Sofirn C01 for 2020

[Katherine Alicia]

Seeing them like that, that Sophia LED really makes for a nice light!

[Batang Regla]

Potting summary:
potted 2020 C01 colors:

black

green

red

NOT potted 2020 C01 colors:

orange
brown
blue

NOT potted 2020 C01R body colors
red

Why no red body C01 colors in aliexpress? The red body is available only in CO1R & CO1S

[jon_slider]

True, there is no Red Body C01 w High CRI Sophia 3400k LED

The Red Body C01 is only available with red LED



the listing on sofirnlight makes it more clear that the Red Body is only available w 670nm red LED:

[Katherine Alicia]

Just ordered a couple more of the Sophia lights and one of the 670`s (mainly out of curiosity how it compares to the CO1R).
I have some AAA batts to get rid off and though they`re unlikely to leak, I`d hate to have it happen to my only one!

[jon_slider]

Kid Tested, potted:

[knucklegary]

^ Is that one of the potted versions?

[jon_slider]

yes, and it is just as durable as this one, kid tested in 2018, that is not potted:

[knucklegary]

Jon, I ordered a few more, color black & green, potted C01's
Thanks for the info..

Btw, if you're not promoting for Barry, or Lan. You should be on their payroll

[jon_slider]

enjoy your options

Im not affiliated,

I think of myself as a Johnny Appleseed of High CRI
and AAA is a favorite size

The C01 is part of my masterplan for High CRI Domination of the world. lol

[Batang Regla]

what is the diffrence between CO1R XPE2 660nm deep red

vs

670 nm red led?

any side by side photos?

[jon_slider]

the two models use different LED technology


the C01R is more powerful, has more modes, and a cleaner beam
it uses this sort of LED, and the head of the light has a lens over it:


the C01 5mm 670nm LED is a simpler technology, only one mode, and there is no additional lens on the front of the head:




===



imo the C01R, on the left, is very nice,
the three lumen levels from my meter, are in the photo above...

I do not recommend the C01 670nm, on the right, because it only has one very low level, and the beam has rings and artifacts

[knucklegary]

Jon, your contributions are very appreciated

[Batang Regla]

jon,

why is the 670nm price above the CO1R?

[knucklegary]

I think this C01R has taken a dump, and only after two nights of use lol

If you look across the contact plate, it appears sunken lower than threads on right side making proper electrical contact impossible.. Twisting mode change can only be achieved now by cranking down hard


Nice emitter tho, too bad rest of this light is mfgr'd without proper quality control

[Burgess]

Thank You for that EXCELLENT
kid-tested video ! ! !





_

[jon_slider]

the 670nm price above the CO1R?

prices are different on Ali than on the sofirn site, there is also a difference in shipping cost
I cant tell you "why", it is simply true as you observed.

knucklegary, thanks for encouraging my contributions, much appreciated

I dont see anything obviously wrong with your C01R.. I hope you manage to solve any issue..

fwiw, the red arrow points to a NON contact point. The light is activated by the paddle, green arrow, contacting a silver ring, shelf, in the body.





Yours is the second report of needing to twist hard to make contact. I dont know why..


my guesses are
1. dielectric grease on the silver ring could interfere with electrical contact. solution, clean with alcohol...

2. the head is not going deep enough into the body to make contact. possible solutions would be to find ways to increase the reach of the contact paddle, such as a solder blob on the contact paddle, or sanding down the end of the body tube so it does not hit the head before the contact paddle hits the contact ring in the body. Or lifting the driver, with a shim under the part the green arrow points to, so it sits a bit more proud of the head.

of course those would be fixes you should not have to do

I encourage you to contact sofirnlight.com, maybe they will send you a replacement.. however, if the issue is a manufacturing error, in cutting the shelf in the body too deep, then the issue will still be there on the replacement.

I have not received an SST-20 660nm.. mine is XP-E2 660nm.

fwiw, my driver also sits with one side low, like yours, I dont think that is the issue.. my focus is on the paddle making contact with the ring in the body..

[Batang Regla]

jon,

thanks for informing about sofirn website. Its cheaper the C01 sophia & 670nm there than in my country. Price here in philippine peso 359 to 379. In sofirn website its 200pesos to 220pesos

the C01R price in my country 359pesos its xpe2 660nm. On the sofirn website sst20-dr its 500pesos. But cannot compare different cree.

