New Convoy C8 – Clearly better

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
1

A while back Simon and I had a conversation about the Convoy C8.
It’s an older design as we all know. Most of us here on BLF have owned one (or several) for years. It’s very mod friendly and a great compact thrower in the tried and true single 18650 format favored by so many.

From the start Convoy has in my opinion been making one of the best versions of the C8 that money can buy.

Still, I thought the C8 could use a bit of a makeover to bring it some new life. With that new life of course… it must have a new look. That’s where clear anodizing comes in. This essentially brings the look of bare aluminum with the benefits of anodizing.

If you’ve seen pictures of the new clear anodized L6 you have an idea what to expect.

The clear anodizing is beautiful in my opinion, but why not go a couple steps further?

In addition to its stunning new looks, here is what the new clear anodized C8 is bringing to the table:

  • AR coated glass comes standard.
  • A Cree XPL-HI emitter in your choice of tint is standard.
  • A DTP copper MCPCB for the XPL-HI to rest on comes standard.

Let’s pause to have a look before at this thing we talk about the driver…

Now, onto the driver:

To help keep the C8 comfortably in the budget range we are still using a 2.8A Nanjg based driver but this is where it breaks away from the crowd…

Several months ago I asked a programmer friend what we could do to improve the main line of Convoy drivers without a big cost increase. I mentioned what my goals were and we went back and forth on the details. I am quite happy with the end result. I think you will be too.

Who is this programmer you ask? Why that would be our very own ToyKeeper of course. :student:

Here is a bit of what the new UI designed by ToyKeeper for Convoy is bringing to the table:

  • A total of 12 user selectable mode groups.
  • Modes with and without Moonlight mode
  • Modes with and without blinkies (not just strobe but SOS, biking flasher and battery-check)
  • Modes than run lo to high and modes that run high to low
  • Mode memory that can be toggled on or off
  • 2 Low power/low heat modes that max out at 50% output.

The new clear anodized Convoy C8 will be the first to incorporate this new driver but certainly not the last…

A small cost increase of around $3-4 is necessary to cover all these upgrades.

Note: Simon will give BLF members the same 15% discount he does on most Convoy flashlights. All you have to do is ask him through the Aliexpress message system when placing your order to adjust the price for BLF 15% discount.

Update 2016-09-09
The clear C8 is available now in the Convoy store!
Direct link: Purchase the Clear Convoy C8 HERE
Simon created a nice diagram for the UI too. That will be added to post #2 along with the driver details.

Update 2016-09-10
I added a note about the 15% BLF discount above and updated post #2 for clarification.

2

Here is the UI description for the new Biscotti firmware written for Convoy by ToyKeeper:

Note: You will see “tap” used in these instructions. Tap = a half press of the button. The switch does not “click” with a tap.

While off:

  • Fully click and release to turn the light on. It will go to the first mode or the last-used mode, depending on whether you enabled mode memory.

While on:

  • Short tap: Do a short (less than 0.5s) half-press to go forward to the next mode.
  • Long tap: Do a long (longer than 0.5s) half-press to reset to the first mode (if mode memory is turned off).
  • Fully click and release to turn the light off.
  • Short tap a bunch of times (10+ taps, or until the light stops turning on) to enter config mode.

Blinky modes:
Some mode groups have blinky modes. They are not hidden, but if you leave mode memory off you can skip them with a long press which returns you to the first setting in your selected mode group.

  • Tactical strobe (~10 Hz)
  • Biking flasher (2-level stutter beacon, 1 Hz)
  • Battery-check
    Battery check works by a number of blinks to represent battery voltage.
    Each blink represents approximately 25% battery charge ( 1 = low battery, 4 = full, 5 blinks = over-charged)
  • SOS

Configuration options:

In config mode you have 2 options. It will blink to show which option is active, then “flicker” for a few seconds. Tap the switch during the “flicker” that follows the desired number of blink to select that configuration option.

