I have a Convoy M3, the non “C” version. I recently asked Simon if I could put the LHP73B driver from the M3-C in it and he let me know that the M3-C uses a 28mm driver while the M3 uses a 26mm driver so it would not be compatible.
I will have to compare these hosts when I get home, but I think that the M3-C and M3 are the same size externally. Maybe it would be possible to drill out 2mm of material? Or is that a dumb idea? I’m assuming the driver circuit-board doesn’t have 2mm to lose.
I haven’t done any modding before now but this light is beginning to motivate me. It’s pointless in my collection right now since it has the same emitter as my M3-C but with a worse driver. It’s also not very giftable to family and friends given the sub-par driver and lack of built-in charging.
I guess I could just emitter swap it to a warm XHP 70.3 emitter to make it distinct.
Anyone have interesting suggestions that don’t require years of modding experience?
Sorry, I guess I didn’t really specify what I have now.
I have an M3 with a 5000k XHP 70.2 installed.
I also have an M3-C with a 5000k XHP 70.2 installed.
My understanding is that the M3-C driver, apart from having a charging port, is better and more efficient. Usage seems to bear this out but tbf I am not using the exact same battery in both so maybe it’s a battery difference.
At any rate, the M3 as it’s configured right now is just a worse version of my M3-C and has no reason to exist in my collection so I’m looking at what I can do to make it exciting. While I’m at it, I’ll probably want to swap the emitter from the M3 over to the M3-C since the tint is slightly better.
No idea! I know nothing about light modding at this point. But I figured that would be problematic which is why I was thinking maybe I could remove material from the host instead.
I am not am pretty much pre-noob when it comes to flashlight modding. How will a different mcpcb help me? I thought my main issue was the size of the driver board? Isn’t that separate? I’m not familiar with the HT70 but I’ll read up on it
I haven’t seen an M3 but I assume the driver is held in by a threaded brass retaining ring.
If that’s true the threads in the aluminum host would be removed to make room for the 28mm driver.
The gold ring around the outside of the driver which is sandwiched between the host and the retaining ring is the Ground(-) connection for the driver.
Potting compound wouldn’t offer the electrical connection that’s needed.
Oh! I just realized something. The driver is essentially “load bearing” isn’t it? Because it holds one end of the battery in place. Yea, I guess there is no way to make a 28mm driver work. Unless you could somehow re-thread the interior of the host
5A 6v would be equivalent to 10A 3v so it would only be capable of 50% of the current that the 20A 28mm driver offers.
However it would heat up less quickly and wouldn’t require any complicated/questionable mods.
The 20A driver is actually limited to 10A on its stepped modes so this proposed emitter swap might behave kind of like the 20A driver but without the option for the double-click-and-hold 20A turbo. That sounds acceptable actually.
Speaking of those stepped modes. Simon sets them up to be 1% 10% 40% and 100%. Should the levels stay at approximately the same levels of output relative to the total output?
BTW, why can we get away with feeding 6v to a 3v LED? I guess the LED is designed to accept a range of voltages? It’s just weird coming form the computer world where everything is so picky about voltages.