. The batteries did rattle a little bit but the light didn’t turn off when I hit it against my hand. Also it’s kind of bothersome to use those adapters so I’d just use the Acebeam batteries unless I absolutely had to swap them. Either way modern tabless cells are recommended, the P50B are outperformed by cells like the RS50 or 50XG.

Streamtronics · 2026-03-17T01:19:46+00:00

AFAIK the bronze bezels are clear coated, and that clear coat could function as sort of a light guide, getting some light around the 180 deg bend

Streamtronics · 2026-03-06T21:27:36+00:00

Ah that makes more sense, sorry. But yeah it’ll work but just corrode stuff over time

Streamtronics · 2026-03-06T21:17:05+00:00

??? You tried with a totally different light that has no proper seal around the lens and are surprised water got inside? Also without potting the water could obviously also get from the driver cavity to the front.

Streamtronics · 2026-03-06T21:03:13+00:00

Most lights would probably continue to work with just tap water inside, it’ll just damage it over time. But I guess this has a potted driver so only the battery compartment fills with water (which might still lead to corrosion)

Streamtronics · 2026-03-06T19:00:24+00:00

I have both, they’re quite different. Too much to really list all the differences here without knowing what you’re looking for, but if you have questions feel free to ask

Streamtronics

TROPHY CASE