SHOW OFF YOUR CONVOY S2/S2+ MODS!!!

GRAY LITNIN

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Im not very good at searching the threads here yet but seems like the mods for convoy s2/s2+'s are kinda scattered out. I'd be very grateful if anyone could share any info/pics of thier s2 mods or at least point me in the right direction so i can steal some ideas! :poke:
 
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camelight

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Re: CONVOY S2/S2+ MODS!!!

What do you want it to do?
More throw? Lumens? Mybe a triple or a quad?
 

GRAY LITNIN

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Re: CONVOY S2/S2+ MODS!!!

Not looking for specifics! I just want to see/read/learn all the cool, creative ideas that CPF minds have unleashed on Convoy s2 & s2+'s!

Led/driver/reflector swaps
Reliability upgrades (bigger wire/potting)
Custom machining
Aesthetics/ergos (anodizing, grip tape, checkering, glow paint, tritium...etc.)

ANYTHING GOES just convoy s2/s2+ though!
 
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ven

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Re: CONVOY S2/S2+ MODS!!!

Many options, of course LED choices..........you can even go xhp50/70 if you want and feed it 2x 18350 cells for 8.4v. Triples, again with various LED choices(xpl HI work nicely, pick your flavour! 4000k is on the warm side and very nice, 5000k a nice happy medium. Some hi cri goodness, maybe a nichia 219b 4000k or 219c 4000k make a nice compact triple.

By the time you have bought a decent driver, 3 LED's,optics, spacer ...........and s2 host. If high output and compact is the game, the Emisar D4 may make an easier choice for $40 ish.

Still a nice s2+ triple with programmable driver is a cool light to have. Check mtn electronics for parts needed , lots of options. The h17f driver is very cool and allows 2 mode groups of up to 7 levels, each your choice in output. I have a couple of lights with that driver , i have a traditional 3 mode set up in 1 group, then a single mode do it all level in the other..............sometimes simple just works best.

Top right
InJuAlNl.jpg
 

GRAY LITNIN

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Re: CONVOY S2/S2+ MODS!!!

Thanks again ven! You are a wealth of knowledge! Very nice collection as well!

I'll have to agree. Simple does work best. But if options are available even better!

I was looking for an S2, 4 level -low, med, high, battery check- and didnt see it in the options for either of the stock firmwares so that will be tweaked at some point.

I'm very picky when it comes to stuff so its hard for me to settle for awesome lights even at great prices when its not EXACTLY what i want. It's a curse really but has prolly saved my wallet some good hits. In the end i'd rather save up and put some work into it and make it the best i can! Thats one of the reasons i joined this forum, I've got what i need to get by just fine for now, but its time to make'em how i want'em! I'm doin lots of research and u guys are awesome at telling me if i can or can't achieve something within certain parameters!

By the way, how hot do the triple s2's get?
 
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ven

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Re: CONVOY S2/S2+ MODS!!!

Nothing wrong with wanting to improve, its all good :) You will find over time some UI's will be very close to what you want and can make work. A lot is trial and error, however there is enogh knowledge on here to narrow it down and maybe save you a few bucks along the way.

Anything single 18650(maybe the odd exception) and 1000lm or more is going to get toasty quick(maybe 3 mins) so step downs, be it timed or the more preferred thermally controlled. Now the s2+ triples(LED/driver dependent) can be pushing 2000-3000lm(roughly) in triple guise(even more so potentially with a single xhp70 and run on 2x 18350 cells). So these are a more specialised light , by that i mean not a light to give to the uneducated or next door pensioner to look for a cent under the couch. So a little understanding of what potentially could happen, and what to do to prevent it from happening. Not leaving a high powered flashlight tail stood would be one of them, using the wrong cells and asking too much of them. Throwing in a back pack not locked out etc etc. Most is common sense, but unfortunately common sense is not that common.

So the answer to your question depends a lot if its in a 25oC house or outside in 2oC temps, either way 30s-60s would be approximate. Simple rule regardless of the driver having a preset temp or step down, if its too hot to hold dial it down or turn off. The red s2+ is a gift and iirc its around 9-9.5a which is around 2800-2900lm. The gray one is 6a and maybe around 2500 ish lumens. These lights are not meant for long run times on max, more simply for short bursts. However with a nice driver, you can tweak to suit your needs, even adjust on the fly to suit another use whilst out. The h17f driver for an example, for $17 at mtn elecs is a super flexible driver.

Here is the instructions, as always a lot more complicated to read than to actually carry out and program.

