Astrolux A01 AAA measurements (Nichia high CRI)

This review is of the earlier version manufactured by Manker. The current A01 has PWM, 5000K emitter and a next mode memory

Astrolux A01 is a new waterproof mini flashlight that uses an AAA battery and a high CRI Nichia LED. Its maximum width is 16,6 mm on the head with a length of 72,7 mm. Weight is 16 grams without a battery and 29 g with an Eneloop. The light is available in black, silver and purple finish.

The light is available only with a Nichia 219B LED. Color temperature is just shy of 4000 K on an Eneloop and a tad higher on a 10440. The light is high CRI with a color rendering index of over 90. Color temperature stays consistent in the spill.

Switch is a twisty type. Changing between the two modes is done by switching the light off and back on again. After the second round the light goes to strobe mode (L-M-H-L-M-H-Strobe-L-M-H...). On my other sample the connection is not very reliable and the light sometimes flickers especially on the low mode when touching the light.

In addition to alkaline and NiMH batteries, the A01 works with a 10440 lithium ion cell too. On a 10440 the output increases to 226 lumens from Eneloop's 87. Prolonged use of 10440 battery is not recommended though, since the light gets very hot during use. With a fan blowing on it I measured the head at 47°C after 5 minutes. This is way too hot to comfortably hold with bare hands. With an Eneloop and no fan the temperature climbs up to 54°C after 10-20 minutes, which is also too hot for my hands. The fan lowers the temps anywhere from 15-20 degrees. The light gets cooler after some time as the output diminishes.

On an Eneloop the output is well regulated until to about 40 minutes after which the light starts to dim faster. Only the high mode works well with a 10440, on low and medium the output varies sporadically. There's no straight up flicker but sudden variations in output. An Eneloop worked fine after using the 10440, so the driver did not get damaged.

The beam angle is 83° with a hotspot of 27°.

There is no PWM.





Astrolux A01, Rayus C01, Fenix E05, DQG Tiny AAA 7








Measurements

Please note: lumen measurements are only rough estimates
My diy integrating styrofoam box cooler has been calibrated using a Fenix E05 on high with manufacturer's claim of 85 lumens. Verified with an Olight S10 that has been measured with a Labsphere FS2 integrating sphere by valostore.fi. Results may be more inaccurate with especially throwy or floody lights.

For spectral information and CRI calculations I have an X-rite i1Pro spectrophotometer with HCFR for the plot and ArgyllCMS spotread.exe for the data. For runtime tests I use spotread.exe with a custom script and a i1Display Pro because it doesn't require calibration every 30 minutes like the i1Pro.

Explanation of abbreviations
CCT = correlated color temperature, higher temperature means cooler (bluish)
CRI (Ra) = color rendering index consisting of 8 different colors (R1-R8), max value 100
CRI (R9) = color rendering index with deep red, usually difficult for led based light sources, max value 100
TLCI = television lighting consistency index, max value 100
x,y = coordinates on a CIE 1931 chart




Spectral distribution



Tint



Runtime (high)



Temperature

On an Eneloop after 10 minutes on high without a fan.



On a 10440 after 5 minutes on high with a fan.

Thanks for the great overview and measurements! Seems like a nice EDC light, so I ordered one to try it myself.

I just got mine in the mail today. Seems like a decent little light! I had some problems with flickering, cutting off and mode switching, but it seems the more I use it, the more the problems smooth out...time will tell. When I get a chance I'll clean the contacts and see if that helps.

I love the tint, it's the best feature IMO, but it's still plenty bright on high with a NiMH battery. I haven't run a battery all the way down, but I'm thinking that on Medium, it should have decent runtime. I detect PWM on the lowest mode, but it's at a very high frequency and is not noticeable to me unless I'm looking for it and even then, I wasn't sure at first, but the "finger wave" method in a very dark room revealed it to me.

For the price, you can't beat it! I'll likely buy a few more to give as gifts.

Toohotruk said:

I just got mine in the mail today. Seems like a decent little light! I had some problems with flickering, cutting off and mode switching, but it seems the more I use it, the more the problems smooth out...time will tell. When I get a chance I'll clean the contacts and see if that helps.

