Good stuff. There will always be issues with any company and their product but to me, how those issues are handled is the real test. Simon proved his dedication in that area to me many times over. It’s part of the reason I do what I do for/with Convoy
In the meantime, I also ordered an usb programmer+clip to try to reflash the non-working driver.
Once you get it up and going, that clip will be very handy. But just flashing Bistro again likely won’t fix a “lost the noinit lottery” situation. As long as you’re using the same byte for noinit detection, it will likely decay to the same state. You could flash something that doesn’t use noinit. Or wait for the noinit tracking to be revamped (I’m currently working on that). Best of luck to you!
He has the store front on Aliexpress, but no regular website because his staff is small. He’s a small company dedicated to quality products, but without inflated profit margins like Fenix and Thrunite, etc…
If he made a .Com website he would have to hire more people to run it and to process orders from it and he’d have to raise his prices to compensate. Nobody wants that, do they? Lol
I really wanted one until I saw the UI. It works for most but I am just completely inept at half/whole/long presses. I have the E14 and I barely use it because of the UI. It’s a crap shoot getting into and through the special mode menu. It’s a shame cause I really wanted this one. Oh well.
I really wanted one until I saw the UI. It works for most but I am just completely inept at half/whole/long presses. I have the E14 and I barely use it because of the UI. It’s a crap shoot getting into and through the special mode menu. It’s a shame cause I really wanted this one. Oh well.
It took me awhile to get a hold of how fast to click but it is not so bad once you master it.
you can also post in the commercial forum if you are interested in your own personal UI the way you like it.
I really wanted one until I saw the UI. It works for most but I am just completely inept at half/whole/long presses. I have the E14 and I barely use it because of the UI. It’s a crap shoot getting into and through the special mode menu. It’s a shame cause I really wanted this one. Oh well.
The C8 driver only has fast click IIRC, which is super simple. You simply tap the power button till the light blinks off then release and it goes to the next mode.
If you really don’t like that then simply set it to 100% only mode, which will be on/off only with no other modes.
—
Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.
I really wanted one until I saw the UI. It works for most but I am just completely inept at half/whole/long presses. I have the E14 and I barely use it because of the UI. It’s a crap shoot getting into and through the special mode menu. It’s a shame cause I really wanted this one. Oh well.
The C8 driver only has fast click IIRC, which is super simple. You simply tap the power button till the light blinks off then release and it goes to the next mode.
If you really don’t like that then simply set it to 100% only mode, which will be on/off only with no other modes.
Thanks TA. I’ll add the fact that there are 8 mode groups that don’t have blinkies and they all function beautifully.
I do not mean to imply that I am in any way excusing the problem with the current drivers and I don’t have the E14 to compare it to. We are working on the driver issues but it will take time.
For most (certainly not all) the current driver will be at the very least, quite an improvement over the old 3/5 driver with the annoying blink in low. That said, “acceptable” is NOT acceptable to Convoy and I’m working with Simon on getting this issue resolved and moving forward to bring more awesomeness to the budget light world that this forum was founded on.
I really wanted one until I saw the UI. It works for most but I am just completely inept at half/whole/long presses. I have the E14 and I barely use it because of the UI. It’s a crap shoot getting into and through the special mode menu. It’s a shame cause I really wanted this one. Oh well.
If you bought a new C8 and didn’t like the menu/UI, then you could always swap the driver for a new one from MTN Elec that has the simpler Guppydrv for like 5 bucks. A driver swap in the C8 is very easy, you only have to solder 2 wires on the LED.
Thanks a lot guys! That was very helpful. I may in fact pick this one up in another week or 2. I just ordered the XT12GT about 30 minutes ago so I would love to do a comparison with it and my old chinese xm-l t6 C8 as well as the UT02 and TM03 I just ordered last week. Just for fun, I know it’s not a thrower but it is about the same size.
I really wanted one until I saw the UI. It works for most but I am just completely inept at half/whole/long presses. I have the E14 and I barely use it because of the UI. It’s a crap shoot getting into and through the special mode menu. It’s a shame cause I really wanted this one. Oh well.
The C8 driver only has fast click IIRC, which is super simple. You simply tap the power button till the light blinks off then release and it goes to the next mode.
Thank you Tom E for your discription in post #676. Wish I had read it before I ripped my SOIC8 clip apart and rewired it cause it wouldn’t connect to the ATiny.
After cutting the trace flashing a new firmware was no problem.
I’m in a hard decision now. Buy a C8 host and put in TA driver with OP reflector and XP-L2 now.
