# Gerber Infinity mod step-by-step



## Hondo (Nov 17, 2005)

This is actually an e-mail response I sent to a CPF'er, and I thought it may be helpfull to others. It is just an LED upgrade and reflector polish, but in the sort of detail I would have liked before I started. My subjective performance remarks are at the bottom.

This has been discussed in a couple of other threads, but with more detail for the older CMG design. This is critical, as those I believe were all twist head switches, as opposed to the current Gerber Infinity Ultra which is a twist tailcap switch. The original CMG design had the "pill", or printed circuit board assembly, potted in an epoxy compound and crimped into the head. After prying the flange holding the pill in the head open (and I gather breaking away much of it) to free the pill, you would then have to heat and carefully pick out the epoxy before gaining access to the LED.

My job was much easier with the new Gerber, as the metal ring on which the board is mounted is just trapped between the light head and the front of the battery tube. First, I pulled the pocket clip (hat brim clip for me) by inserting a screwdriver near the front bend and jerking straight away from the tube. This exposes the joint between the head and battery tube. I then heated the joint using a hobby heat gun to about what is painfull to touch, to soften the locktite on the threads. Some folks baggie and boil the unit for this. I then grabbed the two halves with leather work gloves and unscrewed them, without damage to either.

Now the pill will drop out with a push on the led, usually, only an o-ring at the base of the reflector is holding the LED a bit. The white thing on the bottom of the pill is a shock buffer to prevent damage to the board from the battery mass if it is dropped hard on the bezel, it just picks out of the back of the metal ring. Now you can see the solder points for the LED leads. There is a bit of black goo at the base of the LED, but it won't give much resistance. Just alternate hitting each solder point while pulling the LED from the other side, and in this fashion you can rock the old one out. Then take your upgrade LED (I used one of Grumpy's Nichia CS's from the group buy) and match that offset in each leg, hemos or small needlenose are best, then trim to length. It's difficult to reverse the process used to remove the LED, so do yourself a favor and get the solder out of those holes. Some have said pulling another wire through hot will do it, the best is de-soldering braid from Radio Shack, which will wick it out. I had none and put a cut LED lead in a Dremel chuck and used it like a drill. Now you can test fit the LED and make sure there is minimal excess lead sticking through - the leads and solder will fit in the two pockets in that white shock buffer. Put the little heat shrink tubing bits from the old LED leads on the new leads, push the LED in for the last time and solder on the back side. Make sure to get the polarity right, or you'll be back to this step. The smaller of the two pieces inside the LED goes to the hole in the board marked "+". Then, as they say, assembly is in the reverse order, BUT:

Do yourself a favor before putting the pill back, if you are both patient and want the most out of the mod. Polish the reflector. It is a pain to do well as getting through the hard anodizing is slow. {Edit: See my followup below to defeat the anodizing effortlessly - thanks guys!} I succeeded in getting some 320 wet/dry paper stuck with double stick tape to a conical Dremel grinding bit, but it did not last. Most of it was done with the paper on my finger or a ballpoint pen housing. Would probably start at 220 grit the next time. Those with a lathe or big drill chuck have it easy, as they can spin the reflector. For best results, after the anodizing is gone, sand out all marks from each grade down as far as you can afford, and don't skip any grades, as in 320 - 400 - 600 - 800 - 1000 - 1500 - 2000. The 600 grit is the coarsest I would stop at, but auto parts stores sell the fine stuff for sanding body paint, and after 2000 grit, all I had to do was polish with some Simichrome metal polish for a mirror finish. This takes a lot longer than the LED mod, and yields less results, but my goal was the most output without compromise to run time.

I had been really put off by the performance of the Infinity, despite the long run time, and always used a Dorcy AAA instead, as it was much brighter. Since the Infinity pulled just over half the current at the battery, I did not expect it to match the Dorcy, especially after both were modded with CS LED's. Wrong! The Infinity boost circuit must be much more efficient, as it is a dead match for the Dorcy's output now, and blows away a stock Dorcy. And as has been advertised, there is no change in current consumption with the CS, so runtime is still just as good. This light went from gathering dust to a favorite that made me go buy a couple of more of the new Gerber Infinities.

Sorry I don't have photos from when it was open, but it is simple enough that if you have the light they wouldn't help much.

Enjoy!


