# CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures, updated!!



## darkzero (Dec 31, 2003)

Someone wanted to see pics of my CMG Infinity CR2 MM+ Kroll Mod so I thought I'd just show it to everyone.
I managed to do all the boring with my Dremel, Dremel Drill Press Stand, and alot of patience. I don't have a lathe but hope & wish everyday. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mecry.gif The only other things used were a 5/8-28 tap, some heatshrink, the PR bulb positive contact spring from a MagC and some Master Formula Metal & Sealer gloss. 
Man, thy don't call it Hard Anodized for nothing!/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rant.gif I was using 200grit and barely getting anywhere, so I just said screw it and busted out the Dremel again. Teach that Hard Ano to mess with me! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/xyxgun.gif At first I wanted to shorten it but the length now with the kroll is perfect, just 2mm longer than my ArcLS-TSP123. And leave the option open for a 2xCR2 5W mod maybe. The LD makes for a nice around the house, up close flood light. I'd perfer a HD but I did'nt have one readily available as a sandwich and after trying a HD still giving a flood type beam I didn't feel like swaping one in. But I'm happy and like how it came out....you??
































thx for looking!


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## AR15Fan (Dec 31, 2003)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Cool!


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## BC0311 (Dec 31, 2003)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Now that is slick! It looks like one of those late 19th Century Nitro Express rounds for an elephant gun!

Good job!
BC


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## Reptilezs (Dec 31, 2003)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

try macro mode for up close shots. it alows the camera to focus at a closer range


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## wasabe64 (Dec 31, 2003)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

WoW!

Were you able to get the original board/diode out without drilling?


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## darkzero (Dec 31, 2003)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

[ QUOTE ]
*wasabe64 said:*
WoW!

Were you able to get the original board/diode out without drilling? 

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I got the stock board out without drilling. I still have it, in one piece, and still functional. I just used heat to soften up all that black epoxy-like material.


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## BLU3_SHOCK (Jan 1, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

this is a very nice mod did you have to modify any thing to get the switch to fit. ps if you dont want the extras of this projects then i will take them
especlly the stock led and circut


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## darkzero (Jan 1, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

[ QUOTE ]
*BLU3_SHOCK said:*
this is a very nice mod did you have to modify any thing to get the switch to fit. ps if you dont want the extras of this projects then i will take them
especlly the stock led and circut 

[/ QUOTE ]

thx, yes, the kroll's rubber boot is smaller in diameter than the CMG. On a MagAA it's pefect but a MagAA is skinnier than a CMG Infinity. 

I had a kroll boot that got stretched out length and width wise. I'm guessing just by wear of use. Since it was also streched out length wise (most importantly), I was able to push the boot further onto the switch than normal. Where the inside lip of the boot normaly sat in the groove just above the threads on the switch, is now past the groove and rests on the threads. This gave it that extra thickness which mated up to the Infinity body perfectly. And of course I also had to bore out the section (seen in 6th pic) just above the threads for the lip of the boot that does the sealing. I did it carefully freehand with a dremel along with all the rest of the boring.

Sorry, If I had the stock LED & circuit laying around I would've passed it along to you but it's going into another mod.


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## Lux Luthor (Jan 8, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

[ QUOTE ]
*darkzero said:*
[ QUOTE ]
*wasabe64 said:*
WoW!

Were you able to get the original board/diode out without drilling? 

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I got the stock board out without drilling. I still have it, in one piece, and still functional. I just used heat to soften up all that black epoxy-like material. 

[/ QUOTE ]

Did you bake it in the oven, then push it out by pressing on the LED? I'm hoping I can do that with an Arc AA.


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## Darell (Jan 8, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

What a clean little mod! I'm quite impressed. I might be a little hesitant to leave it in my night-stand drawer, if you know what I mean.... but nicely done indeed!


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## darkzero (Jan 8, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Lux Luthor, I used my Weller P2KC butane iron w/ the hot blower tip to heat the head. It was a lot easier than I thought as I was scared of messing up the stock circuit/LED (wanted to save it for something else). I didn't have to apply too much heat and yes pressed on the LED to pop it out.

Darell, thx, appreciate it. I showed my friends and some of my workers before the mod and after. Most didn't really pay too much attention and some love flashlights but aren't really addicts like us here. Maybe they didn't like small flood lights or just sick of seeing every new light I get. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif
Ever since I got a very small nick on the head I'm too afraid to take it out for a walk anymore.


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## evanlocc (Jan 8, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

I have just got my CMG-Ultra after X`mas .... i don think the original LED give enought light for a night walk.

I might want to have the sandwish change someday. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Thank you very much darkzero for sharing on removing the sandwish.


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## Lux Luthor (Jan 8, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

darkzero,

Thanks for the info. Very nice mod, by the way! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif


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## darkzero (Mar 29, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Mike, updated the pics for ya as promised.


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## daloosh (Mar 29, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Great looking mod!
thanks for sharing
daloosh


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## shiftd (Mar 29, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

WOW, nice mod

um, what circuit did you use to run the lux?


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## vacuum3d (Mar 29, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Dark0, that is one beautiful mod. I've seen a few of your mods. I'm impressed with your workmanship. Is that a Micro Converter board from the SandwichShoppe? I'm gonna try this mod myself one of these days. I just finished a Solitaire mod using the Dorcy AAA driver. Wasn't too impressed with my workmanship nor with the amount of light produced by that 1AAA. I'm definitely gonna try this Infinity Mod some day.
Thx,
ernest

ps. How's the progress of those Sputtered Reflectors?


