New Convoy C8 – Clearly better

You afraid of an accidental Lobotomy?? :slight_smile:

Well shock therapy I might be able to handle but lobotomy while driving my bike could be dangerous for pedestrians…. :stuck_out_tongue:

Maybe I missed it but does anyone know if this new driver/firmware still retain the Low voltage protection function and Battery reverse protection function?

Amen brother, I hear ya’. :+1: … :wink:

Yes

The driver is the same, the UI is different. LVP and Reverse protection are still there, same as usual.

Awesome. Thanks.

Thanks for the help and advice!
I meant to include in my post that I had received the battery and wanted to make sure it fits before I receive the flashlight. I wouldn’t mind getting unprotected in the future but the only experience I’ve had with rechargeable batteries have been some terrible AA’s prior to 2005 and eneloop style (stored in a powerpax caddy) for the past 2 years. Also picked up the Nitecore D2 charger.

Sure thing. I took it in the first place you had the battery and was trying to make sure it would fit your inbound C8. :slight_smile:
Nothing wrong with protected batteries, don’t be in a rush to get unprotected till you get familiar & comfortable with Li Ion’s in general.

“Hey, if you ever want to get any more batteries, ASK ME.” :smiley:

I’ve had people innocently ask me if they should get Bonfire or Housefire batteries, “because they’re 4000 mehs instead of the 3400 mehs you got me”. Just the look on my face usually screams “Noooooo!!!” without saying a word. :smiley:

Good pernt; never thought of that.

I like protected Panny-Bs. Sue me. I use them with all premade drop-ins I bought (no idea what’s under the hood), and with non-105C drivers (diode + #×7135), because they don’t have LVP.

Those lights with 105Cs, no problem, I’ll throw in one of my Samsungs or LGs.

Yeah, those who sell more batteries… :stuck_out_tongue:

I gotta confess, though, one of my fave little chargers is

https://www.fasttech.com/p/1229701

which I’ve been using pretty much extensively for, well, a long time. My i4 hasn’t seen daylight in about as long.

It’s a sloooooow charge, so it’ll go overnight and then some if you start from 2.8V or so, but so what? Most people I’d give these to, aren’t the kind of people who’d need <1hr charging. I even keep one in my bag so I can charge up at work, etc. Fits 71mm cells just fine, too. No problem with protected Panny-Bs.

And at 2bux a pop, I probably got like 10 at this point (some given away).



Hi, my first post on here and a total noob. Spent too much time on here already reading all the great info this forum provides.

Apologies if this is a stupid question but I wanted some clarification of the above.

I've read somewhere that (for example) a 4x7135 flashlight running at 100% is more efficient (longer runtime) than a 8x7135 flashlight running at 50% (not sure how much longer). Am I correct for thinking this firmware using the half power groups makes the light behave/run as though its a 4x7135 light? ie A light with this firmware would have a longer runtime than an identical light with the old firmware both running at 50%?

I was about to take the plunge and buy my first flashlight, probably one with 4 (or 6) chips to maximise runtime. But from what I gather above I could essentially now buy a 8x7135 and run it at the half power mode to get the same runtime? I hope you understand what I'm trying to ask! :D

Thanks

Welcome to BLF! :slight_smile:

You are correct; a 4x7135 light at 100% should be more efficient than a 8x7135 light running at 50. So, the half-power modes on this are less efficient than a full-power mode on a driver with half the chips removed. But the difference isn’t very large. According to djozz’s measurements, a XP-L V6 emitter should produce about 700 lumens at 1.5 amps or about 1275 lumens at 3 amps. The circuit only goes on and off, no intermediate levels, so half power means flashing on and off very quickly and it doesn’t really increase efficiency. That means the 50 mode should do 50% of 1275, or ~638 lumens. As compared to 700 lumens for a native 1.5 amp driver.

The runtime for both should be about the same, but the half-of-3-amps driver would perhaps be about 9% dimmer. Human eyes can’t generally see a difference of 9% though.

The point of the half-power mode groups isn’t efficiency; it’s convenience. It provides an easy way to limit the maximum power without changing any hardware.

The new firmware may increase runtime by offering a few lower modes (like 1% instead of 5%), but it won’t change the runtime for anything running at the same power level as an older driver. One amp is one amp, regardless of what’s being done with it.

Long story short, the 4-chip driver should be about 10% brighter than the 8-chip driver at half-power, but the runtime should be the same. In person it would be hard to tell the difference, even with both lights side-by-side.

Understood. Thanks for such a prompt and precise reply.

From reading previous posts on the matter I somehow assumed that the difference would be much greater. :person_facepalming:

One quick question.
Is Convoy C8 or other light this type with XPL HI V2 or V3 ( with standard driver that comes with flashlight ) enough for use Samsung ICR18650-26F with 5.2A or any other battery about 5A or it need some which is capable of delivering 10A or something between ?

The ICR18650-26F is enough. In stock form the highest powered Convoy C8 draws 2.8A from battery at highest mode. In other lights depend on driver. In an astrolux A6, S2 or S3 you need a high drain battery because these can draw 4-5A from battery if you bypass springs.

One very quick OT question, if I may?

Is there any rhyme or reason to the letter-designations of Convoy lights? There’s S#, M#, L#, and C# (eg, S5, M2, L6, C8), that I know of offhand.

I can maybe come up with Small/Medium/Large/C-something (Compact)? Or is that just reading into it too much?

Just curious…

I think the C8 is called a C8 because it’s kind of a standard model across several manufacturers. It existed before Convoy did. Otherwise, I think the small/medium/large thing is probably correct. And then there’s the BD line, which I don’t know the reason for. Battery something, probably, since they have a charger built in.

I thought maybe BD comes from Dipper, such as the Dipper BD01 and Dipper BD02 found on banggood. Maybe BD means “Battery Dipper”, to indicate recharging capability?

I think J-Dub74 went with the L2 design for the L6 conveniently making the L stand for luxury :slight_smile:
There should be a smaller L1? C8 model down the road.

BD series is not a Convoy design I thing. But could be wrong

S for small yeah that makes sense. The design of the tubes is also not that special it can be found on various branded lights.

AFAIK the L6 and maybe L2 are genuine Convoy designs and thus seeing a Panicfire light with same design in future would tell us it is Chinese borrowed :wink:
I would love to see that smaller L1 and a real brand line up from Convoy like Olight has for example.