Quote:

the L6 when modded are bad but i do want something that can push 500kcd or even more Smile

its only SMO based L6 eqipped with a good dded S5 makes 500+k easy…yet its a chunky light and kinda heavy too…and the hotspot is only “hunting scope” worthy

Mitko wrote:

Quote:

the L6 when modded are bad but i do want something that can push 500kcd or even more Smile

its only SMO based L6 eqipped with a good dded S5 makes 500+k easy…yet its a chunky light and kinda heavy too…and the hotspot is only “hunting scope” worthy

What emitter do you mean ? And what driver/batteries etc setup ?

Sorry i ment S4, DD fet driver( simple one), and a slightly modded TK firmware for both keys to be operational
The battery is either Liito or Efest 4200( Efest is kinda better lately, they runined the Liito)

One could always use Olight M22/23/M2X driver too( plus 2× 26350s), thus youll have a regulation yet youll be limmited to the driver 3(+ strobe) simple modes

Mitko wrote:

Sorry i ment S4, DD fet driver( simple one), and a slightly modded TK firmware for both keys to be operational
The battery is either Liito or Efest 4200( Efest is kinda better lately, they runined the Liito)

One could always use Olight M22/23/M2X driver too( plus 2× 26350s), thus youll have a regulation yet youll be limmited to the driver 3(+ strobe) simple modes

I asked because i have Dale’s L6 with smo reflector that it’s making 439kcd with an S2 emitter , but driven hard at 5.5 amps .

Well…centering is crusial here, a different emitter bracket too:5.5 is too much for any g2 emitter: 5 amps tops( unless its from the very old ones)

P.S

I just remembered that those SMO that Simon sent me needed a 2mm sanding too( they are from his first batch), those in the store could differ

I was gonna say, 500 don’t come easy in any light, not in this Hemisphere!

I remove the flat from the reflector completely, machine the inside of the lip and cut some off the head, machine inside the head and a couple of points on the reflector so it can seat deeper. Also machine the emitter shelf for a 26mm MaxToch copper mcpcb. Might have missed a trick, but if so it sure wasn’t for lack of trying…

Even the 440kcd is massive throw , but since Mitko mentioned it i was just wondering what the best outcome could be .

I have one last old xp-g2 s4 2b and a reflector waiting for a machined host to accept 26mm mcpcb , i must make it happen soon

Giorgo, that L6 has an XP-G2 S2 0D de-domed, so an S4 2B should do about 20% more output, might get it up there around 500…

DB Custom wrote:

Giorgo, that L6 has an XP-G2 S2 0D de-domed, so an S4 2B should do about 20% more output, might get it up there around 500…

I don’t really know , but i hope so

Well, even so the hotspot is too small even for my taste, the torch cant be mounted cause of its size too
The best you could make with it is W2/XHP35 mod

giorgoskok

Try a dded XHP 35 in it m8, i did that in an L2 host and the result is great!

Mitko wrote:

Well, even so the hotspot is too small even for my taste, the torch cant be mounted cause of its size too
The best you could make with it is W2/XHP35 mod

giorgoskok

Try a dded XHP 35 in it m8, i did that in an L2 host and the result is great!

A KD driver m8( its actualy quite decent), didnt you tested it already?

Ld 51 could be used too( its actualy even better) yet youll need 26350s and some driver bed drilling- i did that the first time i XHP 35 modded an L2 yet my XHP35 dedoming wasnt good by that time, now i got the right formula

Yeah OK! You didn’t hook the LED directly to a power source eg. directly to batteries! You controlled the current thru the driver, thats not DD in my book!

Well, most ppl do prefer having regulation and lower output levels

However, for the record and the idea of max output/throw you have a point here

What kcd are these putting out? I have read reports of 70 and 80 but none seem super accurate.

I ask because I have a black c8 with 8×7135, and a u4 dedomed. I have no idea of the kcd currently but guess it’s 50-60?

I have a maxtoch 2x for longer range duties but the c8 is my go to due to size/weight/power. Often it’s strapped to my 22 for rabbit shooting out to 100m and decent light behind subject to check firing zone

I’m just trying to justify that I need the clear c8 as well as my current one….