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## Ginseng (Mar 29, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Dark,

That is truly a nice piece of work. Clean, smart and clever. I love it! My CMG is still lame and still stock /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Wilkey


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## darkzero (Mar 29, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Thanks guys. It may not seem like it but that's a MM/adj. sandwich in there. It think it's a P bin?? I never swapped out the luxeon on it cause it's actually the first luxeon and sandwich I ever owned, given to me by my brother nqwan v2.0 for Xmas 02'(IIRC). That's the little bugger that started my addiction.

I bored the head out with a Dremel and had to make a spacer to make the negative contact. The walls get pretty thin where the o-ring is. I know cause I can now see it a little from the inside. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif
I can't wait to get a lathe.

vacuum, as a matter of fact the first batch of MagC/D reflectors shipped out today. Now I finally got a little break before starting the next batch. While I'm waiting for the next batch of reflectors to arrive, I'll start on the MagAA reflectors again. I believe you were on the list for those too. Sorry 'bout the wait but it's hard work when your doing them in bulk. Well not very hard, just very time consuming.


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## BuddTX (Mar 29, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Very nice mod!


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## hotbeam (Mar 30, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


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## lightnix (Mar 30, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

That is one beautiful mod and an excellent piece of workmanship, you can see the love and care that's gone into creating it and you have every right to be proud. I'm particularly impressed at how you got the board out without drilling.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif


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## 14C (Mar 30, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Very nice. Quality work. I modded a CMG Infinity with a Q bin 1 Watt from LEDSupply. Not near as nice as yours but it does put out a round flood with no hot spot like the stock LED. I used the original driver board. Wish I had known you can heat the head and press out the board.


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## jamaica (Mar 30, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

darkzero --
Very nice! What's that reflector I see? Is that stock on the Ultra-G? It looks almmost like stainless steel.

Jamaica


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## darkzero (Mar 30, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

[ QUOTE ]
*jamaica said:*
darkzero --
Very nice! What's that reflector I see? Is that stock on the Ultra-G? It looks almmost like stainless steel.

Jamaica 

[/ QUOTE ]

Well the reflector shape is there stock but it's anodized with the rest of the body. I sanded the anodizing off (real PITA!) and then polished it give a nice shine.


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## utomatoe (Mar 30, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Amazing... where's the pre-order list? Haha, naw, I'll wait for my VIP.


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## jamaica (Mar 31, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

That's gorgeous work. I'm impressed.

Jamaica


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## mike101 (Apr 8, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

*Will*, thanks again for the pics.

First I have to say "Please excuse me my poor English." I need to take some ESL class.

I intended to make the post after I had my mod done. But as seeing so many posts on coming, I changed my mind to share some of my experience before that(becaus I don't know when I can have it done).

1) In order to remove the circuit board out of the bezel, after triming the rolling edge, we can put the head of the Infinity(not yours) into some boiling water(I read this somewhere in this forum, can't find it again). In this way, we never worry the components are overheated. After a couple of minute, we can try to apply force to the LED to pushing it out from the bezel. If it is still too firm, replace the water with some fresh boiled and try again.

2) To remove the epoxy, again we put the circuit board into some boiling water, use a small paint brush, brushing, twisting and rotating the brush on the circuit board and the components. The epoxy would stick onto the brush and make the brush sticky and can't go on cleaning. Put the brush into some isopropyl rubbing alcohol, the epoxy would dissolve very fast and the brush returns clean and is ready to use again. Repeatly the use of boiling water and brush the circuit board until the epoxy is completely removed(don't put your fingers into the water, it is boiling hot).

3) As *koala*(CPF member) mentioned on his post, the circuit board is a Zetex circuit board. He removed the resistor and replaced with a 32 ga. wire and drived the 1 watt LS with this circuit. After reading his post and links, I soldered the wire without removing the resistor to save some work(it made no difference to resistance) and the effect was so good. I compared it with the flashlights I had on hand. With 1 fresh AA cell, CMG Infinity mod circuit board, NX50 optic, it was out and away the brightness of the Infinity Ultra Government and Tekna Splash-Lite 1 CR123, and was about the same of the Streamlight TwinTask 2D, 5 LED. I then supplied the power with a CR123(yes, 3 volt), it won the Streamlight TT 2D, 10 LED by a long shot and probably was the same or 95% as the Lamda Ill Pill, 1 CR123. Be careful with your fingers again, the emitter is burning hot.

4) One thing worths to try out is to replace the inductor. On the Zetex website, there is a new circuit to drive 1W LED with the ZXS310. The recommanded inductor is Coilcraft DO3316P-223. From Coilcraft, I get the spec. 22uH, DCR 0.085 Ohm, Isat 2.6A. Also from Zetex, I have an old circuit diagram, which I believe is used in the Infinity, of the ZXS300 to drive a bright LED. The recommanded inductor is DO1608P-104, which is 100uH, DCR 0.48 Ohm and Isat 0.13A. If I am correct then the coil on the circuit board is far below the LS needs. The Digi-Key doesn't have the Coilcraft. I am looking for a substitute. I know Digi-Key is selling some other make. But I would like to test my handmade coil first. I have some ferrite bead from Digi-Key only D 3.30mm, L 5.74mm(0.236"). I made a coil and it works fine on an Ill Pill replacing the comparative huge toroid coil.