I love the tint, it's the best feature IMO, but it's still plenty bright on high with a NiMH battery. I haven't run a battery all the way down, but I'm thinking that on Medium, it should have decent runtime. I detect PWM on the lowest mode, but it's at a very high frequency and is not noticeable to me unless I'm looking for it and even then, I wasn't sure at first, but the "finger wave" method in a very dark room revealed it to me.

For the price, you can't beat it! I'll likely buy a few more to give as gifts.

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Thanks for the review:thumbsup:

Are you sure about the PWM? A few different reviewers have reviewed this light and said it has no PWM on any level including maukka who has some pretty nice testing equipment.

Maybe it's my imagination? :shrug: I just see a VERY slight "multi-finger" effect when I wave my fingers in front of the light on low, but it's nearly imperceptible. But I definitely can't argue with somebody actually using equipment to test the light, so it has to be my imagination and I have to retract my statement on the PWM.

That aside, I do think it's a damn good bargain at that price for sure.

I look forward to trying mine. It shipped on Feb 2nd but, it still isnt here yet. I will post my thoughts when I get it.

Mine definitely took awhile to get here...I ordered it on 2/5 and it just got here today. I would think yours should show up soon.

I got mine too. Shipping was delayed because the did not have the grey one in stock but I waited patiently and was rewarded . It is a fantastic little light, I like most about it. There are some things that I don't like but for this price I am more than happy with it.

Pros:
+ Tint is very much to my liking. This is my first Nichia 219B light and I think it won't be the last
+ Visibly high CRI
+ Nice smooth hotspot and good beam pattern - wide enough for illuminating nearby objects
+ The three main levels are useful and well spaced (on Alkaline or NiMH)
+ It feels good to hold
+ Good knurling on the head helps with twisting on and off

Cons:
- Almost impossible to tail stand (but with some effort and a really flat surface it can be done)
- No pocket clip option
- Some small imperfections on the finish. I don't know if it is during the anodizing process or it was a little banged up after that - the grey body color may do a good job to mask post-production damage.
- There is some dust on the reflector and a small black speck on the emitter that I don't believe affects the output
- I would prefer a bit smoother twisty action - even after I added more grease it still feels a little metal-on-metal

Neutral:
= Couldn't test it with LiIon - needs button tops that I don't currently have
= Emitter is well (but not perfectly) centered - does not affect the beam pattern
= Strobe mode is unnecessary for me and I would prefer it was not present

Even though the cons that I listed are almost the same number as the pros, it is still my new favorite little light. I ordered some button-top 10440s to test with and I will see if it can be useful with them too

Kudos to the OP, his reviews are fantastic, a great service to this board.

hmihaylov said:

I ordered some button-top 10440s to test

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very informative post, I look forward to your results..
maukka shows high increased by 2.6x on 10440, so I would expect the modes to be 0.26-18-226

maukka said:

In addition to alkaline and NiMH batteries, the A01 works with a 10440 lithium ion cell too. On a 10440 the output increases to 226 lumens from Eneloop's 87. Prolonged use of 10440 battery is not recommended though, since the light gets very hot during use. With a fan blowing on it I measured the head at 47°C after 5 minutes. This is way too hot to comfortably hold with bare hands. With an Eneloop and no fan the temperature climbs up to 54°C after 10-20 minutes, which is also too hot for my hands.

Click to expand...

jon_slider said:

very informative post, I look forward to your results..
maukka shows high increased by 2.6x on 10440, so I would expect the modes to be 0.26-18-226

Click to expand...

"Only the high mode works well with a 10440, on low and medium the output varies sporadically. There's no straight up flicker but sudden variations in output."

So it is pretty much a high mode only light on 10440 and only for short bursts because of the heat. I will just run mine on Eneloops personally. It isnt really designed to run on 10440 by the looks of it.

