DonShock
Flashlight Enthusiast
Elektro Lumens IQ Switch® Review
Let me start by saying thanks to Wayne for sending me one of these switches at no cost to try out.
Well, I had a serious scare for a while during my initial bench testing. I thought I had toasted the switch until Wayne set me straight. The wiring on this switch was a little strange to me. The switching is done on the ground side, not the voltage side. The end of the switch with one terminal labeled Vbat has both terminals on that end interconnected. The other end has the two ground terminals, labeled GND and LOAD. This is the first time I have ever seen LOAD used to label a ground.
Here's how I wired it up:
VBAT terminal - Battery positive
Unlabeled terminal on the same end - LED positive
GND - Battery negative
LOAD - LED negative
Here's Wayne's wiring diagram
The switch performs exactly as advertised here. It is a switch only and has no true regulation. It uses Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to reduce the input only. Normal speed multiple clicks easily switches from full power, to 50%, to 25%, to slow strobe, and finally to fast strobe. Details for each of these modes are given at the link above. Once you pause at any level for a few seconds, the next click will turn the light off. The switch does not remember the last setting and always starts at 100% when first turned on. The switch is limited to 7.2V and 2A. Wayne also cautions that reversing polarity will fry the circuit instantly. I tried to measure the current draw when the switch is "off" since some circuits continue to draw power even in standby. However, even with my multimeter on the 2ma max scale, the meter stayed at dead zero. The switch itself is firm enough to prevent accidental clicks but is a little softer than the stock Mag switch and has a much shorter "throw" to activate.
I am running this switch from 3 alkaline D cells and powering a Q2 Cree and using a 0.10 ohm resistor to limit current. That's giving me about 1.1 amps off of 3D alkalines at the full power setting. Around 0.15 ohm would probably have put me at 1 amp even, the rated current for the Cree XR-E. But the next lowest resistor I had on hand was 0.22 ohm and that put me at 0.89 amps. I probably could have gone with no resistor at all; the current was only 1.21 amp direct drive. But better safe than sorry. I forgot to write down the exact current readings at the 50% and 25% settings, but IIRC they were 0.52A and 0.24A respectively.
No real complaints, but some of the settings are a hair off for my personal tastes. The change in brightness from 100% to 50% is very nice but the drop to 25% is a little brighter than I like for a low setting for indoor use. On the other hand, when you consider the fact that you've cut the power consumption by 75%, it's still pretty bright and you've seriously increased the battery life. So whether anyone considers this level as a plus or minus all depends on why you want the lower settings: for reducing brightness or increasing runtime. Similarly, the slow strobe is just right for what I think of as an "over here" type of flashing to draw attention to the light. However, the fast strobe for "tactical use" is a little slow for the dazzling effect to really be felt.
I decided to install this switch in a Mag3D body. This requires replacing the stock switch with the Elektro Lumens switch. Since I had an extra stock switch body without the actual switch core, it was the perfect candidate to hold the EL switch circuit board. I had initially hoped the switch would be a little shorter to fit the stock switch better. My first plan was to put the switch in going side-to-side but ended up installing it going front-to-rear due to the extra length. It may have been possible to install it sideways, but the switch button would have been down in the middle of the flashlight body since the PCB is nearly as long as the MagD body is wide.
To keep the switch button centered in the stock switch hole, I had to shift the PCB pretty far down towards the battery end of the switch body. And to get the switch button low enough to allow the completed assembly to still be inserted into the light body, I had to Dremel out a fairly large cavity. I found going down to the flat areas for the stock switch core was just about right. Here's the finished result prior to installing the EL switch.
Switch cutout 1
Switch cutout 2 
I used JB Weld to glue the EL switch to the bottom of the recess I created. I also installed a small 2 position PCB terminal strip for connecting the LED wires. I play with changing my mods all the time so I like the convenience of the screw down terminal modification. But it would have simplified things considerable to have just run the wires out the end.
The other concerns are both related to the lack of the set screw found in the stock switch. That set screw both holds the switch in place and punctures the anodizing to provide the ground path. To restore both these functions was relatively simple. To hold the switch in place, a screw near the top edge clamps the switch body against the snap ring inside the body. To establish the ground path, the wire is run to the edge of the switch and the anodizing is removed on the inside of the body, including inside the snap ring groove. This way the wire is compressed between the snap ring bottom and body side as the switch is inserted. The wire was looped through a hole in the switch and soldered back on itself to prevent it from coming loose as the switch assembly is inserted.
Alternate holding screw and ground
Removal of anodizing 
The one area I still need to work on is support for the rubber switch cover. There is no support at the edges so it doesn't stay in firmly, it slides around.
I didn't bother with any beam shots or such for two reasons: I really suck at taking pictures that accurately represent the beams. And such shots are more representative of the bulb/battery combo than the switch being reviewed here. Well, as much as I've babbled here, hopefully I've covered everything. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Overall, I found the Elektro Lumens IQ Switch® to be very useful and I have already contacted Wayne to purchase some more.
