TorchLAB V4 Triple LED drop ins - Full Boost, Thermal, and Voltage Regulation

[FPSRelic]

Tried mine yesterday (219 version). Got pretty hot and did not notice thermal regulation either.

I'm thinking that it just isn't getting hot enough. The surface of the light might get really hot, but it may be because heat is getting sinked out of the drop in away from the 1334 board. The battery stretch function certainly worked. I used the light for a while in my C2 with 2 x AW IMR18350's, and noticed it went from high into a low mode. Sure enough, I put the 18350's on my ZTS tester, and they were at 10%.

Did you notice and very slight "pulse" in output on your light about every 3 seconds?

[flashfiend]

I'm thinking that it just isn't getting hot enough. The surface of the light might get really hot, but it may be because heat is getting sinked out of the drop in away from the 1334 board. The battery stretch function certainly worked. I used the light for a while in my C2 with 2 x AW IMR18350's, and noticed it went from high into a low mode. Sure enough, I put the 18350's on my ZTS tester, and they were at 10%.

Did you notice and very slight "pulse" in output on your light about every 3 seconds?

I didn't notice any pulse, but this was only with it being left on high for 5min.

[Moddoo]

Tom, Dan,

Concerning throw what is correct:

1. XPE > XPG > 219

This is correct.
The 219 has a very similar beam width compared to the XPG, but the XPG is brighter, and therefore will have more throw.

Has anyone had a chance to try these? I received a V4 XP-E neutral yesterday, and have tried running it for 15 minutes in a bored 9p with 2 x AW 17500's to see if the thermal regulation would kick in. It didn't, but the light never got too hot to touch. The whole body of the light was very warm though. I did notice that the light wouldn't go into low mode when it was hot.

I know it's like asking how long is a piece of string, but how long would you normally run these before the thermal regulation kicks in? I'm in a room with an ambient tempreature of 20C.

Tried mine yesterday (219 version). Got pretty hot and did not notice thermal regulation either.

Gentleman,

Because of the excellent thermal performance of these Drop-ins, most hosts will not allow the light engine to get hot enough to trigger the temp protection.
Certainly not while in real world use such as holding light in your hand, walking around and pointing it at things.
Your light head temp is within a few degrees of the electronics inside.
The thermal protection helps to keep the lithium cells in a safe operating temperature range.
65C (149F) is quite hot to touch with the hand.
We feel that this temp is a good balance of safety, and performance.

We do not recommend running any high powered light unattended in a static state.

light wouldn't go into low mode when it was hot.

I can replicate this behavior somewhat.
if I try to cycle the modes very quickly when the light is very hot, I do seem to lose low mode.
It will cycle through M,H,M,H,M,H

If I simply wait 1 second between modes, low mode is back and I can cycle through 3 modes fine.

It just takes a slightly longer pause between modes for it to function correctly when very hot.
I suspect that the electronics simply perform slightly different at this high temp.


Cheers Fellas!

[FPSRelic]

I can replicate this behavior somewhat.
if I try to cycle the modes very quickly when the light is very hot, I do seem to lose low mode.
It will cycle through M,H,M,H,M,H

If I simply wait 1 second between modes, low mode is back and I can cycle through 3 modes fine.

It just takes a slightly longer pause between modes for it to function correctly when very hot.
I suspect that the electronics simply perform slightly different at this high temp.


Cheers Fellas!

Yes! This is the behavior I get. Here is something else that I get that is kinda freakin' sweet! There is a little Red LED that is mounted just next to one of the main LED's. I can see it come on when the light is on low mode if I look at it from the side. It seems to pulse on and off slowly. I never noticed this in my V3 version. According to the manual for 1334 boards, it means that the battery is fully discharged. This is intersting, as the 18650 battery I'm using at the moment is fully charged.

Bear with me Moddoo, I'm certainly not dissing your lights. This new version is more of a learning experince for me than I expected. I still see these as being the Malkoff's of the triple emitter dropin world

[Filip]

According to Moddoo's first post the function of the red led is different: "High-temperature warning is introduced in the stand-by mode (fast red-indicator blinking during which it's not recommended to touch the flashlight head)."