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## Grubbster (Nov 17, 2005)

I have done 3 of these mods now and your description is "spot on". I would like to add that the polishing of the reflector is a piece of cake if you first strip the anodizing off with chemicals. I use concentrated Sodium Hydroxide but you can also use a solution of Draino from what I understand. Just swab it on with a Q-tip sparingly to keep it from running. By doing this you can completely skip the sanding stage and just polish with steel wool and metal polish. It takes less than 10 minutes to do. Like you said, very worth while mod.


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## Robocop (Nov 18, 2005)

I did this same mod however used the circular board from a Dorcy AA. The casing is almost the exact same diameter and depth and runs a luxeon pretty well from 3 volts. I use a 3 volt lithium in AA size that was salvaged from a lithuim pack however a Li-Ion rechargeable 3.7 volt is also very nice.
You have to build up the heatsink a little in order to bottom out the luxeon as there is a 2 stage "ridge" inside the new Gerber head and if you have had yours apart you know what it looks like inside. It is almost like a "step" or smaller diameter at the base of the inside portion. I placed a smaller heat sink on top of the larger one and this elevated the luxeon just enough to still contact the reflector tightly and allow the larger sink to contact the body.
This is now a pretty decent light and much better than the factory set up.


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## xochi (Nov 20, 2005)

Thanks for posting this Hondo! This is a very easy and effective mod and can take like 15 or 20 minutes. 

Polishing the reflector
Step 1- Drano/red devil lye/sodium hydroxide and water with qtip
Step 2- Brasso (not recommended on aluminum) and paper towel

Mirror-like finish


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## Hondo (Dec 13, 2005)

Many thanks to those above for the sodium hydroxide tip. I made mine from disolving some Rooto drain opener crystals, just a pinch, in a little plastic cap with a few drops of water. It takes very little to do a light. It looks like the liquid drain products are primarily the same chemical, but this stuff was the smallest, cheapest option at my ACO store. I kept the Q-tip just moist by dabbing on a paper towel after mixing the solution, as drips outside the reflector would be very bad. For about two minutes it looks like nothing is going on, then you get foam and raw aluminum. Just keep spreading into the center and out to the edge until no color remains, and wash the head thoroughly. Of course, just put the drain cleaner, well, down the drain - just chase it with a lot of water to prevent fumes from escaping.

I still went through all of the grades of sanding, from 320 down, as I wanted a mirror finish, and my newer lights have a pretty rough pebble finish with or w/o the anodizing on there. But what a difference! It was a snap to get down to a smooth surface with all of the hard oxide finish disolved, a fraction of the effort.

Be very carefull with this stuff, I noticed after just holding the foaming solution I was getting a stinging sensation on the back of my hand from either just vapors, or possibly invisible droplets coming off of the little bursting bubbles from the foaming. Time to wash! I then kept the lid in the bottom of my shop wash tub and only dealt with the damp Q-tip topside. It also will get quite hot while reacting with the water.


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## Kenski (Dec 21, 2005)

Anyone have specs on the Infinities, i.e. voltage out to the LED, ma draw, efficiency?

I'm thinking of a mod or two, and am curious what the regulator's #s are.

Data/experiences on either the CMG or Gerber editions are relevant, I'm modding one of each. For that matter Ultra vs non-Ultra...

Kenski


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## greenLED (Dec 21, 2005)

Both these threads are "classics":

koala's LuxI mod (I worked on this one, but ended up smoking the boards)
darkzero's mod (I've done this one a couple of times now, but I shortstack the sammie so I don't eat into the o-ring groove. It takes a long time to bore by hand  ).

Robocop is the master of new-style Infinity mods, IMO.


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## b2eze (Dec 22, 2005)

Wonder how well the MJLED would work in the Gerber Infinity? Anybody try?


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## b2eze (Dec 24, 2005)

Well, answering my own question here, the new SMJLED works very nicely off the Ultra's stock board. It looks as bright as the one I put in a MM on 2 new alkaline AA's. I made one mistake you might want to avoid. Next time I will leave the base of the SMJLED sticking up a bit higher than the base of the original LED. The (die?) part of the LED that glows is considerably below the reflector I so carefully polished so it seems there is no focusing of the light beam. It is a big circle with no hot spot. But it lights up a dark room without the need to swing the light back and forth!
Rather than use another SMJLED I think I'll bore the ledge in the head the circuit board sits on a bit deeper and try to raise the die into the reflector. I'll post the results here.... Sorry, no pics.... I haven't had much luck with beam shots with my camera.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Season's Greetings as you prefer
Wilson


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## Hondo (Dec 26, 2005)

b2eze, careful about boring the inside of the head, the tube will need to screw down further to seat on it. A spacer would offset that, but make the battery loose.


