# What did you mod today?



## turkeylord (Mar 15, 2016)

Hoping to liven up this subforum a little and get to see other people's projects!

Modding a light? Building a light? Share your progress or finished project here!


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## turkeylord (Mar 15, 2016)

I'll share some of my recent ones...

Olight S1 Cu - 4750 XML2 NW Mod


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## turkeylord (Mar 15, 2016)

Olight S1 - 4750k NW Mod for a buddy


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## turkeylord (Mar 15, 2016)

Maratac AA Cu - 47s Mini AA driver - Nichia 219C LED










(Using the D25A head for support while soldering, lol)


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## sween1911 (Mar 15, 2016)

Nice work!

This weekend, I put a triple XP-G2 into an old-school Blackhawk Gladius. Lovin' it...


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## turkeylord (Mar 15, 2016)

That looks beefy!


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## guitarhero (Mar 17, 2016)

turkeylord said:


> Olight S1 - 4750k NW Mod for a buddy


Looks great, how hard is it to do? 
Regards from Germany 
Guitarhero


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## turkeylord (Mar 17, 2016)

Not terrible, I'm actually working on a video right now showing the process.


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## turkeylord (Mar 17, 2016)

Ok, video here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?416941-Modding-an-Olight-S1-Copper


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## nein166 (Mar 19, 2016)

Put together a p60 dropin using an XM-L and 3v - 0.8v two-transister wquiles driver
Realized I have no host to accommodate this mod, ugh, suggestions?


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## peter yetman (Mar 19, 2016)

I think you may be able to find some old stock of Surefire 6Ps. Which is the light that launched the P60 format. Some people are picking up serious bargains.
More info here...
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?182392-Why-is-the-SureFire-6P-so-good
P


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Mar 19, 2016)

I like this thread. Surprised we haven't seen one like this before.

Last light I modded this week was a LF2XT from N219A to a XP-L. No pictures to post, but this thread gives me some inspiration to snap a few shots along the way next mod to post up for the record.


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## nein166 (Mar 20, 2016)

I solved the need for a host to run my battery vampire drop-in. Certainly not a normal p60 host but I'm not known for being normal.
The Fulton Angle Light has been sitting in my cabinet for a long time and I kept saying this isn't the right time to mod it.
turkeylord, thanks so much for starting this thread. I hope it keeps our interest and we all keep sharing our builds












So I found a 1 1/4 to 3/4 inch copper adapter coupling to fit in the Fulton very nicely. The negative contact applies just enough pressure to keep it from wobbling and there is a little ledge down by the positive contact.
[see second Picture] A little grinding was needed for the coupling to fit in. I used the edge of a file to make a squared edge then rounded it off to clear the positive contact.
I cut some thin steel and formed it into an L shape to extend the positive contact to the back of the head. The dropin spring makes contact with the steel.
Before putting the dropin into the coupling I hammered the 3/4 inch section slightly out of round to achieve a tight press fit, and pressed in the dropin.
Added a wrap of electric tape around the coupling just to make sure there is no possibility of the positive contact shorting on the copper adapter coupling.
I just need to polish up the old lens, It'll be my first time trying the Novus polishing Kit

Beamshot:


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## turkeylord (Mar 21, 2016)

nein166, that is awesome! New life to an old light, I love it. :twothumbs


Speaking of lenses, anyone have a good source? I'd like to try a reflectored S1, but I need to find a 15mm lens.


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## peter yetman (Mar 21, 2016)

The smallest lenses I can find at flashlight lens.com are 17mm plastic. You could gently grind it down on a sheet of fine glasspaper. I've also has success doing this with glass lenses, but it's difficult to avoid chips around the edge.
P


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## turkeylord (Mar 21, 2016)

Great, thanks! I will check them out.