5) One thing koala mentioned about was that the LS could not start up when the voltage was below 1.2V(AA alka) in his mod due to the demand of high current by the LS. But in my mod(circuit only), I can start up the LS with an almost dry out AA alk(burnt 8+ hr in an Infinity G and some burnt of the LS with the mod circuit). The brightness is dim though, about half of the Infinity G. with fresh battery, but I don't know how long it can last.

I don't have adequate tools at present, not even have a multimeter. But I've just ordered some, once I get them I will do the measuring of current and voltage. But one thing I am sure now is that my though at the very beginning is completely right. We can have the minimum cost to modify the Infinity with best result. According to the ZXSC300 spec., we can drive the circuit with voltage from 0.8V to 8V. With the form factor of the Infinity, we can use 1 AA alk or L, 1 CR2, all depend on your need-cheap battery, longevity of in shelf reserve or maximum brightness. Might be we can drive a 5W LS with 2 CR2, or use the AA L 3.6V to fit any LS. I will do the experiments in the future(I just made a test drive the 1W LS with 2 CR123, 6V!!!. It was incredible bright. But I just connected for a couple of second, no heatsink yet, I didn't want it burnt).

The Infinity is superio to the other lights to mod is that its low cost, $11 to $15, and we don't even need to spend a dime on the circuit board. Compare with the others, they not only cost some money but can't start up with 1 cell. Some circuits are of 1 cell, but they are so dim. The Infinity board can drive the LS from a single AA cell to 2 CR2(need to measure the Vout and Iout).

I am glad to see some knowledge people here can do the above mentioned mod and share the experience with us. And I have to say thanks to *darkzero* and *koala*. They both gave me a lot of ideas and experience in their posts.


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## 14C (Apr 8, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

mike101, great information!

You said:

"If I am correct then the coil on the circuit board is far below the LS needs. The Digi-Key doesn't have the Coilcraft. I am looking for a substitute."

Maybe this link will lead you to the coils you need:

Chokes and Coils


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## koala (Apr 8, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

I am really amazed by darkzero's shiny bezels. Nicely polished, looks like what infinity should really be. The addition of kroll makes this light semi tactical plus a simple switch on compared to the tight twist. A good job on functioning and design. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

I believe you might also like to look in to Led Dorcy AA, it seems to be a good host for a luxeon mod.

[ QUOTE ]
As koala(CPF member) mentioned on his post..

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes koala is a cpf member, not from the zoo or trees. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[ QUOTE ]
the circuit board is a Zetex circuit board..

[/ QUOTE ]
First time I read about it was from a japanese forum, I think it was FlashlightFan.

[ QUOTE ]
share the experience..

[/ QUOTE ]
is what CPF all about... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif we are waiting to see your post on your infinity mod.


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## mike101 (Apr 8, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

_14C_, thanks for the link.

*Correction*, in my last post the inductor DO1608P-104 that I copied from the Zetex page, I didn't find in the Coilcraft page, but I found a DO1608C-104 and DS1608C-104. I also made a mistake on the Isat, it should be 0.31A, not 0.13A. Sorry.

I just got to the link Chokes and Coils but couldn't find the suitable one and they didn't provide detail spec. Instead I found a lot on Digi-Key made by the Sumida Corp. Below I list those parts they are in stock and can be sold in single piece:

Digi-Key Part#---DCR(ohm)-uH---I(A)---L-----W------H---Prize
308-1020-1-ND----0.07-----22---2.2---11.6--12.6---5.4---2.59
308-1050-1-ND----0.036----22---2.8---12.0--12.0---6.0---2.13
308-1081-1-ND----0.0432---22---3.6---12.0--12.0---8.0---3.05
308-1131-1-ND----0.09-----22---1.71---9.2--10.0---5.0---1.56
308-1177-1-ND----0.11-----22---1.23---7.3---7.3---4.5---1.49
308-1228-1-ND----0.128----22---1.2----6.7---6.7---3.0---1.10
308-1241-1-ND----0.11-----22---1.5----7.0---7.8---5.0---1.46

For comparision,
Coilcraft Part #
DO1608C-104------1.27----100---0.31---6.6---4.45--2.92
DO3316P-223------0.085----22---2.6---12.95--9.4---5.1

With the calculating tool provided by Coilcraft page, I figured that for the Zetex circuit, we only need L(min uH) 9.29, I(sat A) 1.88. If no mistake, then we can reduce the inductor in size.

For those who want to buy the inductors, please verify the spec before order, I can't guarantee the accuracy of the numbers here. They are only for reference.

Can someone show me how to turn on the html? So I can align and format the typing. Thanks.


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## Justintoxicated (Apr 8, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

DarkZero, I Love this mod!

I want to do it also, but I have no idea what all is needed. I have a dremel and sanding bits, or grinding bits...

Did you Polish the reflector or modify it in any way? What all do I need to bore out and how hard is it to get a sandwitch to fit?

Or is this a secreat because you want to build me one already made?

I doubt the stock circuit will work for me, since I want to be able to pull about 700ma from it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


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## darkzero (Apr 9, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

mike101, let me start of by saying Welcome! Second, "Please excuse me my poor English. I need to take some ESL class", for what?? If you learned English as a second language, I must give you alot of credit. English is a hard language to learn if it's not your primary. I think you know more English than me, hehe. Third, as you said in your e-mail regarding "hope your not dissapointing me".....no way in hell and I wouldn't think of it. I always love to see what others have to share and I'm really anxious to see how your nice mod is when finished.