I am not sure if this is the right area to post this, but recently I received a Clear C8 from Simon and noticed that the frequency of the flashes during the “program” phase are slower than the Clear C8 (and a bunch of ‘new firmware’ (red PCB) S2+) that I bought a few months ago.

I prefer the slower flashes – I can count the actual number of flashes now instead of counting how many separate bursts of flashes there are I would say the frequency is approx halved.

The other thing I noticed is that not only is the flashing frequency slower, but in between flashes there is a constant very very low dim output of light (like moonlight mode – really cool actually and far lower than the lowest 0.1% mode) – since the driver is capable of driving the LED at such a low level one wishes it included as a mode somewhere in the 12 options

Was the firmware changed? Has anyone else noticed this?

eggmang wrote:

Was the firmware changed? Has anyone else noticed this?

The extra-low level between config flashes is a side effect of using fast (sawtooth wave) PWM on attiny13a. It’s really voltage-sensitive so the output drops quite a bit as the battery drains… which makes it less suitable for use as an actual moon mode. Also, it didn’t happen at all on the prototype drivers because they used a different brand of 7135 chips. It might be an option, if we could count on getting the exact same 7135 chips in each batch, but that’s not realistic. However, you could still change the source a bit and reflash to get it exactly how you want it…

The first batch was a bit unfortunate. The driver hardware changed quite a bit between prototype and production, without warning, and they were flashed with the wrong fuse values, so a lot of things weren’t quite right. But that all got resolved for the second batch.

ToyKeeper wrote:

eggmang wrote:

Was the firmware changed? Has anyone else noticed this?

Yes, the bugs from the initial release were fixed. These new ones are much closer to what it should have been.

The extra-low level between config flashes is a side effect of using fast (sawtooth wave) PWM on attiny13a. It’s really voltage-sensitive so the output drops quite a bit as the battery drains… which makes it less suitable for use as an actual moon mode. Also, it didn’t happen at all on the prototype drivers because they used a different brand of 7135 chips. It might be an option, if we could count on getting the exact same 7135 chips in each batch, but that’s not realistic. However, you could still change the source a bit and reflash to get it exactly how you want it…

The first batch was a bit unfortunate. The driver hardware changed quite a bit between prototype and production, without warning, and they were flashed with the wrong fuse values, so a lot of things weren’t quite right. But that all got resolved for the second batch.

Thanks for this! it is nice to know that this change is due to a software update. I really like the slower flash.

Out of curiosity, was the slower flash implemented due to user feedback? Or is it slower due to a side effect of some other technical improvement?

The first batch ran at twice the intended speed because the MCU was flashed with the wrong fuse value. Everything ran twice as fast, though most of it wasn’t very noticeable. So, the slower blinking was how it was supposed to be all along.

I didn’t change much for the second batch. I mostly just added extra redundancy on the part which measures the button timing, to avoid an issue which affected roughly 1% of the drivers. There were a few which had literally just a few atoms out of place, deep inside the MCU, in a way which interfered with the trick it uses to measure time while power is disconnected. And I think the driver hardware got some minor updates too, to make it easier to reflash.

Good luck on the surgery Dale. We’ll be watching for you.

I just received mine, its beautiful and very bright but I only have one mode (high) available somehow… Is there a quick fix to this problem or do I have to change the driver?

One mode is most likely a short from LED minus to the body

New driver can be programmed to 1 mode
Look for biscotti firmware

That’s the first time anyone has reported having only high mode on this light. Could be a short, as suggested. Or something else to try as a quick test is tapping the button as fast as you can to see if it changes anything. Turn it on, then give it a quick, light tap. Not hard enough to make a clicking sound, just barely enough to turn the light off for a short fraction of a second.

If it still comes on only in high after a quick tap, try doing it ~15 times quickly to see if it goes into a config mode. It could possibly be in the mode group with only one mode.

the MCU may be stuck in one mode

if its DD short you can easily check with a DMM

I tried multiple things, of-course it stays stuck in one mode. Nothing on the reflector side that can make a short, I even tried without the reflector. So I unscrewed the retention ring to see the driver on the other side but the cable are too short to be pulled -of the head so I can’t solder a new driver and now the driver is stuck in moonlight mode…

The driver is the same from the official Convoy website but mine is written ‘‘convoy’‘ instead of ‘‘fx-12’‘.
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/7135×3-7135×4-7135×6-7135×8...