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## nein166 (Mar 23, 2016)

Got another in progress from my AAA projects draw.
Made a pill like old Maglite Mini style sandwiches to fit in a DX 1xAAA clickie
Driver is a DX:50526 with the daughter board cut off
Brass heat sink with an XP-G. Epoxy potted the driver to the heat sink


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## m4a1usr (Mar 23, 2016)

turkeylord said:


> nein166, that is awesome! New life to an old light, I love it. :twothumbs
> 
> 
> Speaking of lenses, anyone have a good source? I'd like to try a reflectored S1, but I need to find a 15mm lens.



FasTech has 15mm glass. SKU-1205400


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## turkeylord (Mar 23, 2016)

m4a1usr said:


> FasTech has 15mm glass. SKU-1205400


Perfect, thanks!


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## nein166 (Mar 25, 2016)

Got the little light finished
Compared it to a Preon1 since they both have the same LED.
With the Preon on high the Black Cat is brighter
Used a AAA spacer in my Preon2
Stuck a MaratacAAA Clip on the tailcap and it holds well.


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## turkeylord (Mar 25, 2016)

nein166 said:


>


Man what a difference. The Preon looks ill. :green: Nice work!


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## turkeylord (Mar 26, 2016)

Lumintop Tool Cu + Preon pill + Nichia 219C + 10440 :naughty:


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## nein166 (Mar 27, 2016)

mmm that switch and body combination
like a Maratac Cu taken to the next level with all the Preon Levels goodness


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 7, 2016)

Today I attempted something a bit on the daring side. My enjoyment of incandescent lights has always been there and I've acquired a few recently. I just purchased a couple of E2e lights with the awesome Z52 tailcap that readily accepts the McClicky switch. The problem is I also love multi level lights. 

I know that there was a mod out there a long time ago called the Lightsaver which would give an E2e a multi-level setup. I was lucky at one time to have purchased on that was modded with an AW SoftStart. I sold that a long time ago and have not been able to find another one for sale (up till now - I actually purchased two of them for $8 each - I hope that store actually has stock to ship. The Lightsaver is big though. It does allow tailstanding but it extends the tailcap length and has a diameter almost as big as the head. 

What I really needed was a way to fit the AW SoftStart into an E2e Z52 tailcap. I stated taking some caliper measurements and thought that it might just be possible - although it would definitely be a most permanent mod.

In order to make it work I had to do the following:

Take about 6.5mm of the back of the battery tube.
Shave down the edges of the AW SoftStart so that it would fit into the Z52 tailcap. I wasn't sure I would have enough material left of the outside brass ring to hold it together, but things worked out very well.
Bore out the threads on the inside of the Z52 tailcap so that the trimmed SoftStart would slide easily.

Trimmed AW SoftStart, Z52 tailcap and battery tube:





Trimmed battery tube:





AW SoftStart inserted into Z52 tailcap:





Tailcap and battery tube test fitted:





Once all the fittings were complete I reinstalled the o-ring on the battery tube to maintain some water resistance. The light was tested to be working as expected.

The final step is securing the Z52 tailcap to the battery tube with some AA. I can accept this is a pretty permanent setup, but unless the SoftStart decides to die on me for some reason I have no real reason that I'd want to pull it apart.


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## turkeylord (Apr 7, 2016)

Very nice!


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## ven (Apr 7, 2016)

turkeylord said:


> Very nice!




+1 cooooooool!!!(not literally)


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## gearhead1972 (Apr 8, 2016)

Finished this last night. One of those old Craftsman 170 lum K2 lights with the 6 AAA holder. This was my first "real" LED light some 7-8 years ago. It had been regulated to a just in case light in a bathroom draw. This was an ok light but ate batteries. I replaced the stock K2 with an XM-L2 the base it is attached to is a sanded down US quarter, I figured this would help a lot with heat transfer as they are mostly copper. I am driving it with an sleeved 18650 with a Briggs and Stratton 5hp valve tappet as a spacer (worked perfectly). This is a vast improvement, nice big hot spot. Even though it is very floody, it has decent throw like most XM-L's. The trees at the end of the beam in the last pic are about 100 yards away.