OK, I could not wait until the button-top arrived, so I converted one of my flat-top Efest IMR cells by using a drop of solder. For me the levels were pretty consistent across Lo-Mid-Hi ranges, so I am happy with the results. I have not constructed any light box to measure lumens but used a free cell phone app called Lux meter to measure it compared to the control with the provided alkaline battery. My phone was at a meter and a half distance from the light. Here are my results:


The moonlight mode (Low) was not registered at all. On Li-Ion it is brighter than Alkaline but for me it is still usable.
Of course these numbers should not be used as any reference. Even tilting my phone at a slight angle produced a different number (the angle was consistent across my measurements though )
So please refer to this only as a rough comparison between the modes on Alkaline and Li-Ion batteries.

I used this light as an EDC on the alkaline for a week now and will try it on Li-Ion but I think I will be happy with it now - there were some occasions when I needed more light and now I will have it. Of course, it cannot be used on High for a long time but having it on Medium is acceptable. I left it on Medium on my bed for 10 minutes and after that the whole light was warm to the touch but not hot. I don't believe it would get hotter than that.

hmihaylov said:

Level	Alkaline	Li-Ion
Low	N/A	N/A
Medium	~2	~9
High	~5	~20

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good info! So, high is 4 times brighter on LiIon
since the factory spec is 102 lumens on high for 30 minutes, Im guessing the LiIon will start out at 408 lumens and run down until exhausted in about 7 minutes

the Medium spec is 7 lumens, Im guessing LiIon would give 28 lumens..

Public Safety announcement
youre using LiIon in an unprotected light that has shorter run times and runs hotter than other options. I suggest you consider safer alternatives if you want a brighter light, for example Eagletac offers Nichia LEDs in the D25aaa that is LiIon rated. But if you need more than 100 lumens for more than a few minutes, consider moving to a CR123 based light instead of overdriving the Astrolux. Just my opinion of course, YMMV

My Astrolux A01 copper Nichia 219b arrived and only puts out an ember which can be seen only in total darkness. At the $20 USD I paid, it doesn't make sense to ship it back to China with an unknown outcome.

MAD777 said:

My Astrolux A01 copper Nichia 219b arrived and only puts out an ember which can be seen only in total darkness. At the $20 USD I paid, it doesn't make sense to ship it back to China with an unknown outcome.

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Im guessing youre talking about the 0.1 lumen low

Yes that is a very low level, as you say, only visible when adapted to total darkness.. such as waking up in the middle of the night, or keeping it on as a nightlight… That is one of the reasons I did not buy it. And also why I dont use my Thrunite Ti3 lights, rated 0.04 lumen low… I dont like having to skip the first mode all the time

imo the Copper ReyLight Tool with LMH modes, has a more useful low, its 0.8 lumen, but I actually prefer the stock Tool with Nichia, with MLH modes, because it starts on Medium, which is what I use the majority of the time. otoh, the stock Tool low is 3 lumen, a bit more than I would want for a low.. which is why we buy multiple lights

jon_slider said:

Im guessing youre talking about the 0.1 lumen low

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No, unfortunately the ember is turbo mode. LOL
It's just a faulty flashlight. Tried it with 10440 and alkaline batteries. It won't even come on with the 10440 in there. Tried multiple batteries. Sometimes you just get a dud.

I love the idea of a high CRI AAA light - but unfortunately the low output mode of this particular model is of no practical use for my needs and I would not care for having to twist twice every time I wanted to utilize the light (as someone else already pointed out)....

One reason I'm not fretting too much over my dead A01 is that I have a Lumintop WORM, copper, Nichia 219B using 10440 battery. Unlike the A01, it's a real beauty. I have 3 different Lumintops and believe them to be reliable, robust flashlights on top of being great performers.

MAD777 said:

One reason I'm not fretting too much over my dead A01 is that I have a Lumintop WORM, copper, Nichia 219B

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you have a very good attitude, but sorry you got a bum A01
I also have a Copper Worm w Nichia, I use the head on a Maratac body, its one of my favorites. I like that it starts on Medium.

fwiw, the Maratac head wont light on the worm body, threads are too short on the Worm.


the Worm head also works on my Ti3 TiXmas


while Im busy hijacking.. does your Worm actually say WROM like mine

They must have used the spell-checker on mine. It's OK.