Omega_17 wrote:

Nothing on the reflector side that can make a short, I even tried without the reflector.

Omega_17 wrote:

So I unscrewed the retention ring to see the driver on the other side but the cable are too short to be pulled -of the head so I can’t solder a new driver and now the driver is stuck in moonlight mode…

Is it now one mode on moonlight only?

That’s really odd. I better let others suggest something. If you can’t get it working I’m sure Convoy/Simon would send you a replacement driver.

Just a thought, maybe it’s the tail switch. You could remove tailcap and apply a jumper from battery to end of flashlight body, then try successively tapping wire to body to change modes.

Yes its on one mode moonlight only now… I already changed drivers on flashlight but its tricky since there is no removable pill. Its not the switch either sadly. I purchased it from Gearbest so it might be second grade quality.

Omega_17 wrote:

Yes its on one mode moonlight only now… I already changed drivers on flashlight but its tricky since there is no removable pill. Its not the switch either sadly. I purchased it from Gearbest so it might be second grade quality.

It may just be a faulty driver. With gearbest you can open a claim with them and they will probably ask you to make a short video showing that there is a problem. Once they feel it’s a valid claim they will probably ask you whether you would like to send the light back or they will offer you half the purchase price back. I got half my money back and then ordered a replacement driver from the manufacturer. It took another 2 weeks to get the replacement driver, but I installed it and everything was fine.

I have heard that some people will argue for a full refund, but I don’t know if they will do that. Maybe.

Omega, try this… click it on then bump like you’re changing modes 10 – 12 times, it SHOULD give you a quick blink, tap it like a mode shift at this point, it should then blink once, pause, twice, pause, three times and so forth… try clicking on one of those like say the place where it blinks 3 times bump it or turn it off, see if it takes that setting.

Biscotti, which is what your C8 driver should have, has this interface….

The interface is as follows:

While off:

- Fully click and release to turn the light on. It will go to the first mode or the last-used mode, depending on whether you enabled mode memory.

While on:

- Short tap: Do a short (less than 0.5s) half-press to go forward to the next mode.
- Long tap: Do a long (longer than 0.5s) half-press to reset to the first mode (if mode memory is turned off).
- Fully click and release to turn the light off.
- Short tap a bunch of times (10+ taps, or until the light stops turning on) to enter config mode.

Blinky modes:

- Some mode groups have blinky modes. They are not hidden, but if you leave mode memory off you can skip them with a long press.

Blinky modes include:

- Tactical strobe (~10 Hz)
- Biking flasher (2-level stutter beacon, 1 Hz)
- Battery check / beacon mode Each blink represents about 25% battery charge, so 1 is a low battery and 4 blinks is full. 5 blinks means it’s over-charged.
- SOS

Configuration options:

The config mode has several options. It will blink out a number to show which option is active, then “buzz” or “stutter” for a bit.
Click during the “buzz” to select that option. Some options may enter a secondary config mode after the light turns back on.

Options include:

1. Mode group.

After clicking, the light should come on in a special group-select mode. In this mode, it slowly blinks out numbers from 1 to N, where N is the number of mode groups, then repeats. Turn the light off after N blinks to select mode group N.

Do not leave the light in config mode for long periods of time, because it will wear out the driver’s memory faster.

The mode groups are: (output is approximate)

1. 0.1%, 1%, 10%, 35%, 100%, strobe, biking, battery-check
2. 0.1%, 1%, 10%, 35%, 100%
3. 100%, 35%, 10%, 1%, 0.1%
4. 1%, 20%, 100%, strobe, biking, battery-check, SOS
5. 1%, 20%, 100%
6. 100%, 20%, 1%
7. 0.1%, 1%, 10%, 50%, strobe, biking, battery-check, SOS
8. 0.1%, 1%, 10%, 50%
9. 50%, 10%, 1%, 0.1%
10. 1%, 10%, 35%, 100%
11. 100%, 20%, strobe
12. 100% only

Example: To select group 5 (low-med-high), let it blink until it counts out five, then click the button.

2. Mode memory. Off or on.