If others who entered go ahead and do mods during this time, should we post anything about it here?
Congrats Orion. Nice idea for a giveaway, K.
Heck yeah! Sorta like a buildoff? That would be lots of fun!
Thought I would update everyone. Orion and I received some parts, but emitter and driver were not included. Waiting on BG to get the missing parts out to us. Might be awhile, especially with Chinese new year and all.
Orion and I are still awaiting shipment from BangGood on the emitters and drivers. I hope this is not indicative of what I have been hearting about BangGood recently. Nevertheless, I have extended the build completion date to March 1st (originally May 12st). If you still plan on building your own C8…don’t forget to post your pics here. Orion and I will as soon as we receive our parts and build these suckers.
Cheers,
Krono
What a great idea Kl. I’ve waited until it was closed to compliment you and congratulate you and the lucky newbie. It seems RMM had the same problem as he is waiting on some missing C8 pills as well. Good luck on your builds and remember “pics or it didn’t happen”.
OK…FINALLY received emitters and drivers from BG. Whew…it’s been a long road!
My apologies to Orion, the winner of this contest, for the multiple delays. I am hoping the he has received his parts by now, but have yet to confirm that (awaiting his response). Nevertheless…I am going to begin my build(s). Contest build date completion has been extended to May 1st…longer if Orion needs it.
I also need little help from you seasoned pros…por favor! I have two Convoy C8 hosts…and plan to build one with a CREE and one with the high CRI Nichia (I purchased some additional drivers and emitters on Noctigons). Anyways, I can’t decide on which combination I should go with. I would like BLF input on the best combination for my items. Here is a list of what I have:
Hosts:
(Qty. 2) Convoy C8 Hosts
Reflectors:
(Qty. 2) OP C8 Reflectors
(Qty. 2) SMO C8 Reflectors
Emitters:
(Qty. 1) Nichia 219 4500 92CRI on Noctigon
(Qty. 1) CREE XP-G2 R5 3C on Noctigon
(Qty. 1) CREE XM-L2 T6 4C on Al star
(Qty. 1) CREE XM-L2 T6 3B on Al star
(Qty. 1) CREE XM-L2 U2 on Al star
Drivers:
(Qty. 3) Qlite 7135*8 3.04A Drivers
(Qty. 1) Qlite 7135*6 Driver
Spacers:
(Qty. 1) XM-L2 Butterfly Spacer
(Qty. 1) XP-G2 Butterfly Spacer (Will it fit Nichia?)
(Qty. 1) XP-G2 Clear 3M Spacer (Ditto?)
(Qty .1) XM-L2 Clear3M Spacer
(Qty. 2) XM-L2 Round Spacers
For those that were inspired…lol…to start your own build…feel free to post your results here as well. That was the whole idea for the contest…to generate more interest for first time modders/builders.
So…what do you think? What combo(s) would you use out of these parts? Do I have the right drivers for the Nichia 219 on a Noctigon?
Cheers
krono
Cool…I like the neutral tints…put the Nichia in the OP for a mega flooder and dedome the 1A for a much better thrower (AFTER you reflow to copper though) 
Love the DIY give away.
Pick me
ummm…contest is over…the latest posts are what the guy is going to do with the stuff from the win…silly billy 
Thanks for the advice WH.
I have no idea about the spacers, and I’m definitely not a pro…
If you want it to throw farther, the XP-G2 with a 7135*8 driver would probably work best (especially if de-domed, though the tint might get a bit odd starting at 3C). Or you could go for more lumens and less (but still decent) throw with a XM-L2 3B or 4C and the same driver. Or sort of a middle ground if you de-domed the XM-L2 U2 (cool tint, I’m guessing). I’d probably go with the XP-G2 though, since I consider the C8 to be a thrower. Smooth reflector on all these, too, unless you want a more floody C8 (with neutral white XM-L2).
For the Nichia 219, you’ve got too many 7135 chips. I wouldn’t give it more than 4x7135, because it doesn’t seem to deal well with excess current or heat. More than 1.5A is probably too much. It’ll give you less light than any of the other options, but at least the tint and CRI will be nice. Personally, I’d put the Nichia 219 into a smaller, floodier host.
A little while ago, I was going to make a Nichia 219 triple inside a Convoy S3 host, to make a high-CRI flooder. However, I found out it would max out at like 750 lumens and have heat issues, and abandoned the idea. Instead, I’m looking at doing a triple XP-G2 with three different tints (probably 7* or 8**, 4** or 3**, and a 1** tint) to get more like 1400 lumens of wide-spectrum white light.
I have begun work on one of the C8s. I am de-doming the emitter. While that is being done, I attached larger wires to the driver, and completed a tail-spring mod. Here are a few pics of what I have done so far:
Tools/items I used. Soldering iron, solder, flux, copper braid, wire cutters, 20 gauge AWG silicone wire, locking forceps, helping hands & circlip pliers.
XP-G2 on Noctigon de-doming with gasoline. I’ll check it tomorrow.
Pic of the Qlite 7135*8 before wire change.
Pic of the Qlite during wire change.
Pic of clicky prior to spring mod.
Pic with bottom of spring/braid soldered.
Closer pic…bottom of spring/braid soldered.
Pic of spring mod complete.
I’ll update the OP with my past few posts to document the build.
I think I might have a problem with the wires soldered to the noctigon.
It looks as though they are higher than the butterfly spacer and will both hit the reflector. I have a 3M gasket…is that what it is used for?
With or without the gasket, I don’t think the reflector will be able to reach the centering section of the butterfly spacer. Is that a problem?
I used 20ga wires…is that too thick?
Pill is complete w/XP-G2 on Noctigon, and Qlite 7135*8 driver. The 20 ga wire I have is really too thick for this application. It was really difficult for me to solder the thick wire to the Noctigon and the driver. Think I’ll go to 22 or 24 ga wire. Also had a problem with the wire sucking up the solder and becoming too stiff to bend/move through slot in Noctigon. I’m such a noob at this…but hopefully it will get better :~
Yeah…I know my soldering sucks…
Will update OP w/this info.
I made the mistake of taking the reflector off mine to test something, and now I’m having a really hard time getting the bezel tightened down without de-focusing the beam. I never knew a tenth of a millimeter could make so much difference!
So, I didn’t end up building a C8 because 18sixfifty did the BLF C10 group buy and I now have a little thrower modded about the same as what I was planning. However, I did still start modding (finally). My first project was to upgrade a Convoy S7 to use a Nichia 219B emitter. It’s about as simple as you can get and still be a “mod”, but that’s why I chose to do it first. Details are here:
I’ve got the parts now for several other mods too, and am hoping I’ll have time tonight for the next one.
Cool. I have completed my build and just need to upload the pics. I haven’t heard from Orion either…hope he is OK. Anybody heard from him?
OP updated with completed build pics…yea…my first one!
Good job! My setup looks similar to yours, but much messier. 
I see the same thing in zoomies it’s often light bouncing off something it should be. I’m not sure what that would be in a reflector light. If you can take a bit better pic of the front of the head I think it should help diagnose the problem.