* Manufacturer's specifications. Values will defer with different emitter and driver configuration
Teardown
Reflect refuse to come out despite tapping on table repeatably... End up pushing the reflector from the opposite end, through the screw holes with my tweezer.
Retaining ring that support 8x AMC7135 driver.
Erh... not what I expect from Convoy. Looks like a B grade machining to me. Edges for both ends are a bit rough. Not sure if this is an isolated case.
[ALERT] Managed to make half a turn before it got completely jammed!
Shelf is 31.31mm deep. Shelf looks like press fit? I will leave it for the expert to explain. Thickness of the shelf is approximately 1mm .
I reused a leftover pair of screws from M1. Fits well on with Noctigon 20mm by default. Filing maybe required for SinkPAD. Screws not provided.
Dimension
Bezel
Bezel thread
O-ring
Glass
Retaining ring
My Mod Method
Building mass with copper heatsink block. It did not work for my case as there is not enough clearance due to my stack chips. I will try the setup again if I am going to rebuild to another configuration.
Reflowed XM-L2 to SinkPad, increased the number of 7135 to 10 and replaced to 22 AWG wires
Extra
Both Convoy M2 and Zeusray came in at the same time. Took a buddy photo for them ;p
Convoy M2 (2014) - Pros and Cons
Pros:
High quality professional flashlight look.
Very affordable prices.
Customizable - you can order in various XM-L2 tints and Nangj 105C driver with various output type (etc. 3x, 4x, 5x, 8x 7135 chips).
Highly mod-able - Convoy has always been the number 1 flashlight choice for DIYers. Flashlights are fairly easy to work with and configuration is limitless.
Future proof - upgrade is a breeze, once you know understand the technical aspect of a flashlight.
Accept protected and unprotected batteries.
Cut out at tailcap facilitate the access of power button. Yet you can use with lanyard even at tail-standing position.
Matte finishing improves grip.
Integrated pill design and extra radiating fins to accelerate heat dispersion process.
Compact size.
Cons:
M2 is not waterproof. It is not easy to keep the thin o-ring in place when you tighten the bezel.
90 ° Sharp edge along 60% mark of the of the flashlight head (shelf region). Rather uncomfortable feel when come in contact with your finger.
Anodizing seem a bit thin. My unit has several spots with anodizing peel off. Mainly body tube thread section and one spot on tube surface itself.
2 noticeable gaps about 0.7mm between head to tube and tube to tailcap. I guess they are suppose to be part of its design. In my opinion, they go not serve much purpose and it may cause flashlight to expose to moisture and dust.
My review is about 80% done. But I don't have time to finish it today. Hopefully Ill get my complete review out tomorrow. Looking at your pictures I see I should have put some (more) effort into my pictures... :D Oh well..
I went for the photo approach as I find it more easier for me. For this model, I guess most readers are only interested with the build quality and dimensions for mod purpose. I am not going to cover too much on the performance aspect.
Why is the aluminum shelf considered better than having a brass pill? The conduction between the shelf and the body might be better, but the mass will be less and the the conduction from the MCPCB will be less.
Ok - I see your pic of the driver and retaining ring - real slick, best setup I've seen for modding the driver... Easy for a BLF17DD upgrade too, looks like.
I just ordered the host from FT - they upgraded the pictures, removing the ones from the old style host, so definitely the 2014 style. They also added a whole bunch of M2 configurations in the $23-$25 price range.
Thanks freeme! Look'n forward to RaceR86's review as well.
Wish there was an SMO reflector option - wonder if a P60 reflector would fit... Can you tell?
Well, this shelf appears to be integrated - either press fit or one piece with the body (ie uni-body), so the conductance should be very good. Brass ones are almost always threaded fits. It's been debated brass vs. alum -- brass has the advantage you can reflow the MCPCB directly to it for sure, so, in theory maybe the brass is better because if the MCPCB <-> pill top junction is better, priority is always on junctions closer to the LED. Hard to say for sure... Again, very debatable, and don't think any real, practical comparative tests have been done, or can be done because you need identical designs.
To me, if the alum integrated MCPCB shelf is much thicker than typical brass pill tops, advantage to the aluminum integrated version, but if the alum surface is not perfectly flat, then not so good.
Yes, FT sells extension tubes and they sell the bare hosts too. I was thinking about doing an MT-G2 with this too, but the issue of an uneven thin shelf with no pill was holding back.