There is a little Red LED that is mounted just next to one of the main LED's. I can see it come on when the light is on low mode if I look at it from the side. It seems to pulse on and off slowly. I never noticed this in my V3 version. According to the manual for 1334 boards, it means that the battery is fully discharged. This is intersting, as the 18650 battery I'm using at the moment is fully charged.

[FPSRelic]

According to Moddoo's first post the function of the red led is different: "High-temperature warning is introduced in the stand-by mode (fast red-indicator blinking during which it's not recommended to touch the flashlight head)."

That is also mentioned in the manual. Fast bright flashing, hot bezel. Slow dim blinking, low power and unable to operate the light. Which is interesting, as the only time I see the slow blinking is when the light is operating.

[flashfiend]

That is also mentioned in the manual. Fast bright flashing, hot bezel. Slow dim blinking, low power and unable to operate the light. Which is interesting, as the only time I see the slow blinking is when the light is operating.

You got a manual with yours?

[FPSRelic]

You got a manual with yours?

Nope. My google-fu on "l334 flashlight" yielded this pdf:

http://www.lux-rc.com/content/produc...-29APR2012.pdf

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond]

I received my 219 HML a few days back and I am very pleased. There is a very significant difference between 1-cell and 2-cell with the H3 drop-in; much more so that with the L3 HML XPG neutral. The 219 H3 pulls about 2.4A (tailcap reading) on both 18650 single cell and 2 cells, so 2-cells is nearly double the power.

Really nice work on these drop-ins. I am continually impressed with the performance and improvements between versions. Well worth the money for a truly quality product.

[FPSRelic]

I received my 219 HML a few days back and I am very pleased. There is a very significant difference between 1-cell and 2-cell with the H3 drop-in; much more so that with the L3 HML XPG neutral. The 219 H3 pulls about 2.4A (tailcap reading) on both 18650 single cell and 2 cells, so 2-cells is nearly double the power.

Really nice work on these drop-ins. I am continually impressed with the performance and improvements between versions. Well worth the money for a truly quality product.

Do you notice the little red led on the board blinking on low mode?

[nd1979]

I would like to add that mine is slowly binking just as FPSRelic described, on fully charged batteries. Low is still BRIGHT when you look at the led...lol!

[flashfiend]

I would like to add that mine is slowly binking just as filip described, on fully charged batteries. Low is still BRIGHT when you look at the led...lol!

Not as blinding as other drivers that don't go as low as 1%. 11 lumens in your eyes is easier to look at than 55 lumens or 110 lumens. However, I have the H/M/L model so mines starts out at "Holy Crap, I'm blind!"

[FPSRelic]

I would like to add that mine is slowly binking just as filip described, on fully charged batteries. Low is still BRIGHT when you look at the led...lol!

Sweet. Sounds like a feature as opposed to a fault. It looks like this board was developed to work with a light that operates with a standby mode.

[Filip]

ShineOnYouCrazyDiaomnd, how would you compare your H3 HML Nichia 219 and L3 HML XPG neutral? Thanks

[S1LVA]

I really need to stop reading this thread. My LMH isn't scheduled to arrive until Friday. Mr. Postman will have to leave a notice because I will be at work and I won't get it till Saturday!

On a more relative note, I can do a comparison between the 219 and a single level XP-G Neutral. Also, the differences on one or two cells. (no beamshots though!)

S1LVA

[fabienne]

ShineOnYouCrazyDiaomnd, how would you compare your H3 HML Nichia 219 and L3 HML XPG neutral? Thanks

I don't know if my Nichia219 is pretty much the same as OR but it's from the same board L334 but different manufacturer. Both are on 2 cells : 2x18650.
Just to give an idea on tint :
Tint comparison
I set camera white balance to daylight
quad-xpg coolwhite left
triple nichia 219 middle
triple xp-g neutral right

Though between nichia 219 hi-cri and neutral xpg is almost the same visually, only different by the tint little bit. Neutral xpg is more pinkish, while Nichia 219 is more greenish. But the photo below shows much more contrasting image

[Moddoo]

Excellent, looking forward to it.