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## ven (Apr 9, 2016)

Nicely done

Well i modded something and it has to do with CPF and lube!! My space bar key squeaked............trust me annoying when typing(waffling), popped off, couple of dabs of nyogel and bobs your uncle.........the mouse has gone!

Sorry............ :laughing:


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## ven (Apr 9, 2016)

sween1911 said:


> Nice work!
> 
> This weekend, I put a triple XP-G2 into an old-school Blackhawk Gladius. Lovin' it...




Really love the look of this light, real nice triple conversion there!


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 10, 2016)

One more project for the weekend with the other recently acquired E2e. 

It started of with the long desired intentions of building an E2e triple. Never really knowing where to start as from my measurements nothing would ever measure up right to be able to fit. Tana does some amazing mods and after the work I did this weekend I have greater appreciation for the E-series mods he does.

Things started off looking like this:





At which point I finally said I need this to do the type of things I am getting into now:





At which point things started to look better:





I started with the following concept for the light engine pill:









A few pieces needed turning and facing to fit properly - there's not a lot of room in there:













Things starting to come together:





The lucidrv2 driver installed:





The assembled head:





The triple working nicely:









Overall I am pleased with how things came out. It's certainly not perfect. I got a few marks from the chuck on the battery tube trying to turn the inside to make some space for the light engine to fit.

I honestly don't know how the guys like Tana do this mod over and over again. A 17mm driver doesn't even fit in the battery tube let alone the brass to hold it in place.


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## m4a1usr (Apr 11, 2016)

ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond said:


> I honestly don't know how the guys like Tana do this mod over and over again. A 17mm driver doesn't even fit in the battery tube let alone the brass to hold it in place.



You can use one of the direct drive drivers from mountain like the FET15-SS and it will do triples (if that's your thing) no problem. And like you said it has no fitment issues like the 16-17mm drivers do in a E series body. The 12mm FET driver isn't too bad a choice either.

:twothumbs


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 11, 2016)

m4a1usr said:


> You can use one of the direct drive drivers from mountain like the FET15-SS and it will do triples (if that's your thing) no problem. And like you said it has no fitment issues like the 16-17mm drivers do in a E series body. The 12mm FET driver isn't too bad a choice either.
> 
> :twothumbs



Ah yes - makes sense. But then what do you use to hold the driver and LED - I guess a custom pill is the way to go.

I like the customizability of the lucidrv and lucidrv2 firmware. They are amazing software/driver combos - especially the new H17F. There might be enough material to take the H17F down to 16mm, but not sure about 15mm.


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## sunny_nites (Apr 11, 2016)

I finally got ahold of some QTC (quantum tunneling composite) material to experiment with and used it to replace the low setting on my Mecarmy Illuminex-4.

I always wanted a lower low in my Illuminex-4 but with only two modes, it was too big a jump from moonlight to full brightness. I had an idea that the QTC material would fit the bill and boy did it! This stuff is really sweet! 

Looking forward to modding some other twistys that I have that are in need of way more brightness levels now.


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## peter yetman (Apr 11, 2016)

Please tell us how you did that.
P


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## sunny_nites (Apr 11, 2016)

> Please tell us how you did that.



More than happy to.

I'll try to get some pics but basically, I removed the low mode membrane switch from the pill on the Illuminex 4 and replaced it with a custom silicone gasket that had the same thickness and squishiness (can't believe the spell checker didn't light up over that) as the QTC material to hold everything in place.

Really happy with the way it works.


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 13, 2016)

Getting more comfortable with the lathe as I use it. Made a new heat sink for the Prometheus Alpha to mount a triple on.  Much better than stacked PCBs.......


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## turkeylord (Apr 13, 2016)

Awesome! I would so love to have a lathe to play with...


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## m4a1usr (Apr 14, 2016)

After doing a couple new mod's it became apparent that the Z62 switch needed a bit of help in modernization. I have an A2 lego that works fine with the Z62 sans the resistor but its not a clickie and it's been painfully obvious that needed to happen. This ones got a McClicky but I'm in the middle of a Judco mod that should be what I'm after in the end. Sort of looks like a Z48 doesn't it?


