Your Favorite Modified Flashlight

fivemega

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 28, 2003
Messages
5,522
Location
California
What is your favorite modified flashlight?
Brand name, custom built, type of modification, bored out, twin bored, tri bored, quad, bored, type of light source, type and number of cells and....
Picture also appreciated.
 

Capolini

Banned
Joined
Aug 4, 2013
Messages
5,945
Location
Valley Forge, Pa.
Very difficult to choose! I would have to say ALL my Vinh and OSTS OMG lights! :)

I am usually a person who elaborates too much and is very detailed! I kept it simple for once!
 

Fireclaw18

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 16, 2011
Messages
2,408
Such a hard choice. I tend to modify almost all my flashlights these days and the one that's my favorite tends to vary depending on my mood and how proud I am of the mod. Here are a few of my more recent mods.

Aleto N8 - this started as a budget 1x18650 zoomie with an XML emitter. In stock form the only unusual thing about it is its size: just 108mm long. It's shorter and narrower than all other 18650 zoomies on the market. I'm proud of it because of the extensive modifications I did to it:
1. Replaced driver with Nanjg105c with Comfychair FET mod and DrJones Lumodrv electronic switch firmware.
2. Replaced emitter with dedomed XPL neutral on copper.
3. Shortened head, body and tailcap. Removed tailcap switch. Added knurling to head. Entire light reduced from 108mm to 91mm making it probably the shortest 18650 zoomie in the world. Smaller than a Sipik 68, but will still fit even protected 3400 mAh 18650s.
4. Installed an electronic sideswitch on the exterior of the body tube just below the head.
5. Added rubber grip around the body tube.
6. Replaced stock 18mm aspheric lens with 20mm short focal length acrylic fresnel lens behind a flat glass lens. (I also made an alternate lens and bezel with a 20mm aspheric lens. This gives much more throw but adds 4mm to the light's length).
7. Solder-braided head and tailcap springs.
8. Removed gold anodizing and refinished the entire light in grey duracoat. The duracoat didn't last on the knurling on the head and tailcap, so I refinished those portions with acrylic hobby paint topped with a layer of super-glue gel. Looks virtually identical to the duracoat and just as durable.

The overall result: Possibly the smallest single 18650 zoomie light in the world. Fairly high output too. 23k lux with the fresnel lens and 31k with the 20mm aspheric. Flood mode has a 90 degree beam angle making it one of the widest floods available in a zoomie. The lumodrv interface is also quite nice giving instant shortcuts to min and max, 2-way ramping, hidden strobe and battery meter, etc. I'm proud of this one because it is unique and because the mod worked so well. The modded light looks like an entirely different light from the original.

Coast HP1 - not my best mod, but it is my most recent. The HP1 is an inexpensive budget zoomie. Just $10 on Amazon. It's quite well built too, with features like an LED Lenser style optic, copper star, and AS5 thermal grease under the star. I modded mine with the following:
1. Driver swap - to 3 mode Nanjg 105c with off-time memory from Mountain Electronics.
2. Emitter swap - removed XPE and replaced with Nichia 219B high-CRI
3. Sliding bezel - replaced. Swapped in bezel from an MT-104 from DX. The MT-104's head is much narrower and has nicely positioned rings making cycling the zoom easy. I glued in the lens into the new bezel with Norland N0A61. Did a lousy job with the Norland. Will probably end up replacing the lens and trying again. Doesn't noticeably affect the beam, but looks unprofessional looking into the top of the light when off.
4. Filed down the rear hexagonal clip mount for a more streamlined round appearance. Filed in the clip holes.
5. Replaced tailcap with a shorter one. Solder-braided switch spring.

Fairly pleased with how this one came out. It's not a powerhouse like the Aleto and even in spot mode doesn't throw at all. The zoom has two modes: A wide even 90 degree flood, and a spot with spill that looks just like a conventional reflector flashlight. I like it for it's comfortable form factor and incredibly good tint.

Convoy S2+ Mini
- in stock form this is a fairly small cylindrical light with a body tube sized for a single 18350 cell. Came with an aluminum OP reflector, XML emitter, and 5-mode driver with 3x7135 chips on it. I modded mine with the following:
1. Filed down top and part of the sides of the pill to fit a 20mm triple star.
2. Filed down back of pill to make the entire pill shorter so the driver rides closer to the star.
3. Replaced stock emitter and optic with triple neutral XPL on 20mm noctigon. Used Carclo 10507 optic modified by Mountain Electronics for use with undedomed XPLs.
4. Replaced stock driver with BLF17DD FET driver with off-time memory from Moutain Electronics. Removed driver spring and replaced with copper sheet.
5. Solder-braided tailcap spring.

