New Convoy C8 – Clearly better

At least you know that your battery protection is works in your light :smiley:

Agreed! :+1:

my Lii-500 in NOR mode does the opposite, charges, then discharges and measures capacity, then fully charges again.

I did notice however the manual says, discharge - charge - discharge, but after using NOR test over 10 times i can say for sure it will charge - discharge - charge.

take note of the ‘end’ word on the screen. if it is blinking it is charging, if its solid it has charged fully and completed the NOR (normal) test.

+1

Perhaps not the most favorite C8 mod, but I like an orange peel reflector with the big MT-G2 and it’s beautiful creamy white color tint for close-up work. A diffusion film or a frosted lens can make it pure flood, or leave the reflector out completely and glue the lens in place for the ultimate artifact free flood…… mule configuration.

This does require a Zener mod to an FET driver and the use of 2 18350 cells, but I like the result. YMMV

DC-Fix it !

PM member Boaz for some help with your situation .
:face_with_monocle: :beer:

Yup, or if you have an old laptop or smart phone (or TV) you’re going to throw out, use its diffuser film:

All that fuss….
Maybe i’m a thicko, could be…
But i really like the Convoy LD25 driver.
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Free-shipping-LD25-Flashlight-circuit-board/330416_1018316904.html
It’s a 3 mode (plus double click for strobe) FET CC driver without PWM for the low and medium modes.
It fits easily and works like a charm.
Should work longer on full output with a XP-L HI because of the lower voltage drop (compared to 7135 drivers).

Good advise!
I got 2 sheets from my old laptop screen.
One is like 5° diffusion, the other is like 30° (both are my guesstimates).
The trick is to glue it on the back of the lens with a thin layer of (for example) Kafuter UV curing glass glue.
Glueing it eliminates the losses you get when the light travels from diffuser sheet to air to lens, because the refraction index of the glue is similar to the glass and / or the sheet.

That’s good advice. However, I didn’t want something permanent just yet, so I just press it against the glass and use some tape to hold it in place. Yes, it likely does leave an air gap which decreases efficiency, but it still gives pretty-good results overall.

Yeah, of course first try if you like it.
I have 3 lights i did with the 5° stuff, and i liked it enough to do it permanently with Kafuter glass glue.
The glue is also very handy for fixing a TIR optic in a bezel by the way.

I like the idea of turning the light into a mule by just removing the reflector. Not sure about the DC fix thing as I don’t want it marking up the lens

The problem I find with mules is that they cast very harsh shadows. The LED is so tiny. I just don’t like the look of the light on things.

With diffuser film, it softens the shadows quite a bit. Makes things look much nicer.

If you go mule you’ll need to glue the emitter down since the reflector is what usually does that.

Convoy C8 is supposed to have screws that hold the LED board.

The screws you see down there are for anti-rotation. They are not for downward pressure.

I was a bit concerned after reading about this light that the beam might be too focused for my needs but it seems the great thing about the C8 is easy of modifying. I’m quite good with soldering so I can always order different emmiters to try :smiley: I am surpised the board is not screwed down, I guess the reflector applies downwards pressure?

The board is screwed down, most of the C8’s I’ve seen have a head on the screw that compresses the MCPCB. If not, replace the screws with ones that do. Or use Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive underneath the MCPCB. The lens itself would still need to be glued into the bezel without a reflector to hold it.

I disagre.
They push down the board on the shelf, it can run without reflector without cooling problems.
Well, mine can anyway.
They’re screwed tight.

Screws meant to clamp down on metal look like this. These are pan head.

The screws used in the C8 have a tapered head (countersunk head) that will split and distort the mcpcb if tightened too much. So even though the screws can provide a certain amount of clamping force, they are not meant to do that. It is just a side effect.

If I were going to not use the reflector, I would swap to some proper pan head screws that were longer than stock to provide a good clamping force without stripping the threads or distorting the mcpcb.

I guess I can be a bit too technical or precise about things. Sorry.