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## Boomer8404 (Apr 15, 2016)

I got my old Atlas/Craftsman 12"x36" lathe setup for boring and I have been boing a few Surefire 6P/6P LED series bodies for 18650 batteries the last few evenings after work. I also had to turn down the base diameter of the pill body on a couple of Solarforce drop-ins that I like to use. I do this so the heads will screw down all the way. I could leave them alone, but if I did the drop-in would not seat fully in the flash light body and the head would stop about 3/32" out from fully screwing on all the way. Also, I installed a McClicky switch w/ GITD Green boot in a Z41 tail cap for one of my 6P LED lights.

I just need to order a few more parts to complete this round of modifications and I'll be good to go for a while.


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 15, 2016)

Boomer - could you post a few pics you are using for the boring setup? Also - how are you preventing marks on the body while you turn it?


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 15, 2016)

With all the successful mods appearing here I thought I would share a pretty disastrous one. I will entitle this "What did you not mod today?".

So, what I did not mod today was a V10R HA battery tube. I did not bore it out cleanly for 18mm cells like I had originally planned to. The tube moved all over the place in the chuck. It wobbled. It pulled forwards on me. And all in all resulted in a horribly rough looking and useless tube.







Just note that below there is supposed to be a smaller diameter piece in there that ended up getting bored right out as the piece moved forward on me.


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## Boomer8404 (Apr 15, 2016)

ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond said:


> Boomer - could you post a few pics you are using for the boring setup? Also - how are you preventing marks on the body while you turn it?



I only have this one shot of my boring bar setup at the moment, but once I get home this afternoon I'll get a few more to post up for you. It's an old Armstrong type boring bar holder and I'm using a 1/2" diameter bar w/ a 1/4" hss bit. Also, I use a 4 jaw chuck and I put one layer of electrical tape on each jaw to keep from marring up the surface. It seems to work perfectly.


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## Nitroz (Apr 15, 2016)

ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond said:


> With all the successful mods appearing here I thought I would share a pretty disastrous one. I will entitle this "What did you not mod today?".
> 
> So, what I did not mod today was a V10R HA battery tube. I did not bore it out cleanly for 18mm cells like I had originally planned to. The tube moved all over the place in the chuck. It wobbled. *It pulled forwards on me.* And all in all resulted in a horribly rough looking and useless tube.



How did it pull forward on you?


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 15, 2016)

Nitroz - bad wording. It pulled in the chuck towards the tailstock even when cranked down so much a damaged the outside.


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## m4a1usr (Apr 16, 2016)

Woo Hoo! My 10mm boots came in yesterday to finish up my Vital Gear bodies! Some of you already know that when modd'n the VG bodies to the higher amp switch the tailcap recessed area should be relieved a bit to allow the new switch to expand the stock boot. For me this was not a choice I liked all that much. Besides the stock VG boots are hard press and I don't care for a hard press boot on a smaller light. Not to mention the OAL. After some research I discovered a source for shorter/ smaller silicone boots that are perfect (IMO) for making these little jewels perform better. For your viewing pleasure. 



Stock boot on the right and the new ones on the left. And the modified higher amp switch too!


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## nein166 (Apr 16, 2016)

m4a1usr I think I see what you did there. 2 wraps of copper wire soldered to the side contacts of the switch that keep the switch deeper in the tail giving more travel in the boot.
When I modded the VG switch I ground off the anodize to make it fit but as you say its a hard press that way. Awesome approach you have here
You should add this to the Vital Gear Switch mod thread


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## Boomer8404 (Apr 16, 2016)

ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond said:


> Boomer - could you post a few pics you are using for the boring setup? Also - how are you preventing marks on the body while you turn it?



Here are a few more shots for you. Sorry I didn't post them yesterday evening, I was waiting for another 6P to come in to bore.