Result: This fairly small and plain looking 84mm long cylindrical light is now a floody pocket rocket. Internal modifications allow it to fit an 18500 cell instead of the 18350 the light was designed for. Output on a fresh IMR 18500 is around 3000 lumens. The entire light is just 84mm long. It's amazingly bright for its size. The entire mod was fairly quick too. Took maybe 3-4 hours.

Jetbeam TCR-01
1. Replaced emitter with 20mm triple Nichia 219B with Carclo 10507 optic.

Result: This beautiful small titanium light now has a gorgeous looking optic and great tint. Looks dim compared to the Convoy S2+ though. Overall a fairly simple mod that took just a few hours.
 
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Kenjii

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 28, 2013
Messages
42
Hy,

my first modified flashlight is still one of my favorites. Took some time to finish, but in the end it is perfect: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?380577-quot-Blue-Star-quot-on-Steroids

Measured at 981 Kcd :thumbsup:

tala_97.jpg




tala_98.jpg


tala_144.jpg


tala_43.jpg


tala_51.jpg


Greetings

Kenjii
 

bigchelis

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 30, 2008
Messages
3,604
Location
Prunedale, CA
I have the best luck and success with Maglite.


I find that for my emergency light a flood light is best for changing a tire to walking inside the house late at night. There are tons of builders and drop-ins for Maglites too but nobody offers what I have. A dedicated MULE bezel with copper heatsink.


Here is a video of my Mule 2D Maglite. (I got the parallel wiring & amp reading figured out now). Makes for a short 2D Mag and those IMR 26650's generate 6A on high mode. The FET Driver is direct drive and has 5 modes. All wired to stock switch.

Both my lights mentioned here are 2D Maglites with simple 1in diameter PVC pipe cut to fit 2 IMR 26650 cells.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NBzxbX3o0s



Something nobody offers is TIR lenses for Maglites either. I got this 45mm TIR from another light and just pressed fits between heatsink and front of lens. The result is a flawless beam and perfect wall of light with MTG2 behind it. Originally the Optic I used was on XML host I salvaged.






I wish there was aftermarket quality switches that would drop-in place of stock Maglite switch (never seen this before)

I wish there was readily available Mule Bezels for C or D Maglite.

I wish there was 50mm TIR Optics for Maglite builds.
 
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DrafterDan

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 28, 2013
Messages
1,317
Location
Phoenix, AZ
One I built (mostly) myself. Based on a P60.

HortonEngineeringHEv2_final.jpg


I created the body on a lathe, and capped it off with a cooly bezel and a Ronac tri-tailcap with blue trits. The engine was a XML, but now it is a Mattus triple shell running XP-G2 r5 and a qlite Rev A driver at 4.4amps. I still want to put in some blue glow powder under the Carclo, and maybe send the whole thing off to be anodized. The image below was a work-in-progress photo.

Mattustripleproject02.jpg
 

skyfire

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 4, 2009
Messages
1,823
Location
Los Angeles
my first generation surefire L1 with SSC P4 high cri, and fraen optic. hardly a mod though because the LED and optic was a perfect fit.
the beam is gorgeous and throwy. a seamless fading intensity from the center of the beam to its edges, with a beautiful tint.
 

altermann

Enlightened
Joined
Jan 21, 2015
Messages
773
Location
NJ / EU
Here is mine ...
Surefire e1e with modified KL1 head
neutral xpe2
two modes
130 and 350 lm with TIR lense



 

maro69camaro

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 11, 2011
Messages
132
I love my JayRob 1000 lumen maglite with voltage monitoring and 32600 cells. I just sent my McLux iii PD to datiLED for a led swap and current bump, can't wait to get it back.
 

altermann

Enlightened
Joined
Jan 21, 2015
Messages
773
Location
NJ / EU
i use the same tir which was inside in original version, before the assembling i've test some leds, xml produce floody beam, xpe - more focused like surefire e1b, i had chosen xpe, the beam is like in e1b but more powerfull
 
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WallE

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 2, 2013
Messages
17
Location
Ukraine, Kiev
1) COOLY 26650 host + Ledil Iris 37mm + XML2 U2 dedomed on the silver-coated copper pill + 3A highly effective MOHAPX driver (more here)





2) Eagletac TX25C2 with quadriple XPG2 on the silver-coated copper pill (more here)



3) Solarforce L2P with 3A MOHAPX module on the silver-coated copper pill + 27mm Ledlink TIR optik (more here)





p.s. I hope everything right :)
 
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127.0.0.1

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
1,000
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/etc/hosts
McGizmo Haiku 123 XML

the mod: Flucero28 5 speed driver

it has moonlight mode, I use this mode all the time
 

Fireclaw18

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 16, 2011
Messages
2,408
My favorite modded light tends to change depending on what I most recently worked on haha!

