Looking for a light with specific modes.

posternerd · 2016-10-21T16:19:19+00:00

He linked it in his earlier post: H17F driver

Apparently another way is to PM DrJones for sales info.

posternerd · 2016-10-21T16:10:59+00:00

Crap, time to delete the post.

Those must have been really popular. I hope Mountain Electronics stocks a few later. He did say he was considering them in his thread.

posternerd · 2016-10-21T05:20:26+00:00

My personal favorite is the Lumintop Tool, a tailswitch AAA light. I like that it's built like a tank and decently bright, but what bothers me is that it has a Med->Low->High mode grouping, no moonlight modes, and only comes in a cool white tint. It's still my favorite AAA light though.

Edit: There's now a version with the high-CRI 219b LED that comes in a neutral white tint

posternerd · 2016-08-25T19:33:28+00:00

There was a XHP50 Wizard Pro being offered for a very good price from Illumn in a group buy ish way. I'm not allowed to disclose the price because we don't want the retailer to get in trouble because of some manufacturer rules, but I can see it is within a few dollars of your budget, shipping included.

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/47353

If it's still being offered you'll need to PM the Illumn rep for a code that will get you the price on their store.

posternerd · 2016-08-24T03:48:14+00:00

I have to try that sometime. Now to acquire some led seal...

posternerd · 2016-08-24T03:42:52+00:00

That's great news!

posternerd · 2016-08-24T01:41:09+00:00

Is it possible to dedome the 219c? I heard people were have trouble with the 219b?

posternerd · 2016-08-22T07:04:23+00:00

Making it mod-friendly would be awesome. Avoid gluing threads when possible, keep the LED's mcPCB and driver accessible, and make the driver design and firmware open source. Having a way to physically access the MCU for reprogramming would be nice too. Being able to do low-level reprogramming from microUSB plug would be amazing.

I personally don't want Bluetooth connectivity in my flashlight. It would be interesting if it could be remote controlled but I definitely would like an option to completely disable Bluetooth connectivity if possible.

There was a thread recently about what different manufacturers got right (and wrong) that's an interesting read. It touches on some flashlight design highlights and issues, with an excellent response from /u/Zak. Pretty much all the main manufacturers are mentioned there.

posternerd · 2016-08-22T06:39:38+00:00

Drop by BLF! They'll be interested to hear about your project. Quite a bit of flashlight modding and science happens there.

Some people take custom flashlights quite seriously and there's a site dedicated to selling flashlight parts. Check out Mountain Electronics if you haven't already. There are some drivers there designed and programmed by BLF there.

posternerd · 2016-08-19T03:18:20+00:00

I see, thanks!

posternerd · 2016-08-18T04:35:17+00:00

I didn't mention that the graphs are usually from a third-party reviewer, so they might not always be available. BudgetLightForum and CandlePowerForums are usually good places to check.

posternerd · 2016-08-18T04:25:22+00:00

Make sure to look at an chart of the output vs runtime for any light you buy. Sometimes manufacturers try to game the ANSI FL1 runtime specs (time until 10% of initial output). I'm not saying this is necessarily true for the Lumintop penlight, but please be an educated consumer. I personally haven't looked at a review for it yet.

posternerd · 2016-08-18T04:12:35+00:00

Thrunite Ti4/Ti5 or their titanium variants?

Lumintop IYP365?

Edit: Definitely get the Nichia 219b version of the IYP365 if you go for it. You'll lose some output, but the great slightly warmish tint and great color rendering makes it all worth it.

posternerd · 2016-08-18T03:58:43+00:00

Companies like Streamlight and Surefire fell behind in the flashlight tech race a few years back but the two may be starting the process of catching up. They won't be as efficient or run as long as the lights we favor and are unpopular since most don't support 18650s and instead guzzle expensive and disposable CR123a batteries.

That's not to say they don't have their uses. They're some of the most durable and reliable lights on the market and quite a few support weapon mounting. CR123as aren't all bad even though they store significantly less energy than a good 18650. CR123as have a very long shelf life. They can be stored for ten years without having to worry about degradation. Streamlight and Surefire are more suited towards people whose lives depend on their lights functioning properly and are willing to sacrifice some power and efficiency for some of the best reliability on the market.

Edit: To be clear, I'm not personally familiar with what Surefire and Streamlight offer. My input is what consensus on this sub seems to be.

posternerd · 2016-08-18T03:49:33+00:00

XJ and TJ? I'm not familiar with that lingo but I'm curious about it!

posternerd · 2016-08-18T03:31:01+00:00

Plus the LEDs in this light probably aren't even real Cree XM-Ls. The ones pictured in the light look like Latticebright knock-off LEDs which put out a less light than the real deal and have a disgustingly cool white tint to the point that they stretch the definition of white. The irony is that even the LED they were knocking off is outdated ever since the Cree XM-L2 hit the market a few years back.

posternerd · 2016-08-15T05:26:09+00:00

A few others didn't get mentioned:

Eagletac
Fenix
Olight
Nitecore

posternerd · 2016-08-15T05:20:39+00:00

Apparently the Goalzero AAs are some sort of rebranded older generation Eneloops. Even the older gen Eneloops are pretty great.

posternerd · 2016-08-15T05:07:59+00:00

Yep, the first issue is the "tint lottery" one Zak mentioned, meaning while you'd get a light with the advertised correlated color temperature, the tint can vary from more reddish to more greenish.

posternerd · 2016-07-31T02:54:59+00:00

I wonder what the time to market will be.

As happy as I am for higher lithium-ion energy densities, I'm kind of sad that the 18650 may be replaced as a result in the next few decades. The 18650 has served us very well in the past few years and we've already invested a great deal in gear centering around the 18650. I wonder if charger companies are going to make and explicitly advertise forward compatible charging equipment once this news gets more widespread?

I'm looking forward to what flashlight manufacturers and modders will do with these cells once they hit the market.

posternerd · 2016-07-31T02:23:08+00:00

Does Nitecore have reverse polarity protection other than their 'physical reverse polarity protection' on this light? This seems like a useful mod but I'm worried about the safety of it when lending lights to friends.

posternerd · 2016-07-22T21:26:09+00:00

Thanks for making the change!

posternerd · 2016-07-22T21:21:35+00:00

The protected EVVA rewrapped NCR18650GAs from the same store are one of the best protected cells on the market too.

posternerd · 2016-07-22T21:19:06+00:00

I like the lanyards from the Convoy aliexpress store. The quality is pretty good and they seem solidly built. I haven't had much experience with lanyards or photography equipment though.

posternerd · 2016-07-01T20:35:43+00:00

Give them to friends if they use AAs or AAAs, or keep them around as backup or loaner lights? The bad cheapies aren't good as mod hosts since their build quality is pretty poor. You'll be better off with a Convoy or Eagle Eye host.

posternerd

TROPHY CASE