Sorry, I can't comment anything about the stock Zetex circuit since I don't know much about it except that it did run fine on 3V (CR2) battery in it's stock form with stock LED.

Please keep in mind that triming the rolled edge will play a role on putting you mod back together. When I tried "un-crimping/rolling" the edge, it basically broke off when attempting to so I then cut the rest off. If your gonna use the stock circuit after modding it, your gonna have to find a way to do so. The rolled edge serves as the negative connection for the circuit as well as helps keep it in place along with the epoxy.

As for softening up the epoxy and using a brush to clean it up. If you get the epoxy to the right temp you can actually lift off chunks of it with a toothpick, etc. which would be a whole lot, easier, faster, and cleaner than getting the epoxy to higher temps making it more "gooey". Carefull not to pull off any SMD components when doing so if at too cool of a temp.


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## darkzero (Apr 9, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Justintoxicated, this was one of my first "real" mods and the hardest one I ever done. It was hard because the things required to be done for the mod should have been done with a lathe. Instead I went out and did all the boring freehand with a Dremel. This is the main reason why I cherish this mod so much. It was a hell of a lot of work and I don't think I will ever do it the way I did again. I would like to make another but not until I get a lathe.

I'll take some more pictures over the weekend to further explain what I needed to bore to complete this mod.

Yes, I polished the reflector. It was a royal pain in the ***. With a McFlood that is EN plated, wet-sanding with 320-400 grit gets through the plating after a while. On this one, 150-200 wasn't doing a very good job. Now I know why they call it hard anodizing! I had to use a Dremel to get the anodizing off at the same time being careful not to change the parabolic shape of the reflector. I then continued wet-sanding with 400, 600, and onto 1500. Then I polished it with the polished mentioned in my initial thread.


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## Justintoxicated (Apr 9, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Hand Sanding is a real paint, they do make dremel polishing bits...Did you use red then white rouge to polish it or just fine sandpaper, It looks REAL nice...

I remember trying to polish the cylinders on my ATV by hand, so many tight spots I have up after 600 grit and painted tehm with metalcast (annodizing paint instead). it sounds like polishing was the hardest part. If you get the pictures I think I will print them out and cheat (I.E. Hav eit done at my dads work) But I will have to hand polish myself...I don't have any rouge and for such a small part I would hate to buy some, but maybe One of my ATV friends will have some...Usualy the polishing is done after wet sanding with 1500-2000 it makes a huge difference, but yours appears shiny without it?

EDit: Whew I thoguht you were going to make me buy one to try to figure it out! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif


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## darkzero (Apr 9, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

[ QUOTE ]
*Justintoxicated said:*
Whew I thoguht you were going to make me buy one to try to figure it out! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif 

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL, naw I wouldn't do that to you. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

Yeah that's what I did, wet-sanded with 1500 then polished it by hand with Master Formula polish. On things this small, I get better results doing it all by hand and not needing to use those Dremel "rubber" or felt polishing bits.


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## Justintoxicated (Apr 9, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

I usualy use mothers aluminum polish (not to be used on chrome), but using red, then white rouge is always provides better results...1500, red rouge, white rouge, then aluminum polish /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I may have spelled that wrong, I'll see if I can find homeboys Engine Picks.


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## mike101 (Apr 9, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

darkzero, when you know that I spent 5+ hours to finish my first post, you would understand that English is so difficult to me.

I think toothbrush is too much in hardness for the job and might damage the SMD components. A paint brush, not that kind you use to paint your house but that kind Picasso would use to paint his valuable painting, about half inch in width , not too soft nor too hard, just fit. And the brush on the paintbrush is longer that you can bend and twist and make it reach to some place where the toothbrush can't. By placing the head(not my own, the Infinity) into the boiling water, and brushing with the paintbrush, I felt I was an artist. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif BTW how do I addin those Graemlins? The temperature of boiling water is just hot enough to make the epoxy melt and stick to the brush. I cleaned up the head thoroughly without leaving a dust of epoxy in less than 10 minutes excluding the time to boil water. When you look at the board, you can't tell it once was covered with epoxy. I made some pictures but don't know how to post them(I don't have a website).

I am waiting for my Dremel and multimeter. Once I get them, I will fisrt measure the voltage, current and resistance. No, I can't measure 0.015 ohm with that cheap meter, can I? Then I will make a heatsink/mount-board for the emitter. At the meantime I am playing with the circuit board and found something interest. Please see my next post.


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## CNC Dan (Apr 9, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

[ QUOTE ]
*mike101 said:*


Can someone show me how to turn on the html? So I can align and format the typing. Thanks. 

[/ QUOTE ]

look here web page 

See also the *Instant UBB Code* links just below the text window.


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## Justintoxicated (May 2, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

hey DZ, I tried to remove the board from the head, I heated it up on my stove and tried to push on the LED to get it out and the LED Cap poped right off /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Luckily this was on a dead infinity anyways and I believe the LED was the problem. I may have overheated the circuit board though who knows?

Anyway the board would not budge at all!

Then I read I have to remove the rolling lip first /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

Anyways, what am I supposed to do to remove the rolling bead on the head?


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## darkzero (May 3, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

That's a good question. I have some Arc AAA heads where the boards have been removed, the crimped lips just look like they were pried out. 

