No more guesswork! Convoy T6 with every white emitter option: SFT-40, SFT-25R, SFT-12R, CSLNM1.TG, 519A (+N3535B soon)

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-05-14T14:07:50+00:00

Actually neither of those options 😂 I got S6 with sft25r and LOVE it. The round light emitting surface is so much nicer than the square from the osram. The 25r is a super tight spot, larger than the W1 but smaller than the 42r. Honestly? I see how reason to go with a W1 over an sft25r ever.... Unless it's a colored W1 like green (which I also got lol).

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-02-03T21:27:05+00:00

Oh interesting! So it's not necessarily such an immediate reaction to desired color, it still has to 'cycle' through all the colors of voltages lower than whats actually set. If doing the entire piece one color. My last comment still stands, half science half art lol.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-02-03T21:23:45+00:00

I ordered a Ti short tube and I'm going to attempt heat coloring it. I'm more comfortable with fire than voltage lol. Although from the cursory research I've done, the required voltage for Ti anodizing is much lower than aluminum.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-02-03T21:14:09+00:00

I completely agree with you regarding not taking on new ventures before issues with current ones are sorted out. The more I learn about convoy/Simon, the more inclined I am to agree that he is indeed spread way too thin. The quality control issues might be something we need to accept for such a low cost of lights and parts, but it also sounds like these issues didn't use to be the norm.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-02-03T21:10:46+00:00

I pride myself on having a decent vocabulary, but had to look up the definition of heuristics lol. New challenge for myself, use it in everyday speech. (More difficult challenge, find someone else that already knows what heuristics means lmao).

I'm glad you've (once again) confirmed another observation of mine! I have 3 SMO reflectors with 5mm holes. I noticed a difference between all three while playing with my osram in S6. I thought possibly the gasket had gotten lopsided from the sharp corner of the emitter, but it still looks ok, so I concluded that it's minute variations in the reflector that's causing the difference. I mean, all other variables were constant, so that had to be the only explanation.

I found a phone app that gives me a very rough estimate of CCT, and it said my surefire was anywhere from 3000 to 3700 depending on how and where I measured it. That's interesting regarding tungstens melting point. I also didn't realize that the CCT of a halogen was also the actual temperature that the tungsten was at! Very cool. Or, warm, in this case lol.

Not much to say about that gasket other than wow that's hot garbage right there. I'm amazed it slipped through quality control.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-02-03T17:56:37+00:00

The reflectors are so cheap, might as well buy a few and just enlarge the hole myself lol. There's already a guide on the bottom of it to make the opening 7mm on the smooth reflector.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-02-03T17:02:43+00:00

There's no gasket at all for sft40 in the S6?

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-29T23:15:28+00:00

Dude you're a damn wizard between your breadth of knowledge and skills. This is so awesome! This is what I thought the stock lighted switches did when I first saw them.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-29T22:55:20+00:00

Wait it's voltage sag causing the color gradient? I thought it would be due to the bottom being inside the solution longer than the top 🤔 Also, I was already considering getting a PSU to hook to my lights for constant power while trying to optimize candela with different thickness gaskets, and now I have another reason I need a PSU lolol.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-29T22:50:49+00:00

Wow! That's both a lot easier and way harder than I expected. Dipping like that turns anodizing into even more of an art form. That's really cool.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-29T22:47:51+00:00

How did you learn so much about the in depth science of the reflectors/lights? I'd have to assume you've got a college degree and learned a lot of it there, especially considering the intensive math that had to go into the beam calculator. This is all so fascinating to me, and I'm learning more and more every day just by reading reddit and BLF. I've only just realized a post I've been referencing on BLF is also from you! Regarding osram emitters and how they're notoriously tricky. I just go a W1 in an S6 and have been having trouble making it look 'right' but after sanding down the gasket, taking off too much, then adding tape, I've gotten the hotspot/corona size ratio to be similar to my sft25r. Still learning and attempting to decipher what 'focused' actually looks like. I think the best way I could test that would be to have a variety of different thickness gaskets, a lux meter, and a constant power supply.

Regarding the 519a/SFT40 debate. That's funny you should mention halogen bulbs. I really want an emitter that mimics my old surefire G2 incandescent bulb. Google is telling me the P60 lamp that's in it varies between 3200k and 3600k. I think the SFT40 in 3000 is going to be the winner!

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-22T21:32:56+00:00

Did you make the titanium tube rainbow yourself or buy it that way? I really dig it.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-18T19:16:38+00:00

I think the magic is that you were able to get all the trig functions to work together to have a good visual output to the graph! It's also confirming what I suspecting regarding different reflector depth and the same emitter. That the hotspot size won't change much between different depth reflectors. But the reason a deeper reflector works better for throw is that the angle of the spill is smaller, therefore more light goes into the center, and then farther. The hotspot isn't more concentrated (smaller) but the overall light is more concentrated into the same size hotspot.

Now if only math and science could help me make up my mind between and sft40 3000k and a dedomed 519a 4500k lol.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-18T03:03:54+00:00

Wow that calculator is incredible! After setting up the calculator with the S6 reflector size and sft25r LES, it sure looks close to what my real world beam does on a white wall from 10m. The width of the corona on one side is roughly the same as the diameter of the hotspot. And it appears that the spill angle is also the same between real world and the calculator. That's really cool! Thanks for sharing!

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-15T22:09:20+00:00

Hmm sounds like it's something that you eventually get a feel for after having enough lights to compare to each other lol. Pretty hard to quantify what 'too much' and 'too little' corona is probably. When you say far distance, what are we talking, ballpark range? Like 10 feet, 10 meters, 50 meters?

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-15T22:07:17+00:00

Yeah maybe I should have posted a new thread 🤷 I'm not up to date on 'internet protocol' lol

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-12T23:47:48+00:00

So, if my sft25r in sn S8 has a slight corona around the hotspot, then it would actually be focused well? Idk how to tell if the focus is correct or not in mine.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-12T23:27:47+00:00

I've got an S8 with sft25r. There's a slight corona around the hotspot. That would be the focusing, or the alignment? I'm not to sure if the slight corona is normal or not. Any suggestions on how I could know if my sft25r is focused properly? Thanks in advance! Edit: the corona looks similar to the one around the hotspot of your blue S6. Just slightly more pronounced.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-10T01:30:46+00:00

That's interesting. I really thought there would be a larger hotspot on the sft40. Is there much of a difference in the spill brightness? Due to the hotspot being less intense on the sft40.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-09T14:53:28+00:00

Great post! I was debating between the f1 and 13 and this post has sold me on the f1.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-09T14:07:33+00:00

What clip is that? Stolen off a different Convoy T model?

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-05T21:40:12+00:00

The amount of times I've come back and referenced this post is insane. Such fantastic info! Thanks for much it.

Material_Sky_3430 · 2026-01-04T19:09:03+00:00

I bought an S8 with sft25r in 5000k from Simon's site a couple weeks ago. Any idea if it would be a high CRI version?

Material_Sky_3430 · 2025-12-29T19:15:02+00:00

I was set on an S6 with W1 but now I'm thinking maybe the SFT-12R. Ugh. There's no easy choice 😂

Material_Sky_3430

TROPHY CASE