Just placed an order… looks interesting, might make a decent budget pocket thrower. Will share beam shots when it eventually arrives.
US $16.66 | Convoy S2+ with KW CSLNM1.TG
Interested to see how you like it
I just got one of these and I have to say I’m pleased with the throw, from my rough measurements it’s around 25-30 kcd, basically as much as my FW1A with xpl-hi 5000k. I’m no good at beamshots but this reddit user has some good ones:
Interesting. Although wouldn’t an S2 not an S2+ work better with this LED as it has a deeper reflector?
Although I note the S2 does seem to have vanished from the lineup pretty much.
Aren’t the uv convoys S2’s? At least they where S2…
I would be very interested in knowing how you like it .
Yes probably but I coulei find that option and I don’t know how to mod myself
Let us know what you think about it deliafranco930. Curious to see the beam shots too! Simon continues to impress with the Convoy lineup.
I did some testing, throw OK I expected more, wish it had a tighter beam. I’ll post beam shots tomorrow.
I imagine the shallow reflector limits the LEDs ability. It might work better with one of the TIR optics you can retro fit in the S2+
TIR Optics ? I know nothing about swapping reflectors . I found their web site , which reflector would be appropriate ?
[quote=Bwana]
TIR Optics ? I know nothing about swapping reflectors . I found their web site , which reflector would be appropriate ?[/quote
OK I did some searching and I found some posts about TIR and Convoy
I bought one of these a few months ago. I live in a rural area and walk my dog at night. I carry a (floody) Convoy M3 as my main light but wanted to have a small light in my pocket that could light up an object in the distance if need be.
I loved it at first just due to the wow factor. As I have used it more I still really like it, but I wish it had more light output because even when trying to light something around 100m away (~330 feet) I would prefer if it was noticably brighter. At 100m though the hotspot is the width of the entire road so the beam intensity can probably be improved with some careful focusing (OSRAM CSLNM1.TG & CULNM1.TG 1mm², CSLPM1.TG & CULPM1.TG 2mm² - #1370 by ArturoSC1).
Also, from what I’ve read here (Convoy 5A driver killing Osram CSLNM1), the drivers in these lights are a bit too powerful for these LEDs so I only run mine at 50% power to protect the LED… Hopefully that is not affecting the total output (although the linked thread shows almost no difference in lumen output between 50% and 100%).
This was this video that sold me on the S2+ with the CSLNM1.TG (Convoy s2+ cslnm1 vs C8+ cslnm1 - YouTube) but I also saw the hotspot on the C8+ was only half the size of the S2! So I decided I will try the S2, but if the beam was still too wide I would try the C8+ as well.
The only throwy light I have to compare this S2+ to is an old Fenix TK-70 (triple XM-Ls). I tried them both on a target around 100m away. The TK-70 threw a lot more light down range overall - at least double the amount. Even the TK-70 on just the high setting, putting out ~900 lumens, is brighter than this light when comparing the centre of the beams but the S2+ is tiny in comparison so it is very handy to carry and still goes with me on every dog walk at night. (I don’t expect a light as small as a S2+ to ever match a TK-70 in performance!)
I think I will try to focus the LED/reflector better and if I don’t get any improvement in throw I will buy the Convoy C8+ with the CSLNM1.TG. In most review pictures and videos I think the distance used for the beam shots are quite short and it makes these lights look like they have a laser-like hotspot, but when trying to illuminate something at even a moderate distance they are a lot more useable than they first appear.
You won't get a noticeable gain in throw by better focusing; assuming the best case you might get +50% which is not really noticeable. Getting a C8+ with SFT40 is a much better option, as it gives you >4 times the intensity with 3-4 times lumens depending on driver.
Thanks QReciprocity42, but I was just hoping messing with the focus might make the hot spot smaller. Thanks for the info on the C8 though!
If you are looking at C8+ with cslnm1.tg running 5A driver and worried about too much for 5A…
I will suggest a cslpm1.tg on a M21A with 6A driver. I guess you know M21A is a 21700 C8+. iirc, the differences are 21700 tube and driver size. Else, both are almost identical.
I remember Djozz tested the cslpm1.tg up to 8A(~1500 lumens). So, its very safe and good to run the cslpm1.tg at 6A(~1400 lumens).
I measured the M21A cslpm1.tg 6A @~240kcd.
Thank you LTC, great info!
If the C8+ (or M21a) size works for you, I highly recommend those for the Osram emitters. I’ve had 3 C8+ (1 with W1, 1 with W2, and 1 with green Osram). The spot/flood ratio on those is my favorite, and the throw is great for the price. I have a few other W1 lights (including the GT Nano), and I think the C8+ makes the best use of its potential.
Thanks PhT, good info. Sorry to de-rail this thread with C8/M21 info; it wasn’t my intention but I appreciate all the advice.
As a bit of an update: I have been paying attention to the usable range with my S2+ and I think at around 75 - 80m (~250 - 260 ft) a target could be considered quite well lit up, but by 100m the light has fallen off enough that an object is still illuminated, but it would be harder to make out important details of something at that distance. I have also ordered a Convoy C8+ with a CSLNM1, so I will update this post comparing it to the S2+ once I receive it.
Edit: I have just received the Convoy C8+ with the CSLNM1 and it is amazing! Just like the S2, I ran it on 50% power and it is a giant step up in throw from the S2… If the useable distance for the S2+ for me is around 75 - 80m (~250 - 260 ft), then with the C8+ I found an object at 150m (492 ft) to be very well lit and even very well lit out to 200m (656 ft), but by that distance my ability to see fine detail is now becoming the weak link! The hotspot is only half the size of the S2’s, but at 150m the hotspot of the C8 should still light up the whole side of a car so it’s not crazy narrow. I think the C8+ with the CSLNM1 might be a bit of a “special use” flashlight though as it really only shows its usefulness working at longer distances, so for shorter distances (upto 50m / 164 ft) I would probably choose the S2+ over the C8+. I’m glad I have both though!
benz, I think everyone’s right that you aren’t going to gain much appreciably, but if you want to play with focus you could probably improve it a little and it’s a fun learning exercise. If the positioning is optimal then yeah, the beam may tighten up a smidge but your eyes in the dark may not realize a benefit since the illumination area down range will be smaller and slightly more intense. Better answer is a larger reflector/different host, and you could keep the same size emitter for a really tight beam, or increase the size of the emitter and probably keep more of the same beam pattern but with more usable light at a distance. Throw is a function of the emitting surface vs. width of the reflector for the most part so if you want farther you go wider (depth and reflector shape and focus adjustment and some other aspects come into play also, of course).
If you haven’t seen Hoop’s new thread, it’s really interesting. Playing with gasket thickness for positioning the height of the reflector over the emitter. He didn’t do the S2+ reflector yet but did the older deeper S2 and the S21A. The differences between “good enough” and optimal are very small, but careful sanding of the gaskets is easy enough to do and spares are cheap-cheap if you want to play around with it. Just be sure not to let the metal reflector short circuit by contacting the solder points on the wires, etc.