# XPG R5 Solitaire Mod. with 10280 & Two Stage Tail cap Switch



## ma_sha1 (Oct 25, 2009)

*11/12/09: New Addition-* *Added **Two Stage Tail cap Switch* 



Once in a while, I like to mod a mag solitaire. It helps me to regain 
the confidence that I can still see. After all, I am pretty old, or at least it feels that way.

With the arrival of XPG R5 from Cutter, I know it's time for another one. 


*Part 1. Cut down solitaire for 10280 host. *

First, get a good grip with Bionic Wrench + Rubber bands/non-slip pad combo.







Then Hand tap the tube with 11x1.0mm, followed by 12x1.0mm taps.
This is the hardest step, took 3 hrs & 30 rubber bands to accomplish. 
(3 at a time, it'll break after 2mm gain, then start over again).





After tapping, cutting the tube with a home depot cutting wheel.





The 10280 host is the one in the middle, the tail cap will screw in the 12x1.0mm thread without modifications. 
The one on the right is my first tapping job, 10180 host. But I scratched it badly trying to tap the tail cap.


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 25, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Solitaire Mod. with 10280 & Two Stage Tail cap Switch*

*Part 2: Step by step Mod.

The Tail Cap

*First, solder a 2 Ohm resistor to the inside of the "tube insert" that was in the tail cap.
(This is the spare bulb holder)





Insert the whole thing back into the tail cap, make sure the lead from the other side of resistor 
goes straight up, without touching anything.





Glue a piece of thin & hard plastic or carbon fiber (what I used) plate over the top,
drill a hole in the middle, pull the resistor lead through, flat it down into several concentic circles,
then drop a blob of solder. 





My tube was cut too long by 2-3mm, so I raised the solder blob a bit with a dead spring.






*The "Switch" *

Pull out the "Contact Plate" from top of the tiny "Switch", insert a wire & solder it.





This will be LED "-", as once put it back, it contact the side wall. 





Insert another wire through one of the two holes, then solder directly to the battery "+"
on the other side.





Cut the raised edge with sharp knife, the edge prevent flat nosed Li-ion from froming good contact.






Cutter XPG on 10mm board fits perfectly, just glue it down with super glue.
No fancy Arctic Silver needed. Pull the wires through & solder it down.





Put the 10280 in, screw the tail cap (This is now a twisty by tail). 

Yeah!!! My candle is brighter than your candle


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 25, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion + New nano Hotwire mod*

*Part 3: Photo Shoots & Beam Shots

*To finish up, I tried modified Soli. reflector & couldn't get it to work well,
so I went back to the solution I used before, the 10mm Lisa XP XPE optics from cutter.
The Lisa optics comes with a holder making the total diameter 11mm, perfect fit!





However, it's slightly longer than ideal, so that Soli. Bezel can not scew all the way back,
leaving a 1.5mm gap. To turn negative into positive, I filled the gap with a copper ring, hand made using sizzers from a 0.5mm thin copper sheet. Wrap around it & glued the end. I think it came out pretty well, don't you?





Beam shot before & after. You can tell which is which, right?
The Lisa optics worked well on XPG, the beam is medium flood type.
Beam profile is very similar to the beam I had when I made it with XPE R2. 






Change sides:






More side by side:





More Side by side:





More side by side:
LOL, I can take photos for this baby hard labor all day long


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## Aircraft800 (Oct 25, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Awesome use of manual labor / muscle power! I should give this a try. Looking forward to the rest of your tutorial!


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 25, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Thanks!

Part 2 is now up!

Got candle? :twothumbs


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## buickid (Oct 25, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Why did you use two different taps?

Good job


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 25, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



buickid said:


> Why did you use two different taps?
> 
> Good job



Thanks

I couldn't get enough grip to tap directly with 12mm tap,
the 11mm tap helped to open up & I can easily tap the 11mm one 
really deep, which helped to guide the second tap. even with the
11mm pre tap, the 12mm was still hard as hell.

I need to go get some small & fat rubber band, the long & thin rubber band breaks to easy.


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## Hack On Wheels (Oct 25, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Wow, yet another simple yet inspiring build. I love these mods that you do!

The copper is a great touch too, just excellent. I might have to try this with a Solitaire that I have... I think I'll leave it full length and try a 10440 though if I do go through with it. The 10280 would be pretty sweet though... a silver Solitaire modded as a 10280 would be ideal for a keychain light.


