2250 Lumens of Nichia 90CRI Light - Convoy S2+ Shorty Build with GXB172 Boost Driver

loneoceans · 2018-03-15T20:17:17.000Z

Firelight2:

Awesome job! Where’s the group-buy for those drivers? :heart_eyes:

No 'group buy' just yet, but if the response is good I think we can look into getting a batch of them assembled and made ^_^. Check out the GXB172 thread for more information on the driver: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/50015. Thanks for your comments!

RobertB · 2018-03-15T20:18:38.000Z

MascaratumB:

the Aspire 110mAh/ Keeppower 1200mAh (and eventually the Vapcell)

Made by the same factory in China. Yongdeli

polarweis · 2018-03-15T20:21:24.000Z

Looks great! The candle mode is really cool!

loneoceans · 2018-03-15T20:50:18.000Z

polarweis:

Looks great! The candle mode is really cool!

Thanks! It's a really simple flicker algorithm but I have some ideas to make it more realistic. I suppose the first step is to try it out in a <3000K flashlight though because it looks a little odd now coming from a 5700K emitter. I tested it yesterday night with a yellow plastic bottle on top of it in a dark room, and it was surprisingly pleasant, would be fun in outdoor camping I think. I'm also pretty sure I've seen some mention of candle flicker and other modes in some custom firmwares, like in the BLF lantern, or some of the modes in Toykeeper's firmwares.

FPV · 2018-03-15T20:46:28.000Z

Many thanks for sharing this excellent build! In line with true BLF spirit, this is a good inspiration. really cool build.
I like the candle flicker mode, was wondering why almost no other light has it.

alberto7 · 2018-03-28T18:07:38.000Z

Awesome job man! Congrats!

loneoceans · 2018-04-06T00:17:26.000Z

Hey all,

Quick update! I've further improved the performance of this build - again this build was designed to be a primary test vessel for my GXB172 50W Single Cell Boost Driver.

First, I swapped out the optics. Originally this used an Orange-Peel reflector. However, for those who are familiar with Nichia 144 LEDs, you may know that the phosphor on the die appears to be fairly un-uniform. As a result, the center of the beam is typically much yellow then the outside. In order to fix this, I replaced the OP reflector with a TIR 45-degree honeycomb optic with suggestion from Texas_Ace. Thanks for the tip!

The result is a much more uniform beam and a very very pleasing tint! This really transformed the output of the light! The only downside is a slight drop in OTF lumens, but with a much better quality flood beam.

Details for different TIR optics here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/26270

Next, I also improved the tail-switch by adding in:

My single milli-ohm FET tailswitch (GFS16)
An additional battery-sensing LED tailcap light
Swapped the clicky switch to a stainless steel one.

The tailcap light has the added feature of changing colours (in this case from Blue to Red) when battery voltage drops below 3V, and turns off completely when battery voltage drops below ~2.7V.

For more information about my GFS16 tailcap system, please see this thread: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/50404

Still working on the GXB172 but so far it's seen some improvements in both thermal regulation and overall features :)

As usual, more to come soon!

DavidEF · 2018-04-04T22:33:20.000Z

Oh wow! Nice job on this light! I’ve been following your driver threads and your new tail-switch PCB thread. Plenty of us are waiting for you to release the drivers so we can have them in our lights!

manithree · 2018-04-04T22:53:16.000Z

You just made something very close to an ideal flashlight for me. If I had it in 4500-5000K, I might think I had died and gone to heaven. Anxiously awaiting commercial release of your parts.

And I can’t help but drool over the possibility of a 21700 light almost exactly like this.

Texas_Ace · 2018-04-04T23:16:39.000Z

manithree:

You just made something very close to an ideal flashlight for me. If I had it in 4500-5000K, I might think I had died and gone to heaven. Anxiously awaiting commercial release of your parts.

And I can’t help but drool over the possibility of a 21700 light almost exactly like this.

I am going to be ordering some XHP50.2 4500k 90CRI LED’s in the near future, I expect about 6-8 weeks for them to arrive.

I might order some extras to sell if there is interest. One of these combined with this driver IS my ideal EDC until something better comes along.

manithree · 2018-04-05T00:29:42.000Z

Texas_Ace:

I am going to be ordering some XHP50.2 4500k 90CRI LED’s in the near future, I expect about 6-8 weeks for them to arrive.

I’ve never seen a high CRI Cree LED, but I would be willing to try one. Unfortunately, I don’t have the tools to reflow, so if you aren’t planning to sell that service, also, I’ll probably go with a Nichia 144 and mcpcb from virence.com.

Texas_Ace · 2018-04-05T00:56:59.000Z

manithree:

Texas_Ace:

I am going to be ordering some XHP50.2 4500k 90CRI LED’s in the near future, I expect about 6-8 weeks for them to arrive.

