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!
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.
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?
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.
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)
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.
I bought one of these a few months ago and really like it. Was thinking about getting another for my Dad for father’s day. (He just loves the little Thrunite Saber 1A that I gave him last year. Carries it everyday.) I was thinking about a thrower for him this year. Does Banggood offer any good 18650 chargers to complement this light or should I look elsewhere?
Shipping is crazy lately, USPS has been sending packages through 4-5 sorting centers. Sometimes through the same one twice.
:Sp
With a deadline of 5 weeks you might want consider a US dealer. Mountain Electronics, Illumination Supply, E2 Field Gear are all have great service.
Edit: I just re-read, it's a specific BG only item. I'd suggest ordering soon, then. Or maybe the Tangsfire C8 from tmart's US warehouse, it's very good too.