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## tsmith35 (Oct 25, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire Mod. with 10280 Li-ion*

How warm does this Solitaire get after it's been running a while?


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 25, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Hack On Wheels, Thanks for the kind words.


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 26, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire Mod. with 10280 Li-ion*



tsmith35 said:


> How warm does this Solitaire get after it's been running a while?



This set-up doesn't get too warm at all. When I did a bunch of 10440 XPE Soli., I experimented with resistor values & settled with 2 Ohm.
Which gives about 400mA & get pretty hot after a while. 

The XPG seems to generate less heat than XPE, the light get warm but not hot after 5 min. I could have gone with 1 Ohm resistor & it should be no problem. But the 10280 is about 1/2 of the 10440 capacity, so you'll get reduced run time. 

I am estimating the 2 Ohm resistor +10280 XPG is running at around 300-350MA,
which should give about 1/2 hr run time.


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## nanotech17 (Oct 26, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire Mod. with 10280 Li-ion*

very nice beam with that lisa optic,surely plenty of man power involved there in terms of hours


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## Al Combs (Oct 26, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Nice. :twothumbs


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## J.D. (Oct 26, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

:thumbsup: well done!


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 26, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Thanks guys!

Yeah, it took a long time, total of 6 hrs or so, half of the 6 hrs went into the cut-down/tapping step 
Fatter & Stronger Rubber Bands could easily cut the time of the Tapping to half. 

I made a table, perhaps may help whoever wants to mod. some XPG/XPE Soli.?
This is mostly based on my experience: 

Battery ..Capacity ..LED ..Resistor  ....Est. mA ...Est. lumen ...Temp. ..Run time
10440 ....300mAh ..XPE ...0 Ohm(DD)..750 mA ....200 ........Too Hot**.. N/A
10440 ....300mAh ..XPE ...2 Ohm .......400 mA ....130 ..........Hot ........25 Min.
10280 ....180mAh ..XPE ...0 Ohm(DD)..550 mA*...160 ..........Hot ........15 min.*
10280 ....180mAh ..XPG ...2 Ohm .......350 mA ....130 .........Warm ......30 min.
10280 ....180mAh ..XPG ...1 Ohm .......400 mA ....150 ..........Hot ........20 min.

*I actually measured the current & run time of this 10280 DD XPE Q3 Neutral. 
All other currents & run times were my estimates.
All lumens were estimates based on my memory of the LED lumens from Cree data sheet, 
I could be off a bit but shouldn't be too too much thou. Out the front lumens usually ~70% of LED Lumens.
**DD by 10440 was too hot for the Soli. to handle, LED turned angry Blue. The heat sink of LED was
glued to the rim of the Soli. by Super Glue, so the contact area for heat transfer was limited.


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## dirtech (Oct 26, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

where did you get that tapping setup and how much. Seems it would be very useful. Me thinks it's probably expensive.

My father in law wanted me to mod a 2 x AAA, but I said it was to small. Maybe I'll give it a try. 

BTW, do you think it would be possible to have two modes with a resistor'd approach. One in front of the battery to control high and the other in the tailcap that could make contact when fully tight to add more resistance? Is the tail cap area/threads anodized and would there be room?

Very nice mod.


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## Al Combs (Oct 26, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



ma_sha1 said:


> Then Hand tap the tube with 11x1.0mm, followed by 12x1.0mm taps.
> This is the hardest step, took 3 hrs & 30 rubber bands to accomplish.
> (3 at a time, it'll break after 2mm gain, then start over again).


Please don't be offended by my asking this. But did you use some kind of lubricant? Sorry, it's a little hard to tell from your picture. Without it the chips tend to get fused onto the edge of the tap. The finished thread looks all jagged beside being much harder to do by hand.


ma_sha1 said:


> I need to go get some small & fat rubber band, the long & thin rubber band breaks to easy.


Maybe an inner tube from a bicycle could be cut in strips to use in place of rubber bands. Or a piece of fuel line or heater hose slit down the edge might be better yet.


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 26, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

I'll find out where I get it when I get home tonight. 
But it's the only Matrix set I could find that has 11x1.0mm & 12x1.0mm. 

Cost about $130 total




dirtech said:


> where did you get that tapping setup and how much. Seems it would be very useful. Me thinks it's probably expensive.
> 
> My father in law wanted me to mod a 2 x AAA, but I said it was to small. Maybe I'll give it a try.
> 
> ...


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 26, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Not offended at all, I did lube it with motor oil. 
Back out & screw in many times helps to smooth the threads. 

