# SF A2 - I found an Easter Egg!!



## greenLED (May 31, 2006)

I almost faint with surprise last night when I realized my special edition A2-BK-WH has an "easter egg" (a hidden feature). With all the threads devoted to the A2, I thought I'd seen all features mentioned, but apparently everybody has missed this:



 



Is this only in the special edition BK A2's?

I'm loving my A2 even more now! 

_Edit to add:
_My friend's A2 glows orange!. Here are some comparison pics alongside with my green-glowing A2:


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## leukos (May 31, 2006)

GID? You purchased this light from a previous owner though, right?


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## jar3ds (May 31, 2006)

how faint is it? Anyone else have GITD? (glow in the dark)


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## JanCPF (May 31, 2006)

oo:
Could that be afterglow from the phosphor deposited on top of the LED die? How long does it last?

Jan


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## Kryosphinx (May 31, 2006)

No, that's definitely GITD from the back of the LED's. You can actually see the afterglow from the phosphors. It's the pale yellow part inside the green glow


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## wasBlinded (May 31, 2006)

If there is a tiny leakage of current across the tailcap switch, you can see that glow. Often just your hand bridging the cap to the body will be enough for some lights to give the glow.


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## rscanady (May 31, 2006)

I will have to check mine once it arrives back here.

WIll keep you posted

Ryan


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## Somy Nex (May 31, 2006)

i'll have to check mine tonight... great discovery! :huh:


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## IsaacHayes (May 31, 2006)

Thats GITD powder/paint for sure. WHere did you get this? direct from SF?


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## greenLED (May 31, 2006)

JanCPF said:


> How long does it last?


As far as I can tell, it's always "on"  - definitely not GID paint or powder.

...

:devil:


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## rscanady (Jun 1, 2006)

The lights arrived safely and oh what a bunch of nice suprises, thank you so much. I checked both my A2 and neither have the GID feature  Just kidding, cool find though.

BTW: green those battery carriers are perfect for what I need thanks again.

Ryan


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## Planterz (Jun 1, 2006)

A few of my LED lights "glow in the dark" dimly for a brief time after being off. I think it's just the phosphers that tint the blue LED white. 

If the LED is actually on and dimly glowing, maybe there's a residual connection being made, like through lube or something.


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## greenlight (Jun 1, 2006)

I hope that doesn't infringe on anyone's patent.


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## Somy Nex (Jun 1, 2006)

just checked mine... "no glow" 


ya ya... punny punny i know =P


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## sween1911 (Jun 1, 2006)

That's odd. 

Since the switch is in the tailcap, no charge could be powering the LED, right? I'd be alarmed if I thought the batteries were being drained even when it was off. 

If it were phosphor glowing, it would stay there when you remove the tailcap and batts and check it in the dark. Still there? Does it go off when you remove the batts? If it does, then it's getting power. Granted, it would take a LONG time to drain batteries in this condition given the LED's already nice long runtime even when it's fully on.


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## greenLED (Jun 1, 2006)

OK, I suck at trying to withhold the truth.  I feel guilty.  I'm sorry for teasing you with the "easter egg". 

This is an idea I've had since I was doing ArcAAA LED transplants (I add GID to LED on those). Tvodrd did a quick test and verified that my (new) idea would work, so I decided to do it with my A2:

I crazy-glued 5mm trit vials to the back of the LEDs (one per LED).  Anything bigger would get caught in the bottom of the reflector assembly. I left the glue dry for an entire day to prevent the cyanoacrilate fumes from fogging the insides of the reflector/window. It helps if you have fine-tipped tweezers to do the mod. Glueing two vials would give a lot more glow, but I feel one per LED is enough for my needs (plus, I didn't have vials left).

The glow is much brighter than how it came out in the pics, BTW. I can clearly see my A2 from across my room in the middle of the night. I think it'd work just as well if I'd glued a vial to a single LED. Someone could use 3 different colors, just for kicks. I'm trying to convince carrot that he should do this mod with orange trit. :devil:

I've done a similar mod using GID paint, but the problem is that it only glows _after_ you turn the light on and the GID charges - it defeats the purpose of using that as an "always on" locator, which is what I wanted this mod to do for me.


Onto a more "electrical" reference on glowing LED's (no joke this time): The Lux on my Arc LS glows for a little while (I have never timed it exactly) after I turn it on. 


