500 Lumen - AAA Flashlight (photos) - Work In Progress - Part 2

[budynabuick]

I agree with the large majority of commenters. tgwnn has undertaken a very difficult project which breaks entirely new ground and the process is fraught with frustration. He certainly doesn't need to hear more frustration from us. A lot of people would have given up by now, or just modified their goal to be easier to reach. Or they might have taken preorder funds. I for one want to congratulate tgwnn for sticking with this project, which I can only imagine is a drain on funds as well as psyche. As enthusiasts we are lucky indeed to have tgwnn working on enthusiasm and with no demands on us whatsoever.

YES! A tip of the hat for TGWNN. PS. I am AMAZED by this man"s patience & gracious manner.
Keith

[scottyhazzard]

YES! A tip of the hat for TGWNN. PS. I am AMAZED by this man"s patience & gracious manner.
Keith

The man with no name is an inspiration. My wife gets agitated with each light or component I get. Can you imagine the trials and tribulations tgwnn must by nature, be enduring has to be substantial. (by my assumption) Then he is ALWAYS polite and supportive of any input from us no matter how far out that input may be.

Any anxiety I might experience waiting for this little jem is my personal baggage and I'll keep it to myself, thank you very much.

[budynabuick]

The man with no name is an inspiration. My wife gets agitated with each light or component I get. Can you imagine the trials and tribulations tgwnn must by nature, be enduring has to be substantial. (by my assumption) Then he is ALWAYS polite and supportive of any input from us no matter how far out that input may be.


Any anxiety I might experience waiting for this little jem is my personal baggage and I'll keep it to myself, thank you very much.

Yes, I have followed this thread with much "anticipation" and would love to have this light in hand! I kinda pretend that there is no such light being developed (keeps my "anxiousness" at bay LOL) and just enjoy the process. Stress is bad.

Keith (who don"t stress no-mo)

[Cataract]

I gotta quit popcorn! How do you get rid of that addiction?

[the_guy_with_no_name]

YES! A tip of the hat for TGWNN. PS. I am AMAZED by this man"s patience & gracious manner.
Keith

Thank you budynabuick

The man with no name is an inspiration. My wife gets agitated with each light or component I get. Can you imagine the trials and tribulations tgwnn must by nature, be enduring has to be substantial. (by my assumption) Then he is ALWAYS polite and supportive of any input from us no matter how far out that input may be.

Any anxiety I might experience waiting for this little jem is my personal baggage and I'll keep it to myself, thank you very much.

Thanks scottyhazzard,
Since you were posting very early on in this thread, our wait has been equally long
some updates to follow below...

Yes, I have followed this thread with much "anticipation" and would love to have this light in hand! I kinda pretend that there is no such light being developed (keeps my "anxiousness" at bay LOL) and just enjoy the process. Stress is bad.
Keith (who don"t stress no-mo)

That's a good idea
I imagine that imagining the whole thing is imaginary is therapeutic

I gotta quit popcorn! How do you get rid of that addiction?

Buy more flashlights???


The latest Torpedo,
the driver seems more stable with less tendency to skip modes,
but its still temperamental.
Sometimes, when rotating the selector ring (especially at high speed), it will skip or get confused.
When I pause for 1/2 a sec to 1 sec before turning to a higher mode, I dont seem to have any trouble.
I do have a theory about why its happening though.

But until its sorted out, I can't yet give it a stamp of approval.
We are closer, but not there yet.

I really need a new light for my keychain...
especially since I discovered my itp was headless on my keychain this afternoon.
luckily I found the battery, and then the head but loosen-for-off is not a good solution for keychains.

I will explain in more detail a little later but for now I do think we are going to need at least another pcb/driver version/prototype to verify its perfect before production.

For now..
Just finished taking some photos of the latest CoreTi as it arrived a couple of days before the latest Torpedo,
so going to post a couple of those and write an update.
Then I shall post more detail on the Torpedo.

tgwnn
p.s. I am expecting a Copper & Ti Torpedo proto in a week or so.
p.p.s The other new "thing" I'm working on will be perfect on a keychain!

[easilyled]

....
p.s. I am expecting a Copper & Ti Torpedo proto in a week or so.

(I wish)

[Bigmac_79]

...
especially since I discovered my itp was headless on my keychain this afternoon....

I hate it when that happens.

[the_guy_with_no_name]

(I wish)

Thanks easily

I hate it when that happens.

Hi Mac,
Yep!
Since my is a sawn off, running on a 10180, replacing the batteries was more worrying than the head.

tgwnn

[gman1]

is there any details on cost to purchase and shipping to the uk?

[Got Lumens?]

is there any details on cost to purchase and shipping to the uk?

Gman1,


The first run of the Torpedo is still on target for $69 to CPF members only.
There maybe a slight cost adjustment on the future runs, but you are eligable to get in on the special first offering price
GL

[JulianP]

Soon...soon you will have your Torpedo, Igor!