Or wait for the L2 little brother L1 which is not even has a separate thread.
I really wanted one until I saw the UI. It works for most but I am just completely inept at half/whole/long presses. I have the E14 and I barely use it because of the UI. It’s a crap shoot getting into and through the special mode menu. It’s a shame cause I really wanted this one. Oh well.
The C8 driver only has fast click IIRC, which is super simple. You simply tap the power button till the light blinks off then release and it goes to the next mode.
If you really don’t like that then simply set it to 100% only mode, which will be on/off only with no other modes.
Thanks TA. I’ll add the fact that there are 8 mode groups that don’t have blinkies and they all function beautifully.
I do not mean to imply that I am in any way excusing the problem with the current drivers and I don’t have the E14 to compare it to. We are working on the driver issues but it will take time.
For most (certainly not all) the current driver will be at the very least, quite an improvement over the old 3/5 driver with the annoying blink in low. That said, “acceptable” is NOT acceptable to Convoy and I’m working with Simon on getting this issue resolved and moving forward to bring more awesomeness to the budget light world that this forum was founded on.
Cheers
Any news as to when the updated driver might be coming? I’m holding off a purchase until it does.
What is the (light) difference between C8 and S2+ ?
C8 is a thrower and S2 is flooder and will fit in you pocket
I want to buy C8 (new) from GearBest but I do not know if it has this new firmware. Do you have any information about this? All new c8 contain new firmware?
Good stuff. There will always be issues with any company and their product but to me, how those issues are handled is the real test. Simon proved his dedication in that area to me many times over. It’s part of the reason I do what I do for/with Convoy
how come convoy has no website ?
...where Frugal meets with Flashlight!
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/Convoy-Flashlights/330416_2544123...
Once you get it up and going, that clip will be very handy. But just flashing Bistro again likely won’t fix a “lost the noinit lottery” situation. As long as you’re using the same byte for noinit detection, it will likely decay to the same state. You could flash something that doesn’t use noinit. Or wait for the noinit tracking to be revamped (I’m currently working on that). Best of luck to you!
He has the store front on Aliexpress, but no regular website because his staff is small. He’s a small company dedicated to quality products, but without inflated profit margins like Fenix and Thrunite, etc…
If he made a .Com website he would have to hire more people to run it and to process orders from it and he’d have to raise his prices to compensate. Nobody wants that, do they? Lol
KSGER STM32 2.1S Soldering Station Videos - Review Soon
Convoy L6 thread with XHP70.2, TA FET driver, Narsil v1.2 ramping firmware (old), lighted side switch, SMO reflector.
Supfire L5-S thread with XHP70.2, TA FET driver, NarsilM v1.0 ramping UI, 2 x 26350 cells, lighted side switch. My mini L6!
Thorfire S70S with MTN FET driver, RampingIOS (D4) and custom lighted side switch.
10 NarsilM user videos for BLF Q8, GT, GT70, GT Mini, Astrolux S43 and ROT66
Texas_Ace BLF Calibrated Lumen tube and Maukka Calibration Lights for DIY Lumen Measuring Devices
Headlight List with prices, specs and features - Jaxmnve M1 Stainless 10180 Keychain light Review - Lumintop ODF30 Review - Sofirn C8F 21700 Teardown and Review, Sofirn SP33 v2 XHP50.2 Review - My Sofirn Q8 Results - Astrolux S43S 219C Test Results - Lumintop GT Mini Test Results
Anyone have any experience with epacket delivery to the US? How long have your orders from Simon taken to get in?
thanks
Epacket varies greatly depending on overall mail load. Right now with the holiday just ending you can expect longer then normal delivery times.
Generally epacket is around 2-3 weeks for me. Although I have had it as fast as 5 days and as long as 6 weeks.
Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.
Texas Avenger Driver Series
My LED Test series - XP-L2 V5 - Nichia 219C 90+ CRI - Latticebright "XM-L" - XHP35 & PWM efficiency - XHP50 - XP-L V5 - XM-L2 U2 - XP-G3 S5 - XP-L HI V2 - Oslon Square & direct comparison to Djozz tests - Nichia 319A - Nichia 219B 9080 CRI - Nichia 219C D320 - Nichia 229AT - XHP70.2 P2 - XHP50.2 J4 - Samsung LH351D
Easy comparison tool for all my LED tests
Varies wildly for sure. I’ve had some go almost a month, others much shorter.
I just placed an order for an item at Banggood on Feb 8th and received it yesterday. That’s 7 business days… I was shocked.