I had just the same result with a SMJLED installed in a Dorcy 1xAAA. I am not so sure we can fix it by raising the LED. The cut lense does not change the height of the emitter inside, as I understand it directs more light to the side to use the reflector. It is, however, designed to work with a Minimag reflector, or the further optimized reflectors sold by Lambda. I actually think all of the light is getting out, it just can't find a point focus without some parabolic reflection surface. The Infinity is the worst case for this being literally just a cone. Any hotspot generated by other LED's is a function of the LED lense, not the reflector.

If you have any luck getting more focus from a tiny reflector, I would be interested. My take so far is I like it for walking in the woods as any significant hotspot spoils my peripheral vision outside the hotspot in the spill. But generally, I will stay with Nichia CS LED's in this type of mod.


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## Hondo (Dec 26, 2005)

b2eze, I did some experiments just now with my Dorcy, as it is much easier to fool with than an Infinity. By putting an SMJLED across a couple of coin cells, I can take a loose reflector and push it in and out of the back of the reflector. The LED can go about 2 mm or more deeper into the reflector before the ridge at it's base hits the back of the reflector, but to assemble one that way would also entail either removing the ridge on the LED or opening the hole in the Dorcy metal plate that goes between the reflector and the board. There seems to be a reason the LED is set to this depth. As soon as I go further forward in the reflector with the emitter, I get a black hole in the center. Pulling it further out does indeed waste light out the backside. But the optimum seems to be with what appears to be the "lense" of the emitter flush with the bottom of the reflector. Going back to my assembled light, I seem to have exactly the "best" beam configuration I was able to get with the adjustable arangement, i.e. nearly no hotspot, but no holes either.

At any rate, before you go further with your Infinity, especially cutting aluminum, you might want to try the same trick with your loose reflector. I think what we both need here to get a more focused light from an SMJLED is an UNCUT SMJLED. I bellieve Lambda was looking into getting some at the request of others already. This would bring back the lense effect of a normal 5mm LED, using the little reflectors to throw out any side emitted light into the spill rather than waste it, which I think is all they are intended for in these lights.


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## b2eze (Dec 27, 2005)

Yep, after cutting .080" I got the black hole, too. I'll play round with a spacer to correct it when I get time..


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## Lunal_Tic (Jan 11, 2006)

I finally picked up a new Gerber but was completely unsuccessful separating it into 3 pieces. I cooked it in the toaster and cranked on it and nothing happened. Are you separating it below the grooves cut on the head or the big groove half way down the body? I don't even see seams when I look in the body. Maybe there is a different version out there?


-LT


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## swissbianco (Jan 11, 2006)

have send you an email. can send an pic of the disassy too if needed.

i use an turning machine to mirrorpolish the reflectors. recut it cause the chinese dont do it stright by my 3 pcs. its quite an bit work but well worth the work. 

sad they make it only on 3 case colors now, what color you would like to buy? red? orange? purple?


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## Lunal_Tic (Jan 11, 2006)

swissbianco,

Thanks for the email and info. I finally gave up and just hammered the whole thing out with a wooden chopstick and a mallet. I think the body/head won't come apart no matter what. The light got up to some serious degrees but no movement at all. 

If you could post a picture of the 3 pieces that would be great. I really don't much like the new lights, I only bought one to try this mod. 

Cheers,
-LT


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## fasuto (Jan 11, 2006)

I have two Gerbers, the first, white led, comes with a duracell, the second, red led, comes with a gerber battery and was purchased recently.

The head os the first go out without any problem, only with the hands.

The second was defective, in a couple of days stop work. I tried to unscrew the head without success, even with a pliers.
Finally reading here i get it out with a hair dryer. The head was loctited.


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## Lunal_Tic (Jan 11, 2006)

Mine had a Gerber battery. If it's really Loctited I want some of it for other epoxy projects I've got going. 