[the_guy_with_no_name]

is there any details on cost to purchase and shipping to the uk?

Hi gman1,

welcome to cpf and thanks for posting.
As GL mentioned hoping to get very close to the target price of $69 but batteries and charger will be a separate cost.
shipping anywhere in the world but still working on refinement at this stage.

Gman1,


The first run of the Torpedo is still on target for $69 to CPF members only.
There maybe a slight cost adjustment on the future runs, but you are eligable to get in on the special first offering price
GL

Thanks GL

Soon...soon you will have your Torpedo, Igor!

Just finished writing up and sending out the CoreTi update.
Now need to work on the Torpedo update.

In short, I tested the last proto and whilst its far more stable than any so far,
there are 2 issues.
The biggest, is it still does have a tendency to skip modes when turning the selector ring.
The second is low power flashes constantly instead of just 2 flashes. Basically its just goes into kind of a strobe mode.

Other than that, its functional, and works on all battery chemistries as planned.

I have a theory that the mode skipping is because there are only 2 hall (magnetic) sensors where my original design had 3.
Due to space limitations, the team opted to use just 2 but I think its challenging to judge the turn direction with 100% accuracy with only 2.

I'm having them re-check this and see if we may be able to add an additional sensor.
I will post an update when I hear back from them on this issue.

As mentioned, expecting the updated clip design as well as copper & Ti torpedo body proto's to be done soon too.

In the meantime, the design for MBI #3 is done and underway.
This should be far simpler to get to market than both the Torpedo & CoreTi.
I will post details when its working as planned to avoid having too many "in-progress" products only....

Thanks for your everlasting patience.
tgwnn

[enkidu]

Hey tgwnn, if the spacing of either the sensors or magnets can be tweaked, it might be possible to use an eccentric layout that still provides for an even rate of changes and more consistent detection with only two sensors. I don't know how your detection circuits are setup, but sometimes using clever geometry can save a lot of timing headaches.

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Hey tgwnn, if the spacing of either the sensors or magnets can be tweaked, it might be possible to use an eccentric layout that still provides for an even rate of changes and more consistent detection with only two sensors. I don't know how your detection circuits are setup, but sometimes using clever geometry can save a lot of timing headaches.

Hi enkidu,

Thanks very much for the advice.
It should be possible to tweak the spacing of the sensors.
I will check with the team and let you know.

tgwnn

[Corbin's]

Tgwnn,

I've been watching this thread in the background for quite awhile and am very fascinated by hearing of the whole build process. You've got another customer once it ships!

Thanks again for sharing your build process!

Corbin's

[SPNKr]

Hey tgwnn, I'm wondering if this light comes with undervoltage protection for li-ion cells? Will it be necessary to use protected cells?

[Sno4Life]

Hey tgwnn, I'm wondering if this light comes with undervoltage protection for li-ion cells? Will it be necessary to use protected cells?

Yes it will have over discharge protection. Check post #1 in this thread for a full list of features.

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Hey tgwnn, I'm wondering if this light comes with undervoltage protection for li-ion cells? Will it be necessary to use protected cells?

Hi SPNKr,

Thanks for posting and welcome
Yes, it has undervoltage (over-discharge) protection as Sno4Life correctly answered.
High discharge cells are usually unprotected so that was considered a must.

Yes it will have over discharge protection. Check post #1 in this thread for a full list of features.

Hi Sno4Life,

Thanks for answering

I've been testing the latest proto,
its sooo close but unfortunately not stable enough yet.

Im waiting to hear back on the sensor issue and will post an update on that once I have a clear answer.

tgwnn

[Sno4Life]

Hi Sno4Life,

Thanks for answering

I've been testing the latest proto,
its sooo close but unfortunately not stable enough yet.

Im waiting to hear back on the sensor issue and will post an update on that once I have a clear answer.

tgwnn

Have you had a chance to test if the Torpedo is pulling the intended amps at all the levels? You mentioned that this version is much brighter, but have you been able to test specifically yet?

[HighLumens]

Hi tgwnn! I didn't follow this thread every day in the last months, and the latest update I got was the 31december one. Was it the last you sent or did I miss some of them?

Thank you!

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Have you had a chance to test if the Torpedo is pulling the intended amps at all the levels? You mentioned that this version is much brighter, but have you been able to test specifically yet?

Hi Sno4Life,

I haven't yet tested the amps, but I suspect it may not yet be at the full threshold yet.

Hi tgwnn! I didn't follow this thread every day in the last months, and the latest update I got was the 31december one. Was it the last you sent or did I miss some of them?

Thank you!

Hi HighLumens,
Long time

Yes, the last update was Dec 31/Jan 1.
I can't believe that much time has gone by! Ouch!!