  • 1 blink = Mode group selection.
  • 2 blinks = Mode memory on/off

How to program your light while in config mode:

  • Option 1. Mode group selection: This is accessed in config mode after tapping during the “flicker” following 1 blink. The light will now come on in a special group-select mode. The light will start counting out sets of blinks from 1 to 12 blinks with a pause between each set of blinks, then pause and repeat or “loop”. Turn the light off after the number of blinks that represents the mode group you want to enable.

Example: To select group 5 , let it blink five times, then fully click the switch button during the pause after the fifth blink.

Caution: Do not leave the light in the mode group selection loop for long periods of time. Doing so can cause unnecessary wear on the driver’s memory and may lead to driver malfunction.

  • Option 2. Mode memory toggle: This is accessed in config mode after tapping during the “flicker” following 2 blinks. Mode memory is turned off by default. Tap during the “flicker” following 2 blinks to turn mode memory on or off.

Mode groups: (output is approximate)

  1. 0.1, 1, 10, 35, 100%, strobe, biking, battery-check
  2. 0.1, 1, 10, 35, 100%
  3. 100, 35, 10, 1, 0.1%
  4. 1, 20, 100%, strobe, biking, battery-check, SOS
  5. 1, 20, 100%
  6. 100, 20, 1%
  7. 0.1, 1, 10, 50, strobe, biking, battery-check, SOS
  8. 0.1, 1, 10, 50
  9. 50, 10, 1, 0.1
  10. 1, 10, 35, 100
  11. 100, 20, strobe
  12. 100% only

Edit:
Simon made a nice diagram for UI. :+1:

Edit 2016-09-10: The new firmware has been given the name “Biscotti”
Those who wish to flash this on their own drivers can find the firmware and source code here: Biscotti firmware

3

Hmmmm…. Something’s missing… :stuck_out_tongue:

Looks nice though! Now where can I buy some of those isolation discs Simon is using there?

4

while I like the technical features I am a “black flashlight” guy :wink:
silver is just not my cup of tea for lights… but that does not mean it doesn’t look cool!

really outstanding design/execution

5

This is a great upgrade (or rather, group of upgrades)! Great job guys!

6

What about Blue? Red? Green? Convoy S2 colors would look great on this flashlight, I think (Well, maybe not the green, actually :confounded: ).

Edit: Oh yeah! Forgot grey! :heart_eyes:

7

I forgot to mention that all my S2+ are actually grey - also an amazing color!

Guess I am no longer into black flashlights. :smiley:

8

Damn, i have 2 convoy hosts that are on the way to me… and now this?! not to mention my old C8 with removable pill design … can i have one for free? lol

9

The second pic gives the light a more mat finish. Really, really nice. Looks like I’ll keep an eye on this C8…

10

Super cool!

11

Wow!
Sweet looking light wih nice upgrades, without breaking the bank

12

I will have to get one of those! Really pretty and the driver sounds great! I hope the driver can be purchased by itself.

13

I have black, blue, green, and grey S2+’s. My favorite is grey

14

Nice work with the driver! Great upgrade from feedback while still keeping costs low.

15

That’s quite a bit of firmware for a attiny13 based driver. Nice job!

16

The color is very good. Mostly because it will not show scratches and dings at all. It will look brand new after 20 years of use. That is why i like gray metals.

The driver will evidently underdrive the led which is a pity. So my question is, will this driver be available with 4 more chips over the existing ones? Or at least will soldering 4-8 chips on top of the existing be a problem for this driver?

17

Dude Simon’s had a grey C8 for a long time. Same color as the grey S2+. Where you been? :wink:
Grey C8

I don’t know about the rest of the rainbow though. :stuck_out_tongue:

18

It’s not that hard to believe when you consider the one who wrote the firmware is our very own ToyKeeper! :partying_face:

19

It is not grey… it is clear so the natural aluminum color is visible…

20

Glad I gave away a stock C8 recently so I have an excuse to replace it!