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 17, 2016)

Thanks for the pics - that's a really clean bore. What RPM are you spinning at?

I take it the red tape on each chuck piece is the electrical tape you are referring to. Do you change it between each light?


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## Boomer8404 (Apr 17, 2016)

Sure, no problemo! Thanks, I was really suprpised at the bore finish myself. I was worried about it, thinking I might have to do an emery paper sanded finish and maybe buff polish it too, but it's good to go just like it is. The only finish operation I do is use a deburring tool on the mouth end and a little emery paper to finish sand the mouth rim, so it doesn't hurt the battery wrapper. The bit I'm using has a round nose shape to it, it was ground by the previous owner. I just cleaned off the rust and put it to work. Feed is .0035 ipm and according to the Manual of Lathe Operation and Machinists Tables (its on old book that was written for the old Atlas/Craftsman lathes like mine) my RPM is 418. The tape is just orange Scotch brand electrical tape, it's been on for 5 light body boring sessions. Its getting pretty worn and could stand to be changed, but I haven't had an issue with it yet. It's the knurling thats cutting through the tape a little bit, if the light bodies were smooth, the tape would still be good to keep going. If I were to bore another, I would change the tape out for posterity, but I'm sure it would probably be fine to do a 6th body. And I have been able to refine my process to about 5-6 complete in/out passes (I let it cut going in, and spring pass on the way out) to get a body bored. 2 .010 dept of cut passes, 1 .005 and then light and spring passes to finish it up. Factory Surefire 6P/6P LED bores range from .688-.690 and I open the bore to .742-.743. Its just enough to let the thickest protected 18650's slide through loosely, or with the slightest amount of drag.


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 19, 2016)

Thanks for the info. The lower speeds have been helpful along with some generous application of cutting oil. 

I decided to give it a go with doing a 18350 bore on my HDS. Came out very nice. 

Pulling apart the Rotary tailcap:









Pretty smooth bore. Left a small ledge on the bottom so that the negative spring assembly had a place to rest when re-installed. I think I should've gone 1mm deeper on the bore as I do get a little resistance screwing the battery back in. I'll go back and clean that up when I have some more time to spend pulling the light apart again.


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## KuanR (Apr 19, 2016)

Very nice Sean! I'd like to see when you take this out on titanium!


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 20, 2016)

Thanks Ryan - I'll get there. It's all a learning work in progress.

To that effect I took on my third V10R triple mod today. 
The first mod didn't go as planned (pre-lathe) as I bored the head so thin that the cooling fins fell of and I had to glue the head back together. Other than that the lighting part of the mod went very well. 
The second mod was an attempt on a V10R Ti. Much harder to machine than aluminum. I somehow managed to actually stretch the head out while machining it too hard and too hot. The bezel wouldn't screw on. So, I ended up trimming off the threads and gluing the bezel on. 

Both of these mods had some problems in that they were generally permanent. The heads had to be glued on and cannot be easily removed. The other issue is that I was not able to get the spacing right so that I was not able to make the front glass lens fit. The lens on the Carclo triple is directly in the front - so a little unprotected but maybe not overall a big deal depending on the use of the light.

In this third mod, a V10R Ti, I was determined to leave the light more intact. Key goals for this mod were: maintain the glass lens in front, perform minimal modification to the actual flashlight, trim down the Notigon mPCB and Carclo triple lens to fit in the stock head, make it so the lens could be swapped between clear and frosted, add extra copper heatsinking. To that effect here is my solution:

I bored off just the ramped area on the inside of the head. Also made a copper heatsink for the triple to sit on. 





The heat sink rests on the base on the head where the regular mPCB would normally sit. I put a hole in it for the wiring.





I cut two notches in the bottom for the wires to feed out the side.





Heat sink it glued down with AA.





The cooling fins installed and the wires trimmed for the triple.





The triple turned down to 17.9mm and glued to the copper heatsink with AA.





Turned the Carclo optic down to 18mm and installed.