I have been totally underwater in my daytime work and trying my best to keep patient as the prototypes come forth.
Im currently working on a subscriber update, as I go through the various tests and hope to have it ready in the next 2 days.

tgwnn

[melty]

I have been totally underwater in my daytime work and trying my best to keep patient as the prototypes come forth.
Im currently working on a subscriber update, as I go through the various tests and hope to have it ready in the next 2 days.

tgwnn

Hey, good news! Looking forward to the subscriber update!
I'm hoping to make the Torpedo my first custom light.

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Hey, good news! Looking forward to the subscriber update!
I'm hoping to make the Torpedo my first custom light.

Hi melty,
Welcome and thanks for posting

tgwnn

[F250XLT]

Soooo, how about a quick breakdown...I'd rather not sift through the hundreds of posts, is this light close to reality yet?

[Got Lumens?]

I've been testing the latest proto,
its sooo close but unfortunately not stable enough yet.
Im waiting to hear back on the sensor issue and will post an update on that once I have a clear answer.
tgwnn

Soooo, how about a quick breakdown...I'd rather not sift through the hundreds of posts, is this light close to reality yet?

It's close. He's just working to get it right before going into production.
GL

[Got Lumens?]

I've been testing the latest proto,
its sooo close but unfortunately not stable enough yet.
Im waiting to hear back on the sensor issue and will post an update on that once I have a clear answer.
tgwnn

Soooo, how about a quick breakdown...I'd rather not sift through the hundreds of posts, is this light close to reality yet?

It's close. He's just working to get it right before going into production.
My educated guess is another 4 weeks to fix the issues, then another 2-4 weeks for production before it's ready to ship. He's pushing for end of June, early July release
GL

[F250XLT]

Thank you GL, much appreciated.

[yifu]

I would take the deadlines with a pinch of salt, after all, 3 "deadlines" have come and gone and he has said that with a working prototype a production run would take another 2 months or so somewhere in the thousands of posts. We're not even up to a working prototype yet so the earliest is probably August, but very possibly much later than that. Accurate deadlines are impossible with custom work, except with the most experienced of makers so it's perfectly acceptable.

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Soooo, how about a quick breakdown...I'd rather not sift through the hundreds of posts, is this light close to reality yet?

Hi F250XLT,

Not too far off GL's guess,
with some slight differences in the time buckets.

About 2-3 weeks to confirm a new proto and that current issues are fixed (but thats a best case scenario assuming the next one is perfect).
then I estimate 5-6 weeks from that to be able to ship.

The production part of the timeline should be reasonably firm,
but currently the biggest variable is the step before that,
confirming a proto that meets all requirements satisfactorily.

It's close. He's just working to get it right before going into production.
My educated guess is another 4 weeks to fix the issues, then another 2-4 weeks for production before it's ready to ship. He's pushing for end of June, early July release
GL

Hi GL,
Thanks.
I don't think at this stage I can set a fixed date,
but as mentioned above, once the proto is stable,
production is a much more definable process.

I would take the deadlines with a pinch of salt, after all, 3 "deadlines" have come and gone and he has said that with a working prototype a production run would take another 2 months or so somewhere in the thousands of posts. We're not even up to a working prototype yet so the earliest is probably August, but very possibly much later than that. Accurate deadlines are impossible with custom work, except with the most experienced of makers so it's perfectly acceptable.

Yifu,

I have not specified any deadlines, rather only targets (usually precluded by "hope" or similar).
Allow me to humbly correct you in that we are up to a working prototype,
and I feel comfortable stating that over 90% of the functionality is working to spec.
As mentioned though, there are still some unresolved issues which we are working to rectify and complete.

The release timeline looks like this.....
[resolve circuit issues: "n" weeks] => [production: 4-6 weeks] => [shipping]

For now, the [resolve circuit issues] step has no fixed time though I am in the midst of discussions to address the issues of the circuit and more importantly, the process behind fixing it, to ensure that it does not hit additional roadblocks as I don't want to be sending out mails 2 years from now saying its just a few more weeks...

I don't think its custom work that is the root cause of the difficulty with scheduling, but more likely:
1) Its my first time to outsource creation of a circuit from scratch (you could call this lack of experience).
2) I'm not creating the circuit in-house and therefore I don't have full day-to-day control over the prototyping process of the circuit.
3) The required circuit is additionally challenging due to the tight space restrictions.

I think Yifu is correct to say there is a possibility it may be later than early August, and whilst that possibility does exist, I am working diligently to understand the cause of each of the remaining issues and work out the fastest way to get them fixed, so we can get into production mode with a flurry of torpedo's in use by August.


tgwnn

[RIDE]

tgwnn.....THANKS for all your communication. TOP NOTCH indeed.

Curious if you are going to have pics of the copper and ti versions, as well as possible price points? Those sound exciting indeed.

RIDE