So I attempted to do the same on the Infinity but was not successful. Every time I tried to lift a part of the crimp with a flathead screwdriver or needle nose pliers the lip just broke off on me. Since part of it had already broken off, I said the hell with it and continued on. I then ended up with the crimped lip completely broken off the head even all around. 

Since this rolled lip makes the negative contact for the stock circuit, I could no longer use it unless I soldered the boards ground directly to the head or something. Since I bored out the body to fit a CR2 first, I opted for a sandwich. The head has to be bored out in order for a sandwich itself to fit. Of course the hole where the LED protrudes also must be enlarged. I also had to make a spacer for the sandwhich to make contact with the head. You might want to find someone with a lathe to do this for you. You have to bore to the point where the wall of the o-ring groove gets pretty thin. I found out the hard way. If you are off by a bit, you'll risk cutting into the groove where the o-ring would sit like I did (pictured below) which of course we do not want.

(Please keep in mind that I did all the boring _freehand_ with a Dremel and a drill press stand) 









When I finally get a lathe I will do a "clean" version of this mod but until then I will enjoy the one I have. Good luck on the mod! Please don't hesitate to ask me more, I'm always happy to help to the best of my ability. And please do not forget to share it with us when finished.


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## Justintoxicated (May 3, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

well i finaly got the board out, I had to get it really hot there was a TON of black epoxy type poop in there. The board made it out in one piece but the components crumbled as I pushed it though.

DZ would the stock circuit have been strong enough to drive a Red/Orange? my guess is I'll need a MM to do this properly? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif thanks for the help man!I will have some questions when it gets closer to polishing time /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I'll see if I can get it bored at my dads work on a lathe. How long does it take, if its a 5 minute job I will likely be able to have it done


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## darkzero (May 3, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

JI, truthfully, I have no idea if the stock circuit will be capable of driving a R/O decent enough. I'm sure the Zetex circuit can be modded to drive one though. I think there is some info about it in this thread and if not specific about it the guys who posted about modifying the board should have some info for you. Otherwise, yes, a MM would be necessary if running the stock 1AA.


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## Justintoxicated (May 3, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Thanks again, I think I might opt for a R/O jsut so I can continue using AA's If I went to CR2 (or It looks like a 123A might even fit) I would have to use a DownBoy Board to drive a Red/Orange which seems kinda pointless


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## spoggles (May 4, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

anyone know wich is the positive leed on the stock ZT board?...is it the leed next to the green resistor?


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## Xrunner (May 4, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Darkzero, what bit did you use with the dremel to do the boring? Thanks

-Mike


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## Justintoxicated (May 4, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

I think it is the side that has the L1 mark on it but I'm not positive because all the components fell off my board lol but it looks like the other side conects to the outer ring which is ground. But I dunno for sure.


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## spoggles (May 4, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

thx...the neg is the leed next to the sence resistor....trial and error hehe


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## darkzero (May 9, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

[ QUOTE ]
*Xrunner said:*
Darkzero, what bit did you use with the dremel to do the boring? Thanks

-Mike 

[/ QUOTE ]

Mike, sorry I've seemed to have misplaced the exact bit I used (I hope I find it, it was expensive) but it was like the one pictured on the left below only it was shaped more like the one on the right (had a flat head as opposed to rounded in the picture). I've used the one on the right to do similar work but the bit type on the left works way better. The type on the left are similar to porting bits used in automotive, etc., also called burrs. The one on the right is a Dremel made bit, the burrs are not.


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## milkyspit (May 9, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Darkzero, this is great work, and an amazing effort! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I can't believe you did it all with a Dremel and some hand tools. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif You've given all us lathe-challenged folks new hope! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

*WOW!*

Any chance you could point me to as many of the attachments and other stuff you used as possible? I've got a Dremel, but want to get a burred boring head like you mentioned. Where should I look for those? What about the tap you used? What about the vise? Sorry if this is burdensome, I'm just really excited and want to start gathering up the things I'd need to attempt something similar.

Thanks!!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif


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## Justintoxicated (May 11, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Darkzero,

I got my head back and they bored it perfect, It fits an Ill Pill now...I need to know how large to drill the head out, should the luxeons base stick through the hole or just the dome?


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## darkzero (May 11, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Milky, I bought the bits from e-bay if I remember correctly. I'll try and find some links and pass them along. The most important accessory that I used besides the bit was the drill press. The tap that I used was 5/8-27 but I later on found out that the correct thread is 5/8-28. The 27 worked perfect and is not hard to screw at all even with a MagAA cap. I used a vise to hold the body when threading it. No special vise is needed, just a plain ol' sturdy bench vise will do the job. I used a piece of heater hose to protect the bodu from the vise's jaws. Not a burden at all, I'm always glad to help. Please ask away. I'll try to find the links for you on the bits.

JI, at the time of the mod all I had was a low dome. My intent was to build this light as a flood light anyway. I suppose just having the dome of a HD pop out will put better use of the reflector but I'm not sure how far in as I have never tried it with a HD. I don't think the shape of the Infinity's reflector will give you good throw anyways. You're gonna have to experiment here. I bored mine out so that the entire emitter fits through the hole as you can see in the pics. The drill bit size I used was 5/16.


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## mike101 (May 17, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures, updated*

Hi guys,

I finally got my mod done last weekend successfully but not up to my expectation. This was due to I screwed up the stocked circuit board while I was doing the inductor experiment. But the Luxeon LXHL-BW01 BIN Code Q2K, which I bought from Lambda for $5.00 might be an emitter not meeting his requirement. That means I am having a second quality emitter in my mod.