-LT


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## Hondo (Jan 13, 2006)

LT, sorry to hear of your dilema. I got mine with a heat gun (hobby store type) and leather gloves. For tougher lights I find wrapping a bunch of rubber bands around the body for grip and diameter helps, and it provides protection if I bail out and grab the pliers (I still use a piece of old leather belt on the jaws). It is the joint you can see below the grooves in the head, partly covered by the clip until you remove it. Sounds like you drove it out by the LED with the chopstick? I can't imagine it coming out the battery tube intact. If so, you must have left behind the chrome ring that is trapped between the head and the battery tube end.


I hate that stuff too, these newest ones seem more like a two part epoxy than a lock-tite. Heat is the weapon of choice for all epoxies, but I start to worry about some of the components as the temp climbs away from the "too hot to touch bare handed" point. Good luck!


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## OAM (May 10, 2008)

Noob here, just came across 3 gerber UI's for 20 bucks. I'd like to try modding one of them. Anybody know where I can get a couple of the Nichia CS leds? Or is there a better led to use in this mod now? I'd like to keep the long runtime, but increase the light output somewhat. Thanks.


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## Blue72 (May 10, 2008)

OAM said:


> Noob here, just came across 3 gerber UI's for 20 bucks. I'd like to try modding one of them. Anybody know where I can get a couple of the Nichia CS leds? Or is there a better led to use in this mod now? I'd like to keep the long runtime, but increase the light output somewhat. Thanks.


 
There is the Nichia GS, they are brighter and might have slightly longer run time than the CS. You can buy two of these lights for less than $4 (shipping included) and salvage the LED's from them

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12270


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## OAM (May 12, 2008)

Awesome! Thanks for the help!


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## gunga (May 12, 2008)

Great mod, highly recommended.

I just did 2.

It does make it brighter so you now need a dimmer light again to poke around sleeping babies.

:naughty:


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## OAM (May 17, 2008)

Ok I got my parts, however I'm having serious issues getting the thing seperated. I've tried boiling it in a bag to the point where it's too hot to handle with bare hands and then went at it with strap wrenchs. Didn't work. Anybody know how long I should boil it for or any other ideas about getting it cracked open? Thanks


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## Lunal_Tic (May 18, 2008)

OAM said:


> Ok I got my parts, however I'm having serious issues getting the thing seperated. I've tried boiling it in a bag to the point where it's too hot to handle with bare hands and then went at it with strap wrenchs. Didn't work. Anybody know how long I should boil it for or any other ideas about getting it cracked open? Thanks



The one I tried above was a real PITA. The second one I tried was easier a couple of 5-10 minute boiling sessions in a Ziploc followed by strap wrenches while still hot worked. They must have used different epoxy because there was a big difference in the ease of disassembly.

Good luck.
-LT


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## OAM (May 19, 2008)

Thanks Luna! I've got three of them so I'll give another one a shot.


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## Hondo (May 23, 2008)

Hi OAM,

Sorry you got a tough one. I was just using a lot of heat from a hobby heat gun and a bunch of rubber bands wrapped around the two halves for grip and diameter advantage. I have got strap wrenches now too, but I have been having better luck with a chunk of leather belt over the rubber bands and a curved jaw slip joint plier. With just the rubber bands, the plier jaw can bite through to the aluminum, and just the leather does not have enough friction, and slips on the smooth aluminum. Hotter is always better, and I worked with leather gloves on, and have actually gotten it to where I can smell the rubber bands starting to cook. But I have busted every one I attacked so far. Just did another IU last week, and am getting ready to attack a Gerber Trio next.


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## gunga (Jun 1, 2008)

Hey does anyone know the led current on the Gerbers? I want to put a red led in there, but have fried a couple in direct drive situations. Don't want to fry another!


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## Hondo (Jun 2, 2008)

I'm not sure what the LED current is, only the battery draw (160 - 190 mA typically). My guess is that the white LED is significantly overdriven at between 35 and 40 mA. But I would be afraid of killing a red LED because of it's low Vf. The circuit may drive it much harder due to the lower Vf than the white LED. I always assumed the red IU's had a specific circuit for driving the LED with less power. Perhaps, once it is apart and you can actually measure the LED current, something as simple as a small resistor across one of the LED legs could tune it right where you want to drive it. There should be plenty of room for that inside that head.


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## PurpleDrazi (Aug 8, 2008)

dd61999 said:


> There is the Nichia GS, they are brighter and might have slightly longer run time than the CS. You can buy two of these lights for less than $4 (shipping included) and salvage the LED's from them
> 
> http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12270



DX seems to out of these. Any other suggestions where to get some GS leds?

