Mod: Convoy L4, a good mod host? Is it even necessary to mod?

I have always recommended the Xintd despite not owning it. Like you say, its a well built light, good parts, screw in reflector, AR lens, Qlite and with mode options, tint options. Its a great light!

IMO L4 does have a few advantages though.

Aluminium body > brass screw in pill

Copper mcpcb which are tightly secured by screws > screw in reflector

Dual switch setup with electronic side switch > tail clicky only

Qlite vs LD-34-A. That is subjective, but the L4 is a tad more "sophisticated" (not sure if its got any sort of low voltage protection or warning yet, which I would prefer).

Buy an AR lens for the L4 and its still cheaper (depending on where you buy and what emitter option)

Looks are subjective, but id say the L4 looks way nicer. See them side by side here.

L4 is shorter.

L4 can easily be modded for higher output as well, its actually easier to add a resistor or two to it than to stack several 7135s onto a Qlite.

Im probably biased towards the L4 though, but its a reason why I bought that instead of the Xintd. So far it have lived up to my expectations.

That pretty much solves it.. :p

Then you can get different tints too. ^^

Look at register PINB to determine what pins are pulled low. I used PB3, so to check the value you do this...

(PINB & (1 << PB3))

If it's 0, it's pulled low (pressed). If it's 1, it's pulled high (open).

You have to set up the pin for input though...

PORTB |= (1 << PB3);

I think I actually may have pulled this code from Tido's original code as it had the ability to have an input switch.

As for the other stars, I would have to look at what stars connect to what pins, then reference that here...

Itā€™s called Vf - forward voltage. Driver doesnā€™t seem to regulate well, which means higher Vf - less amps.

coolā€¦ another light for resistor mod :heart_eyes: I love this lightā€¦ it is beautiful light, I donā€™t care much about the waterproof part, because I donā€™t plan to stay outside when itā€™s rain :wink:

I mentioned the Vf right below where you quoted me. I see nothing wrong with the way the driver regulates.. There does not seem to be much resistance in it either. :) (tested same used NCR18650B in the L4 and in a light using Qlite and XM-L2. I saw a higher tailcap reading on the L4. Again, probably due to the lower Vf in the emitter)

The change in amps are due to the Vf issues in the emitters, not in the driver. Regulation is good as far as I have seen.

:beer:

btw, no one have actually confirmed that the switch is a weak point for rain...

Ohhh - thanx Jonny!! Was wondering bout that, if Tidos' original had support for it. Didn't seem documented in the code clearly, not sure. I looked at it...

I gotta stop looking at this thread; every time I want an L4 even moreā€¦

do you have to unsolder the wires from LEDs first in order to get to the driver?

Yupp, otherwise the wires will hold it back..

Iā€™ve got .12R, .22R, and .5R resistors on the wayā€¦ Any idea on a possible combination to score in the 4-5A range? Iā€™m currently seeing about 2.7 on unprotected panny NCR18650B 3400mAh.

Yeah manā€¦. +1

I held out for about a month. :stuck_out_tongue:

Finally ordered one from WB with new 11% discount code, total: $26.08

Im not even sure unprotected NCR18650B will give you peak output above 4A, either way, it will not stay above 3,5A for long anyway. There is no point in trying to set the light up for really high amps unless you are using a battery that is capable of staying there for some time. Then you will just make the mode spacing worse.

As with all resistors mods, the higher you push, the higher chance of breaking something.

Id say try one 0.12R and 0.22R if you want to get high with that battery. I have not done the math, but it should probably get you close/ or maybe around 4A in theory, if you dont have issues with resistance. Which you might already have..

Nice Tom E, how high will you aim? I expect you to push the limits.. 0:)

I don't have my L4 anymore.. But I might buy another one. Its such a nice light and host. I miss it.

(I actually have 2 different C8 lights on the way, there goes the not buying any more regular C8 lights)

I hope others share their results before and after resistor mods on these lights. :)

Iā€™ve got PF cells I use for a quick test here and there. Iā€™ll grab some 20R eventually.

Thanks for the mod and teardown info, R86!
The driver is a buck or (probbaly) boost driver of some kind. This explains the difference in tailcap and emitter currents. Iā€™m not sure if it can be pushed to 4A+ without burning up.

Iā€™m liking the look of this light, it has everything in one package (forward-clicky, side-switch for modes, looks good, nice thermal design, moddable).

ā€¦ Dang. Perhaps Iā€™ll stick to a single r120 then.

for some reasonā€¦ the one that I got from simon is slightly brighter than the one that I got from wallbuys :~

Got mine today from WB - real nice, clean, well packed. #'s:

On fresh Pana PD, 2.79A tail, Lumens: 986 @start, 959 @30 secs, throw: 41.5 kcd

These are quite good #'s for a stock, regulated light. In fact this appears very well regulated - in the first few secs, the meter dropped steady, then settled by 10 secs or so, and only lost 4 lumens between 10 and 30 secs. Not sure if seen a relatively high amp light do this before...

Not too crazy bout this type of UI though. Not being able to turn it ON and OFF on the side switch is a PIA, though I do like tactical buttons, just want full control from the side switch.

crap - was hoping my SS bezel from a UF light would fit, appeared to be the same size but the thread count per inch is different, so won't really screw on. I have a SS bezel XR-E C8 from FastTech ($13 one) on the way, so maybe that one will fit. Even paying $13 for the SS bezel alone is worth it, but it's still a pretty decent C8 host. I mod'ed up 2 for gifts and they came out real nice.

You know, this L4 is really quality through-out. Ok, it's a crappy copper star, but gotta be better than the average aluminum. The screws holding it down, the heavier gauge wires, of course the uni-body construction as mentioned -- all very good stuff. On mine though, the emiterr centering piece has to get filed down - looks too high. I'm thinking for now, just to do something simple like a resistor mod, maybe AR lens, and that's it, until I can come up with a better driver/UI solution.