Here look at some circuit board photos first.





CMG Infinity stock circuit board with LED





Circuit board turned on





Stock circuit board w/o LED

On my post at the same thread on 4/8/04, I guessed that the inductor on the stock circuit board might be too less of power (low saturation?). Even though I got the brightness reached to the level of Ill Pill, the power consumption was very high (1.2 to 1.4 A from 2AA) and the Zetex 310 IC chip was burning hot. So I did some test with different hand-made inductors.
[Some words about the Ill Pill that I assembled. I don’t know whether it is the same as the others, mine is very low efficiency, drawing about 1.4A from 2 pretty fresh AA batteries. But Lambda is having a new Ill Pill available soon.]





Part of tested hand winded inductors.

I wanted to control my cost low so I only used the ferrite beads and magnet wires I had on hand to do this test. The picture above showing part of my tested inductors. I winded and re-winded those beads with #30 (red) and #26 (green) with different turns for testing. The best effect would be that one most left at the bottom row. It was the same (except I used #26 wire) as that one used in Douggg’s MiniMag 2AA Conversion [_The actual core is a ferrite bead manufactured by JW Miller Magnetics, model number FB73-422. It's about 11mm in length and 5mm in outer diameter. We got ours from Digi-Key, part number M2308, $0.22…..Run the wire through the bead's center hole four times_]. It was the brightest one because of the bead size volume and produced least heat that I almost couldn’t feel at all. I measured the current draw form the battery was about 0.7A with 2 cm of sense wire. At the time of testing, I repeatedly soldered and de-soldered the hand made inductors; finally I messed up getting the SMD capacitor out from the board. It was so tiny and my soldering iron tip was so huge comparing with it, I couldn’t put it back. Finally I decided to remove the diode also to make the circuit a “Maximum Battery Life Solution”. At this moment I found that I could not fit this inductor with the board into the bezel. I felt embarrassed and tired, so I simply used one like used in the Ill Pill (Grey Toroid in picture, #30 wire, 40 turns). But the current so as the power both dropped. That was why I was not completely satisfied. The sense resistor was 1.8 cm including both end soldering tip. I tried a shorter one but the current either remained around 0.5A or suddenly jumped up to 1.4A and the IC was burning hot. I guessed the inductor was not good enough. I had no choice, the others were even worse.

I followed what the predecessors did. I composed the emitter and circuit board in a sandwich form. The emitter was soldered onto a copper plated circuit board, so the board functioned double as a heat sink and negative contact while the flash was in turn on status. I also sanded down the NX-05 with sandpaper and final finished with toothpaste. I didn’t use NX-05 at the beginning instead I did like what darkzero did by sanding the bezel shining. But the effect of light beam was not good because of lacking a hot spot. So I followed koala's trace, putting the NX-05 onto the head.





Modded bezel, circuit board w/ emitter & sanded down NX-05





Front view of assembled head





Another view of the head

The circuit board came out a little bit from the bezel because the thickness of the inductor. But it wouldn’t drop off the bezel because the epoxy made the sandwich a little bit tight to fit.





Assembled mod-Infinity





Mod-Infinity turned on


Below are some photos of beam shot, all taken at 1/60 sec F2.7 except the last one. I positioned two flashes about one foot apart and the camera in the middle of two flashes. In these pictures the bigger circle of light spots of both flashes are the light beams spotted on the wall and the smaller circle of light spots are the reflection of the flashes. The effect of the pictures is so bad but can provide some idea of the brightness through comparison. In order to have a picture closest to my human eye perception, after a few attempts, I get the last picture. (edited: It can only show 2 pics, the others have problem to post. Since the pics effect is bad though, so I only keep the best one.) 





L. Mod-Infinity, half CR-V3 3.00V
R. Ultra G, 1 AA 1.60V
6ft from wall, 1/4 sec. F2.8
This picture shows the difference of two light is very close to my perception.

Here are some measuring of the current drawing from the batteries (All voltage are measured with the batteries unloaded):

Flash__________Battery_______Voltage___Current
Mod Infinity___1 AA Alkaline____1.595V___0.49A
_____________2 AA Alkaline____3.20V____0.51A
_____________2 AA Alkaline____2.84V____0.53A__(another sets of battery)
_____________L91 AA Lithium__1.641V___0.50A
_____________1/2 CR-V3 Li.____2.95V____0.52A
Ultra G_______1 AA Alkaline____1.595V___0.24A
_____________L91 AA Lithium__1.657V___0.25A
Ill Pill_________2 AA Alkaline____3.20V____1.65A
_____________2 AA Alkaline____2.84V____1.40A__(another sets of battery)
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif<font color="orange">How can I align those letters without typing lines (I want spaces)</font>

Mod Infinity run-time test, the Ultra G hosted with a fresh AA and only turn on 2 to 3 seconds 4 to 5 times an hour for comparison.