Fit like a charm.  The bezel and lens screws down perfectly.


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## KuanR (Apr 21, 2016)

Wow Sean that is the cleanest V10R triple I have seen. Looking at what you have done, it looks like the mod is reversible should you want yo go back to a reflector setup


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## gunga (Apr 21, 2016)

Ready to do another?


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## DellSuperman (Apr 21, 2016)

Sean, how do you solder the wires to the triple MCPCB after it is glued down to the heatsink? Wont it take alot more time for the MCPCB to heat up & bond with the solder? 

I can't really find a way so i always solder the lead to the MCPCB first & the driver second..


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 21, 2016)

KuanR said:


> Wow Sean that is the cleanest V10R triple I have seen. Looking at what you have done, it looks like the mod is reversible should you want yo go back to a reflector setup



Thanks Ryan - I think the whole thing could be reversed if desired. Even with the bit on the bottom bored out I think the reflector would seat fine.



gunga said:


> Ready to do another?



As I was working on it I was thinking about the time versus cost of doing a mod like this. This one took me about 5-6 hours to complete. I could probably get the timing down a few hours now that I have the process figured out. I have another HA V10R that I want to put a triple in. I'll time that from start to finish and see how long it takes.



DellSuperman said:


> Sean, how do you solder the wires to the triple MCPCB after it is glued down to the heatsink? Wont it take alot more time for the MCPCB to heat up & bond with the solder?
> 
> I can't really find a way so i always solder the lead to the MCPCB first & the driver second..



I use a hot soldering iron. I use a Weller WESD50 soldering iron with the temp set to 830 degrees F. Make sure you tip is freshly cleaned and tinned for optimal heat transfer into the solder joint. I recently picked up this cleaner/tinner (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NS4J6BY/?tag=cpf0b6-20) from Amazon and I find it works very well.

I used to have the problem you were having from time to time and I found that it was because of poor/slow heat transfer from the soldering iron tip to the material. The material would mPCB would heat up a lot and eventually I could solder to it. 

Also - I do put the solder blobs on all the contact points prior to mounting the mPCB as I do find that a bit easier. If I am re-flowing my own LEDs I just do it with a heat gun and solder while preparing all the other points. If the mPCB is pre-built I just hit the spots as needed before mounting. 

------------

There is one weird thing that I noticed a bit last night as I was using the light tailstanding in the bathroom getting ready for bed. I turned it up a bit and as I was washing up it seemed like it got a little brighter on me. Then when I turned it down and then shortly it seemed to get a little dimmer than what I set it for. 

Not sure what to make of that I googled a bit on copper and magnetism. Copper is not magnetic but it can generate eddy currents which are opposite the direction of a moving magnet. Check out this link and watch the first video: http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~wbreslyn/chemistry/is-copper-magnetic.html. 

The video got me thinking that moving the adjustment ring is essentially moving a magnet (two in fact) around a big copper bar. This could likely create small currents in the long copper bar which are opposite the movement of the small magnets in the ring. So as the ring is turned and the magnetic field changed, the Hall effect sensor picks up the change, but with the opposing eddy current it sees a smaller change. Once the magnets are stopped moving the eddy currents slowly die down and then the Hall effect sensor sees the larger change in the magnetic field so that light gets a little brighter. Lowering the brightness of the light would have the reverse effect.

The science here seems to make sense - but I don't have any proof this is what is occurring. I'll be keeping an eye on the behavior of the light over the next few days. 

I was thinking that if I do the HA V10R triple mod I might try to do the heat sink with Al instead of Cu to see if the effect is different.


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## calipsoii (Apr 21, 2016)

ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond said:


> I bored off just the ramped area on the inside of the head. Also made a copper heatsink for the triple to sit on.


How'd you find boring the Ti on your bench lathe? What kind of tool/insert were you using? The copper slug is Tellurium Cu?



ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond said:


> The triple turned down to 17.9mm and glued to the copper heatsink with AA.


