Hello all,
Just finished my first flashlight build, an S2+ Convoy with all parts coming from MTN.
Really happy with the color and wide, smooth beam from the 219C 90+ CRI emitter. Even my Surefire KX4 looks like a giant blue hotspot in comparison. Not a thrower but that wasn’t the idea. Very useful around cars and electronics.
I’m also quite shocked for the performance and quality for ~$30 including a Panasonic battery. I’ll definitely be building another.
Parts list:
Black S2+ host
QLITE REV.A 7135*8 3.04A LED DRIVER - 17mm - guppydrv original fw
Nichia 219C D240 on 16mm MTN DTP CU MCPCB - 90+ CRI 4000K
60 Degree TIR Lens - 21.2mm x 13mm
Sanyo/Panasonic NCR18650GA Protected 3500mAh
Questions:
How should I retain the driver board?
The threaded ring doesn’t start due to the height of the 7135 chips. So I soldered it down in two spots to the brass holder.
What is the white spacer for? Do I need it with the 60° TIR lens?
Why does the current draw begin to fall off from 3A at 3.7V when the plots from Texas_ace for a 219C D240 show 3A at 3.13V?
Here are some photos.
I did not see any plots for this exact driver and emitter so I also gathered voltage vs current for this driver / emitter using a CV power supply. Data gathered from these 4 modes: Mode 21: 2% - 15% - 50% - 100% | Memory
hey, this is a decent build. Nicely done, congrats.
Great choice of emitter as well.
1) if the ring doesn’t clear the AMCs you could solder it, as you did.
When I build drivers I move the AMCs a bit further away from the edge, just a tiny bit. your solution should be fine for now
2) no need for the butterfly when using a plastic TIR optic.
Thanks for the feedback. I checked my solder joints to the pill and one was cold and already came loose. I re-did them using flux + rosin core solder and soldered it in 4 spots, making sure they wetted out. Should hold up now.
Paired with the 18650GA cell, really pleased with the light thus far.
Could I use non-protected cells or is it generally a good idea to just always use protected cells (for this NCA chemistry at least) ? I was not sure if the driver would cut out with the guppydrv firmware, but it does at 2.8v based on my tests.
If you have LVP in the driver FW you wouldn’t need protected cells. You can use them, but you don’t have to.
Also depends on the amp draw of the light, here you can you pretty much use any cell.
If you don’t want to solder the retaining ring you’d also file down the ring, but your soldering skills seem great. So no issue here.
Welcome to BLF hyperduc.
That is a well-done build of a very useful flashlight. As said above, nothing wrong with your soldering skills
As for your question 3) , the voltage that the emitter sees is not the same as what the power supply provides. There are resistances in the circuitry that cause voltage loss, in your case some voltage is lost in the leads from power supply to driver, in the driver-spring and the ledwires, but also about 0.2V in the 7135 chips.
Thanks FPV. The MTN product page didn’t explicitly state the gruppydrv fw has LVP, but based on my testing it does.
It’s not much more expensive ($8.65 vs $9.95) so I think I will just keep using protected GA cells that way everything I have is the same and there is protection from accidental shorting out, etc. I was just curious.
I’ll see on my next build if I can turn down the retaining ring on my lathe so it will fit. I may need the pill to help hold it, so I will try on the next light.
Just to double check: on the first picture, are you holding the retaining ring the wrong way around? or does it only look like that in the picture?
Looked at my S2+ and the retaining ring clears all AMCs without any problems.
It is held upsidedown but that would not have mattered with this (105C-layout) driver, the 7135 chips are too close to the edge for this ring to fit. Simon’s drivers have the same circuitry but with a slightly different lay-out, they have the chips mounted a bit further to the middle.
Good catch. Yes it’s upside down in the photo, it was easier to hold flat when I had it upside down to take the photo. I was just showing the threads can’t engage.
Even when flipped over, the 8135 sit outside of the chamfer area so it still didn’t engage. I think rather than machine the ring thinner, I am going to bore the shelf deeper in the next pill. There is plenty of compression on both springs to move it down 1-2mm.
My first, and so far, only build was a green S2+ with a high CRI nichia, Mtn’s moonlight special driver, 18350 tube, and a 45 or 60 TIR optic. Since I wanted long battery life and cool running I went with 4x7135 (or I meant to, I accidentally ordered 5 and ended up soldering in my driver, too).
It’s been my favorite EDC since.
Now I’m trying to resist ordering a mtn 17mm FET+7135 driver with crescendo to replace the driver in my Jaxman E2L just because I love narsil and want to play with crescendo.
Just read up on Crescendo fw. I planned on guppy3 on the FET+7135 I’ll build next but the Crescendo is also really interesting… just watched a video on YT showing demonstration. I don’t think I would like it without memory, but with memory it seems really versatile so I will try it!
For your next build if you want I have a 17mm driver from a eagle eye x6 you can buy from me. It’s constant current. 3.5 amp turbo for 3 mins then steps down to 3 amps or 2.8 or something. No chips to worry about and still regulated. Or you could go the Fet driver route and use lower modes. Or have Rmm flash the mode levels you’d want on a Fet driver and you’d have full power for quick burst as you wish. I only use Fet drivers now and have the mode levels flashed I want and have the highest turbo possible when needed
