【convoy】H4 and B35AM options are updated

With your modes set as Modes: 1–10–35–100, double click strobe. It could almost be practical, the host is more than half the weight of the L7. 290g vs 537g. Or 333% the current of your S21A at 333% the weight.

Hi Simon! Is the L7 already on stock? In the information after the order on Ali it says something like to be shiped in 9 days… I ordered yesterday already :slight_smile:

Thank you so much Simon. I really appreciate this great customer service. Maybe I can combine your kind offer along with my next purchase in your shop. I am sure there will be at least another new light I could be interested in. ;)

Actually, the ramping speed in the higher currents needs to be faster, not slower. In the lower currents the brightness increase needs to be slowed down because the human eye will hardly recognize the difference between 2000lm and 3000lm but it is a huge difference between 500lm and 1000lm. I think I once saw a graph of the ideal current / luminous flux curve that ToyKeeper and/or Tom E have implemented into their software of NarsilM UI and Andúril UI.

Anyway, my proposal is a total ramping duration of 4 or 5 seconds (from minimum to maximum). This is pretty fast but still convenient enough to easily set one's desired brightness level. A too slow ramping could probably turn users away of using this functionality. This is only my personal opinion, of course. :))

Good idea, but I strongly vote for the colorful light option to indicate voltage levels. Flashing side switches can be tedious in everyday use and easy to overlook if you need to count the single flashes.

First of all, thanks a lot for showing interest in this idea. From my experience, it is not easy to convince manufacturers of the benefits in improving a user interface. Many manufacturers I have come to cooperate with rather focus on hardware specifications only. Typically, they either use their own proprietary UI or they simply copy/adopt the Andúril or NarsilM UIs that were created and refined by renowned BLF members. My idea was to keep the best parts of Andúril UI (timings, thermal properties, optimized ramping curve, intuitive operation, open source code, ...) and strip it down to the very basic functions that most users will feel comfortable with.

I know the problem with this open source code is that we are limited to using it on Atmel chips (ATtiny85, 816-MNR, 1616-MNR, 3216-MNR). They are all hard to source by now and if available, very expensive. I can understand that this would have a severe impact on your product cost calculation, making prices possibly higher than before. But even if you decided against it, maybe this could at least be of any value to you in redesigning your user interfaces for e-switch flashlights.

Any flashlight using the Andúril UI along with an illuminated side switch uses this function. Some examples...

Sofirn SP36, Sofirn SC31 Pro, Sofirn LT1, Wurkkos TS30S, Astrolux EA-series, most current Emisar/Noctigon flashlights, FireFlies flashlights and many more

What's the benefit in this function?

It is highly customizable to the user's preference (e.g. the switch light can be turned off in unlocked mode but turned on in locked mode to find the light in an emergency in darkness). Some users even prefer the beacon mode which slowly blinks to make it even easier to find again in darkness. While the low setting is so dim that you can barely see it unless in pitch black darkness, the high setting is bright enough to even find it easily in daylight.

If you were to combine this function with the beforehand mentioned color indication for the battery voltage, this would be a great add on to the UI.

This would be a great light! I can imagine it being over 12,000 lumens and being very efficient at low modes. Is this with the same 3X21A host as the single emitter one or does it have a bigger head for more throw?

3 * XHP70.2 would probably be very floody. Have you considered 3 SST-70* version? The Imalent R30C has this in a small host and throws a long way.

Another option would be 3 SBT90.2*! This would be very expensive and even with 3*21700 it would would step down from turbo quickly. The Haikelite HK90 is like this and has impressive specs.

There's a youtube video showing this, using Anduril. Anduril works the same.

Play this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZjuqVdq5Rk, it's a long one, but go to 28:30 of the video and it shows the 7 click operations to set the switch LED.

In this case they are using the Sofirn IF25A but there are many other Anduril lights using a switch LED.

Manufacturers using Anduril: Sofirn, Lumintop, Emisar/Noctigon, FireFlies, Mateminco, Astrolux, Haikelite. These also happen to be popular brands and models on BLF. A thread that shows Anduril, as well as other open source UI's usage on retail flashlights is here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/57101

Also the new JetBeam EC26 uses Anduril, though not sure if it has a lighted switch - http://jetbeamlight.com/products_show327.html, https://www.batteryjunction.com/jetbeam-ec26-edc.html, https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/66621

I totally agree with this. The only downside of SST70 is that Luminus offers it in 6500K only.

If Convoy was to offer a 3x XHP70.2 model, I would like it to be like this. Some of it could apply to a 3x SST70 version, too.

  • Shape and design similar to Haikelite MT09R (see below). This light is more or less a tank, can pick up a lot of excess heat, offers 15,000+ lumens, uses TA's well-performing FET driver with a Vishay SIRA800DP (not 100% sure) mosfet and NarsilM 1.3. With some modding (thicker wires, Infineon OptiMOS 5 mosfet) it can even achieve 20,000+ lumens. Best price was around $ 90-120 if I recall correctly. For more in-depth pictures of the MT09R, please check this link below which is a review of Bluzie (TLF admin):

https://www.taschenlampen-forum.de/threads/kurzvorstellung-haikelite-mt09r-v2.64487/

Picture of MT09R taken from Google search results...