Again, I'm sorry for teasing you guys like that.


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## leukos (Jun 1, 2006)

:whoopin:


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## IsaacHayes (Jun 1, 2006)

I realized after you didn't say that you got it from SF that you modded it. Or you'd be more upfront. You were beating aroudn the bush too much!!

I always thought it'd be cool in LED lights if they supplied 1ma, (or less) to the led all the time when off, so it barely lit up like GITD powder. The current draw shouldn't be too much to affect battery life unless this was a light put in storage and not used frequently.


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## Size15's (Jun 1, 2006)

Please can you show us here some photos of the mod?


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## mattyg (Jun 1, 2006)

How did you get access to the back of the LED's to glue the vials on? I don't have an A2 in front of me. All you did was just glue the vials on with superglue? Are you using the same vials you can get in this thread?


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## rscanady (Jun 1, 2006)

:whoopin: :whoopin: :whoopin: 

What a greenPUNK! 

Haha, sneaky little :devil:

Pics please

Ryan


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## greenLED (Jun 1, 2006)

Size15's said:


> Please can you show us here some photos of the mod?


Yes, of course! I'll take some tonight and try to post them by tomorrow.

Mattyg, it was just a matter of unscrewing the head, removing the lamp, removing the tiny screws that retain the LED ring, and doing the mod. Reverse to assembly the light back. 

Almost forgot: the vials came from [email protected]'s GB. They're 5x1mm, IIRC. It was my impression from seeing the inside of the reflector assembly that anything larger would "bump" against the hole walls where the LEDs go. 

IsaacHayes, what can I say... friends call me punk. :devil:


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## carrot (Jun 1, 2006)

Personally, I'm a fan of nondestructively reversible mods, but this is really neat... Thinking about doing it...

Hey, do the LEDs charge up the phosphor in the trit vials and make them glow brighter just after you just use it?


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## Bullzeyebill (Jun 1, 2006)

Looking forward to pics of your mod. Are these trits still available. Like you, I waited for quite a while to purchase an A2. don't know why I waited so long.

Bill


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## greenLED (Jun 1, 2006)

carrot said:


> Personally, I'm a fan of nondestructively reversible mods, but this is really neat... Thinking about doing it...
> 
> Hey, do the LEDs charge up the phosphor in the trit vials and make them glow brighter just after you just use it?


 I started that way... now I just gut'em left and right. If a light survives my modding skills, it means it'll survive almost anything.:candle:

I haven't checked that, carrot - will do. I tried charging GID material with these trt vials, but it was a flop. I think they're too tiny for that. Anyone with a large tritium torch? 

Bill, you'll have to ask [email protected] (carrot, if there are orange ones available...) :devil:


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## JanCPF (Jun 1, 2006)

GREEEEEEEN!!! :whoopin: :whoopin: :whoopin: :whoopin: :tsk: :tsk: :tsk: :tsk:
 I enjoyed it though.


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## Manzerick (Jun 1, 2006)

you little rascal LOL


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## Kryosphinx (Jun 1, 2006)

Hey, you should glue the tritium on with glowpoxy.


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## greenLED (Jun 4, 2006)

Here are the pics I promised:



 



I dabbed a tiny bit of superglue on the base of the LED (with the LED ring upside down, as showin in the pics) using a toothpick. Then I used a pair of fine-tipped tweezers to position the vials.


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## mattyg (Jun 4, 2006)

Damn, that's cool. If I ever get an A2 (looks like I may) I am definitely doing this.


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## Flea Bag (Jun 4, 2006)

From the pictures, it looks like a very nice, neat modification. Too bad I'm trying not buy an A2.


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## Size15's (Jun 4, 2006)

Thanks for the photos!


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## leukos (Jun 4, 2006)

greenLED,
Is there any chance that because of their proximity to the incandescent lamp that the heat could cause these vials to rupture?


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## greenLED (Jun 4, 2006)

Flea Bag said:


> Too bad I'm trying not buy an A2.


Don't try too hard, it's an awesome light.

Leukos... :thinking: I don't know. The vials are made of some type of glass; don't know its heat rating - time (or somebody familiar with these vials) will tell. 

_Edit to add:_
These vials are made from borosilicate glass - don't think heat is a concern. 