Francis


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## Hondo (Aug 9, 2008)

There have been a couple of group buys over in the Marketplace, but both are filled now. You can also get them from Nichia direct:

http://www.nichia.com/product/led-lamp-phi5.html

Under "contacts" at the top you will find a Detroit and Los Angeles office number. They treat you sort of like a retailer, but it is not a problem to buy direct. You want the second or third item in the table, the DS or GS LED's. The DS is actually my favorite, as it is not much different in output, the hotspot is round, not oval, and they are rated for ten times the lifespan of the GS's, or about the same as the good ol' CS's that are so durable in overdrive. In either case, most people prefer, as do I, the "CO" color bin, it is the warmest, or least blue. They do come in bags of 100 minimum, and they are $80 plus some shipping costs, hence the group buys by folks not wanting the whole bag.

I would hope that the Sandwich Shoppe would get these in soon, they are not new anymore. They were selling the CS Nichia's for $1.50 a piece, but I just peeked over there and they don't even show those now.


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## PurpleDrazi (Aug 9, 2008)

Hondo said:


> I would hope that the Sandwich Shoppe would get these in soon,



Hmmmm . . . I found this at the Sandwich Shoppe. Is it the same (GS)?


http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/product_info.php?cPath=48_52_77&products_id=1152


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## Hondo (Aug 10, 2008)

Bingo! That's them. Not sure what my problem searching over there yesterday was, because now I can see the CS Nichia's there on the same page with the GS's, although no DS's yet. They are a little pricey, but if you only need a few, Wayne gives great service, I have ordered from him many times.


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## Black Rose (Nov 1, 2008)

I think there might be a new Gerber Infinity battery tube design.

I picked one up today (came with an Energizer battery) and it appears to be a 2 piece unit - one piece head/battery tube and twist off tailcap.

The "head" appears to simply be a knurled extension of the battery tube.
I cannot find any gap in the transition from the battery tube to the knurling on the head.

It also appears to have a Nichia LED in it. I visually compared the top down view against the LED in my E01 and the loose DS and GS LEDs I have, as well as a generic 5mm LED. Also has a bit of the Nichia "rectoval" in the beam pattern.


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## Hondo (Nov 3, 2008)

Wow, this would be quite a development, and probably not for the better for modding. They would have to cram the circuit all the way up from the tail end, likely a one way trip. Of course, on the old ones, the parting line of the head is mostly covered by the clip, but is clearly visible in the open area on the back side of the clip, which you need to yank off to remove the head for modding.

My latest ones had Nichia CS LED's. I would think that they would by now be using either DS or GS's in there. The GS is hard to miss with that oval hotspot, and kind of a thin round halo around it.


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## Black Rose (Nov 4, 2008)

I tried to take a picture of the head/battery tube, but the macro function on my digicam can't focus that close.

When I look down the inside of the battery tube, all I see at the end is a spring and what looks like a plastic washer/retainer ring.

The hotspot on the IU I have is not as pronounced as the one on my Fenix E01.


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## Hondo (Nov 4, 2008)

Actually, that is all you will see looking down the inside of an IU, the batt. tube butts right against the circuit pill with the little plastic ring on it (I think it is a buffer to protect the circuit from battery impacts in a head first fall). The joint is only visible on the outside of the head, through the gap in the clip.


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## Black Rose (Nov 4, 2008)

Here's a pic of mine disassembled. The light of my desk lamp seems to show where the gap should be.


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## Hondo (Nov 5, 2008)

Nope, no change there. The joint you exposed by pulling the clip is where it unscrews if you want to mod the emitter. As above, it takes a lot of heat to soften the epoxy they used, at least on the several I have modded so far. The best way to put the clip on and off is to pull it straight away, and push it straight onto the barrel, sliding it off the end will leave marks, but you look clean from what I can see in the photo.


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## Black Rose (Nov 5, 2008)

I see it now.

I twisted the body a bit and it did separate a little...just enough that the light doesn't work anymore 

EDIT: Got it tightened down enough that the light works again. 
Now, do I completely take it apart and put a DS in it or leave it with the CS that is currently in it...decisions decisions...