I really wanted one until I saw the UI. It works for most but I am just completely inept at half/whole/long presses. I have the E14 and I barely use it because of the UI. It’s a crap shoot getting into and through the special mode menu. It’s a shame cause I really wanted this one. Oh well.
It took me awhile to get a hold of how fast to click but it is not so bad once you master it.
you can also post in the commercial forum if you are interested in your own personal UI the way you like it.
It would be a shame not to use your light
My reviews:
Thorfire C8s , Thorfire VG-10 , Sipik SK68 , Duracell 350 , Big L@rry , Mystery AAA
The C8 driver only has fast click IIRC, which is super simple. You simply tap the power button till the light blinks off then release and it goes to the next mode.
If you really don’t like that then simply set it to 100% only mode, which will be on/off only with no other modes.
Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.
Texas Avenger Driver Series
My LED Test series - XP-L2 V5 - Nichia 219C 90+ CRI - Latticebright "XM-L" - XHP35 & PWM efficiency - XHP50 - XP-L V5 - XM-L2 U2 - XP-G3 S5 - XP-L HI V2 - Oslon Square & direct comparison to Djozz tests - Nichia 319A - Nichia 219B 9080 CRI - Nichia 219C D320 - Nichia 229AT - XHP70.2 P2 - XHP50.2 J4 - Samsung LH351D
Easy comparison tool for all my LED tests
Thanks TA. I’ll add the fact that there are 8 mode groups that don’t have blinkies and they all function beautifully.
I do not mean to imply that I am in any way excusing the problem with the current drivers and I don’t have the E14 to compare it to. We are working on the driver issues but it will take time.
For most (certainly not all) the current driver will be at the very least, quite an improvement over the old 3/5 driver with the annoying blink in low. That said, “acceptable” is NOT acceptable to Convoy and I’m working with Simon on getting this issue resolved and moving forward to bring more awesomeness to the budget light world that this forum was founded on.
Cheers
If you bought a new C8 and didn’t like the menu/UI, then you could always swap the driver for a new one from MTN Elec that has the simpler Guppydrv for like 5 bucks. A driver swap in the C8 is very easy, you only have to solder 2 wires on the LED.
KSGER STM32 2.1S Soldering Station Videos - Review Soon
Convoy L6 thread with XHP70.2, TA FET driver, Narsil v1.2 ramping firmware (old), lighted side switch, SMO reflector.
Supfire L5-S thread with XHP70.2, TA FET driver, NarsilM v1.0 ramping UI, 2 x 26350 cells, lighted side switch. My mini L6!
Thorfire S70S with MTN FET driver, RampingIOS (D4) and custom lighted side switch.
10 NarsilM user videos for BLF Q8, GT, GT70, GT Mini, Astrolux S43 and ROT66
Texas_Ace BLF Calibrated Lumen tube and Maukka Calibration Lights for DIY Lumen Measuring Devices
Headlight List with prices, specs and features - Jaxmnve M1 Stainless 10180 Keychain light Review - Lumintop ODF30 Review - Sofirn C8F 21700 Teardown and Review, Sofirn SP33 v2 XHP50.2 Review - My Sofirn Q8 Results - Astrolux S43S 219C Test Results - Lumintop GT Mini Test Results
Thanks a lot guys! That was very helpful. I may in fact pick this one up in another week or 2. I just ordered the XT12GT about 30 minutes ago so I would love to do a comparison with it and my old chinese xm-l t6 C8 as well as the UT02 and TM03 I just ordered last week. Just for fun, I know it’s not a thrower but it is about the same size.
2Q19
If talking to me, I meant mode, fast clicking does not change the mode group, just the mode. To change the mode group you have to enter the menu.
Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.
Texas Avenger Driver Series
My LED Test series - XP-L2 V5 - Nichia 219C 90+ CRI - Latticebright "XM-L" - XHP35 & PWM efficiency - XHP50 - XP-L V5 - XM-L2 U2 - XP-G3 S5 - XP-L HI V2 - Oslon Square & direct comparison to Djozz tests - Nichia 319A - Nichia 219B 9080 CRI - Nichia 219C D320 - Nichia 229AT - XHP70.2 P2 - XHP50.2 J4 - Samsung LH351D
Easy comparison tool for all my LED tests
Thank you Tom E for your discription in post #676. Wish I had read it before I ripped my SOIC8 clip apart and rewired it cause it wouldn’t connect to the ATiny.

After cutting the trace flashing a new firmware was no problem.