Battery__________Run-time(hr)___Human eye perception
1/2 CR-V3 Li._____0 to 1_________No brightness drop after first few minutes
________________1 to 2 1/2______Started to drop, much brighter than Ultra G
________________2 1/2 to 4 1/2___Un-attended
________________4 1/2 to 5 1/2___Dimmer than Ultra G, still bright
________________5 1/2 to 8 1/2___Dimmer, brighter than Arc AAA “moon-mode”
________________Test stopped
1 AA alkaline_____0 to 1 1/2_______No brightness drop after the first few minutes,
___________________________________brighter than Ultra G
________________1 1/2 to 2 1/2____Started brightness drop, hot spot much brighter
_______________________________than Ultra G
________________2 1/2 to 3 1/2____Overall dimmer but hot spot brighter than Ultra G
________________4______________Hot spot same as Ultra G
________________Stopped test

Run-time test with 2 AA 1.25 V NiCa rechargeable battery (5 year old, never used)

Sandwich______Run-time(min)___Human eye perception
Ill Pill__________0 to 36_______Brightness dropped from the first min all the way down
___________________________to the level of Ultra G
______________36 to 40______Brightness dropped rapidly
______________Stopped test
Mod Infinity____0 to 60_______Comparatively more stable, not watching close.
______________80___________About the level of Ill Pill at 40 min.

Run-time test with 2 AA Alkaline (fresh)
Sandwich______Run-time(min)___Human eye perception
Ill Pill__________0 to 3__________Dropped from the brightest level
______________4 to 60_________Brightness dropped every min, but very bright
______________61 to 110_______Overall and hot spot brighter than Ultra G
______________110 to 120______Same as Ultra G
______________121 to 140______Dimmer than Ultra G
______________Stopped test
Mod Infinity____Not test yet, expect to be brighter and double the time of Ill Pill.

Conclusion:
This mod proved the correctness of my first thought. That is the mod flash would be very flexible in power source. Though we sacrifice some burnt time, we still get 4+ hours of brightness which is above and up to the level of a fresh battery in an Ultra G. When you can get a CR-V3 or 3.6V AA easy and cheap, than use it to get full brightness and longer battery in-shelf life. Otherwise using an ordinary AA, with 4+ hours run time and more brightness, it still can be a light of everyday use.

Things to do:
Mod the Ultra G by replacing the inductor and sense resistor with commercial products to get higher efficiency and higher brightness. Take better photos of beam shots. Try to take pictures in every 15 min while doing run-time test.


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## Justintoxicated (May 17, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures, updated*

Nice Mod, I also Tried to put an I'll pill in mine...I guess tje inside I had machined out was not quite big enough and I destroyed the Ill Pill /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Luckily Shiftd sent me a new chip toroid and thicker wire...So I re-constructed the Ill Pill and its Much brighter than before, I can't wait to put it against my Ill Pill With Lux III. The thicker wire, but only 27 turns is working VERY well with the Low VF LED...

Anyways I have yet to drill mine outand I'm still trying to decide wether or not I need an optic...

So how exactly did you sand it down by hand? That sounds very hard, and Won't it get scratched up quite easily? CRV3 1/2 is a direct drop in replacement right?


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## mike101 (May 18, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures, updated*

I didn't mod the Ill Pill to fit into the Infinity. The sandwich shows on the picture is the modded stock circuit board, which looks like the Ill Pill I used to compare with. The heat sink (negative) board, which I hand made is smaller than that of the Ill Pill. But it can work properly when I fit it into the Mini Maglite and it is brighter and cooler than my Ill Pill.

Answer the last question first. Yes, the CR-V3 1/2 is a direct replacement.

Sanding the NX-05 is very easy since acrylic is not a kind of strong rocky solid. I used a set in 3 sheets of sandpaper "MetalSand", bought in Home Depot for the rough sanding. Then I used 3M Wetordry 600 Ultra Fine for fine sanding, finally used toothpaste to polish. The steps as:
1. Tear off a 1-inch strip of medium sandpaper. Place and hold the strip on any flat working surface, hold the NX-05 with another hand, press it onto the strip. Start to sand the NX-05 by moving the NX-05 back and forth (not the sandpaper). After sanding with a few back and forth motions, rotate the NX-05, then repeat sanding, rotating. This would keep the surface level; of course you need to check the level frequently. Sand until it is about 1/16 inch to the desire height.
2. Repeat the 1st step with the "fine" sandpaper. Sand until about 1/32 inch to the desire height.
3. Repeat the 1st step with 600 Ultra Fine. Sand until it is a hair to the desire height.
4. Apply water on the 600 Ultra Fine and keep sanding. But starting at this moment, don't press the optic too hard otherwise it would leave some deep scratches. If you can find some 1200 or 1800 sandpaper, the result would be better.
5. When the optic reaches to the desired height, get a piece of thin, plain cotton cloth (I use my underwear, wash and wear after work is done), place and hold it on a flat, smooth and hard surface, apply some toothpaste and water on it. Place the optic and rub it on the cloth in a circle motion. Then work is done.

Since the NX-05 is easy to scratch, I am thinking to mod the optic as the one shown on this pic.
http://fuja.s22.xrea.com/review/aa_infinity_1w/in-head2.jpg
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~JG2T-TJM/item/inf_opti/inf_opti_m.jpg
The optic is a bit come out of the bezel. So we can always re-polish whenever it gets scratches. But I don’t have a lathe, I’m still thinking a way to make the edge look great.

BTW, I sanded down my Maglite reflector in the same steps. Just don't need the 3M 600. One little experience is to cover the reflecting face with some Scotch tape before the sanding.

Compare with the optic, modding the bezel is a harder work. What I had done is:
First drill to enlarge the hole with a 3/8 inch drill. Then hold the Dremel in level on a working table surface in the angle “a” as shown on Fig 1 (for safety, mount it with some tool).