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## Black Rose (Nov 24, 2008)

I contacted Gerber and they confirmed they are still using Nichia CS LEDs in the Infinity Ultra.

I still haven't decided if I want to swap out the CS for a DS.

According to the data sheets, the DS has a luminous intensity that is 9000 mcd higher than the CS so it would be brighter, but how much brighter I don't know.

I tested the IU with my DMM and it's only drawing 20 mA from a AA Eneloop, so the current is within spec for a DS.

The problem I see is that the CS has a forward voltage of 3.6v (4.0v max) whereas the DS has a vf of 3.2v (3.5v max). I wonder if I'd kill the DS over time in this light.


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## gunga (Nov 24, 2008)

I have a GS in mine. I sanded the dome a bit so it provides a soft fairly even flood. Very nice. How much brighter is it? I can't remember. I did compare once, and was happy with the upgrade, but I can't give you a definitive answer.

I would do a DS mod next time. Once you have it open, it's not hard to remod, so I would just swap for a DS and if you burn it out, swap it again later. They are about $1-2 so it's not like you are frying a cree/seoul or something...

:naughty:


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## Hondo (Nov 25, 2008)

20 mA at the battery?!? :ironic: Even for a NiMh, that is VERY low, you might want to check that again. After the boost circuit, that would mean the LED itself is only getting maybe five or so mA (wild guess), and would be quite dim. My IU's all pull around 170 mA at the tail, give or take, even with a NiMh. Remember that because of the voltage boost circuit, the LED only sees a fraction of the current, at over 3 volts, of what is being drawn from the battery, at less than 1.5 volts.

The brightness difference with the DS is very noticable side by side with the CS, and I use CO (warmest) color tints, so it is also less blue than the stock. I can line up an original BS light with a later CS, or one of my warmer CS mods, and my latest DS mod, and it is a very nice progression of brightness increase. I think the DS does a bit better job of focusing light to the hotspot, and so has just a bit more throw to it, such as it is in a 5 mm light.

The circuit does not seem to be sensitive to the Vf of the LED used, like the one in a Fenix E0 is, so the runtime and drive current stay about the same after the mod. It is a little overdriven from the start, but the Nichia CS and DS LED's are about the toughest 5 mm's out there, so lifespan should not be a concern. For reference, an Arc AAA drives the Nichia harder. And as I've warned before, in an overdrive applicaton, the GS with it's lifespan rating of 1/10 that of the DS would be the one to manifest lumen maintenance issues first.

But like Gunga said, once you have done this once, it is no big deal, and the LED's don't cost much more than an incan lightbulb, which only lasts about 25 hours, so enjoy! When you do "kill" an LED, unlike a light bulb, it usually won't leave you in the dark, it just gets a bit dimmer over time, and bluer if you really are cooking it. Dorcy 1st and 2nd Gen. 1xAAA lights drive their LED's very hard, and I managed to take one with a JELED mod back down to stock output level after about two years of use. I re-modded it with a Nicha CS, and I doubt I will see the problem again, the Nichia is much more durable.


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## Black Rose (Nov 25, 2008)

Hondo said:


> 20 mA at the battery?!? :ironic: Even for a NiMh, that is VERY low, you might want to check that again.


Amazing what the interpretation of a decimal place does for a reading 

I just rechecked it:
190 mA with an Eneloop NiMh
230 mA with a new Energizer L91 Lithium
220 mA with a new Alkaline

My DS LEDs are CO bin according to the GB thread.

Thanks for the info on the runtime...that was one of my concerns whether swapping the LED out would have a big effect on the runtime.


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## Black Rose (Nov 29, 2008)

I finally got it apart!!!!!

My previous attempt at taking the light apart ended up causing the light to work intermittently, so I had no choice but to take it apart 

Boiled the kettle, placed the light in a baggy for 4 minutes, took my leather work gloves and it twisted apart fairly easily.












The only issue (aside from actually modding it) is getting the front o-ring cleaned up. 
It is sticky beyond belief and gets caught on the head when trying to screw the head back on.

Will isopropyl alcohol do any damage to the o-ring? 
I have some spare o-rings I got from DX but they don't look as good the ones that are on the Gerber.


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## Hondo (Nov 29, 2008)

To be honest, I'm not really sure about the alchohol attacking the O-ring. You would be safe, and might get the desired effect just using your lube of choice like a cleaner.

