Question regarding the Convoy S11 flashlight and the backlit switch

Dr. Mario

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I am wondering if anyone have removed the switch from the Convoy S11 flashlight and modify it or something like that, as I kind of need to know how big is the switch board in diameter so I can locate the backlit switch board with the spots for the LEDs and the resistors so I can configure the tail switch in the Convoy S11 flashlight the way I want.

I decided to get the DIY 26650 flashlight built (it would be neat if the reputable Lithium-ion battery manufacturers, such as Samsung SDI, make the 7 Amps hour 26650 cells - in a way, that would be an obvious advantage). I may have to decide if I want to use Nichia 144 LED or just stick with the 319 LED (I actually like the 219 and 319 LEDs, they're so good not to use).
 

Dr. Mario

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The reason I asked is because I am not sure if the switch board is 16mm like with the other Convoy flashlights. I am planning on putting in the 520nm Gallium Nitride LEDs and 500 - 1,000 Ohms resistors as the Gallium Nitride LEDs are pretty efficient so I figured I'd make it dim enough that I obviously can see (I may like it to be four times brighter than the 22mm Tritium vial which I already have on my Convoy M1 flashlight, so the current draw is pretty small, about 2 - 5 mA).

I already ordered the Convoy S11 flashlight host at Mountain Electronics and XTAR 26650 cell at Battery Junction, and will order more part in a few weeks. I am hoping the Nichia 319AT LEDs will still be available for a bit at Mountain Electronics, as Nichia stopped making the 319AT LEDs (and I am not sure if the CRI 70 319BT LED is worth it even though I would like to test it, it's hard to come by for a while like with the 319A last year, and I tend to prefer 5,000 Kelvins color temperature as it's an approximate of the Sun's color temperature - even though I already have the CRI 70 219C LED, it's okay).
 

Dr. Mario

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That's a good point. I asked Richard at Mountain Electronics about the switch board size, now I have to wait. I also hope XTAR 26650 cells are good. If I can't trust the 26650 cells, I have last option; Bioenno Power 26650 Li : FePO4 cells, which are quite good (the battery pack in my Thor Colossus HID spotlight is still pretty good so I can trust the cells).
 

Dr. Mario

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Found out that the switch board is 22mm, it's going to be a challenge to find the 22mm board with the SMD LED pads which I could install whatever LED I want to put in. At the switch end, it's 16mm, at least. I will try to find that backlit switch board.
 

DrafterDan

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Why not make a spacer? I've used essentially dummy PCB plates, with conductive material on the outside ring. I'll see if I can find a photo. I got them from Bangood or similar, just pennies each.

Mtn Elec has something similar, search on their site for
[h=1]22mm Single-Sided FET Driver PCB - V1.3b - MTN-22DD[/h]
 

Dr. Mario

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I will figure it out when I get my hands on it. Hopefully it's trivial to make it work, if not I will figure it out.
 

staticx57

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Worse come to worse there is always Oshpark
 
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Dr. Mario

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Got the Convoy S11 flashlight host, and wow, it's like Convoy S2 flashlight on steroids. Huge and heavy.

In general, the amount of heatsinking that could be had is perfect for Nichia x19 LEDs driven at up to 2 Amps (the maximum Nichia like it to exceed, and no further - I am usually conservative regarding LED lifespan), even though I am sure it can do 5 - 7 Amps without it turning angry blue.

Man, that's a huge tube flashlight. But still, I am happy as it means longer runtime off a charge of the 26650 Lithium-ion battery.

EDITED:
As for the switch board, it's confirmed to be 22mm in diameter. I will take the tailcap apart to figure out how to make it backlit, when I have all the pieces to solder together.

On the other hand, I noticed that the shipment from Battery Junction tend to take its sweet time... Oh well, I will have that XTAR protected 26650 battery by the time I get the Nichia 319AT LED and some other pieces to go into Convoy S11 flashlight.

Looks like I could use this one - solder that to the original switch board, and reassemble the whole tailcap without moving the assembly in it: https://led4power.com/product/ilc-1-illuminated-tailcap-diy-kit/ *** Actually, scratch that, I asked them and they told me that the switch board is required due to the support circuitry on the included switch board.
 
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Dr. Mario

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The Convoy is like the Convoy S2 flashlight on steroids (and yup, that S2 is a Nichia NVSU233A-U365 blacklight flashlight, BTW). And yup, the 16mm clear flashlight switch boot that you would typically get from some flashlight part shops like the Mountain Electronics fits. I swapped out the black switch boot with clear one for now until I can get the backlight for the switch.
5de4044639c5161e3c18926c7683ffd8.jpg
 

Dr. Mario

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Apparently the FourSeven single bay charger's 12 Volts adapter (it's version 4 before they switched to 5-Volts only setup) failed at the most inconvenient time, even though the charger itself still work - pretty stout for a six years old charger.

