Newbie question about modes

Hey - new to forums....been browsing a while. I finally got sucked into the dark hole of lights. Hmm, that sounds weird...dark hole....lights....haha

Anyway, I just had a newbie question about how modes are determined on lights. IE: UltraFire A10 1 mode. UltraFire C3 Q5 - 5 modes....med/low/hi/strobe/sos. Fenix P2D - 2 settings (general/turbo), (for general) 3 modes....low/med/hi.

I just wondered where the modes are coming from....circuitry in the head or is it the clickie in the back? I imagine, in the case of the Fenix, it might be both?

(My ASSumption: Fenix - both. UltraFire A10 - DUH. UltraFire C3 Q5 - clickie??)

Thanks!!


I'm looking to start mixing and matching pieces from lights....wanted to know what I'm getting into and what other pertinent questions I need to ask! HAHAHA

(I have a fairly good mechanical knowledge base, and am good at both breaking and making things that involve power.....)

"both" would not work, it is driver in head, or driver in switch
(and usually in head, at least for better mass production multimode lights)


a 5 mode is impossible with the switch, thats always the driver.
2 modes, eventually three, are possible by switch activation

PS: fenix switch is simply ON/OFF. Everything comes from driver + head position

Sprinkles said:

Hey - new to forums....been browsing a while. I finally got sucked into the dark hole of lights. Hmm, that sounds weird...dark hole....lights....haha

Anyway, I just had a newbie question about how modes are determined on lights. IE: UltraFire A10 1 mode. UltraFire C3 Q5 - 5 modes....med/low/hi/strobe/sos. Fenix P2D - 2 settings (general/turbo), (for general) 3 modes....low/med/hi.

I just wondered where the modes are coming from....circuitry in the head or is it the clickie in the back? I imagine, in the case of the Fenix, it might be both?

(My ASSumption: Fenix - both. UltraFire A10 - DUH. UltraFire C3 Q5 - clickie??)

Thanks!!

Click to expand...

Usual it is a circuit in the head that uses power interruptions to change mode, i.e. when you turn the light of and on again fast it will change mode.

But some lights are different, one example is the OLight M30 that has the mode circuit in the tailcap.

Mode switching is done on all those lights by the circuitry in the head. The tailcap is a purely mechanical switch and a short off-on tells the circuitry in the head to change modes.

Some lights have circuitry in the tailcap, some have a resistor to lower the output, but in 90% of all lights, mode switching is done by the circuitry in the head and the switch is purely a mechanical on-off switch.

i guess im a noobie too, so what light has the circuit in the tail switch? *confused*

berry580 said:

i guess im a noobie too, so what light has the circuit in the tail switch? *confused*

Click to expand...

As I wrote OLight M30, the Tiablo A10 with multi levels switch also has the mode circuit in the tailcap.
But all the above lights also has a driver in the head, the circuit in the tailcap only signals the driver what level to use (using pwm).

Thanks!

That's what I figured.

Now I'm off to research drivers.....etc.

:wave:

The Nite-Ize IQ switch for the Mini-Mag is another example of a digital multi-mode controller running in the tail cap.

Hondo said:

The Nite-Ize IQ switch for the Mini-Mag is another example of a digital multi-mode controller running in the tail cap.

Click to expand...

I actually have one of those mounted on an upgraded AA MiniMag.

I'm beginning to see how this all works now.

I had a definitive purpose for this question....I'll post it now that I have the right info in my head.



Thanks all!!