I’ve never seen a high CRI Cree LED, but I would be willing to try one. Unfortunately, I don’t have the tools to reflow, so if you aren’t planning to sell that service, also, I’ll probably go with a Nichia 144 and mcpcb from virence.com.

Yeah, if I sold them I could reflow them as well.

I am guessing I will order a few extras. The tests I have done with the 90CRI XHP50.2 so far have been fantastic. Great rosy tint and great output (around 4000 lumens in my testing IIRC). It is what I plan to convert a lot of my lights to including my EDC.

BlueSwordM · 2018-04-05T02:33:09.000Z

Huh really? I thought that even at high CRI levels, the tint of second gen XHP 50 and XHP 70 is still quite bad.

vinte77 · 2018-04-05T02:58:09.000Z

Texas_Ace:

manithree:

You just made something very close to an ideal flashlight for me. If I had it in 4500-5000K, I might think I had died and gone to heaven. Anxiously awaiting commercial release of your parts.

And I can’t help but drool over the possibility of a 21700 light almost exactly like this.

I am going to be ordering some XHP50.2 4500k 90CRI LED’s in the near future, I expect about 6-8 weeks for them to arrive.

I might order some extras to sell if there is interest. One of these combined with this driver IS my ideal EDC until something better comes along.

I’d be interested in a couple depending on the price. I’ve only seen the 5700 90cri leds. How is the tint shift on the 4500k?

Lightbringer · 2018-04-05T02:58:04.000Z

loneoceans:

First, I swapped out the optics. Originally this used an Orange-Peel reflector. However, for those who are familiar with Nichia 144 LEDs, you may know that the phosphor on the die appears to be fairly un-uniform. As a result, the center of the beam is typically much yellow then the outside. In order to fix this, I replaced the OP reflector with a TIR 45-degree honeycomb optic.

The result is a much more uniform beam and a very very pleasing tint! This really transformed the output of the light! The only downside is a slight drop in OTF lumens, but with a much better quality flood beam.

Yes!!

I keep harping on this, but with S2+es, the quickest’n’easiest way to get rid of the usual fried-egg beam is to swap in a TIR.

Makes a so-so to yecch beam flat-out beautiful!

xxx · 2018-04-05T03:56:07.000Z

Great build :+1:

Texas_Ace · 2018-04-05T04:19:00.000Z

BlueSwordM:

Huh really? I thought that even at high CRI levels, the tint of second gen XHP 50 and XHP 70 is still quite bad.

The tint of the XHP LED’s is actually pretty good, it is just not good in a reflector but the 144 is even worse really.

The issue is the tint shift you get in a reflector causes it to look bad but that is where the TIR comes in, it smooths out the tint and mixes it so that it looks very nice.

With the right TIR the XHP50.2 90CRI looks fantastic in the little I have played with it on the bench.

Texas_Ace · 2018-04-05T04:20:06.000Z

vinte77:

Texas_Ace:

manithree:

You just made something very close to an ideal flashlight for me. If I had it in 4500-5000K, I might think I had died and gone to heaven. Anxiously awaiting commercial release of your parts.

And I can’t help but drool over the possibility of a 21700 light almost exactly like this.

I am going to be ordering some XHP50.2 4500k 90CRI LED’s in the near future, I expect about 6-8 weeks for them to arrive.

I might order some extras to sell if there is interest. One of these combined with this driver IS my ideal EDC until something better comes along.

I’d be interested in a couple depending on the price. I’ve only seen the 5700 90cri leds. How is the tint shift on the 4500k?

I have only tried 4000k and 5000k 90CRI but the tint shift seems better on the 90CRI versions as a rule.

That said it still exists, a TIR optic is needed to get rid of it completely. As said, with the right TIR it looks great.

Texas_Ace · 2018-04-05T04:20:54.000Z

Lightbringer:

loneoceans:

First, I swapped out the optics. Originally this used an Orange-Peel reflector. However, for those who are familiar with Nichia 144 LEDs, you may know that the phosphor on the die appears to be fairly un-uniform. As a result, the center of the beam is typically much yellow then the outside. In order to fix this, I replaced the OP reflector with a TIR 45-degree honeycomb optic.

The result is a much more uniform beam and a very very pleasing tint! This really transformed the output of the light! The only downside is a slight drop in OTF lumens, but with a much better quality flood beam.

Yes!!

I keep harping on this, but with S2+es, the quickest’n’easiest way to get rid of the usual fried-egg beam is to swap in a TIR.

Makes a so-so to yecch beam flat-out beautiful!

YEP! I have been pushing TIR optics for years as well but no one seems to listen.

Lightbringer · 2018-04-05T04:32:53.000Z

Testify, brother! Testify!