Let me start by saying thanks to Wayne for sending me one of these switches at no cost to try out.
Well, I had a serious scare for a while during my initial bench testing. I thought I had toasted the switch until Wayne set me straight. The wiring on this switch was a little strange to me. The switching is done on the ground side, not the voltage side. The end of the switch with one terminal labeled Vbat has both terminals on that end interconnected. The other end has the two ground terminals, labeled GND and LOAD. This is the first time I have ever seen LOAD used to label a ground.
Here's how I wired it up:
VBAT terminal - Battery positive
Unlabeled terminal on the same end - LED positive
GND - Battery negative
LOAD - LED negative
Here's Wayne's wiring diagram
The switch performs exactly as advertised here. It is a switch only and has no true regulation. It uses Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to reduce the input only. Normal speed multiple clicks easily switches from full power, to 50%, to 25%, to slow strobe, and finally to fast strobe. Details for each of these modes are given at the link above. Once you pause at any level for a few seconds, the next click will turn the light off. The switch does not remember the last setting and always starts at 100% when first turned on. The switch is limited to 7.2V and 2A. Wayne also cautions that reversing polarity will fry the circuit instantly. I tried to measure the current draw when the switch is "off" since some circuits continue to draw power even in standby. However, even with my multimeter on the 2ma max scale, the meter stayed at dead zero. The switch itself is firm enough to prevent accidental clicks but is a little softer than the stock Mag switch and has a much shorter "throw" to activate.
I am running this switch from 3 alkaline D cells and powering a Q2 Cree and using a 0.10 ohm resistor to limit current. That's giving me about 1.1 amps off of 3D alkalines at the full power setting. Around 0.15 ohm would probably have put me at 1 amp even, the rated current for the Cree XR-E. But the next lowest resistor I had on hand was 0.22 ohm and that put me at 0.89 amps. I probably could have gone with no resistor at all; the current was only 1.21 amp direct drive. But better safe than sorry. I forgot to write down the exact current readings at the 50% and 25% settings, but IIRC they were 0.52A and 0.24A respectively.
No real complaints, but some of the settings are a hair off for my personal tastes. The change in brightness from 100% to 50% is very nice but the drop to 25% is a little brighter than I like for a low setting for indoor use. On the other hand, when you consider the fact that you've cut the power consumption by 75%, it's still pretty bright and you've seriously increased the battery life. So whether anyone considers this level as a plus or minus all depends on why you want the lower settings: for reducing brightness or increasing runtime. Similarly, the slow strobe is just right for what I think of as an "over here" type of flashing to draw attention to the light. However, the fast strobe for "tactical use" is a little slow for the dazzling effect to really be felt.
I decided to install this switch in a Mag3D body. This requires replacing the stock switch with the Elektro Lumens switch. Since I had an extra stock switch body without the actual switch core, it was the perfect candidate to hold the EL switch circuit board. I had initially hoped the switch would be a little shorter to fit the stock switch better. My first plan was to put the switch in going side-to-side but ended up installing it going front-to-rear due to the extra length. It may have been possible to install it sideways, but the switch button would have been down in the middle of the flashlight body since the PCB is nearly as long as the MagD body is wide.
To keep the switch button centered in the stock switch hole, I had to shift the PCB pretty far down towards the battery end of the switch body. And to get the switch button low enough to allow the completed assembly to still be inserted into the light body, I had to Dremel out a fairly large cavity. I found going down to the flat areas for the stock switch core was just about right. Here's the finished result prior to installing the EL switch.
Switch cutout 1
Switch cutout 2 
I used JB Weld to glue the EL switch to the bottom of the recess I created. I also installed a small 2 position PCB terminal strip for connecting the LED wires. I play with changing my mods all the time so I like the convenience of the screw down terminal modification. But it would have simplified things considerable to have just run the wires out the end.
The other concerns are both related to the lack of the set screw found in the stock switch. That set screw both holds the switch in place and punctures the anodizing to provide the ground path. To restore both these functions was relatively simple. To hold the switch in place, a screw near the top edge clamps the switch body against the snap ring inside the body. To establish the ground path, the wire is run to the edge of the switch and the anodizing is removed on the inside of the body, including inside the snap ring groove. This way the wire is compressed between the snap ring bottom and body side as the switch is inserted. The wire was looped through a hole in the switch and soldered back on itself to prevent it from coming loose as the switch assembly is inserted.
Alternate holding screw and ground
Removal of anodizing 
The one area I still need to work on is support for the rubber switch cover. There is no support at the edges so it doesn't stay in firmly, it slides around.
I didn't bother with any beam shots or such for two reasons: I really suck at taking pictures that accurately represent the beams. And such shots are more representative of the bulb/battery combo than the switch being reviewed here. Well, as much as I've babbled here, hopefully I've covered everything. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Overall, I found the Elektro Lumens IQ Switch® to be very useful and I have already contacted Wayne to purchase some more.
