iamlucky13
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2016
- Messages
- 1,139
PREFACE
Many CPF users may wonder, why bother modding an RO1A? It's just a ~10 lumen battery vampire with a lowly 5mm LED. However, many users have shared or acquired through group buys a high CRI 5mm emitter made by Yuji. I have used their 3200K, 45 degree beam angle version for this project. It produces a pleasant, floody beam with the closest tint I've seen to a good halogen from any LED.
The Sunwayman R01A was chosen because it has an unpotted driver. I would consider this light generally a step down from the Fenix E01 except for that fact, which makes it far more viable to mod, but also potentially less durable.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL
Moderate
This mod requires some skill using a soldering iron, and working with very small components. A "third hand" tool or small hobby vise is very helpful for holding parts. Sparkfun has a good soldering guide here:
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/how-to-solder-through-hole-soldering
There is a risk the light be could damaged or ruined. However, I probably have below average skills among people with soldering experience, and completed this successfully.
MOD PROCESS
Let's get right into the fun. After removing the flashlight head, you will need to remove the printed circuit board (PCB) from the head. The PCB is held in place by being soldered to the LED legs, seen as the two soldered contacts nearest the camera in the following photo. I was not able to remove all the solder with wick, and had to use a slightly more complicated technique.
Note the two tabs on the PCB. I was able to get the tip of a hobby/X-Acto knife under one tab, heat the closer solder joint, and use the knife to lift up on the PCB to move it slightly. Then I repeated on the opposite side. I had to repeat this 2-3 times before the PCB was free. It may be prudent to allow the PCB to cool for a minute between iterations. Clean as much solder from the holes as possible with wick or a scrap of stranded wire. Alternatively, a safety pin or sewing needle might work for pushing cooled solder out of the hole.
Caution: You can damage the PCB components by inserting your knife too far. See the 3rd photo for more info. We're talking about maybe 2mm here.
Removing the LED itself is simple. The white part is a threaded plastic retainer. Use the two small holes to unscrew it. Mine was not in very tight, so a pair of safety pins may provide enough torque. When you pull the LED out, there should be a small o-ring at the base that seals the driver capsule.
Note the double bend in the LED legs. You will need to mimic that on the new LED to provide clearance from the components on the PCB. You will need to bend it the correct direction for sake of polarity on the PCB. See the next photo.
This thing is really tiny! That an ordinary house key next to the PCB.
Note on the left tab there is a scratch where I gouged the PCB slightly with my knife. Another millimeter or two further and I could have knocked that resistor off. Also, the component on the upper left is the voltage boost coil. It has extremely tiny wire leads, so be careful around it.
The important features here are the + and - signs for our two solder points. Use these to figure out which way to bend your LED legs. The longer leg of your LED goes to the + contact.
Bend the legs, insert the new LED into the head with the O-ring on it, and install the threaded retainer. Before tightening the retainer, slide the PCB holes over the legs, and use it as a guide to rotate the LED so the PCB tabs align with the slots on the aluminum head. Remove the PCB and tighten the retainer. The LED may tend to rotate as you tighten. Correct this if it happens.
We are almost done!
Slide the PCB back over the legs, make sure the tabs align with the head, and solder the PCB to the LED. The image below shows the positive leg soldered. A slip of my hand got a drop of solder on the negative battery tube contact ring. Fortunately, I did not short between the two, but I removed the errant solder just in case.
Use side cutters to trim the legs as close as possible to the PCB surface to ensure they do not contact the battery positive terminal. The first photo in this post is actually my completed job, after trimming, and is sufficiently short.
COMPLETION!
If all went well, the light should function when you put a battery in and tighten the head down. If not, inspect your solder joints to make sure they appear properly formed. Further troubleshooting may be difficult, but is a welcome topic for this thread.
A successful mod converts the cool blue, narrow beam with distracting horned side-lobes in the middle to the floody, even beam on the right, in either a warm (shown) or very clear daylight tint if you used one of the Yuji BC LED's. I've also provided a shot of a circa 2016 Fenix E01 for comparison. I've adjusted the camera settings to better represent how these appear to compare to the naked eye, as photographs tend to convey an exaggerated sense o tint differences.