Inner tube is a great idea, I thought about that afterwards as well, 
will probably try that next time I do this. I have some abandoned bike parts. 




Al Combs said:


> Please don't be offended by my asking this. But did you use some kind of lubricant? Sorry, it's a little hard to tell from your picture. Without it the chips tend to get fused onto the edge of the tap. The finished thread looks all jagged beside being much harder to do by hand.
> 
> Maybe an inner tube from a bicycle could be cut in strips to use in place of rubber bands. Or a piece of fuel line or heater hose slit down the edge might be better yet.


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## Al Combs (Oct 26, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



ma_sha1 said:


> Not offended at all, I did lube it with motor oil.


That's good on both counts. Wow, after three hours you must have had a serious cramp in your hand. :sick2:

Here's an idea that may be of help. If you can find the right size reamer to remove some of the material you don't actually need before taping. I'm not quite sure what size that would be though.

Anyway between this and your other recent mods, I nominate you for this year's Soli-Mod King. :twothumbs


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 26, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



Al Combs said:


> Anyway between this and your other recent mods, I nominate you for this year's Soli-Mod King. :twothumbs




Wow, what an honor. Thanks buddy lovecpf


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 27, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



dirtech said:


> where did you get that tapping setup and how much. Seems it would be very useful. Me thinks it's probably expensive.



*I found the link to the Tap & Die Set:*
http://www.wttool.com/product-exec/product_id/28062?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=froog

At $129, this is killer price consider how complete they are & all the taps are in duplicates. Most flashlights are made in China & use Matric. 

*110-Piece Metric High Carbon Steel Tap & Die Set*





*S**et consists of: *


70 taps (35 sizes, one each of taper and bottoming) -- 2 x .4, 3 x .5, 4 x .8, 5 x .8, 6 x .75, 6 x 1.0, 7 x .75, 7 x 1.0, 8 x .75, 8 x 1.0, 8 x 1.25, 9 x .75, 9 x 1.0, 9 x 1.25, 10 x .75, 10 x 1.0, 10 x 1.25, 10 x 1.5, 11.75, 11 x 1.0, 11 x 1.25, 11 x .5, 12 x .75, 12 x 1.0, 12 x 1.25, 12 x 1.5, 12 x 1.75, 14 x 1.0, 14 x 1.25, 14 x 2.0, 16 x 1.0, 16 x 1.5, 16 x 2.0 and 18 x 1.5
35 round dies, one each size to match taps
14 1-inch OD dies
21 1-1/2-inch OD dies
Two die stocks, one 1-inch and one 1-1/2-inch OD
Three tap wrenches, #4 and #6, and T-handle type #1


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## tstartrekdude (Oct 27, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

how do you get that black plug switch thing out of the light?


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 27, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

It's held in place by the bulb holder. The bulb holder has two legs that plug into the two holes of the switch. Take a sharp object, poke side ways into the bulb holder & pick it out, the switch will fall back down into the battery tube.


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## no_xqcs (Oct 27, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



tstartrekdude said:


> how do you get that black plug switch thing out of the light?


Remove the battery from the light and put the rear cover back on(to keep it from shooting out) 
Pull the bulb out and try to reinsert it crooked, this will push the rear part of the switch from the front part, it could shoot out but with the cover on it won't. Be careful to not break the bulbs leads when doing this.

The switch sandwiches the light, the back is bigger and the front goes through the light and into the back. 

when assembling, assure the contacts are placed right and put it in the light along with the battery(it makes it easier to put the front on)


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## tstartrekdude (Oct 27, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

cool i got it off, thanks. i did not in fact need the plug out with out braking since i am not going to be using it anymore, but its nice not to brake things .

i am going to try and work on the heatsinking so i can just DD a xp-g in mine of a 10440, for how ever short of a time before it melts down.


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## no_xqcs (Oct 27, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

sorry to hijack,

I am new to the forum, and I am looking to mod a solitaire but keep it aaa battery. I like to make/work on things and have seen other solitaire mods that are really cool, but they all use a different battery. I don't care for the brightest light, just something bright and made/modded by me. I really like this mod too.

I want to use an xp-g r5 led and lisa 10mm optics

I am having trouble with the design side this:
1 which "XPG Light Engine" do I pick when ordering from cutters?
2 can I choose any type of aaa battery(Li, NiMh rechargeable)
3 will i need a resistor if using the Nimh rechargable batteries?