  • USB-C charging port with at least 5V 3A (15W) or even better QC 2.0 9V 2A (18W). I guess PowerDelivery 3.0 12V 3A (36W) would drive your material costs too high?
  • Please offer 3p setup of 3x 21700 batteries (probably easier to facilitate balanced internal USB-C recharging)
  • XHP70.2 with P2 flux bin or better (might be a bit difficult on warmer tints like 4000K, 3000K)
  • Smooth triple reflector
  • AR-coated glass lens with green coating (to filter yellow-green proportion of the wavelength for a more rosy-white beam)
  • As XHP70.2 can run pretty efficiently on lower currents, there's a good chance to yield a rather high stabilized constant output on high/mid modes (maybe 4000lm flat?).
  • Chromaticity (tint) bins for XHP70.2 on or below the BBL (I can help you to pick the best bins / order codes from Cree's datasheet)
  • UI: The 4X18A or 3X21A UI would be fine if some minor improvements (see our discussion above) were to be implemented :)
  • Thermal regulation: Please do not be too conservative about the peak temperature for the stepdown. 60°C would be my recommendation as otherwise the stepdown might be triggered way too early (see first revision of Convoy M3 for example). I would love a hidden click combination to turn off/on thermal regulation completely (as possible in NarsilM UI), though.
  • Please offer a bare aluminum version (with clear coating) next to the black-anodized version :love:

Please talk to whoever is making your drivers because the 4X18A SBT90.2 driver has no thermal regulation, only a timed step down that occurs at 60 seconds.

My 4X18A is sitting at 63°C head and 58°C body without any further reduction in output. Currently running a runtime test and it’s now 26 minutes in. This is exactly how the L21A’s driver behaves.

This is not recommended to be sold without mentioning this detail in the description otherwise someone will either burn themselves or destroy the flashlight.

63 sounds great to me tbh.

…but, you can’t hold it as it’s climbing steadily. 32min in and 66°C head and 62°C body

60dwg is standard limit in most of the drivers.

Besides it’s clear that you need to change mode...

We had a lot of discussion here due to low thermal protection in Convoy drivers so finally we got a proper lightsaber so i’d say it’s ok.

A note will do but steping down, i hope not

A little bit different for me as a flashlight store owner who has to sell these to non enthusiasts. These still need to have a safety limit

It has, 60deg

So...you're happy with a timer set at 60 seconds down to 40%?

Currently at 71°C head, 67°C body

EDIT: Reached 72°C head, 68°C body at 56 minutes until I turned the cooling fan on. Now I can go toilet with peace of mind lol

Okay, here’s how the driver is behaving.

- 50-60 second timed stepdown to 40% output (High 1750 lumens).

- After 56 minutes it reached 72°C head, 68°C body

- Switched on the fan and after 10 minutes the temp reduced to 51°C

  • Output starts to increase ever so slightly once it drops below 60°C

Seems the thermal management needs some tweaking to allow the flashlight to decrease so it stabilizes at 60°C. Also please remove the timed step down so it’s thermally controlled

Strange, when I ran the turbo step down testing, mine went down gradually to 2350 lumens over the coarse of 3 minutes at 25 degrees inside.Then it stabilized there for another 5 minutes and I stopped. I will run tonight longer test and will measure the temperature. I doubt it is different driver, could it be different outside temp?

I purchased 4 units, so I can check again on another one and see what happens. The stepdown occurs at 38°C which was 50-60 seconds and gradually reduced over the next 60 seconds, so 2 minutes total.

I’d assume that when you carried out this test the light was left alone, was it?

In real world scenario the flashlight would be held in hand, and the hand is one of the mediums for heat dissipation itself.

So let’s say your light reaches 66°C in 32 mins, and when being held in hand it could actually be lower than that.

I know this has nothing to do with the thermal step-down discussions you guys have, but just saying.

Yeah, I do realize this, but lets say someone lives in a much hotter climate and it would be much worse than that or they place it down for awhile and go to pick it up. The last example is less likely for this kind of light.

I’m testing under the ANSI standard for runtime which is needed for my flashlight store :slight_smile:

I always get asked what the runtime is, and Convoy don’t give that info so I must do it

This is well in the realm of an enthusiast's light rather than one for the general masses, so high temp is...good?...and expected if we want the numbers/performance. That said, 72°C...wow. Tooo hot. Temp regulation rather than timer is the best approach, imo, and 60°C is the norm but still a bit high for the safety of users. Your hand isn't going to dissipate fifteen degrees although you'll want to change settings, turn it off, or drop it well before that point. I'd have to go look up numbers again but iirc we're around 50°C for first degree burns and 55°C for second degree/blisters. Anyone buying this light needs to be made aware that it is not a typical light and to learn about its safe use, same as multiple cells in series.