Get the Convoy C8 AK47 from Banggood (8*7135)

You can stack the 7135’s by soldering them on top of each other

It is very inexpensive. It does make the driver thicker and creates some heat but in this particular light there’s lots of room. You must add the chips on the bottom of the driver though which can be tricky since there’s little room. I Desolder the chips that are there, stack them, then put the stacked chips back.

While stacking chips are good for better performance you should also change the LED star into direct copper MCPCB, something like the Sinkpad or Noctigon, otherwise the increased light output will sag very quickly and it may even damage your LED in a long run, depends on the current draw anyway.

How many chips did you add? What battery do you use?

When you add chips to power up the driver, the choice of cell becomes increasingly important. Some cells simply will not deliver the current needed for the increased power of the driver.

Stacking 4 chips usually yields around 4.12A and many cells can do this, the Panasonic NCR18650PF is a great choice here for it’s excellent capacity and resulting runtime. It’s also capable of delivering more, when you get hungry to bump even more power. (which you will)

Stacking 4 more on top of those for a total of 16 chips usually results in around 5.34A (more if your cell can deliver), this does require a good cell like the one above or a Samsung 20R, there are several others that will run a driver with 16 chips but not at it’s maximum potential. When doing this, it’s essential, like above, to have a SinkPAD or Noctigon copper star under your emitter! (mtnelectronics.com here in the States has the Noctigons with emitters mounted, or you can get them at Intl-Outdoor.com)

This can get you to 1000-1100 lumens in the first example, and upwards of 1600 lumens in the second…this is Out The Front (OTF) lumens!!!

Have fun becoming a Flashaholic! :slight_smile:

Edit: I would be remiss to leave out that the tail switch is not made to run these currents. Adding 4 chips you can easily give the tailcap some breathing room by doing a spring bypass, which entails soldering a solder wick copper braid or a wire from top to bottom of the spring to carry the current. Springs are made from steel, in most cases, so the copper bypass will have less resistance and the current will follow the path of least resistance. Going to 8 added chips you might need to put a stronger switch in your light, like a McClicky, available at multiple places but Lighthound is a good choice.

Thanks for the info!

I got some Panasonic NCR18650B protected batteries. They should be able to provide enough power right?

Planned to put in a copper pill, dedome a XML2 on noctigon and put in some 22 awg led leads. So I think it should be able to handle some higher amperage…… J)

Edit: Ow yeah, almost forgot the copper braiding of the tailspring. Maybe also the driver spring?

You can always add 2 chips and see how it performs. Go back in later and stack 2 more if you’d like to see more.

Stacking a second layer you can easily go one at a time until you reach your destination.

Me? I tend to throw everything at it all at once and go for the big bang theory! :slight_smile:

(The most chips I have on a standard Qlite driver is 22. There are multiple levels of new problems that accompany that many chips.)

Braiding the driver spring can give you up to 600 mA more to the LED with lessened resistance. Every little bit…

Just patiently waiting for it to arrive.

I know what you mean. I’ve only waited 11 days so far for mine to arrive. I figure I still have a couple weeks of waiting. I excitedly check the mail each day, just in case it comes in that “7-15 day” window shown on the Banggood site.

I modded mine, I ordered this one http://www.banggood.com/Convoy-C8-AK47-7135+8-8-Modes-White-Light-LED-Flahslight-p-908245.html (it was on sale and the BLF coupon code knocked it down to $$16.44 [not sure if on sale anymore]

Has 8 chips (2800mA), ended up flashing STAR V1.1 with pins 2, 3, 4 bridged to ground

It now comes on wide open for 2 minutes, then automatically steps down to a lower level, has 5 modes turbo w/ timeout, high, med, low, moonlight

I did it this way as my “bump in the night, blind badguy with a wall of light, but also keep the kids from burning the darn thing up by turning it on high and leaving it there” setup

Unlike my modded Convoy S5 that has last mode memory the C8 ALWAYS starts in turbo but after 2 minutes pulls back to keep from overheating (and no daggum flashies)

I am now a C-8 owner. Very impress with the quality and brightness. I got the L2 U2 1A.

It’s an amazing light on all levels.

c’mon, level with us….

Will Panasonic NCR18650B's be ok for this light?

Yes, why not? I use protected ones in mine, though unprotected can be used as this C8 flashes on a certain low voltage level.

Hi Guys I want to get the G2: H 100, M 30, L 5%, with memory Convoy c8 the thing is i don’t know which one is it can someone please help me. TIA.

I think all stock Convoy C8 flashlights come with this ‘special’ two-group driver:

Group 1 (3 modes) Low 5% - Mid 50% - High 100%
Group 2 (5 modes) Low 5% - Mid 50% - High 100% - Strobe - SOS

To shift between groups, simply click to Low, wait about 5 seconds for the light to blink once, then click again.

So, with any stock Convoy C8 in your hand, you may click from Low to Mid to High, then back to Low (Group 1).

Then, you may shift to Group 2, and click from Low to Mid to High to Strobe to SOS, then back to Low, etc.

In other words, one of these flashlights gives you both groups.

I hope I understood your question?

Correct…and that driver is exactly like this one…they have several versions

http://www.fasttech.com/product/1186301-8-amc7135-2-group-25-modes-led-flashlight-driver-n <-stars have no effect lo>hi

http://www.fasttech.com/products/1612/10001683/1122302 <- star selectable lo>hi

6*7135 http://www.fasttech.com/products/1612/10001683/1122301 <- star selectable lo>hi

6*7135 http://www.fasttech.com/products/1612/10001683/1232400 <- star selectable hi>lo

There is also custom firmware that can be written to the MCU on the driver to change what it does all together

JohnnyC’s STAR V1.1 and DrJones, and Werner, and a few others have written EXCELLENT open source code for us to use (some is also proprietary and you have to buy their drivers pre-loaded)

Its a reliable driver but the problems are ; the annoying blinking for changing mode when in low, can’t change modes with soldering stars, the medium is so high that most of the times I can’t tell the difference between the highest mode when using it indoor and there is a little whining sound sometime.