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 27, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

You can't use 1.5v battery without a boost driver & there's no driver this small right now.


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## toby_pra (Oct 28, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Awesome result...


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## no_xqcs (Oct 28, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



ma_sha1 said:


> You can't use 1.5v battery without a boost driver & there's no driver this small right now.


ok so I would have to use a 10440 3.6v Lithium rechargeable and a resistor(i don't know which one, except at least more than to 2ohm) and
Which "XPG Light Engine" do I pick when ordering from cutters?


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## tstartrekdude (Oct 28, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

click on the pic of the xp-g on cutters sit and you will get alot more info, including light on mcpcb's you will need the 10mm Round MCPCB code CutterXPG10SRO.


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 28, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



no_xqcs said:


> ok so I would have to use a 10440 3.6v Lithium rechargeable and a resistor(i don't know which one, except at least more than to 2ohm) and Which "XPG Light Engine" do I pick when ordering from cutters?



*For resistor choice with 10440, I've done DD, 1, 2 & 3 Ohm.*
10440+ DD = Angry Blue LED
10440+ 1 Ohm = too hot, shot burst only. 
10440+ 2 Ohm = Great, hot but very bright & no damages done.
10440+ 3 Ohm = Reduction in light output, but still pretty bright with longer run time. 

Select*: XPG Light Engines:* -CutterXPG10SRO
This is the 10mm Round I used. 

You could also choose Cutter-XPG10SSQ, which is the 10mm square,
this will requiring some grinding to make it round. But the advantage is 
that it's 1mm thin (The round is 2mm thick), so this will leave less gap between bezel & body.


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## vestureofblood (Oct 28, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Hello,

First let me start by saying nice work. I especialy like the cut down re thread.

I also had a couple of questions. Do you happen to know what size tap I would need to use to do an AA minimag LED? 

Also what does the R3 R4 R5 part of the bin code on these mean? 

Thanks for sharing.. good pics btw.


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## vestureofblood (Oct 28, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

oops double post.


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



vestureofblood said:


> Hello,
> 
> First let me start by saying nice work. I especialy like the cut down re thread.
> I also had a couple of questions. Do you happen to know what size tap I would need to use to do an AA minimag LED?
> ...



Thanks

I don't know anything about AA mag. never bought one, can't you see they are too big for me? 
I usually work on two extremes, either really bright like SST-90, 7 XPG etc. >2000 lumens or
extremely small. 


R3, R4 R5 are Flux Bin, R>Q>P, within each letter, higher # = higher lumen.

Are you an Incan guy, therefor not familier with Cree Flux Bins? 
If so, stay tuned, I will post in this thready a *10280 Solitaire Nano Hotwire* soon.


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 29, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Having some more Fun with the 10280 Solitaire platform,
here I made another host, the lime green one, standing next to Peak N cell Shasta 3 LED HP. 
As you can see, it's shorter than 18650, so it's <65mm in length. 






This time, I made it into a nano "Hotwire" mod using a Radio Shack
Krypton 2.5V, 430mA Incan bulb. ~ 1W Incan. 

To get a good beam, I frosted the bulb & also Stippled the Soli reflector. 





Beam shot against Peak Shasta:
Left Nano Hotwire--- Right Peak 3 LED Shasta HP.
The nano Hotwire has a perfect beam & out throws the peak easily.
Imagine the peak Shasta being a P7, then the nano Hotwire would be a mag 85


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## vestureofblood (Oct 29, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



ma_sha1 said:


> Thanks
> 
> R3, R4 R5 are Flux Bin, R>Q>P, within each letter, higher # = higher lumen.
> 
> ...


 
I guess you could say I am still working on this. I have a few led mods I built but some of the binning still escapes me. I was gone for a while too form the forum ( moving with little computer access) When I left the XPG emitter had not yet been released, and there was no Quark yet. It was kind of nice to come back to these pleasant surprises with out having to "pre-order" or wait on anything. 

So I get the P Q R now but is the 3 4 5 the same thing higher lumen?


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## Al Combs (Oct 30, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



vestureofblood said:


> I guess you could say I am still working on this.


Here's a good place to start (and bookmark).


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## Ra (Oct 31, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Very nice work ma_sha :thumbsup:

I always enjoy reading threads like this !!

Regards,

Ra.


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 31, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Thanks, Ra, It means a Lot coming from you! any chance you'll be making some micro TIR for sale?