[knucklegary]

Jon, you are correct about the shoulder (shelf) inside body not making proper contact with driver paddles

I applied machinist Dykem Blue used for high spot indicator when mating metal surfaces.. There is Not enough contact on body shelf. You are correct it is cut too low on my sample C01R.. and probably more made this way came off the machine

Contacted Sofirn and should get a reply later today

The real bummer is I ordered another C01R just the other day.. Looks like I got my work cut out for me..

Btw, the body threads can only be shortened very little before creates other fitment issues

If the Malkoff posse are taking notes, I'm still in for a drop-in with SST-20 DR 660nm

Edit: switched DR head to C01S body and problem is eliminated. Obviously a tooling set-up issue after taking a magnifying view of the shelf

[Burgess]

LOVE this thread, and CPF !




Not wanting to hijack it, but also not wanting
to start a whole New thread --

Are there any 1xAA flashlights
which approach this level of Durability ? ? ?


Thank You for any suggestions here !


_

[jon_slider]

Btw, the body threads can only be shortened very little before creates other fitment issues

I disagree with my younget self's suggestion to shorten the body
the older and wiser me says, the lack of potting has allowed the pill to sink into the head too far, as you noted from the tilt

so, my fix would be to stuff a little .1mm thick shim, I happen to have thermal tape, under the ears, with the goal of lifting the contact point..



disclaimer, I have not, yet, had reason to take a C01 head apart myself, but I think that contact pad is just press fit in place, shimming it up slightly should not require any unsoldering afaik..

in my case, the red C01R you see in the photo with the tilted contact pad, still works. I dont have to twist hard.

I hope you get yours working easily.

[knucklegary]

Jon, I thought the same at first, although I took C01R head screwed onto a C01S body, and works okay..

Well, at least for the time being it works. It could be the head driver "notch" cutting into the shelf where the driver sits low. After a few twists the C01S body might be screwed as well, excuse the pun (:

Edit: Hope a Sofirn rep Lan is also taking notes for their Engineering Dept..

[jon_slider]

It could be the head driver "notch" cutting into the shelf where the driver sits low. After a few twists the C01S body might be screwed as well

agree
if the notch in the head reaches the shelf before the contact pad on the pill.. no continuity

the fix will still be to lift the pcb so it sits higher than the notch

I think this is an unanticipated consequence, from converting to a different driver, which happens to lack the potting hole. So the contact points sit lower than in the potted version.

[Buck91]

LOVE this thread, and CPF !




Not wanting to hijack it, but also not wanting
to start a whole New thread --

Are there any 1xAA flashlights
which approach this level of Durability ? ? ?


Thank You for any suggestions here !


_

Well, it’s a totally different style of light but check out the AA stainless steel from fireflies. Just received one yesterday and it’s definitely built like a take. From the lens to the body to the switch this thing feels like it could take quite a beating.

[bykfixer]

Jon, I thought the same at first, although I took C01R head screwed onto a C01S body, and works okay..

Well, at least for the time being it works. It could be the head driver "notch" cutting into the shelf where the driver sits low. After a few twists the C01S body might be screwed as well, excuse the pun (:

Edit: Hope a Sofirn rep Lan is also taking notes for their Engineering Dept..

I've had a light or two of that style not fire. More times than not the pill was screwed in too far. Backing it out a 1/4 to 1/2 turn. I would unscrew the pill (after getting the glue soft) place a small sliver of gap filler like foil on one side and using E3000 epoxy and reassemble not twisting it back in as far. Let cure overnight.

[gunga]

If the driver is sitting too low, why don't you remove it and sand the "wings" to make the notch shallower?

[Elkins45]

Forgive what I’m sure is a complete noob question but where do people buy the tritium tubes and magnets that fit this tailcap?

[bykfixer]

Great question!

[troutpool]

Just google “1.5x6 mm tritium” and you will find several suppliers of the tritium tubes.

[Elkins45]

Just google “1.5x6 mm tritium” and you will find several suppliers of the tritium tubes.

Dang, the tubes cost more than the light did.

[knucklegary]

^ that's why the slots are left empty