This is a custom driver board (H17F) with an enhanced version of lucidrv with some additional features. It has a diameter of 17mm with components on both sides, and provides a current of 3.0A (8*AMC7125) plus a direct drive FET for turbo modes.Low modes (up to 13%) are driven by a single AMC7135 IC (380mA), which allows very low moonlight/firefly modes and makes those modes also quite efficient (the LED is more efficient at lower currents). Medium and high modes up to 3.0A are driven by additional 7*AMC7135. The direct drive FET allows for turbo modes of 5A and more - but that depends on the battery (use a high drain cell with low internal resistance) and on internal resistaces of the flashlight (contacts, wires, springs, switch, and the forward voltage of the LED).
  • Off-Time memory: The driver distinguishes between being off for a short tap (half-press) on the clicky to change to the next mode and being switched off for a longer time (~0.5s) so that memory kicks in (or no-memory if configured that way).
  • Two mode groups: There are two easily switchable mode groups for different situations (e.g. one for indoors with moon and low modes, and one for outdoors with high/med). Each group is fully configurable with up to 7 modes and it's own memory type (see below).
  • Programming: Each mode can be configured to a one of the 24 available (visually linear) levels of brightness. There are also some special functions which can be configured to any brightnes level, too: strobe, beacon or double-pulse blink. The number of modes (1-7) and the memory type can be configured for each group.
  • Memory:No-memory, classic memory or short-cycle memory configurable for each mode group.
  • Double-Tap mode: A quick double-tap leads to an additional (programmable) mode (e.g. high or strobe) for each group. It can also be activated fromm off by a tap immediately after clicking on (click-tap; for reverse clickies), or by a tap immediately before clicking the light on (tap-click; for forward clickies)
  • Mode locking: Select any mode and use it for a second, then activate mode lock (see below). Then that mode is locked, it won't change to next mode any more (unless you unlock it again). Good for tactical or signaling purpose.
  • Full thermal control: The driver monitors the temperature and reduces power to avoid overheating. The power is constantly adjusted to keep the set temperature constant (PID control): If the light gets hot, the power is reuced, but if for example a better airflow enhances cooling, the power increases again. The driver constantly adapts to the cooling conditions; the better the cooling is, the brighter it will be. The target temperature can be configured in steps of 5°C, and thermal control can also be deactivated.
    Note that the temperature is measured at the driver and will be somewhere between the LED's and the body's temperature. It will reach the set temperature and start regulating down the power before the body reaches it's equilibrium temperature, which will also be lower than the (driver's) set temperature. Note also that the absolute accuracy of the temperature sensor is about +- 5°C
    The set temperature may be exceeded for a short time after changing to a high power mode when the light is already near it's set temperature, since activating a high power mode is supposed to give high power at least for a short time. The driver will soon start regulating down to reach the set temperature again.
  • Bump proof: If mounted on a bike, bumps may cause the battery to loose contact to the driver for a very short moment, which many drivers interpret as a button tap and change modes. This driver however ignores those bumps and keeps it's mode.
  • Battery monitoring: Whenever the battery falls below 3V under load, brightness is reduced (about half). The reduced load usually brings up the voltage a bit. When it drops below 3V again, brightness is halved again - and so on, down to a very low level. It will not switch off and leave you in complete darkness though.
  • Voltage indicator: The driver can show the battery status via some blinks; see below.
  • Efficiency: The luminous efficacy of the all modes except the highest 6 brightness levels is increased by using a truly lower current (triple channel design with a low current and two high current channels).
  • Lower levels: The triple channel design also allows for a higher dynamic range of brightness levels (12 bit), i.e. more lower levels.
  • Turbo levels: The additional direct drive FET channel allows for quite high currents for the two turbo modes: full turbo and an intermediate half-turbo. Actual currents depend on the battery and the flashlight hardware.
  • 16 kHz PWM frequency: Invisible and inaudible.
Configuration menu (programming mode): Select a mode and use it for at least a second. That mode is then the selected mode for some of the actions below. Then enter programming mode by 8 rapid taps (half-presses; the light must be <0.2s on each time). You have to be quite fast, however it's no problem if you tap a few times more.
Shortly after those rapid taps a blinking signal will be shown. This serves two purposes: It indicates that the light is now in its configuration menu (programming mode) and awaits further input, and it also serves as battery level indicator: The number of blinks indicates battery voltage, about one blink for every 0.12V above 3.0V without load (~10 is full (4.2V), ~4 is pretty empty). If you let them pass without tapping the button again, the config menu is exited without any change.
If you want to change the configuration, you need to 'input' more taps while the blinking signal is active, the number of taps specifies the action. Note that the timing is more relaxed in the config menu; you have to be swift and uninterrupted, but by far not as rapid as the 8 taps above. However you must hit the exact number of taps.
Some items in the programming menu have a submnu, indicated by a different blinking signal. You need to enter a nother sequence of taps then.
Once you entered the config menu (by 8 rapid taps) and see it's signal, tap the button a number of times to do the following:

  • 1 tap: Mode lock; lock the selected mode (see above). If locked, unlock.
  • 2 taps: Switch between the two groups (also lifts a mode lock).
  • 3 taps: Set brightness. The light will ramp the brightness up and down twice in 24 visually linear steps: From #2 (moonlight) to #22 (100%) the output doubles every 2 steps, #1 (firefly) is even lower, #23 if half-turbo and #24 is full tubo. Tap once when the desired brightness is reached to change the selected mode to this brightness.
  • 4 taps: Enter the strobe/blink submenu, another sequence of 1-4 taps selects the special lighing function:
    • 1 tap: constant brightness (normal mode).
    • 2 taps: strobe (fast and disorienting).
    • 3 taps: beacon (a short blink every 4s).
    • 4 taps: double-pulse blink with oscillating brightness, i.e. does not blink on and off, but instead oscillates between high and low brightness (so the light is never off then). Not going off allows better estimation of your position/distance, while the blinking catches attention. This function is intended for cycling purposes (being seen).
    All those functions can be combined with any brightness, and changing the funcion will not change the brightness.
  • 5 taps: Add/Delete submenu, another sequence of 1 or 2 taps chooses between add or delete a mode t/from the active mode group:
    • 1 tap: add a mode. The new mode is inserted at the position of the selected mode. Example: If you have 3 modes, L/M/H (with M selected), then add a mode, the result is L/M/M/H, i.e. the selected mode is doubled, and the first of them is selected. It can then be changed by entering the config menu again.
    • 2 taps: delete the current mode from the group.
  • 6 taps: memory subenu, another sequence of 1-3 taps selects the memory type for the active group:
    • 1 tap: Set the memory type to no-memory.
    • 2 taps: Set the memory type to classic memory (cycle through all modes).
    • 3 taps: Set the memory type to short-cycle memory (after memory kicked in, skip to first mode; see below).
  • 7 taps: Temperature submenu, another sequence of 1-12 taps selects the set temperature (default is 60°C):
    1:eek:ff 2:40°C 3:45°C 4:50°C 5:55°C 6:60°C 7:65°C 8:70°C 9:75°C 10:80°C 11:85°C 12:90°C
  • 10 taps: Reset all configuration options to their factory defauls.
  • 12 taps: Toggle prog-lock, disables programming the light. Mode lock and switching between mode groups (1 or 2 taps in the config menu) will still work, also 12 taps again to unlock, but all other config options won't.
Table of ramp steps:
step123456789101112131415161718192021222324
current [mA]1.53.04.25.98.4121724344867951341902703805407601075152021503040moreeven more
curent [%]0.050.10.140.20.30.40.60.81.11.523579131825355071100semi-turboturbo
The steps 1 to 16 strongly profit form the higher efficiency at true lower currents, the luminous flux is thus a bit higher than the percentage values indicate.
The lowest values depend on hardware manufacturing variations and thus vary.


 

GRAY LITNIN

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Re: CONVOY S2/S2+ MODS!!!

Wow, sounds like it'll do all i'll ever need! Are there any brands of components (drivers, emitters, switches, usb ports) known for durability?

As far as resistance goes, does anyone make high qaulity silver or silver coated springs (silver has least resistance), or is it not feasible to use them because of reliability concerns or will it not make much difference as long as they are sized accordingly?

Some flashlight wiring diagrams would help me alot.

Where can i find info on questions similiar to this? I dont wanna get off topic here, just gathering more ideas, but i wanna post future questions in the proper place.
 

ven

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Re: CONVOY S2/S2+ MODS!!!

Some do a bypass at the tail cap, this lowers any resistance and allows the juice to flow more freely. For components, check mtn electronics out, Richard has lots of goodies on there. Not seen silver used, brass has been. With the spring, you need it to actually spring and not compress/distort under load. Basically to retain its shape and not stay compressed when the tail cap is removed. Gold plated beryllium copper seems popular for springs.