By the way, you do have a choice in how you replace the LED. The "like factory" way is to unsolder the ends from behind the board and clean the holes out, and re-fit the new one. The other way which I have developed in my lazyness, is to snip the leads on the old one just below the bulges, and solder the legs of the new one to the old leg remnants of the old one. This also leaves you with a lot less bending to do on the new legs to match up with old legs. I really do not see the function of the little black shrink wrap bits on the legs, they don't appear to have any opportunity to short, and therefore a need for insulation - perhaps they were thinking of someone managing to jam the LED straight back into the light by impaling it on an object :shrug:. I left them off on my last mod. I struggled with them on my first one, because I was unsoldering the LED, and that caused the shrink material to contract around the leg, so if you go that way, and want to have them on, best to cut some new ones from fresh shrink tubing. Good luck!


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## Black Rose (Nov 30, 2008)

I attempted to do a "like factory" mod, but could not get the original solder to flow enough to get the LED out. 
I tried two different tips on my 25W iron and the solder just would not flow.

I'll try it again at some point with my 30/35W iron and see if that helps any.

I used a set of helping hands (which should really be called hindering hands  ) to hold the metal ring.

The good news is that the light still works, so I didn't cook the circuitry.


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## Hondo (Nov 30, 2008)

For that type of removal, you will need to "rock" the LED out. You heat one leg while loading the LED sideways till it pulls the leg up a bit, bending the opposite leg. Repeat on each side as needed until it is free.

If you are not getting the solder fluid, make sure your tinning on your iron tip is clean and shiny. I use a wet sponge to wipe away oxidation, alternating with a touch to the rosin core solder to keep it tinned and clean. With that, it should melt the factory solder almost the instant it touches it. You're having fun now!


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## gunga (Apr 14, 2009)

HOndo, did you ever mod the Trio? How did that go?


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## Hondo (Apr 15, 2009)

Not well. Actually, it could be worse, I have not wrecked it yet. That would be a shame, as it is a nice light and already has what appears to be Nichia CS LED's in it, I just want it brighter and less blue. It is tighter than any light I have ever tried to crack. I had it in the vise between two hardwood blocks - thank goodness for the two flats machined into the body. I had that sucker so hot I was worried about melting the LED domes! My rubber strap wrench was getting good traction on the head, since it is a pretty big diameter, but no joy. I am thinking about launching another attack, since it is the #1 thing I would like to put some DS's into. I was contemplating a freeze/heat cycle approach. I have not heard of anyone getting into one before, I hope it is possible. I will update here if I ever get it open.


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## cckw (Feb 2, 2010)

This thread was linked to because of a great close-out on the lights. I picked up couple. I want to check in case there is a newer LED of choice:
In Feb 2010 what is the LED the cool kids would use to update?


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## Hondo (Feb 4, 2010)

I just struck out trying to find currently available sources for the latest Nichia 5 mm LED's, the DS and GS. There were a couple of group buys, but none active now, and many were harvesting the GS LED from the cheap DX lights that came with them here: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12270 , but those are currently out of stock.

The Sandwich Shoppe http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/index.php has had them, but I failed to locate anything but the older CS Nichias on there now. They do have the uncut MJ LED's, which are very bright, but are very flood oriented beams, if you want that. They are also very durable and capable of being driven to higer currents than most 5 mm's.

You can buy the Nichias direct from them http://store.nichia.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=17 , but you will need to buy a bag of 100, for about $90 shipped. Be careful though, they might have upgraded the latest ones from the CS's that I last got in an Infinity to DS's, and you really can't improve on that, but I suspect that all of the SMKW clearance ones are still CS's. The above link takes you right to the NSPW500DS LED, which is the DS you would want. There are some "warm white" ones, but the intensity is so low on those, I think they would be very dissapointing in this light. You can, however, specify the C0 tint bin for the NSPW500DS, which is the least blue of those offered in this LED. Don't expect the W intensity bin, V is readily available, though. Direct contact numbers are at the top of the page, one in Michigan and one in California. If you only need a few, think about running a group buy to share the others, there must be some demand by now, since it has been a while since the last one.


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## gunga (Feb 4, 2010)

Yep, I'd be in for a few if a group buy is arranged.


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## Black Rose (Feb 4, 2010)

I had 10 each of DS and GS that I bought from Buck91's last group buy.

I sold them on the MP last summer, since I never got around to using them.


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