Just tried it out outside. I would call it a moon mode, it is slightly brighter then my EDC moon but that is mostly because it is focused into a smaller beam then my S2+.
Djburkes,
Where did you get the vg10 with xpl hi?
Texas ace, where did you purchase your vg10 from?
And there is a coupon for a thorfire c8s right now. From m4d m4x. $14.99
It’s my favorite c8 because I just love the tail cap. Similar to the vg10 how it has the cut out groove.
3.3A sounds a bit high compared to more recent reports, but when this driver first came out some people were seeing slightly over 3A. I need a better DMM, or at least leads, so I won’t give the actual results but the tail amps of my VG10 is ~20% less than my C8 with 8x7135 driver.
I haven't had a chance to push that driver yet, but it looks to be a high quality driver. Most bucks need a decent amount of overhead voltage to regulate properly. Below those voltages, they tend to behave like a DD with low efficiency. My bet is that yiou will get still be below 4 amps to the emitter at 2S. I'm not sure why so many folks are so quick to change out this VG10 driver. With a reverse clickie and no need for bleed-off resister for tail cap lights, the driver is already awesome. Take it to 2S and slightly decrease the sensor resistance and it may be a real winner. Well, hopefully. I'm planning on using one to drive a high power laser diode if it does.
I got it from amazon with the coupon a few weeks back.
Subscribed
Are there deals for EU customers?
I have several of your flashlights
Thanks
Yeah, it is a bit high I think because the buck part of the driver is being bypassed and it is acting like a pure FET driver. I am guessing this is not how it is supposed to work.
I tested it by hooking it up to my bench power supply so I would know exactly what is going on.
I planned to keep the driver actually if the buck worked but it just doesn’t seem to be working as a buck. I will try taking the voltage up higher tomorrow and see what happens.
At best it is a very high resistance FET driver when using it with an 18650 since it maxes out at 3.3A and drops like a brick as the voltage drops. My 7135’s drivers maintain 2.8A down to ~3.5V in many cases.
I will take some official readings tomorrow and see how it does, I just did a quick voltage sweep earlier.
I really need some kind of light meter. I am probably used to what is closer to firefly mode. My middle of the night light is a DrJones RGBW driven Yupard 16340 with DCfix over the lens and on the dome of the led, it is mostly used on the lowest setting with the red emitter.
TA, I echo basically everything you said word for word. I got the $7.99 deal a couple weeks ago and was so impressed I ordered two more at the 9.99 price (waiting on those two to arrive) due to the excellent all-around quality. I had the same pinched O-ring. I get 3.43A on a freshly charged rested 30Q. I even used my jar opener pad to get my bezel off as well, lol.
I would call it “barely” moonlight - I can look straight at the lit emitter without immediate discomfort, but a few seconds later it becomes uncomfortable. To me true moonlight modes allow me to look into the emitter indefinitely and low moonlight modes allow easy observation of all the features (bond wires, mottled nature of the phosphor coating, etc).
I do not have an M1,but I have several S- series and C8’s from Convoy. With the exception of the pinched O-ring, the robustness of the design and the quality of the manufacturing is better for the Thorfire VG10 than the Convoys I have observed. (source: QC engineer in manufacturing)
I reserve the right to backtrack on the above statement if there is in fact a malfunctioning driver issue, lol. Although on the OTHER hand, isn’t Convoy dealing with malfunctioning drivers (firmware) at this very moment? Double lol…
I want to put an XP-L HI in one, an XM-L2 and DC-fix diffusion film on another, and who knows with the third.
Hopefully, your driver looks like this:
Hmm… dunno why I didn’t want to pull the trigger on this light… it was in my cart for the longest time.
Now it seems like I missed out on a great light :person_facepalming:
Oh well, maybe next time they will have another sale on this light again
That is the same driver as the ones I’ve received. Mine were from 4-5 months back though.
Ya though… I got the light so cheap I really didn’t give the driver a fair chance. I’m just now realizing.
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Nope, not what came in mine, mine is a blue PCB and a different layout entirely. The sense resistor sits parallel to the edge of the driver instead of pointing towards the center.
That is largely due to the reflector I think.
I have the Texas Avenger drivers in everything and they all have the same moonlight current or around 4ma.
In the small S2+ reflector I can look at it no problem but in an L2 it is painful.
Although I also prefer my moonlight mode a bit higher then most, which is why the TA drivers offer a few different moonlight brightness options.
I find the 4-5ma range to be about right for me, it is low enough to not hurt night vision but bright enough to actually be useful in things other then pitch black. Personal preference.
I am guessing that the VG10 has about the same brightness of moonlight as what I have on my other lights, it is just better focused and appears slightly brighter.
Ok, I just checked the driver out more carefully, and have a dead LED to show for it.
It is a strange setup that doesn’t make a lot of sense.
I will work my way up in voltage:
3.5v - 1.8A - 6.3W
3.8v - 2.57A - 9.75W
4V - 3A - 12W
4.2V - 3.44A - 14.5W - The limit for a non-DTP star
4.4v - 4.1A - 18.5W
4.6V - 4.5A - 21.1W = Dead emitter
Now before this I did a voltage sweep with the current limited starting at 6V and working my way down.
From 5V to 6V it actually regulated the current as it should as a buck driver, it kept the total wattage to right around ~16W (figure about 12-14W making it to the LED, which is about perfect). under 5V though it switches to direct drive FET mode and power jumps up to over 24W if you don’t limit it. It also pulls over 4A from the cells.
With CR123’s it would try to pull upwards of 4A between 4.4V and 5V, and even under that it would pull more. Most CR123’s are only rated for 2A draw.
Why the regulation cuts off at 5V I do not understand. It still has plenty of overhead to maintain regulation until 4.2V at the most. It should also regulate the power through the 18650 voltage range as well, thats the whole point of a buck driver.
The mode spacing is still good and it works fine with an 18650, it is just not the best driver around and could be vastly improved. The plus side is that it gives very good initial turn on numbers on a fresh cell. Luckily the driver is something that is easy to swap out for modders.