From your first proper flashlight to your next emitter swap. Understand the beam, master the button, and find your people.
lm Output is not reach.
K Warmth is not fidelity.
W Turbo is not forever.
New here? Start left. Already counting clicks? You know where to go.
Turn “I need a flashlight” into a useful set of requirements.
Build your buying brief THE GOOD LIGHTChase better color.CCT, tint, CRI, R9, and the measurements behind the magic.
Explore color & tint THE ONE BUTTONSpeak Andúril.A context-aware cheat sheet for the firmware with a personality.
Open the control desk THE DEEP ENDLearn the details.Optics, power, testing, and the questions enthusiasts keep asking.
Browse 24 field notesLumens tell you how much. Candela tells you how concentrated.
FL 1 distance = √(candela ÷ 0.25) = 200 m. Four times the intensity gives twice the distance.
Ideal far-field model: E = I / d², d = √(I / E). FL 1’s 0.25 lx endpoint is a reporting convention, not a promise of useful identification range. Ignores atmosphere, aim, and target contrast. Sources ↓
Warm to cool. Rosy to green. Two different axes.
CCT describes warmth. Duv describes displacement from the Planckian locus. CRI and TM-30 require spectral information.
Screen colors are a stylized illustration, not a calibrated preview. No CRI, R9, or TM-30 score can be inferred from these sliders. Have a spectrum? Analyze it at hCRI.io
Andúril turns a switch into a language. Pick your UI and starting state to find the right shortcut.
Reference, not a firmware emulator. Hardware, version, and configuration can change behavior. Match the manual to your installed build.
Read the upstream manualAdvanced UI → Off → 3H. Use 2C to cycle until Lightning. It remembers the last-used mood mode.
Read the instructions; no flashing animation runs here.Always check the starting state before clicking.
A transparent energy estimate, with the assumptions exposed.
At 5 W battery draw and 85% usable energy, the estimate is 3.06 hours.
Wh = mAh ÷ 1000 × V × cellshours ≈ Wh × usable fraction ÷ battery W
Not an FL 1 test or a thermal model. Battery watts already include driver losses; the usable fraction represents accessible battery energy, not LED efficiency. Current, temperature, cutoff, and aging affect results.
Enter the counts between pauses. A very quick blink means zero.
Newer builds report hundredths; older builds and some small-MCU targets use two digits. Check your build’s readout format.
This decodes a voltage, not a charge percentage. Resolution varies by build; a supported hundredths digit does not guarantee calibrated accuracy. Build-specific readouts
Build a useful buying-help post. Your requirements stay on this page; nothing is sent anywhere.
“I need a pocket light for dog walks at 10–50 m. I prefer a balanced beam and USB-C charging. My total budget is $60 including a cell. Color quality matters more than peak turbo.”
Include your country, hand or head mounting, preferred size, and whether you already own compatible cells or a charger.
Small explanations. Original sources.
Open a note and follow the thread.
Lumens describe total visible-light output. They do not say how tightly the light is focused. Compare lumens and candela together; a broad work light and a narrow spot can have similar output but serve very different tasks.
Fenix · beam-distance conventionCandela measures luminous intensity in a direction. In the far field, on-axis illuminance follows E = I / d²: double the distance and the illuminance falls to one quarter. The beam calculator uses this idealized relationship.
Fenix · beam-distance conventionA runtime number does not promise constant output. Standard FL 1 modes end their runtime test at 10% of the initial 30-second output. FL 1-2025 treats short-duration elevated brightness separately: measurement at 1–10 seconds, runtime to 90% of that interval’s peak. Ask which test applies.
PLATO · FL 1-2025 testingBefore picking a model, write down your task, working distance, pocket or head mounting, charging preference, and total budget including cells and charger. The brief builder turns those constraints into a post you can take to the community.
BrokenRecordBotA TIR optic redirects light using refraction and total internal reflection. TIR designs can produce narrow, medium, wide, or shaped beams. “Has a TIR” alone tells you little about whether a flashlight will be floody.
Carclo · TIR lensesEmitter, optic, and geometry work together. Compare actual beam distributions rather than treating one component as a complete specification. An optical swap needs the correct dimensions and source alignment as well as the desired beam shape.
Carclo · optical fundamentalsFor your own comparisons, fix camera exposure, white balance, position, and target distance. Record the brightness mode and time since turn-on. These controls make a comparison more informative; a phone’s automatic exposure can otherwise disguise large differences. This is a suggested comparison method, not a photometric test.
Carclo · optical fundamentalsDivide measured candela by measured lumens to compare intensity relative to output. Use readings from the same mode and time. This ratio does not uniquely describe hotspot width, spill, or beam shape; the lab’s spotlight graphic is deliberately schematic.
Fenix · beam-distance conventionCorrelated color temperature describes the warm-to-cool appearance of near-white light. It is not a color-rendering score. Two sources with similar CCT can differ in tint and in how they render objects. The color explorer illustrates the distinction, without simulating an actual spectrum.
