# Help required by a certified dimwit



## Darrin (Jan 7, 2022)

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and joined to try and improve my limited knowledge. I've had a 4greer rangemaster for quite a few years and recently dropped it, it no longer works. Being a common or garden sparky I decided to have a bash at finding out what was wrong, I've probably made it worse and as the old saying goes "bitten off more than I can chew". I've stripped it down to bare parts and then tried to source replacements with the intention of basically renewing all the electronics. The problem is that the original parts are now discontinued and I've not got a clue how to go about getting the correct driver /led combo which would restore my once lovely torch. 
It may be a case of finding someone who's more experienced and handing over the reigns and a few quid for a rebuild? Or biting the bullet and ordering a new one? 
Any advice appreciated


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## knucklegary (Jan 7, 2022)

Try contacting Vinh at Sky Lumen dot com.. He can rebuild it and more than likely give it a booster shot as well


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## Lynx_Arc (Jan 7, 2022)

First off you should be able to test the LED module to see if it works by taking 2 AA batteries in series and connecting them to it. Second if you figure out the circuitry is bad you can measure the board and there are places you can order another circuit board. Finally it looks like (not sure) that you have an XPG type emitter on it and unless you really "need" 1000 lumens I would consider getting a board that the highest output is what you want and look at the other modes. 
There are several places you can buy circuit boards one (I have not bought from) has a few of them Illum.com there is others on the internet also but as I have not looked around for some 5-10 years now I just don't really know. 
I would say it is probably the circuit board that is toast if you dropped it a solder joint could have been damaged or a component on the board.


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## Darrin (Jan 7, 2022)

knucklegary said:


> Try contacting Vinh at Sky Lumen dot com.. He can rebuild it and more than likely give it a booster shot as well


Thank you, I have emailed them


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## Darrin (Jan 7, 2022)

knucklegary said:


> Try contacting Vinh at Sky Lumen dot com.. He can rebuild it and more than likely give it a booster shot as well


Thank you, I have emailed 


Lynx_Arc said:


> First off you should be able to test the LED module to see if it works by taking 2 AA batteries in series and connecting them to it. Second if you figure out the circuitry is bad you can measure the board and there are places you can order another circuit board. Finally it looks like (not sure) that you have an XPG type emitter on it and unless you really "need" 1000 lumens I would consider getting a board that the highest output is what you want and look at the other modes.
> There are several places you can buy circuit boards one (I have not bought from) has a few of them Illum.com there is others on the internet also but as I have not looked around for some 5-10 years now I just don't really know.
> I would say it is probably the circuit board that is toast if you dropped it a solder joint could have been damaged or a component on the board.


Thanks for taking the time to reply, I'll give that a try and let you know how I get on. The torch is used for lamping with a running dog so the power is needed, I would also like to know if there are softer colour rendering available? 3500-4000k


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## knucklegary (Jan 7, 2022)

SST-20 4000K is a very nice Hi Cri 90 might fit same board if XPG.. Vinh will advise what will work best for your needs

Keep us posted how it turns out👍


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## knucklegary (Jan 7, 2022)

Mountain Electronics in Utah is another good online source.. Not sure who's available on your side of the pond?


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## KITROBASKIN (Jan 7, 2022)

Keep us posted!


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## Darrin (Jan 8, 2022)

I've contacted vihn and a new driver is around the $50 Mark, he has also suggested he can put in a better led to improve performance. He will need to see it to do an accurate quote, so in the post it goes 👌


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## sween1911 (Jan 17, 2022)

Mountain Electronics has an international site, you can find it with some google fu.

You should be able to get a replacement driver and LED to replace those two things in your hand. 

- Figure out the width of your existing driver (the circuit board) in millimeters and get the same size. I'm thinking you can replace exactly what's there. 

- The LED you have looks like an XPG. Measure the width of the tiny green square it's on and figure out the size and figure out the LED you have. The size of the LED die is a big smaller than the XML2, so depending on your reflector setup, you may want to source one that's the same size. 

BE CAREFUL with voltage. I don't know a thing about the "4greer Rangemaster", what kind of battery was in it? What voltage did it feed to your current driver? You need to ensure you don't exceed the driver's voltage and don't exceed the working voltage of the LED you want to put in there.

Best of luck!!! This is how it starts. You mess around with something and before you know it, you've modded and dialed in your light until it's what you want. Keep us updated!


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## Darrin (Jan 17, 2022)

sween1911 said:


> Mountain Electronics has an international site, you can find it with some google fu.
> 
> You should be able to get a replacement driver and LED to replace those two things in your hand.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info, you're right about getting into it by accident 😂 but I find that if I'm interested, it's far more fun learning what it's all about 👍


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