I’m about to build my first light (I know I’m a bit late to the party) and am wondering a few things.
I plan to use a convoy s2 (I know, most generic host there is) for this build since I like the grey anodizing and the very attractive price.
However I am unsure of what to set the current at. I plan to use a 8*7135 Qlite but thought of adding extra chips. I’ve seen a few members running BLFDD drivers in s2’s and am wondering how practical it is to have that much current in such a small host?
I am also unsure of what tint to choose. I’m about to order XML2’s on noctigon from RMM and am unsure of whether to go with 3C or 4C? This will be my EDC flashlight and thus I will be using it outside a fair bit and I’d like the most neutral tint which provides good color rendition.
I have also seen a lot of hype and praise of the 3UP optics combined with triple XPG2’s for the “ultimate pocket rocket”. However, looking through the lumen graphs provided by match I don’t see a substantial gain over the triple XPG2’s compared to XML2’s. For example at 4.5 amps to 3 XPG2’s (1.5A each) the combined led lumens would be approximately 1440. Whilst the XML2 at 4.5 amps would be 1440 lumens as well?!? Maybe the only benefit is the lower vf of the XPG2’s? (3.2v at 1.5A as opposed to 3.7v at 4.5A) In short I may only consider building my first light with triple XPG2’s if there is a substantial gain in performance. Triple XPG2’s will cost substantially more as well as requiring myself to machine a copper spacer.
Well if you have custom firmware you can have “turbo” timeout in a quick manner as to not overheat it, normal running will PWM at approx 50%~ which helps control the heat but you have the sock em in the puss light for a min or so
Best color rendition from a single emitter is XM-L2 T6 or U2 but tint is 4C…all my lights the color is the most vibrant and “pure” to my eyes with the 4C tint
Yeah those triple XP-G2’s make a Convoy S2 think its a Sky Ray King…but it WILL run hot without a lower level and fast!
You can get aluminum spacers from RMM for a few bucks
For an EDC it would be my lay opinion that you would want something with 1. flood 2. moderately driven for longer run-times and low heat 3. neutral colour as you have requested
1. Flood can be achieved with the carclo flood lens if you’re going triple. I put an XML2 4C (fasttech) with a 60 PMMA lens and it’s really floody. I find it perfect for 0-10m range.
2. Some guys run triples at over 4a+ but man it generates a lot of heat for a host with such little mass. Its beyond practical but they have different reasons for doing it. For an EDC you want to be able to just leave it on and not even think about having to throttle it down or killing it if you forget about it. You want to be able to use and abuse set and forget. As I said i drove an XML2 very moderately at 1.4a in an even shitter host than a S2 and I find I can leave it on for lengths without heat problems.
3. I find the 4C pretty good and clean. My Convoy L4 is also a 4C but for some reason that’s a lot more yellow. I prefer my Fasttech 4C but either are nice outside. Idon’t have a 3c to be able to comment on that.
Also
-stay away from ‘ultimate pocket rockets’ for an EDC
-i think you’re kind of caught between a real EDC and something really bright and impressive. In the S2 host i don’t think you can have both as it can’t carry the heat away from pocket-rocket level light.
-narrow down what you really really want out of it and you’ll be happier with the build in the end.
I am also going to build a C8 at 4.4A and am wondering whether to go with the VTC5’s or the Samsung 20R’s?
The VTC5’s have higher capacity but cost considerably more than the 20R’s.
I also see very little benefit in the extra capacity while under high load.
Comparing the graphs by HJK there is little benefit for the extra capacity in the VTC5 over the 20R.
The VTC5 cell in the graph (assuming that the keeppower cell is in fact a VTC5 due to sharing exactly the same specs) displays only 150mah more capacity down to 3.7v at 5A compared to the 20R.
As is evident by the graphs (unless I’m reading them wrong lol) the VTC5 provides only a few extra minutes of runtime down to 3.7v at 5A. Considering that the VTC5’s are almost twice the price (on fasttech) which cell should I get?
I run a convoy S3 (.05 cm shorter than S2) with a Nichia 219B for EDC, driven from a nanjg 101, 4x7135.
Turbo for 2 minutes, than throttles back to 75% (could easily make it 3 minutes if needed) , and it’s got a moon, low, med and turbo setup. (step-down to high)
Driving it this way it is real pleasure light to use, T6-4C is my next favorite.
I have a S2 8x7135 T6-3B powerhouse too, but it has to throttle after 90 seconds to around 50% to keep it from overheating.
Honestly I always want the highest possible lumens output on my high mode, regardless if it is just an EDC light - because the medium and low modes are there for a reason.
1400 lumens on High mode… a.k.a Turbo mode, Blast mode, Nuke mode… whatever you want to call it, is for temporary high brightness requirement (very seldom lol) or impressing some friends.
I guess it’s always nice having a well balanced light that doesn’t heat up to unbearable temperatures in a few seconds.
As well as being more efficient in the lower modes with less 7135 chips.
Thanks bibihang, I’ll try and post a build thread once everything is up and running
I suffer the “bigger is better” syndrome and will always opt for the brightest option even when lumen gain is minimal.
Turbo/Dale mode on my triple xpg2 s2 will be mainly for impressing friends
Once Led4power’s driver goes on sale I will tend to set a higher limit for high modes in lights but for pwm driven lights efficiency is much better if high mode isn’t quite so high. A 2A driver is more efficient at 100% than a 4A driver at 50% and provides plenty of light for an EDC. My EDC’s typically have smaller cells.