Waveform · CCT & tintDuv describes displacement from the Planckian locus in CIE 1960 uv space. Near typical white-light CCTs, positive values tend toward green/yellow and negative values toward pink/magenta. Preference is personal; “rosy” is not a guarantee of high color fidelity.
Waveform · CCT & tintGeneral CRI Ra and the saturated-red R9 score answer different questions. Check both when red rendering matters. A high Ra does not uniquely identify a spectrum or guarantee your preferred tint. Read the measured report at the mode you actually plan to use.
hCRI.io · spectral analysisTM-30 evaluates 99 color samples and provides overall and hue-specific information. Rf describes fidelity to a reference; Rg describes average gamut change. An Rg above 100 means increased average chroma, not automatically better fidelity. Local hue changes can be hidden by averages.
IES · TM-30 explainedA cell format is a starting point, not a compatibility guarantee. Check the flashlight manual for chemistry, voltage, supported length, terminal style, protection, and current requirements. A protected button-top cell can differ in length from a bare flat-top cell with the same nominal format.
BrokenRecordBotSimilar dimensions do not imply the same voltage or charger. NiMH AA is nominally about 1.2 V; conventional Li-ion is commonly around 3.6–3.7 V nominal. Use a chemistry only when your light and charger explicitly support it. Never infer support from physical fit.
Panasonic · NiMH FAQPrevent shorts: carry spare cells in insulating cases, keep them away from keys and coins, and inspect wraps and positive-terminal insulators. Stop using damaged or deformed cells. Follow the light and cell maker’s instructions; do not mix incompatible cells or bypass protection.
Molicel · cell handling SDSEnergy in watt-hours is nominal voltage × capacity in amp-hours × cell count. At constant battery draw, ideal hours equal Wh ÷ W. The energy tool adds an explicit usable-energy factor; it does not model voltage sag, thermal regulation, driver behavior, or a particular cell’s discharge curve.
Panasonic · NiMH FAQStart with one click for on/off and a hold to adjust brightness. Learn a few shortcuts first, then consult the manual for your installed build before changing configuration. Features depend on firmware and hardware.
ToyKeeper · Andúril manualC means release the final press; H means keep the final press held. 3H is two short clicks followed by a held third press. Timing and the starting state matter.
ToyKeeper · Andúril manualFrom Off, 4C locks out. From Lockout, 3C unlocks to Off; 4C unlocks and turns on. Electronic lockout still draws standby power. Confirm the behavior of your build and use the manufacturer’s transport guidance.
ToyKeeper · Andúril manualA firmware file must match the flashlight’s exact hardware target. Read the upstream flashing documentation and model information before updating. Do not choose a hex file by a similar product name alone.
Andúril · source & releasesFamily names hide important differences. Nichia lists 519A variants by CCT and color-rendering rank. Luminus also offers warm high-CRI SFT-40 variants, so older claims that every SFT-40 is cool white and low CRI are incomplete. Check the exact part and manufacturer data.
Nichia · 519A data Warm SFT-40 manufacturer noteA useful preflight checklist: LED footprint and pad layout, board size, forward voltage, driver current, thermal path, optic clearance, and polarity. Treat these as separate checks. A matching package size alone is not evidence that a swap is electrically or mechanically safe.
Carclo · optical fundamentalsRecord the light, LED variant, battery, mode, elapsed time, instrument, geometry, and ambient conditions with each result. hCRI.io accepts spectral data for color analysis. A spectrum alone does not establish flashlight lumens unless the measurement geometry is appropriately calibrated.
hCRI.io · spectral analysisLink the original measurement or datasheet, date the result, and say whether it is claimed, measured, or calculated. Preserve conditions and uncertainty. For test reports, distinguish startup output, sustained output, standard-mode runtime, and short-duration turbo behavior.
PLATO · FL 1-2025 testingNo matching notes. Try “tint”, “battery”, “TIR”, or clear your filters.
Research checked 7 November 2026.
Living references can change after this date.
The deep archive of recurring flashlight questions. Check dates on model, price, and firmware advice.
REDDIT / COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGETHE OPEN FIRMWAREToyKeeper / Andúril ↗The upstream code, manual, hardware definitions, and releases. Start here before flashing or configuring.
GITHUB / PRIMARY REFERENCETHE COLOR LABhCRI.io ↗Upload spectral data, examine color metrics, and explore shared measurements. Real spectra beat guesses.
MEASUREMENT / SPECTRAL ANALYSISCommunity starting point · dated advice needs rechecking
Primary manual · state, UI, and build matter
Analyze and compare real spectral measurements
Standard modes versus short-duration elevated brightness
Color fidelity, gamut, and hue-level information
What an Rg above or below 100 actually means
CCT and displacement from the Planckian locus
Exact emitter variants and color-rendering ranks
Warm high-CRI variants of the SFT-40 family
Why a TIR can be narrow, wide, or shaped
Handling and storage guidance from a cell manufacturer
Chemistry, voltage, charging, and compatibility
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All calculations run locally, with no dependencies, analytics, remote requests, or persistent storage. These tools are educational; beam and tint graphics are illustrative, and energy estimates are not measured performance. Search covers this page’s 24 notes, not your whole wiki.
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