By the way, do you have an ETA on when Nat HA Moodolar parts will be back in stock?

Sorry, I mean in gray HA.

These are on the bench and still need laser work.
I will get them to you guys ASAP.

[flashfiend]

I don't know if my Nichia219 is pretty much the same as OR but it's from the same board L334 but different manufacturer. Both are on 2 cells : 2x18650.
Just to give an idea on tint :
Tint comparison
I set camera white balance to daylight
quad-xpg coolwhite left
triple nichia 219 middle
triple xp-g neutral right

Though between nichia 219 hi-cri and neutral xpg is almost the same visually, only different by the tint little bit. Neutral xpg is more pinkish, while Nichia 219 is more greenish. But the photo below shows much more contrasting image

That's weird, to my eye the Moddoo 219 triple is closer in color to your neutral xp-g and has a pinkish tint.

[arcane]

We will have these available in Moddoolar Heads soon for you guys.
Just need to have some laser work completed.

Dibbs on a Moddoolar H3 Triple Head L/M/H Nichia 219!

[Filip]

Thank you, fabienne. That's what I see when looking at my OR Triple Neutral XPG and Malkoff M61/31 219. I like both these leds and fortunately I feel no need to buy another OR Triple (2 days ago the (perfect) OR Triple neutral XPE arrived). For now...

Though between nichia 219 hi-cri and neutral xpg is almost the same visually, only different by the tint little bit. Neutral xpg is more pinkish, while
Nichia 219 is more greenish.

[Moddoo]

(2 days ago the (perfect) OR Triple neutral XPE arrived). For now...

Best kept secret.

Plenty of Lumens,
More throw than XPG or 219
Amazing Tint

And only a few left...

[badtziscool]

I just received my H3 LMH 219. This is my very first experience with the 219 emitter and at first it seemed similar to my v3 L3n as far as I remember, but then I start to notice how the browns and reds just pop and all of the colors just look right. I'm in love!

I too have the red led that comes on in low mode, both with single and double li-ion cells. It's very dim and unnoticeable unless you're specifically looking for it. I can't verify if it comes on in med and hi, but for obvious reasons. Too dang bright! But that should tell everyone that whether it's a feature or flaw, its unnoticeable, and is of no concern.

This might be something to note though. The "soft transition" feature is not there or is imperceptible. It's instant change from off-L-M-H. I've owned and used a v3 triple in the past, so I'm very familiar with how the "soft transition" looks like and it's not there. It doesn't bother me either way, but I think it's something that should be pointed out.

Again. Another quality piece from Torchlabs! You can't go wrong with this drop-in.

[FPSRelic]

This might be something to note though. The "soft transition" feature is not there or is imperceptible. It's instant change from off-L-M-H. I've owned and used a v3 triple in the past, so I'm very familiar with how the "soft transition" looks like and it's not there. It doesn't bother me either way, but I think it's something that should be pointed out.

I have noticed this as well when comparing it to the v3 version. I'm not sure if it's not there at all or if it's just not as pronounced.

[FPSRelic]

Best kept secret.

Plenty of Lumens,
More throw than XPG or 219
Amazing Tint

And only a few left...

Yes. I definately prefer the extra throw that xp-e delivers. Triples already give a great deal of flood as it is, and imo any emitters used in this setup that offer even more flood is overkill for me.

[benthiccracker]

Moddoo, where can I find a info thread on a L1N V3.10 XPG?

[ElectronGuru]

Sub versions don't have their own threads, but these are for the V3:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...ead.php?280671

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...ead.php?289605

[benthiccracker]

Sub versions don't have their own threads, but these are for the V3:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...ead.php?280671

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...ead.php?289605

Thanks, Dan.

[Moddoo]

Finishing up some 1400 lumen XPG models for you guys today.

They will hit the Oveready shelves soon.

Have a great weekend with those Nichia units!

[AnAppleSnail]

My Nichia is amazing. It's my first triple and my brightest LED unit.

The floody beam works nicely. It makes an SC600w look like a green thrower though.

[Barbarian]

This module is top notch in every way (as usual) from TorchLAB. Thanks for the superior products and service Tom and Dan.