Many CPF users may wonder, why bother modding an RO1A? It's just a ~10 lumen battery vampire with a lowly 5mm LED. However, many users have shared or acquired through group buys a high CRI 5mm emitter made by Yuji. I have used their 3200K, 45 degree beam angle version for this project. It produces a pleasant, floody beam with the closest tint I've seen to a good halogen from any LED.
The Sunwayman R01A was chosen because it has an unpotted driver. I would consider this light generally a step down from the Fenix E01 except for that fact, which makes it far more viable to mod, but also potentially less durable.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL
Moderate
This mod requires some skill using a soldering iron, and working with very small components. A "third hand" tool or small hobby vise is very helpful for holding parts. Sparkfun has a good soldering guide here:
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/how-to-solder-through-hole-soldering
There is a risk the light be could damaged or ruined. However, I probably have below average skills among people with soldering experience, and completed this successfully.
MOD PROCESS
Let's get right into the fun. After removing the flashlight head, you will need to remove the printed circuit board (PCB) from the head. The PCB is held in place by being soldered to the LED legs, seen as the two soldered contacts nearest the camera in the following photo. I was not able to remove all the solder with wick, and had to use a slightly more complicated technique.
Note the two tabs on the PCB. I was able to get the tip of a hobby/X-Acto knife under one tab, heat the closer solder joint, and use the knife to lift up on the PCB to move it slightly. Then I repeated on the opposite side. I had to repeat this 2-3 times before the PCB was free. It may be prudent to allow the PCB to cool for a minute between iterations. Clean as much solder from the holes as possible with wick or a scrap of stranded wire. Alternatively, a safety pin or sewing needle might work for pushing cooled solder out of the hole.
Caution: You can damage the PCB components by inserting your knife too far. See the 3rd photo for more info. We're talking about maybe 2mm here.
Removing the LED itself is simple. The white part is a threaded plastic retainer. Use the two small holes to unscrew it. Mine was not in very tight, so a pair of safety pins may provide enough torque. When you pull the LED out, there should be a small o-ring at the base that seals the driver capsule.
Note the double bend in the LED legs. You will need to mimic that on the new LED to provide clearance from the components on the PCB. You will need to bend it the correct direction for sake of polarity on the PCB. See the next photo.
This thing is really tiny! That an ordinary house key next to the PCB.
Note on the left tab there is a scratch where I gouged the PCB slightly with my knife. Another millimeter or two further and I could have knocked that resistor off. Also, the component on the upper left is the voltage boost coil. It has extremely tiny wire leads, so be careful around it.
The important features here are the + and - signs for our two solder points. Use these to figure out which way to bend your LED legs. The longer leg of your LED goes to the + contact.
Bend the legs, insert the new LED into the head with the O-ring on it, and install the threaded retainer. Before tightening the retainer, slide the PCB holes over the legs, and use it as a guide to rotate the LED so the PCB tabs align with the slots on the aluminum head. Remove the PCB and tighten the retainer. The LED may tend to rotate as you tighten. Correct this if it happens.
We are almost done!
Slide the PCB back over the legs, make sure the tabs align with the head, and solder the PCB to the LED. The image below shows the positive leg soldered. A slip of my hand got a drop of solder on the negative battery tube contact ring. Fortunately, I did not short between the two, but I removed the errant solder just in case.
Use side cutters to trim the legs as close as possible to the PCB surface to ensure they do not contact the battery positive terminal. The first photo in this post is actually my completed job, after trimming, and is sufficiently short.
COMPLETION!
If all went well, the light should function when you put a battery in and tighten the head down. If not, inspect your solder joints to make sure they appear properly formed. Further troubleshooting may be difficult, but is a welcome topic for this thread.
A successful mod converts the cool blue, narrow beam with distracting horned side-lobes in the middle to the floody, even beam on the right, in either a warm (shown) or very clear daylight tint if you used one of the Yuji BC LED's. I've also provided a shot of a circa 2016 Fenix E01 for comparison. I've adjusted the camera settings to better represent how these appear to compare to the naked eye, as photographs tend to convey an exaggerated sense o tint differences.