So, FWIW… I put together a red Convoy S2+ configured with a triple and a FET+1 driver. This was an experiment to find out if it would work, and to find out how the FET and +1 would interact with the emitters. This post is sort of an unassorted collection of notes.
I swapped the pill with an old S2, which made things fit easier. RMM’s aluminum spacer was just right, ish. It’s too long by precisely the thickness of the glass lens, so I wonder if it’s intended for builds with no lens.
The FET+1 is driving a triple XP-G2 S3 3C shining through a Carclo 10508 (medium-spot, frosted). The beam pattern is very nice (smooth, floody). However, the tint is green on the 7135-only modes (looks whiter on the FET modes). I reduced this effect on one mode (~100 lm) by letting the FET contribute about a quarter of the total lumens, which improved the tint compared to letting the 7135 chip do it all. It’s less efficient but looks better.
I haven’t checked maximum output yet… having a difficult time doing spring bypasses correctly. However, pre-bypass I got 1950 lumens on a 3.9V cell so I expect full output will easily be over 2000 lumens. (edit: with a 4.18V cell, it got 2250 lm at start)
On the other end of the scale, it has a nice moon mode which goes from 0.38 lm (at 4.2V) to 0.07 lm (at 3.5V), which is a lot more stable than a FET-based moon. I might try adding PFM to soft-regulate it though.
The levels I gave it (first pass, not fully calibrated yet) work out to: 0.26 lm, 8.8 lm, 98 lm, 382 lm, 913 lm, 1950 lm on a 3.9V cell.
The host is very nice, especially the switch and the color. Half-presses are really easy with this type of button. The bezel is a bit narrower than the optic, so it cuts off a bit of each of the three TIRs. I assume this causes a loss of lumens, but I don’t know how much. The beam pattern seems mostly unaffected.
So, I still have a few things to fix or improve, but it’s pretty nice so far. I figure I’ll adjust the spacer at some point and maybe give it Nichia 219s instead of XP-G2s. Also still have some springs to improve and firmware to tweak. I didn’t even put thermal paste in yet because I expect to be taking it apart soon… but so far so good.
Edit: With a fresh-charged 4.18V cell, it got 2250 lm at start. Modes were: 0.38 lm, 10.3 lm, 121 lm, 425 lm, 1055 lm, 2250 lm. The 7135 channel alone produces 152 lm.
Yes, I don't use the lens on any of my small triple builds. I've never broken one of those lenses, and neither has anyone else that has reported to me. People always talk bout scratching them...so what? If it scratches badly, then you replace a $1.50 part.
Well I gave it a shot, and all I managed to do was kill the driver somehow (and of course I was working on my only guppydrv Qlite). I don’t see any shorts…guessing I toasted a chip from too much heat or something. I’ll be watching for that service to pop back up on the store.
Feel free to add 3 or 4 chips to those Qlites I ordered a few hours ago if you’re bored.
These are copied over from the main M43 thread, but I thought that many of you would want to see it (and maybe hadn't seen it over on the other thread).
My initial thoughts:
Well, I've had a few minutes to play with the light now, and here are a few of my initial impressions:
This thing is tiny and light. I was actually surprised by how light and short it is.
I am not exaggerating when I say that the machining, surface finish, and overall fit and finish are as good or better than any Fenix or Nitecore light I've seen. Seriously impressive in this regard.
You can tell that a lot of time was put into this light. There are a lot of parts in this one that were designed specifically for this light---from the solid copper tailcap, to the driver, to the Noctigon button boot.
This is just my opinion, but the dedomed XP-G2 1D emitters in this one put out a pretty awesome and useful beam. The tint is also very good, especially for dedomed emitters. I took it outside and this thing is a beast!
The driver has a ton of different features. I'm just starting to get used to it now, but it seems pretty good.
The button has a lit RGB LED array. It can be used as a constant light, as a beacon, or it can be turned off (unlike the MM15!!!). This is more useful than most, because it shows the current battery state.
While this light has thermal management, it isn't set very conservative. The light can get pretty hot on turbo before it starts to ramp down. If you're holding the battery tube you'll be OK, but the head gets pretty uncomfortable. I think that most flashaholics prefer the management to not be too conservative, but a few of "the uninitiated" may think that it is getting pretty hot!
