Linear driver vs a buck I’m not that thrilled about that also uses PWM, in moderately comparable flashlights
by altforthissubreddit
Linear driver vs a buck I’m not that thrilled about that also uses PWM, in moderately comparable flashlights
by altforthissubreddit
1 Comment
It’s no secret I’m not a big fan of the latest Malkoff driver, that expands the voltage range from 6v up to 9v in exchange for worse regulation with a single li-ion. Add to that the lower modes use PWM, and I am a bit less interested in their products.
Some reddit discussion the other day had me wondering how much you gain from a not-so-ideal buck driver that also has not-so-ideal PWM when comparing to a linear. So this is the best test I could come up with.
I used the exact same battery for both. As an aside I don’t really like Keeppower batteries, they seem to cause these sags in output that go away with other batteries. So the declining output vs fairly flat regulation may be due to that. Also, the battery is 4.35v. I only have 4.35v protected 16650’s. And a 16650 is the only size I could use with both lights. I imagine that is a disadvantage for the linear, as it has to burn off more voltage. I could have charged them to only 4.2v, but I wondered how consistent that is if it’s not the terminal voltage for the underlying cell.
The Alpha has a 4000K domed emitter, the MDC has a 5700K de-domed. Subjectively, I like the MDC beam much better. It’s tighter and has reasonable throw. The Alpha reminds me of like an XHP70 beam. Kind of a fat hotspot, except without the raw power an XHP70 has. It’s a physically wider reflector than the MDC, but not nearly as focused. It is, however, much more even.