What are you waiting for? You know you _need _an A2! :devil:


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## sween1911 (Jun 4, 2006)

AWWWW... you dirty rat! You know, you're going to become:

"The boy who cried 'Hey look I found something cool about my flashlight!'" 

very shortly. You know, you made me seriously consider going back to edit my first post in this thread to "Hey, looks like you glued tritium vials into the head of your A2" just to mess with you.



Seriously, very cool mod. Gotta admit once I saw the pic of the tritium vials on the back of the LED, I was impressed.


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## greenLED (Jun 4, 2006)

sween1911 said:


> Seriously, very cool mod. Gotta admit once I saw the pic of the tritium vials on the back of the LED, I was impressed.


 I don't anybody's reported doing this before.


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## chevrofreak (Jun 5, 2006)

BAH! I bought an A2 expecting it to have that glow too. When I got it there was none!



























j/k you brat


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## greenLED (Jun 6, 2006)

I've been getting questions about where I got the tritium vials. I bought them from [email protected]'s recent groupbuy. He'll eventually do another one, but it'll be in a couple of months.


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## leukos (Jun 9, 2006)

greenLED's cruel joke :whoopin: made me wonder why all these years that I have had A2's, I have not tried any GITD mods. So, I picked up some glow powder from here: http://www.glowinc.com/ (the Ultra Blue) and I mixed it with Uhu brand glue to form a paste. I then applied it to the back of my A2 LED's with a toothpick. Colored LEDs do not charge GITD that well (white LEDs work best), though one quick blast from the incandescent and they will glow all night! Here's a few pics:


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## greenLED (Jun 9, 2006)

leukos said:


> greenLED's cruel joke...


Who, _moi_, joking? You must have me confused with some other punk. 

Nice job with the GID paste! I thought of doing that too, but I really wanted a permanent locator glow, and the GID stuff only works after you charge it. It does glow like crazy, though! (and pure blue is my favorite)


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## SpEcTeR (Jun 10, 2006)

greenled,

Do your GITD vials glow brighter than Leuko's glow powder?

I'm thinking about doing this mod but I only have "ONE" A2 therefore I only get one shot here.

Thanks for sharing the cool mod!


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## leukos (Jun 10, 2006)

Comparing GITD powder to tritium is like comparing the SF E2e to the A2. The E2e will be brighter at first, but will soon get dimmer and dimmer, the A2 is regulated and will keep the same brightness the whole time meaning it isn't long before it is brighter than the E2e. So, the trit will be brighter in the wee hours of the morning where as the GITD will be just visible.


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## yellow (Jun 10, 2006)

if You use powder mixed with epoxy or something else, be4e assembling give some white paint over everything. 
With the white in the "back" the output will raise significantly....


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## greenLED (Jun 10, 2006)

yellow said:


> if You use powder mixed with epoxy or something else, be4e assembling give some white paint over everything.
> With the white in the "back" the output will raise significantly....


That's good advise, except there's no real "background" to paint white inside the A2. 

Leukos, precisely my thoughts about tritium vs GID. I am much happier having used tritium, as it's basically a "permanent" glow and I wanted this mod to serve as a locator.


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## copykat (Jun 13, 2006)

Looks easy enough. Where can I get the vials? are ther different sized vials?


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## greenLED (Jun 13, 2006)

copykat said:


> Where can I get the vials? are ther different sized vials?


To answer your first question:


[email protected] said:


> I've been getting questions about where I got the tritium vials. I bought them from [email protected]'s recent groupbuy. He'll eventually do another one, but it'll be in a couple of months.


As far as your second question goes: yes, there are different sizes of trit vials. I used the smallest ones [email protected] had. If you use longer ones, they'll protrude off the edges of the LED's base and you might not be able to push the LED ring back into position.


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## greenLED (Aug 9, 2006)

I just updated the OP with some recent pics comparing a green-glowing A2 and an orange-glowing one.

The orange is a bit dimmer than the green, but I can still see both of them *easily* from across my room. The first pic (left) is as close as "real life" as I could get the pic to show up, although the effect may seem different depending on your monitor, etc. The glow you see towards the bottom of the pic is the reflection of the tritium on the table the A2's were on. 

Also, on the second pic (to the left, showing the bare A2 LED rings), notice how the trit glows through the LED's dome (look for the glow a bit under the trit vials) - that's what makes this mod possible. Purrdy cool, if you ask me.


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