Because it's a boost driver, there isn't infinite dimming, but there is a good range of modes. Here are the OTF lumens I measured (dedomed XP-G2)
Moon: 1.9
Low: 107
Mid: 756
High: 2901
Turbo: 6458
Of note, the Turbo output only dropped about 50 lumens after 1 minute. This is unusual and is obviously due to the boost driver. The output in all of the modes is remarkably consistent.
Throw is visually very impressive for such a small multi-emitter light. Again, I think that the dedomed XP-G2 may be the one to get here, but I'll have to see one with the XP-Ls to compare against. I measured about 73kcd. That's pretty good for a light like this!
A few size comparisons:
M6 vs. M43
MM15 vs. M43
All Three Side-by-Side. The M43 is very short!
I weighed them all on the same scale, without batteries (batteries will add the same amount of weight in all three, since they all take 4x18650):
M6: 15.4 oz; 437 grams
MM15: 12.1 oz; 343 grams
M43: 12.9 oz; 366 grams
Of note, the MM15 is a bit lighter, but it doesn't have nearly as much copper inside.
The illuminated button. It indicates the battery charge depending on the color. It can be set to be constant on, beacon (flashes intermittently), or can be turned off. This one is much less annoying than the MM15 beacon, which I feel is far too bright.
A few more colors:
The moonlight level is pretty low, considering you are powering 12 emitters. The switch light is always on when the light is turned on, and shows the charge level, as well as indicating mode changes and thermal regulation.
The machining and anodization are first-class, and very consistent throughout the light.
Did I mention that the square cut threads and anodization are first-class?
The tailcap has a nice laser-etched logo. I like that the rest of the light is clean.
Yes, even the spring holder is a copper MCPCB. The screw holes are countersunk.
The other side of that tailcap MCPCB. Here you can see the Beryllium-copper low-resistance springs.
Here is the battery contact side of the driver. The contact surface is thick and shouldn't wear quickly. I didn't take this one apart, since it's my only sample and it is going to be sent to several others for review. There are some pictures of the driver available earlier in this thread.
Here you can see the AR coating's reflection. I can't see any color cast in the LED output, and under most viewing conditions the glass is virtually transparent.
The light thermally regulates and keeps the maximum temperature around 50C on turbo.
This is definitely not a budget light; instead, it is a premium light that is going to duke it out with the best and most expensive the industry has to offer.
I ran some numbers for this setup and got a ballpark estimate of 6000 lumens with 35 kcd of lux, if it used the same optics as stock. However, the output would change tint in different parts of the beam. I’m not sure if it would actually be an upgrade compared to some of the stock options.
Throw would, of course, be reduced quite a bit with different optics. Tint consistency would be improved though.
Finally was able to order a proper charger for the Enova 2600mAh 18650 batteries I got from RMM’s giveaway late last year.
I’ve been using the Enova’s and like them a lot. They deliver anywhere from 0.5 to full amp more current than the laptop pulls I was using.
Richard when you get a chance could you add battery recommendations for the M43.
Yes, and it works very well with the new Convoy C8 SMO reflector. I wouldn't call it economy, as it blows away almost every other green hunting light out there. I've sold several with this combination and everyone has been very impressed with it.
Sure thing! The biggest thing is to have a cell that can handle at least 7A continuous draw. After that, you're looking for the lowest resistance possible. This means that the high-drain cells, such as the 25R, HE4, Efest Purple 25A, etc. offer the best performance. I didn't test it, but I suspect that the Panasonic BD and LG MH1 will also work great in this light while offering a bit longer runtime. When I get the light back, or when I receive my own stock, I will see how much turbo output varies between the 10A and 20A+ continuous rated cells.
This really isn't a light for anything less than 10A continuous rated cells if you are going to use it on the turbo mode.
As each is built to order, Maybe we can talk Richard into buying them from Hank without emitters or optics, then we work with Richard to “complete them”.
I have all the parts for them sitting here, but won't have time to do them until June. It's actually a quad TIR. BLF member Richwouldnt actually has my original prototype light.