I just got my intl-outdoors EDC 18650 XP-G2 and empty host, and the XP-G2 is actually labeled as a Convoy S3. Not sure if hank did a substitute or it was a mistake. Looks good cosmetically, however the emitter is off center, which I’ll take care of down the road. And speaking of cosmetics, the EDC 18650 host looks identical to the Convoy S3, just missing the white text.
Someone asked about the intl-oudoors clip fitting the lanyard holes: No, the holes are spaced too close, but the tail fin opposite the holes has enough space to mount one.
I think only the earliest assembled “EDC 18650” units came without the label. As far as I’m aware, the only way to get a blank one now is to get the empty host.
I have the XP-G2 version too, and my emitter is also off-center. I haven’t bothered to fix it though, since it still works fine for my purposes (biking). I’d probably be better off with a 1.4A XM-L version, but I only have 1.4A XP-G2 and 2.8A XM-L so I don’t have the correct ‘medium’ mode for biking use. Instead of 5%/50%/100, I’d prefer if the spacing was more like 1%/20%/100. (I-O’s page says 5/30/100, but mine measures at 5/50/100)
I put custom firmware on my EDC 18650 XP-G2 and I will eventually on my U2. The XP-G2 is easier because the driver is only held down by a retaining ring.
I love the small form factor. Being an engineer, I can easily slip it into the front pocket of my slacks and it practically dissappears. This will replace an old XPG Yezl C1 from CNQ whose only fault was the lack of runtime from a 16340.
Oh? Is it compatible with DrJones’ luxdrv? I haven’t taken mine apart so I don’t know what chip controls the logic.
If it’s compatible, I think I see a new PIC programmer in my future… assuming I can get the light apart. The lack of a separate head piece makes things a little more difficult.
That is exactly what I am using, tweaked to my needs.
If it is the same as mine, the hardest part is getting the bezel off, it’s glued down. The reflector just comes right out then you unscrew the pill with tweezers. Then unscrew the retaining ring… BAM! ATTINY13 lol
The only obstacle i’ve seen from prebuilt versions of this light is that there is a “glue” holding the bezel in…after that a pair of long thin pilers or even a metal pick of some sort gets the light apart. Do a search on the EDC 18650 threads to see some that were taken apart.
Sweet. Do you need to melt the glue first, or just force it? i’ve heard a leather glove and pliers might do the trick.
As for re-flashing, I recall seeing links somewhere about the hardware required, but I don’t know whether I need a specific OS and compiler. I currently don’t have any Windows boxes, but could probably set up a VM if necessary. I’d rather do the reflashing from Linux though, if possible.
I used a few layers of denim and pliers. You may be able to get it with little to no heat.
For hardware I use a USB programmer from FastTech(a couple of bucks) and I picked up my SOIC 8 clip from eBay. I paid 17 for the clip.
I used avrstudio for compiling and avrdude from the command line to flash the chip. I’m sure it could be done from Linux, but I personally could not tell you how, sorry.
I disassembled my S3 by removing the battery and end cap, putting the tube in a Ziplock bag, and dangling it head down in a pot of boiling water for about 60 seconds……I used a palm sized piece of that ‘exercise elastic’ (that comes in strips about 4” wide) in one hand, and an oven mitt on the other hand. Came apart with only hand force.
I did mark one up earlier with leather & pliers, but discovered that a bit of heat releases the glue just fine. In fact, after reassembling it was ‘glued’ again all by itself, and I had to re-heat it to take it apart a second time.
Since then I’ve taken other lights apart this way as well.
I just finished assembling a DIY Convoy S3 host that arrived today from Fasttech with an XM-L T5-5C1 / 4000K and the 8* AMC7135.
As I also bought a pre-assembled Convoy S3 Cree XM-L T5-5C with 8* AMC7135, I had the opportunity to compare.
While I thought in theory they’d essentially be the same, there is a difference. The DIY assembly has a spot that is probably tighter by up to 30%, and the tint subjectively appears to be cooler by perhaps 750K. Both are going to be acceptable for bike lights where cooling will be efficient. (I’ve found that when hiking outdoors at this time of year, they are barely warm to the touch on high, whereas indoors they get too hot to hold, so that little bit of active cooling even at speeds as low as 2.5 km/hr. while going uphill really makes a difference.)
Even the S3 DIY spot is not as tight as the Cree C20 DIY Host using the same driver and LED, so together they will make a good combination for biking. I wondering perhaps if the pre assembled light may not have the reflector screwed down as tight as I did on my DIY unit to account for the difference in the hot spot. So for anyone contemplating this unit, if you want a tighter hot spot you may want to assemble it yourself.
The blink on low is a bit annoying, but OTOH I kind of liking having confirmation that it’s on the correct setting since sometimes low still seems incredibly bright.
It’d be kind of nice if it didn’t have mode memory, and instead just always started on low.
Anyway, I’m guessing that the low-mode blink is why the hidden modes are “not hidden enough”. And I think it can be soldered to force it, but I’m not sure which star to use or if this is the version of the driver with that feature.
sometimes i want to change the brightness and it blinks and goes to blinky group instead, or i only happen to need a few secs of low light so turning it off changes the mode, or a few times it changed back to blinky group on its own, i just want rid of it
Come to think of it that blink in low mode is kind of annoying. I’m pretty sure it’s the third star that changes the driver to 3 modes, although I haven’t done one for a while, someone else may be able to confirm it. Make sure you ground the star to the outer negative ring, and don’t just solder the star by itself, I remember making that mistake once.
It’s the third star. When I ground the driver to the pill I usually do it at the third star and kill two birds with one stone. However in the case of my S3 I don’t think the star to ground bridge took. So I had to use the switch method, and I agree, it is not a well thought out algorithm, and I also hate it. So I will be disassembling both my S3’s and try to bridge that star again.
My other two annoyances with the S3 are with the pill, the dimples for screwing the pill in are so small it’s hard to get purchase on them, and I had to dremel the tab off the driver because the pill has no keyway in it.
