Convoy L6... XHP70 Beast!

LED Flashlights – General Info 26650 Flashlights
4290

I didn’t want you to think I sliced my 70.2 and got a 24% boost. That was an older xhp70.

The TA driver has the positive led wire go through the hole and connect to the end of the spring which is touching the battery. The spring doesn’t carry any load. So no need to bypass it.

On my tail spring I used some fine braided copper solder wick. I thought it would flex with the spring nicely. That burned through. So then I added a double layer of it and it burned through. So now I added some 18ga wire. So far so good.

4291

Ahhh - yea, I gave up on solder wick couple years ago - too many broke. Silicon covered wire seems more reliable but isn't perfect either. Some lousy springs out there that the solder doesn't hold up well on.

Yep, understood bout the XHP70 vs. XHP70.2.

4292

I know that KeepPower is reccomended cells for this light. But maybe you can recommend any other protected batteries? Maybe these? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2-Pcs-Pair-Soshine-3-7V-5500mAh-26650-Battery-26650-Protected-Rechargeable-Li-ion-Battery-with/32292707585.html

4293

Clear L6, TA driver, XHP70.2, Lighted side switch. I think I will reduce the resistor on the orange led to make it a little brighter.

4294

Nice!

4295

Nice! You could cut a crocodile eye like insert for under the cover.

4296

I always thought it was kinda odd using something intended as a “wick” to carry current. I’ve never even had solder wick, for any use… been using the same Turnigy silicone wires for spring bypass as my LED leads since I first started. I usually use the same gauge wire for bypass as the leads, even up to 18ga. Figure what’s the point in putting heavy leads to the LED if the contact coming off the cell is smaller?

Sometimes, if a light feels special to me, I even cut a round piece of copper to solder on top of the spring for a larger battery contact, drill a via into it and solder the spring bypass into this copper disc, this way I have a much larger contact surface to the cell instead of a pinpoint like a soldered bead on top of the spring would make. Every little bit helps… :wink:

4297

Have you ever worked with old cars? It’s very common for them to have ground cables made up of braided copper from the engine to the frame. Copper is a great conductor and when you put it in braided form it becomes very flexible and allows you to fully compress the springs which can be difficult or impossible with a normal spring bypass. On rare occasions I may use my extra long protected keep power cells in my L6 and I need to be able to fully compress the springs. So that’s why I tried it. I think the problem with the solder wick is that the strands are just too small in diameter and when any one of them gets a little too much current it will sever and transfer that load to some other strands which will cause them to sever and eventually the whole thing just melts in two.

4298

LOL, that’s funny Jason! :laughing: My dad was in an Antique Car Club when I was young, he had a 28 Ford and a 37 Cadillac… at one point we had 43 cars here on the property… everything from Nash to DeSoto to Willys. Even a 58 Cadillac ElDorado Barritz Seville, one of 843 ever made. Ground breaking for 1958, it had a 365 ci V8 that made 356 HP from a triple deuce carb set-up. Auto headlight dimming even! Hurt me deep down when he let that one go…

I started out driving a 51 Chevy Custom Deluxe. (Dad actually suggested I use the 58 Caddy’s Alcoa produced turbine style aluminum wheels to customize my 51! Only ran em on the back, 15’s in back, 14’s up front. Geesh, forever ago!) Vacuum operated windshield wipers? Horrible idea! Tube style AM radio? 6V battery destroyer! Also quite familiar with the brake master cylinder under the floor matt…

Heavy braid from the battery ground? The 6V battery? That braid that very seldom if ever got flexed? The one that turned green and corroded up something fierce? Yes, familiar. The only way it’s similar to our discussion here is that it was braided copper, much different use and demands. This ground in the cars was a densely woven thick beast, the solder wick is a very loosely woven braid designed to pull solder off a pcb, plenty of room for the solder to flow, but not good physical properties to flow current, especially when flexed repeatedly. It was talked about here, some time ago, as to how electrical current in DC form uses the outside surface of the copper wire to flow, as such, this solder wick is really a lousy form for high current needs.

Not to say large car grounding cables of modern make don’t have their own problems… my brother’s late model pick-up is sitting parked in his driveway because he’s too lazy to replace the badly corroded ground to frame cable.

Edit: We still have a 1968 Renault 10 here, with the plastic coverings still on the door panels and 84 miles on the odometer. New car smell inside. Brand new, but non running, with the original gas from the dealer still in the tank… jellied and foul smelling. Just realized, it’s still sitting on blocks to keep the tires off the ground that I put it up on when I was 16 years old! That was 39 years ago! (3 lug wheels, by the way, never seen the like… 4 cyl in the rear, horizontal sliding rear windows)

No, that is not a typo… 84 original miles. My Aunt bought it new, didn’t drive.

4299

As important as using the correct fuel in a car, use the correct cells for the flashlight. :wink:

I’ve heard it all my life, “If it don’t fit, don’t force it!”

4300

Hi DB,
Do you have the .c file of the firmware? I can compile it later.
I would like to have ramping firmware with stock driver.
If you don’t mind, could you share with me? TIA.

4301

DB is using a 17mm FET driver in his L6. There is no way to get the stock FX30 driver to do ramping.

4302

My L6 received the resistor treatment long ago but never made a runtime graph for it until now, in short you get 3K+ lumens for 1/2 hour and then 2K+ lumens for another 1/2, followed by a slow drop to zero in the next 20 mins.

The hottest part was around the side switch and measured 62C, there was a very light breeze hitting the light but no dedicated fan cooling. The L6 and its driver can deal with the heat just fine, this had me worried for a while.

The output might be way off since my setup isn’t still calibrated for throwy lights, so this L6 is perhaps around 4,500-4,800 lumens.

4303

Thanks for the confirmation, Jason. Appreciated.

4304

Has anybody recently bought the Keepower batteries mentioned in the OP? Are they still the correct type (the older model)?

4305

I would like to purchase one of these light soon. Can the extension tube be bought in raw form? If not, I may just order all black so it matches.

Also, I would like to use the H6Flex driver, but I’m not sure if I can make it fit. Are there any other drivers that can handle 11v input or 3 LifePO4 batteries?

4306

Its a shame this lights only drawback for me are the damn batteries which needs to be very good from what i understand? sure i can buy the light but looking at some decent batteries 2 of those will more or less cost as much as the l6 light alone as shipping lithion batties is big problem today, that for me is a big no thanks which is a shame would like a big nasty thrower like this but since it needs beefy 26650 batteries to powerup i will have to wait before buying i guess…

4307

Two Liitokalas for $10. Stick a magnet between them or make a solder blob.

4308

TWN, this is the Zener modified FET variant to enable the 17mm FET driver to work with 2 cells.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/btgr9mmd5uo24eu/AVRGCC93.c?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8exj0nyctu28ui0/AVRGCC93.hex?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/u920tz0a1rrwhyn/flashAVRGCC93.bat?dl=0

If I remember correctly, the e-switch has wires to ground and leg #3 of the MCU. It’s a 64 level ramping, click and hold (short hold) for moon from off, double click (not quickly) for turbo from off. Last mode memory is engaged. Reverses when the switch is pressed and held within 2 seconds. Single click when on turns it off.

4309

Texas_Avenger drivers work well in there too. 3-channel with LDO so slightly more efficient than a Zener-FET. Flash with NarsilM and ramp away :slight_smile: Its been a bit since I built mine but I’m almost certain the 30mm driver is a drop-in replacement for stock. Either are fine choices though.