Have a look at mtn elecs, components, driver etc etc for some ideas. Sure more can advise a lot better :)
 

GRAY LITNIN

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Re: CONVOY S2/S2+ MODS!!!

Thanks ven!!! Ima have to start looking some parts up!!!

Anybody else got any S2 mods they wanna show off? Who's put a usb port in one?

I know bout the BD03 but its gotta have an adapter which i'll lose for sure!
 

lotec25

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Hello,

I am new to the flashlight modding, and I am looking at this flashlight for one of my first purchases. My question is on the battery. I would like to use the xhp70 LED and feed it 2x 18350 cells. My question is, the S2 calls for 1x [FONT=Open Sans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, SimSun, 宋体]18650 cell. Is the 18350 the same circumference just shorter, and that is what allows you to use the 2 18340 cells?

Thanks
[/FONT]
 

ven

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Hello,

I am new to the flashlight modding, and I am looking at this flashlight for one of my first purchases. My question is on the battery. I would like to use the xhp70 LED and feed it 2x 18350 cells. My question is, the S2 calls for 1x 18650 cell. Is the 18350 the same circumference just shorter, and that is what allows you to use the 2 18340 cells?

Thanks


18650. 18mm diameter, 65mm long, 0 =round/cyl
18350. 18mm diameter, 35mm long

So yes, same diameter, just length differences. The diameter is a little over 18mm as well.

Now the 18650 cells are usually 66mm+ and can even go up past 70mm with a PCB(protection circuit). Regarding 18350 cells, roughly 70mm+ with 2 in series so they can take the place of an 18650 cell giving a total of 8.4v . The length is a variable, so figures are rough.

You will need button tops to make contact between the 18350 cells in series(unless the flat tops are not that flat!). Very good 18350 cells right now are the aspire's, these come in around 1100mah. However they are not too easy to get hold of. Most other 18350 cells tend to be around 600-900 ish mah. Just make sure they are rated high enough and matched when bought(dont mix brands/mah and ages basically).

:welcome:
 
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lotec25

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18650. 18mm diameter, 65mm long, 0 =round/cyl
18350. 18mm diameter, 35mm long

That makes more sense now, I did not realize the number actually equalled the width and length. My next question is the LED star board. I do not see an XHP70 star board smaller then 20mm. Will a 20 mm board work in this light? I also read about having to shave the star board down, is that what I need to do in this instance? I am split between the S2 and the M1, not sure what light I want yet, I have just seen a lot of M1's with the XHP70 modded into them.

thanks
 

ven

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Your better off with an m1 over the s2 for the xhp70. Its a large quad die, generates a lot of heat! The larger size of the m1 helps dissipate the heat, even still 3000+ potential lumens is a lot for this host. So imo, m1 as not only with the size, but larger reflector to help with the beam. Orange peel will work nicely to smooth out the hot spot being a quad die..........

s2 is more popular for triples.
 

lotec25

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Your better off with an m1 over the s2 for the xhp70. Its a large quad die, generates a lot of heat! The larger size of the m1 helps dissipate the heat, even still 3000+ potential lumens is a lot for this host. So imo, m1 as not only with the size, but larger reflector to help with the beam. Orange peel will work nicely to smooth out the hot spot being a quad die..........

s2 is more popular for triples.

So the 20mm star will fit in the M1 or the S2? or do I need to do shaving on the star?

Thanks again.
 

ven

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Don't know that one, not sure on the sizes tbh. If your ordering from mtn elec, just let Richard know your plans and he will advise you which will work best.
 

DrafterDan

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I've got something in the works. Picked up a blue S2+ host from MtnElec, months ago. Then the LED4Power items showed up. Apparently I discovered an issue with the documentation after speaking with them, so hopefully I'll get this finished up over the weekend.

7XH5Uy.jpg


i0uUa7.jpg
 

lotec25

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So the 20mm star will fit in the M1 or the S2? or do I need to do shaving on the star?

Thanks again.

Just an update incase someone else goes looking. a 20mm star is required for the S2 and Convoy M1
 
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lotec25

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I've got something in the works. Picked up a blue S2+ host from MtnElec, months ago. Then the LED4Power items showed up. Apparently I discovered an issue with the documentation after speaking with them, so hopefully I'll get this finished up over the weekend.

DrafterDan, what size wire are you using here? I am just asking as I was told you need to use 28 to 22AWG. and your wire looks smaller. Just trying to learn here so just a question.

thanks
 
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