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## Benson (Nov 10, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

Hmmm... if 400mA is a good drive level, surely 350mA must be good, too. I'm now thinking of making a regulated 10440 solitaire with a single AMC7135 chip in the tailcap.

Thanks for the inspiration!


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## ma_sha1 (Nov 11, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



Benson said:


> I'm now thinking of making a regulated 10440 solitaire with a single AMC7135 chip in the tailcap.
> Thanks for the inspiration!



You are welcome, but the soli. tail cap has a hole of ~6mm ID,
how are you going to fit a AMC7135


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## Al Combs (Nov 12, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*

You could always drill/ream the hole in the tailcap larger if you needed. But how would you get positive to the Vdd pin of the chip? You could cut a slot down the length of the body to run a thin wire. If you got lucky, it wouldn't break through the side. But them how would you screw the tailcap on without twisting the wire off? You'd need some kind of disk/wiper system to transfer positive to the chip in the tailcap.

If you take the plastic switch body out of the front, you'd have plenty of room for the chip there. It would be a challenge. But ultimately I think easier than in the tailcap. You could glue the battery contact you're no longer using onto the end of the chip for positive pickup. Screw a wire into the side of the light for negative pickup. And then pot the whole assembly into the front of the light. The switch would of course be the "ma_sha1" twisty variety.

As far as screwing the negative lead to the side of the light, even if you used a 1.4 mm countersunk screw, you may not be able to do it in the front and still screw the reflector on. Soldering aluminum is normally thought to be impossible. There was a thread on it here once I remember. A Google of "soldering aluminum" brings up these two links in the first page, link-1 and link-2. Link-2 is a kind of brazing rod. The idea is the core of the rod scratches the surface while the flux prevents the oxygen from reaching the fresh surface. Once the aluminum is tinned with a microflame torch, an ordinary soldering gun can be used to attach the wire.


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## ma_sha1 (Nov 12, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



Al Combs said:


> The switch would of course be the "ma_sha1" twisty variety.



Actually, The simple twisty switch wouldn't be a "ma_sha1" switch, as there's others who've done Soli. LED mods years ago, 3mm/5mm/luxeon etc. who have moded similar twisty switch way before me. 

However, the picture below shows my latest Solitare invention:
*Two Stage Solitare Twisty* *Tail Cap switch*. I am pretty sure it's never been done on solitare before, so I am ok if you call it the "ma_sha1" twisty switch :devil:






The center of the tail cap now has two contact points to battery, the outer spring loaded contact & center solid contact. Each is connected to a separate resistor. When screw it in, outer spring contact (Connected to 5 Ohm resistor) reach the battery first & turn on the low. Then, screw it further, the center solid contact (Connected to a 2 Ohm resistor) also reach the battery & turn on the High mode (This is due to 2 Ohm & 5 Ohm resistors in parallel gives ~*1.4* Ohm combined resistance). Obviously, one can adjust the resistor values & achieve their ideal Hi/Low values. These are simply the two tiny resistors I have on hand.

Low mode: 5 Ohm resistor





High Mode: 1.4 Ohm (2 & 5 Ohm in parallel)


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## Benson (Nov 13, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



ma_sha1 said:


> You are welcome, but the soli. tail cap has a hole of ~6mm ID,
> how are you going to fit a AMC7135



Well, the 7135s on my 1.4A boards (which is where I'd swipe one from) are SOT-89; they're entirely contained in a 4.5 x 4.1 x 1.5 mm bounding box, so it should actually be possible to pot a bare chip with wires soldered on in the 6mm hole. More likely, though, I'll enlarge the hole somewhat, cut out the section of PCB it's mounted on (taking care regarding what traces run clear to the cut edges), bulk up the connecting trace with solder, and press-fit it in the bare aluminum hole, hopefully establishing a decent mechanical, electrical and thermal connection. If I get the light to where I'm happy with it, I could then pot it for permanence and slightly better thermal connection.



Al Combs said:


> But how would you get positive to the Vdd pin of the chip? You could cut a slot down the length of the body to run a thin wire. If you got lucky, it wouldn't break through the side. But them how would you screw the tailcap on without twisting the wire off? You'd need some kind of disk/wiper system to transfer positive to the chip in the tailcap.


Good point -- I had planned to run fine wire in a groove (and I prefer to think of it as skill, not luck ), but hadn't considered the rotary joint issue.

