Hello BLF,

New Updates! - Neal from Nealsgadgets has reached out to me and he will be picking up this driver for production.

This will likely result in much better prices than this small group order, and also with better shipping / logistics! As of right now (end May 2020), I have been informed that the first batch of drivers has been produced in the factory. I have no idea at the moment how the build is like, so I have requested a few to be shipped to me for validation. Please hang tight!

The goal is to be able to allow all members here to purchase these drivers directly from www.nealsgadgets.com, and perhaps also as an option in future flashlights. Once we have the details finalized, I will post more detailed updates. This also means that the group order will no longer proceed forward, since you should be able to purchase them for better prices . This interest list has been very useful since it highlighted community interest for this driver; a big thank you to everyone for your support!

Neal is currently planning to release this driver initially in his Mokume and Damast special edition FW3 lights. I don't know what exactly his future plans are but I have communicated to him that there are lots of forum members who would like to purchase the Lume1 driver standalone, and I've let him know that he should give preference to the members in the sign up sheet. We are working out the details.

Thanks again!

Due to popular demand, I decided to create an official interest list for a one-time group order of the lume1-FW3x driver. As suggested in my original lume1 driver thread, I'm using Clemence's idea of creating a comment-able Google Sheets for signing up. I am currently considering something like a 50x driver group buy, or maybe 100x if it is popular. I am unlikely to do an order greater than 100 boards. If the interest exceeds that, drivers will be distributed in a first-come-first-served basis, so if you are interested, please sign up. If we receive less than 50 total boards, it is likely the group buy will not go forward.

For more information on what this driver is, please see here: http://budgetlightforum.com/node/71616



Headline Features

3A Constant Current Regulated Buck Boost Output with 1024 brightness levels

High Efficiency Switching topology (much more efficient than stock linear driver)

DD NFET Turbo Boost Mode

Discrete Temperature Sensor for higher accuracy

RGB Aux LED support

Uses ToyKeeper's Anduril Firmware with all the fun ramping, utility and strobe modes

Designed for FW3x family of flashlights

I am currently also working on a detailed datasheet and guide to installing this driver in your FW3A/C/T flashlight. Meanwhile, the thread above should have sufficient information.

Sign Up here

To sign up, open the Google Sheets and right-click to comment to fill in. I will go through the list periodically to fill them in.

In the Google Sheets, you cannot edit the cells for the safety of data entered. Instead, Right Click to comment on the cells and I will update the spreadsheet.

To keep things tidy, I will use the spreadsheet as the final list, and I will not be using the replies on this thread. Thanks for your understanding!

Official Sign Up Sheet --> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K6RCGJRtXHlXWbfEaSdmTiWN8ufdWX4BNkO_fsVxsZQ/edit?usp=sharing



I know that everyone is taking a risk to sign up for this group buy given that it is not a commercial product. I have done my best to make sure the driver is working as well as possible, having built 1 dev platform and 3 prototypes, but keep in mind that this is still a one-man-job and I'm just a hobbyist building this driver for fun. So I appreciate your understanding and support!



FAQ

What is this group buy for? - This group buy is for an assembled and programmed lume1-fw3x flashlight driver.



What is the cost? - The total cost of the driver depends on the final number ordered. The more in the interest list and the more drivers ordered, the cheaper the driver gets. Currently I am unsure what the exact interest is, so I have done an estimation of the costs and they are reflected in the sign up sheet. I expect the cost / driver will begin around $28USD / assembled driver if order quantities are few (around 50x). If the interest is more, I estimate the price can drop to $18USD. If it's in-between, the cost may end up somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately I do not think the cost will go much lower than $18 unless the order quantity approaches >several hundred. The cost also depends on the finishing of the soldermask, which is one of the questions I have asked in the sign up sheet. The final price will be at most the costs listed. I will request a formal quote from the manufacturer when the interest list is filled up, and there will be a final confirmed price.



Is the PCB going to be green? - YOU get to decide! Please either comment in the sign up sheet, and / or vote your preference in the PCB soldermask colour column. The cheapest soldermask option is the standard glossy green, followed by blue and red, then matte green then matte black as the most expensive. I will decide on the final choice of soldermask based on a combination of popularity of colour, and to reduce total costs.



Will there be a second group order? There is no plan for a second group order for the lume1-fw3x driver. I am only planning to do one group buy because this is a fair amount of work on my part and I do not expect to be able to work on more group orders.



Will you ship around the world? Yes, shipping will be international, and all drivers will be shipped from USA. Shipping within the USA should be around $4 or so via USPS. However, shipping overseas may be quite expensive despite the small size, since all items thicker than an envelop or has rigid component inside is classified as a package, and shipping costs automatically go up. My best estimates are unfortunately around $16USD and up for international shipments, via USPS standard shipping. Please let me know if you are in the US and are aware of any other shipping services cheaper than USPS international package. I have tried shipping in an envelope but I have been rejected by the post office many times even with a small flat PCB inside.



How will payment be done? Payment will be via Paypal.



Can I reserve boards? Yes priority will be given based on a first come first served on the sign-up sheet, thereafter, payment. I will hold your order for a certain time once boards are ready to ship. If payment is not received, it will automatically go down to the next person until all boards are sold out.



Will the boards be programmed? Can I request custom firmware? Yes all boards will be programmed with Anduril. Unfortunately, I cannot take requests for custom firmware, but you can certainly compile your own firmware. I have submitted the firmware to TK's BLF flashlight firmware repository.



Will the boards come with wires soldered on and springs? Good question. The answer is unfortunately no. The driver will not come with wires and will not come with a spring. The reason is that you are likely getting this driver to replace the one in your current FW3A/C/T flashlight, so you will already have the stock driver you need to desolder. I recommend reusing both the wires and the spring. I was unfortunately unable to source the same spring Lumintop uses and was unable to get any response from them, so I will leave the choice of spring to the user.



Are there plans for making lume1 for other flashlights? There are currently no plans yet unless a clear strong candidate arises. But certainly the lume1 system was designed to be ported to many other eSwitch lights. Let me know what you think..



What is the lead time? I will be requesting a slow lead time to keep costs down. The estimated lead time after ordering will be on the timeframe of 3 to 4 weeks at least, then maybe another week or two or even more as I sort through and prepare the packages for shipment.



Do I need a ProgoProgrammer for this? No need! All drivers will come pre-programmed with Anduril. If you want to modify the firmware and use your own firmware, you can purchase it from intl-outdoors here: https://intl-outdoor.com/components-6/reflashing-kits.html or make your own with HQ's Pogoprog: http://budgetlightforum.com/node/63230. I chose this over my 3:3 Pogo programmer since more flashlight drivers (like the new Emisars) all use this. The driver datasheet (in progress) with describe pinouts in detail.

Render of the lume1-FW3 driver. The final soldermask colour is not finalized yet! The diagram just uses green soldermask as a representation. However, this is very likely how the driver will look like.











The lume1 driver features RGB LED support! You will be able to use either tri-colour LED boards or RGB-LED boards. I will not be doing a group buy for these boards, but I will be releasing the files on OSHPARK as well as documentation (coming soon) so you can assemble one yourself and customize it to your preferences.

Please see this thread for more information: http://budgetlightforum.com/node/71616

Thank you for your interest!