I'm liking the DQG Tiny III as a mod host for small triples. Here's one I completed last week. It is dinged up because I made this out of leftover parts from an earlier mod. I dinged it up fruitlessly trying to remove the head. Eventually, I just did the mod without removing the head.





Entire light with an Efest 35a flat top installed is 87mm long x 29mm wide at the head.

The pictures show the external heatsink I added around the head. This helps absorb some of the heat while also insulating the hand from the hottest part of the head.

I used the original switch plunger in another mod. The copper plunger visible in the picture is the replacement I made from sheet copper. Around the plunger is a nickel plated brass washer that protects the light from accidental pocket activation.

The light is currently equipped with a FET e-switch driver with moppydrv firmware from Mountain Electronics. Emitters are triple XPL HI 5000K.

Currently set to mode group 7, which gives the following ouputs:
* moonlight
* 30% power - 930 lumens for 55 minutes. However as this is a FET driver, output isn't regulated and declines as voltage goes down.
* 100% power - 3100 lumens for 10 seconds followed by 1550 lumens. Again output declines as voltage drops.

I really like Moppydrv firmware as it has 16 user programmable mode groups and a user programmable turbo timer with gradual rampdown to 50%.

At full power this pill-less light gets excessively hot incredibly fast. If I wanted longer runtimes at turbo I'd have to place something over the top of the head and switch to help insulate the fingers (perhaps Duracoat paint, or maybe make a rubber cover out of Sugru moldable glue).
 

THE_dAY

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 28, 2003
Messages
1,819
Location
sfv, california
My new favorite modded light is one that just arrived today (national flashlight day Dec.21)
It is my old Jetbeam ST 18650 modded by the awesome DB Custom over at BLF.
Light has a few scratches and scrapes but it's still one nice looking light with Jetbeam's dark HAIII (not black).
Now has the new Nichia 219B V1 4000K HCRI (same as the newer HDS HCRI lights)
Driven by the LD-1 linear driver (all levels current controlled, no PWM)
Copper spring bypass on both head and tail.
LEDil optic 21mm (spot beam 95% efficiency)
JB%20219B%204000K_zps9tprywxi.jpg

Output levels measured below:
moon 10mA - 1.6 lumens
low 50mA - 17.5 lumens
med 540mA - 148 lumens
high 2.7A - 499 lumens

Yeah 499 lumens might not do it for some but that 499 HCRI 4000K lumens is just amazing to me, great throw as well from the optic.
LED is direct on copper pcb with nice chunky copper heatsink so can run the full 2.7A high level for long periods, no short bursts required! :tinfoil:
Once you start getting into modded lights it's very hard to be satisfied with stock lights.
 

ven

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 17, 2013
Messages
22,533
Location
Manchester UK
I will play, I have listed 4(well more favs so hard to pick 4)anyway in no order.

cryos head on an L2T with vinhs CQvn 4x xp-g2 5000k Its my work light right now and fed on a Panasonic BD


Very special gifts to me and my lad and mean everything to us, triple s2+ 's Love them, 2800lm red with programmable driver and 2000lm-blue
Here in 18350 clothes fed on keeppower IMR's


Next up is a specially made supbeam/acebeam x40vn triple quad , 3x 18650's, all flood from the xpl's 5700k seated on a huge copper heat sink. The infinite control ring UI is one of my fav UI's.



The Fenix tk75vnQ70 with vinhs drivervnx2 and 4x xhp70 led's . A beast of a light, love the engraving on the bezel and heat treatment . Flexible with 20mode groups
and an awesome wall of light!
Fuel, well pretty much all you can feed it, it loves to eat mah by the amp

Spike did a great job on the bezel with his claws!

Sorry I can't pick just one , I do have a couple more favs but will quit now :laughing:
 
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