Convoy H1 - Disassembly, Testing, and Modding

Sounds great gchart!! Any chance you’re selling dropin mcus for this one?

Sure! PM on it’s way

Runtime Comparison (with temperatures) of the Stock UI vs RampingIOS with temperature regulation set at 60°C

Some outdoor beauty shots:

And side-by-side with the Sofirn SP40:

Comparison notes:

  • The Convoy H1 is slightly heavier than the Sofirn SP40 (70g vs 59g, respectively, without battery and without strap)
  • The SP40 is slightly brighter
  • The SP40 has micro-USB charging (nice convenience, but makes modding slightly more difficult)
  • The Convoy H1 lacks any kind of step down (in stock form) and get ridiculously hot
  • The Convoy H1 is very mod-friendly, and an attiny412 with RampingIOS makes it great
  • The H1’s “hold for off” will not be as well received as the SP40’s “click for off”
  • The SP40’s kit, overall, is a bit nicer: 18350 tube included, nicer strap
  • I like the H1’s button position better (on side vs on end)
1 Thank

Is there any new news about convoy H1? I heard they upgrade the UI? Is that true ??

Is there any headlamp that used HiCri led? I saw a thread modding H1 go hicri…

I guess my FET+1 driver with Anduril or Zebrilight like UI can perfectly fit in :slight_smile: (Made for Skilhunt H serie headlamps)

Is it necroposting if I bring this back from the dead? I’m really interested in the current h1 situation, but it seems to still be the same as it has been for the past year or so.

I am also interested in upgrading my H1’s to include thermal regulation and a better UI.

Little upgrade. Tir is more sutable for me:

Compare with anothe one:

Hmm… Something wrong with photo:

Yup! I just got my Yajiamei shipment in a couple weeks ago and swapped mine for a pebbled TIR as well. Makes it much better for up-close tasks.

I needed to be careful about the height. I first tried without the reflector centering gasket and there wasn’t enough height to push the MCPCB against the shelf. It must have been floating a little because the LED started to turn blue and the bottom of the TIR started to melt. I stuck the gasket in there to add some height and it’s worked well since.

Hey Gchart, what TIR worked the best for you ?

In addition to updating all My H1’s with your drop-in MCU’s I changed the locator LED to blue, added a Sofirn Gummy and made up a custom camo headband. Ramping OS with a locator LED makes this light shine IMHO

!!
Cheers

Glad you’re liking yours! I get a lot of use out of mine.

I picked up a few different sizes, but I think I ended up with the 60° version of these for up close work

I’m a big fan of convoy and the H1 looks great, but I wish they made it lighter since that is very important for a headlamp.

My H03 weighs 44g, and I can feel the extra weight of my 56g wowtac A2, so for me that 70g of the H1 is unfortunately enough to keep me from getting it.

Gchart, that stock lumen vs time graph doesn’t look very regulated. Is that just heat and a high Vf LED that makes it look sort of direct drivish?

I agree the graph kinda looks that way, but it’s using the 7138 linear regulator (a cousin of the 7135).

I haven’t weighed it, but I think the updated version of the H1 trimmed down the weight a little bit. I agree of headlamps it might be a bit heavy. I’ve worn it for a few hours at a time before and it is a bit heavy but that weight also helps provide extra thermal mass. Just depends on your needs in a headlamp.

I don’t really notice a difference in weight between the H2 and my lightest light, the Zerbralight H600. I just weighed them with the same battery and stock headbands and came out at 150g vs 120g, so definitely a difference but the better headband seems to counter this extra weight somewhat. Sofirn SP 40 wins for heaviest 18650 light at 155g.

It’s really the headlamp weight by itself (without strap) that matters more for comfort/bouncing because the headlamp is cantilevered out from your head some while the strap itself is right on your head and distributed.

But you’re right, the strap quality can make a difference, and for a lot of uses 20g extra is not going to be a deal breaker. But weight is more important for headlamps than your average flashlight.

Does anyone know how to change ramp time? It’s too fast, going from 0 to 70-80% in ~2 seconds, my friend just can’t pick the right low level. I would like to make the speed of passing the brightness from 0 to 100% within 5-6 seconds

From off - 6 clicks to 4 step mode?

Here are the control settings, ramping is by default

I wonder if this behavior of the flashlight is somehow corrected physically or does the processor need to be reflashed?

As stated in post #5, modifying the driver for alternative firmware is likely the only option. IMO, it’s just a horrible driver/ UI. I’m not an engineer versed in microelectronics, nor interested in “modding”, so if it doesn’t run right out of the box, it becomes a paper weight. Unfortunately this is the same driver in my Pioneman K36. Great light design handicapped by a lousy driver. I won’t buy another light with it installed.

Again, just my opinion.