That only mean one thing; it will now take a while to charge the A123 18650 LiFePO4 cells now as the classic USB port is usually designed for up to 500mA power consumption. I have one more charger, XTAR VC4 which a vape shop gave me as it was behaving funny - it have been since fixed after I took it apart and take a look inside. Too bad it doesn't charge LiFePO4 cells.

*** EDITED ***
T___T I didn't know that some of FourSevens' IP were discontinued, and that includes this charger. Time to either hunt down another LiFePO4 compatible charger or make one in case the one I have decided that enough is enough.

As for the 26650 cell, I am looking at the XTAR SC1 charger so I can charge it a little bit quicker than on the VC2 / VC4 chargers (they are limited to 1A charging current which will actually take forever to completely charge the 26650 cells, as it have taken four to five hours to charge the unprotected LG 3.5 Ah 18650 Lithium-ion cell to 100% at 1A rating - I generally never let it run down, as I have the battery low warning burnt into the microcontrollers in all of the LED drivers I use in my Lithium-ion flashlights).
 
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Dr. Mario

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I may not be visiting CPF very often anymore because in some area, it have gotten increasingly vicious (and not to mention some respected members leaving for the greener pastures). But I may still post a few pictures more to motivate some DIY folks.
 

Dr. Mario

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Decided to just pop in Tritium vials (this stuff is epic, and a true photophile catnip, I have a Convoy S2 flashlight with a three 2 x 6mm Tritium vials permanently installed within the TIR optics). They lasts forever and are apparently bright enough to shine right through the translucent clear flashlight tailcap boot, to the dark-adapted eyes, at least but are still going to be useful in emergency while not using any juice from the battery. I will order the vials at some point soon and install them on the plastic switch spacer, already filed down the spacer for three Tritium vials to be installed into the tailcap switch.
 

Dr. Mario

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I decided to postpone the battery-powered backlight for a bit as I found out that the switch's shaft (the piece that sticks out and holds the moving button piece) is a bit big, about 7 - 8mm (should really be thinking about getting the digital calpier to measure a bit more accurately).

However, since the switch assembly is easily removable, I decided I will tackle both Tritium vial switch boot backlight ring and the powered backlight so I can show off two options to backlight the switch.
 

Dr. Mario

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Finally finished it up. I had to wait for the Tritium vial shipment to arrive and then grab the Scupley polymer clay (a mistake but at least it still worked out okay - however whatever you use, it MUST be white or you risk color transfer which will definitely ruin your day), and Loctite two-part multi-purpose Epoxy resin. (The epoxy is translucent yellow stuff - it won't really affect the green Tritium vials' light output much but it has an interesting property that helps diffusing the light around so it lights up the whole clear switch boot. I recommend doing it outside, that stuff smells nasty.)

I first had to use the original black washer that was in the flashlight's tailcap switch as a mold replica to make a optically translucent washer to toss into the switch, along with three vials inside. Then I had to let it cure, despite the label on the Epoxy mentioning that it cures in one minute (misleading advertising at work), overnight so it is rock solid. It was still soft and pliable when I extracted it from the clay, though but at least it still worked out in the end.

So, there are two pictures of the molded spacer washer.
3815755bedf897a576b7c936c7150864.jpg
dc0cdb150e0be1b5ce116a728d2a511e.jpg
 
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Dr. Mario

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And lastly, the completed tailcap switch. It was tough to take picture of it in total darkness but still it was a good test of my OnePlus 6T phone's camera hardware (5,500 Kelvins color temperature, ISO 1,600 and four seconds shutter time, accessible in Pro mode in OnePlus camera app).
2ec22be53bbcf4f5e90facbe1534d664.jpg
 

Dr. Mario

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I did think it would be a good solution too, so I decided to give it a try and it turned out good. Even though it is not bright but it's definitely noticeable in the low light, so its main purpose is served. So far I am actually happy with the result.

I am thinking of finishing up the 507 nanometers Cyanide green (almost pure aqua) laser pointer in the green Convoy S2+ flashlight host, so I may have an excuse to give the LED backlight switch a try in that laser pointer, as the backlit metal switch boot in the modded Convoy S2+ flashlight do look sick. The switch LED backlit ring PCB was the wrong size for the S11 but I will use it in the S2+ flashlight as it fits. Mmmm. A rare diode laser in a slick flashlight host.

I will need to find a 20mm glass anti-reflective glass lens (to keep the dust out of the laser lens) and the 17mm round boost DC-DC converter laser diode driver (so I can run that Indium Gallium Nitride laser diode off the 18650 LiFePO4 cell) which is turning out to be tricky to hunt down. Anyways, here's the picture of the green laser pointer that's WIP. (I know it's off-topic but since I am going to stuff the switch backlight into the laser pointer so it's kind of relevant here.)

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
494c1df07b3f1eb81823dc917a02336c.jpg
 
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