I 
Hold the bezel in 90 degree, slowly move the hand, leading the bezel, the inner side of the hole towards the grinding head. Only let the part in “6 o’clock” of the bezel to touch the grinding head and grind. Keep the bezel at that position and level, rotate the bezel like turning a number lock. Check for the grinding surface, angle, depth, etc. frequently. When you feel almost done, put the emitter and the optic in place to check if the optic reach the depth of focus. If it is in focus, you can see the whole optic reflecting the yellowish color. At this moment you need to grind a hairy depth more because of when applying epoxy to fix the optic, the epoxy would increase the height. This is my experience, my mod now is a little bit off focus. (After thought: May be instead of grind down a little bit more, we can sand the grinded surface as what darkzero did. The shining surface would look much better and help the beam.)

Hope this can help who want to mod something like this.


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## Justintoxicated (May 18, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures, updated*

aww damn I destroyed the stock circuit...I think I will replace with MM+..Your info on the grinding will help, I'm not sure if I will go with an optic or not I guess I can polish the reflector and see if it is good enough.


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## shiftd (May 18, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures, updated*

Justin, i think on your mod, using MM lite would be a better approach. It is more efficient on single AA, less heat generated on one CRV3 and more run time overall, which you would want for an edc anyway.


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## mike101 (May 18, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures, updated*

I tried to take some pic with better effect. Finally I got these two I was quite satisfied. All pics were taken at F2.8, 1/4 sec, flashes and camera were 6 feet from garage door, all batteries were fresh.





Left: Mod Infinity, NX-05, 1 Energizer AA
Right: Ultra G, 1 Energizer AA





Left: Mod Infinity, NX-05, 1/2 Panasonic CR-V3
Right: Ill Pill in Mini Maglite, sanded down reflector, 2 Energizer AA

From the first pic, we can see that both flashes are almost the same. In actual, I feel the M.I. is slight brighter than the U.G. especially at the hot spot. Though it is an improvement for a Infinity leveled up to an Ultra G. But according to the predecessors, the light should be brighter even just adding a sense wire. As koala stated in his post, 

[ QUOTE ]
Obeck, the infinity ultra drives the nichia 5mm LED at 66ma 1.5v stock. That's way overdriving.

It pumps out 260ma at 3v stock.

-After- the sense resistor mod, my infinity pill pumps out 180ma at 1.5v. Which is not alkaline battery friendly, refuse to start when the battery drops to 1.25v. NiCd and NiMh are fine.

[/ QUOTE ]
180ma at 1.5v, does it mean that my mod should be about 3 times as bright as the Ultra G?/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
I did measure the current flew through the emitter while the orginal inductor was still on the circuit. I could never reach 180ma with a single AA. But my measurement might be inaccurate since I used some pairs of crocodile clips for connection. This way increased a lot of impedence and affected the result. The other thing I don't know is whether the inductor in Infinity Ultra (koala's mod) is the same as the one in Infinity (my mod). I did not measure the current after I replaced with my hand made inductor so I had no idea the current now.
I recalled that when the original inductor was still on board, I shortened the sense wire trying to get higher current. I could only get higher Iin, the Iout remained on a certain level. So the excess current burnt the Zetex 310 so hot that I couldn't touch it.
If koala read this post, can you give me some info about the brightness of you Infinity Ultra mod compare to the original one?
One more thing is that I used an emitter that probably did not meet the standard.


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## darkzero (May 18, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

[ QUOTE ]
*darkzero said:*
Milky, I bought the bits from e-bay if I remember correctly. I'll try and find some links and pass them along.

[/ QUOTE ]

Milky, here's a couple links and alot better deals than what I got:
Link, link.

Just search for carbide burrs. They're mainly used for alumn a common in porting. The double cut ones are better. I look on ebay cause these type of bits are pretty pricey.


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## darkzero (May 18, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Mike101, very, very nice! It looks like quite a bit of hard work but I'm sure was well worth it. Blows my mod out of the water. So....when ya gonna make me one? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


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## mike101 (May 18, 2004)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures!!*

Thank you darkzero. Without you and other predecessors I don't even know flash lights can be mod to this level much better than the original design, and lots of fun too. I am leaving on Thursday to visit my country of birth, China, for a month or two. Once I come back, I will mod a Solitaire like what "LED mods As Small As Possible" did. Hey, is this guy's name too long to type? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Also I will try to put a Luxeon III in my Ultra G. And I am figuring how and what the effect is to fit a half acylic ball into the Ultra G bezel instead of the expensive NX-05. But from tomorrow I can't come to CPF that often.


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## greenLED (Feb 15, 2005)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures, updated*

Hi, mike101, after reading through your old post on how to shape/polish an NX-05 optic, I have a couple of questions to make sure I understood right:

- Did you grind the sides of the NX-05 to make them straight? *or*
- Did you shape the Infinity's reflector to fit the curve on the outside of the optic? It seems like you did this second option, which means I messed up here. So, you just used the lower part of the NX-05 to measure the angle that the Infinity's reflector should be shaped to. Right? (dang, it! I did mess up... not sure how this affects optical properties of the NX-05.)

here are some pics of what I did 

Also, when attaching the optic with epoxy, where and how much did you apply it? My understading is anything touching the outside wall of an optic will ruin its reflective properties. I'm wondering how to minimize this by correct placement of the epoxy.


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## greenLED (Sep 18, 2005)

*Re: CMG Infinity Mod.....Lots of Pictures, updated*

:bump: to help the search function


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