【convoy】H4 and B35AM options are updated

Maukka measured the PWM speed on each mode:

  • 2.25 kHz moon
  • 17.9 kHz low
  • 36 kHz all other modes

The 36 kHz speed means the driver was flashed with the wrong fuse values.

The 2.25 kHz moon means the driver has a very old version of the firmware on it, from 2016, calibrated for nanjg 105d drivers which were never actually used. This was fixed two years ago, along with some other issues.

If at all possible, I would strongly recommend updating to a newer type of driver, perhaps one with two power channels and an attiny25v or attiny85v chip. This would improve performance and allow for a nicer UI. If not though, it would be a good idea to at least update the firmware on the existing drivers.

So much thanks ,Ms Tk ,i will send these data to driver manufacturer

Fastech and Convoy made this combo work and it made convoy a huge success here because it basically let people buy pre-made custom lights .two things that slipped over time has been the better tint options ...and better ano colors . The red green purple blue copper etc were a waste of time imho. The Sand is epic and the new designs are very nice . love the C8 and the S11 Glad to see Simon here and hope he can filter thru all the noise .

thanks for you data,manufacturer told me that he use ATTINY13A,
he will try 25V,

is it possible to test one more time if you remove the ar-coated glass lens?

and what is the full name of Duv? i want to learn more

I don’t know the details of your situation or your manufacturer, but if you would like newer or nicer drivers, we can probably arrange something. BLF’s two-channel design works well and provides a wide range of output. It could be FET+AMC7135 or 7x7135+1x7135, or it could even use FET+7+1. It depends on how high the high modes should go.

For clicky-switch lights, people seem to like Bistro, Crescendo, and gchart’s ramping UI.

For e-switch lights, if you use an attiny85v MCU, it could run any UI in the FSM suite. The most popular one is Anduril, but it’s also easy to make new UIs. It could be anything you like.

The new Convoy headlamp looks very nice. Depending on your needs and your driver, the headlamp might be a good place to try FSM.

Anyway, there are many possibilities. We should talk in a private message or email if you are interested in trying something new.

:+1: for the H1.
Looks nice. But i hope you will work something out with ToyKeeper.
Would be really nice to see a attiny85v based driver with Anduril!
@Simon Mao
Do you have more information on the frosted lens (light transmittance . . .)?

Using ToyKeeper’s firmware (either Bistro or something FSM-based) in the new models would give them some of the best UIs available and a huge advantage over the competition (at least those that aren’t also using TK’s firmware). A triple-channel driver at a convoy price would be great too.

FWIW, the S2+ and C8 already use Biscotti, which is a slimmed-down copy of Bistro. But there were some issues and miscommunications back in 2016, so some buggy drivers were produced. I thought that had all been straightened out long ago, but maukka got an affected light just this week… so I guess not. I’m hoping we can find a way to finally resolve everything. … and if possible, it’d be nice to do some upgrades too.

Not some. I have bought a few Convoy lights over the last years and have not seen a “fixed” biscotti driver in any of them, i.e. the desert tan S2+ that came out more than 1.5 years after the bug was discovered did not have a fixed driver.

Unfortunayely however fantastic the Convoy flashlights are (I’m a huge fan of them), it seems that Simon’s expertise and his interest is not the driver and that is a real drawback. He is offered help from BLF, you were doing a great job helping him with biscotti TK, but then he does not recognise the problems with the wrong fuse in the thousands of lights that he sells and moreover does nothing to fix it but decides that the drivers work good enough with the bug (IMO they don’t) :frowning:

This should work good with eliminating the donut hole in OP/SMO reflectors with leds like the Luxeon MZ or a Nichia E21 quad :smiling_imp: . Very exited. But it looks heavily frosted compared to the Zebralight lenses, I don’t know if this is on purpose.

@Simon if you have the chance to buy 3500K SST-20 emitters, certainly do it. From what I recall they have a rosy tint, combined with the not overly warm (white is still mostly white) CCT and high CRI and R9 this led could have a 219B light quality.

Convoy lights are mostly used by non-flashoholic people or muggles, however you want to call them, so the UI should be simple, Anduril would we way over the top. However I would love to see a Andurill “Lite”, scaled down to the simplicity of the RampingIosV2 but remaining the advantages it has over it.

If you remove the throw with a frosted lens, you also don’t need a 40mm reflector, the beam will be the same from a much smaller S2+ with a frosted lens. Only in specific illumination it is still handy because the shadows that this light casts are a bit softer than from a narrower light source.

@djozz
Could the frosted lens help to smooth the artifacts from a 3V XHP50?

I’ve bought some S2+ which did have an improved Biscotti driver (slower flashes when in config mode), so something was improved! I don’t need all the complicated settings, so I often bought the simpler 3/5 mode drivers, which have one big disadvantage: the audible squeal. It should have a higher PWM frequency, or twice as low! Now it resonates in the springs…

^ thanks for the information Convoylover, so Simon did improve the biscotti driver at some point.

Question for Simon then now: if I buy spare biscotti drivers in your aliexpress store at this moment, can I be sure that they have the fixed software?

This frosted lens looks like it will smooth out anything.

Including a lot of lumens. I think it’s too much.

Technically, not only for casting soft shadows, but to have the C8’s better heatsinking ability compared to S2, it is very useful to have a frosted lens in front of the reflector (if someone goes for a bit more powerful flooder).

I’ve noticed that Convoy’s Biscotti driver are locked (to prevent flashing), and some people already mentioned to make a cut with a knife on some pin number. I’ve tried doing the cut on a Biscotti driver, but still couldn’t flash successfully — it could be my “cut” wasn’t deep enough though.

I was wondering, if these bare Biscotti drivers can be fixed with a reflash?

May I ask which Biscotti .hex file to use for re-flashing affected Biscotti drivers (since I now have a few Convoys with Biscotti drivers) and fix the fuse issues or timing issues, if that’s possible?

Thanks for the info.

Though that’s a disappointing one. Please let me explain…
Most of my friends who actually use flashlights are backpackers. They tend to pick headlamps. Always plastic ones; Black Diamond, Petzl and such. Sometimes I try to convince them to get something brigher, more efficient, with better tint, tougher, with more battery….and I always fail because even 92 g of Skilhunt H03 with 18650 cell is a lot for them. Similarly skinny light with 18350 would have a chance. And one that allows to pick tube size - even more so. I see that H1 with 18350 will weigh roughly as much as Skilhunt H03 with 18650. I see little reason to use 18350 then…

Also - I’m a backpacker myself. And a weight weenie on top of that. I have quite a few uses for H1 even as it is now (most importantly: a worklight, after putting a TIR in it) but it won’t become my ultimate headlamp; there will still be significant uses where it’s just too heavy.

Anyway I fully expect that H1 will be on my list of lights worth recommending - but not to everyone. Significantly - not to most of my friends.

Yes. Just cut pin 5 and reflash it as usual.

I just bite the chip leg off the board