Instead of buying another driver you can buy programming equipment below 7$
Download the hex files from firmware site and flash is easy
Or modify an exiting firmware, like for other mode spacing
[Reviews] Miboxer C4-12, C2-4k+6k, C2, C4 / Astrolux K1, MF01, MF02, S42, K01, TI3A / BLF Q8 / Kalrus G35, XT11GT / Nitefox UT20 / Niwalker BK-FA30S / Sofirn SF36, SP35 / Imalent DM21TW / Wuben I333 / Ravemen PR1200 / CL06 lantern / Xanes headlamp
[Mods] Skilhunt H03 short / Klarus XT11GT, XT12GTS / Zebralight SC50+ / Imalent DM21TW / colorful anodisation
[Sale] TA based drivers NarsilM or Bistro OTSM 17-22mm, S42, L6, Q8, MF01, SRK, TN42 / Narsil based buck driver for 20-30mm MF01/02, TN40/42, GT, MT09R / Remote switch tail DD board with FET
Is aliexpress the best place to buy convoy?
I’m in a hard decision now. Buy a C8 host and put in TA driver with OP reflector and XP-L2 now.
Or wait for the L2 little brother L1 which is not even has a separate thread.
Reviews: Wuben T70, Sofirn SP32A, Thorfire VG15S, Thorfire VG10S, Thorfire TG06S
Mods: Small sun T08 MT-G2, Eagle eye X6 triple XPL, Ultrafire F13 MT-G2, Convoy C8 XHP70, Solarstorm T3 triple XP-L HI
Big flashlight measurement and beamshot collection
3D printing stuff for flashlights
My flashlight related Instagram
My Flashlight related Youtube channel called Tech-test
The L1 is most likely a long way from being released, so it is more about how long you want to wait.
Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.
Texas Avenger Driver Series
My LED Test series - XP-L2 V5 - Nichia 219C 90+ CRI - Latticebright "XM-L" - XHP35 & PWM efficiency - XHP50 - XP-L V5 - XM-L2 U2 - XP-G3 S5 - XP-L HI V2 - Oslon Square & direct comparison to Djozz tests - Nichia 319A - Nichia 219B 9080 CRI - Nichia 219C D320 - Nichia 229AT - XHP70.2 P2 - XHP50.2 J4 - Samsung LH351D
Easy comparison tool for all my LED tests
You are right. I think If I order and get the XP-L2-s my hand will shake over the Buy button for the host
Reviews: Wuben T70, Sofirn SP32A, Thorfire VG15S, Thorfire VG10S, Thorfire TG06S
Mods: Small sun T08 MT-G2, Eagle eye X6 triple XPL, Ultrafire F13 MT-G2, Convoy C8 XHP70, Solarstorm T3 triple XP-L HI
Big flashlight measurement and beamshot collection
3D printing stuff for flashlights
My flashlight related Instagram
My Flashlight related Youtube channel called Tech-test
Yes because Simon’s store is there.
Yes highly recommend Convoy store on Ali …. 330416
My reviews:
Thorfire C8s , Thorfire VG-10 , Sipik SK68 , Duracell 350 , Big L@rry , Mystery AAA
Any news as to when the updated driver might be coming? I’m holding off a purchase until it does.
What is the (light) difference between C8 and S2+ ?
Any info about Clear S2+ soon?
Reviews: Wuben T70, Sofirn SP32A, Thorfire VG15S, Thorfire VG10S, Thorfire TG06S
Mods: Small sun T08 MT-G2, Eagle eye X6 triple XPL, Ultrafire F13 MT-G2, Convoy C8 XHP70, Solarstorm T3 triple XP-L HI
Big flashlight measurement and beamshot collection
3D printing stuff for flashlights
My flashlight related Instagram
My Flashlight related Youtube channel called Tech-test
C8 is a thrower and S2 is flooder and will fit in you pocket
My reviews:
Thorfire C8s , Thorfire VG-10 , Sipik SK68 , Duracell 350 , Big L@rry , Mystery AAA
I want to buy C8 (new) from GearBest but I do not know if it has this new firmware. Do you have any information about this? All new c8 contain new firmware?
Thanks.
Only the clear anodized silver color, with red driver board has the new firmware at Gearbest.
Reviews: Wuben T70, Sofirn SP32A, Thorfire VG15S, Thorfire VG10S, Thorfire TG06S
Mods: Small sun T08 MT-G2, Eagle eye X6 triple XPL, Ultrafire F13 MT-G2, Convoy C8 XHP70, Solarstorm T3 triple XP-L HI
Big flashlight measurement and beamshot collection
3D printing stuff for flashlights
My flashlight related Instagram
My Flashlight related Youtube channel called Tech-test
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