*rethinks approach*

Hey, if I strip the heatshrink from the + end of a 10440 and load it "backwards", then I should have access to a + nub and a - ring at the tailcap. I admit I don't really like the idea of needing a non-standard (and relatively difficult to charge safely) battery, but it does seem workable. 
:green: No, just thought about it, and that leaves the - end at the LED. So I'd have to run the wire the other way.

I'll think about this some more before I start modding...


And if you're wondering _why_ I want to do it in the tailcap so bad, I had an idea similar to ma_sha1's new 2-stage twistie. I was trying to figure out how to make it regulated when twisted gently, but short to DD when tightened completely. That's looking a little intricate, so the other option I was thinking is to drill and ream a thru hole, make up a little push-button, and rig things such that loose = off, twist tight = on (regulated), and twist closed + push button = turbo (DD). Either of these requires access to the AMC7135's output, to short it to -, so if the AMC7135 isn't in the tailcap, you face the wire-next-to-battery issue all over again.

Now I may not be ambitious enough to implement either of those schemes, at least the first time. I can always pick up another solitaire and do it again with more features, if the first time works; just want to do this one the same way so the lessons learned apply. 

Of course, since I'm not using 10280s, and may not even use an XP-G at first (none on hand -- I may cram an XR-E in instead), this is really OT in this thread. I'll start my own thread when I actually start construction.


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## Neondiod (Nov 13, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



ma_sha1 said:


> (This is due to 2 Ohm & 5 Ohm resistors in parallel gives ~3.5 Ohm combined resistance).


How did you come to 3,5 Ohm? I get 1,4 Ohm with 2 and 5 Ohm parallel.
Anyway, great mod! 
Does anyone know if there is a neutral or ww rebel on 10mm round mcpcb? I would like a warmer tint than what's aviable with the current XPG's.
How many lumens does a standard solitare put out?
BR


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## ma_sha1 (Nov 13, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



Benson said:


> Good point -- I had planned to run fine wire in a groove (and I prefer to think of it as skill, not luck ), but hadn't considered the rotary joint issue.



I had a P7 with a tail switch & was thinking about putting in multi mode IC into the tail cap, the same problem, couldn't get over the rotary joint issue.

However, if you open up a protected Li-ion, you'll see that they run a thin wire from bottom to top, bottom is where the Protection IC chip sits. You could make a 7135 modified 10440 battery the same way for regulation, so the Li-ion is "Current regulated" & 7135 sit at the tail end but doesn't actually go into tail cap. 

But it's a lot easier to put regulation up on top, where the switch is.


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## ma_sha1 (Nov 13, 2009)

*Re: XPG R5 Maglite Solitaire 10280 Li-ion*



Neondiod said:


> How did you come to 3,5 Ohm? I get 1,4 Ohm with 2 and 5 Ohm parallel.
> Anyway, great mod!
> Does anyone know if there is a neutral or ww rebel on 10mm round mcpcb? I would like a warmer tint than what's aviable with the current XPG's.
> How many lumens does a standard solitare put out?
> BR



You are right, I messed up the calculation.
2&5 in parallel = (2x5)/(2+5)=10/7=1.4 Ohm, not 3.5 Ohm. I corrected my original post above.

For the Soli. Original Lumens, there was a post a while back stated:
(using NiMH battery)

"-Maglite Solitaire incandescent: 1 lumen
- Maglite Minimag 2AAA incandescent: 5 lumens
- Maglite Solitaire MJLED: 5 lumens"


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## ma_sha1 (Nov 14, 2009)

Here is something you don't see everyday: 
A super tiny key ring 10280 spare battery holder made from half a Solitare. 


Cut down & re-thread to 11x1.0 all the way through
Cut the thread section of the "neck" to make a washer
Thread the washer to the bottom to lock the bottom of the battery tube
Finish the bottom with carbon fiber trim plate
Tail cap trimmed ~3mm off to make this as short as possible
Tail cap open & close to load & unload battery
The whole thing is about 1/2 the size of Mag Solitare
1mm play room after loading the battery to make sure there's no electrical shorting.


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## lolzertank (Dec 13, 2009)

Do you think a 12.8mm board will fit the Solitaire? Or will I have to trim it a bit?


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## TheInvader (Dec 14, 2009)

You'll have to trim it. The Soli's outer diameter is actually 12mm.
10mm fits perfectly. As ma stated, a Cutter board was perfect.


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## rufusbduck (Feb 22, 2013)

Here are some of my chops left OL AA, left center 14650 AA, right center AAA with cut driver, 10180 Nichia solitaire with single 7135 chip in pill replacing switch.


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