What kind of setup did you use to mount the MCPCB in your chuck?


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 21, 2016)

Calipsoi - I have a boring bar with a carbide tip and boring the Ti sucked. It wouldn't dig in at all. I've read HSS may be better for Ti? I ended up spinning the head in the lathe and using a dremel with a bit that's great on Ti and holding it inside the head. Kind of a manual process but the cleanest way I found to do it safely. Cutting oil did help the process and keep the heat down. 

I'll take a few pics of the setup I did and post it. I had to get creative and explaining it without pictures would not be possible.


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## ven (Apr 21, 2016)

Really cool stuff Sean  

Won't be long till your making your own lights!


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 21, 2016)

calipsoii said:


> What kind of setup did you use to mount the MCPCB in your chuck?



Here is what I setup:

Small piece of scrap Al rod. Bored a small hole in the end. Used the live center on the tailstock.





Used the live center through the hole on the mPCB to center it. Then turn to size.
I did get a little slippage of the mPCB against the rod so I had to tighten up the center every so often. Slow and steady with very small passes and I got it done in under 5 minutes. 





Then I put one of those plastic XML insulator pieces on the lens side of the Carclo triple.





I used the mPCB as a way to center and hold the Carclo optic.


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## calipsoii (Apr 21, 2016)

That's brilliant!


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 21, 2016)

calipsoii said:


> That's brilliant!



Thank you. :twothumbs

I just finished up a mod that I was asked to do for another CPF'er. The request was for a RGB Tri-EDC drop-in. This was made with a color LED driver and XP-E2 red, green and blue LEDs. I believe the drive current on each LED is about 600-700mA. The built was a bit of a pain but the final product came out nice. I am impressed with how bright and vibrant these colors are. The only color LEDs I've dealt with before are the 5mm ones and they just aren't that bright.


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## nein166 (Apr 22, 2016)

Awesome work SOYCD


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## turkeylord (Apr 22, 2016)

calipsoii said:


> That's brilliant!


Stole the words right outta my fingertips.

Very nicely done! :rock:


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## Ladd (Apr 22, 2016)

Keep the pictures coming, SOYCD. Really enjoying your adventures with the lathe.


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## Boomer8404 (Apr 24, 2016)

I have not gotten enough into the flashlight modifying hobby to start building my own drop-ins, what I have been able to find on the market so far, has taken care of my needs. I have a few cheaper brand drop-ins, but for most for my flashlights, I like to use Solarforce brand drop-ins. They seem to have pretty good quality for the price and they offer a mode memory feature that I really like. I made up a couple of videos showing what I did. The first video shows trimming the drop-in down for it to fully seat in a Surefire C/G/P/Z series body. The second video is me boring a 6P body. Hope you guys can get some useful info from them, and I can bore Surefire C and P series bodies if anyone is interested.

Enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n26Fm0iZ2Mo&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zotds2fKhbQ&feature=youtu.be


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## m4a1usr (Apr 26, 2016)

Well after doing the Z62 clicky conversion it became apparent that a High Amperage momentary/ twisty needed it's place at the table too! So a cut'n got under way and now it's a reality. Works as good as I thought it would. With Tana's A2/L1/LX2 conversions taking off this mod has a future! The spring is from Z41 twisty internals.


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## mcbrat (Apr 26, 2016)

ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond said:


> Thank you. :twothumbs
> 
> I just finished up a mod that I was asked to do for another CPF'er. The request was for a RGB Tri-EDC drop-in. This was made with a color LED driver and XP-E2 red, green and blue LEDs. I believe the drive current on each LED is about 600-700mA. The built was a bit of a pain but the final product came out nice. I am impressed with how bright and vibrant these colors are. The only color LEDs I've dealt with before are the 5mm ones and they just aren't that bright.



and it's awesome!


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## DrafterDan (Apr 28, 2016)

I was putting the finishing touches on the custom pill for my OKluma TinyDC. I shortened the pill and put in a TIR optic. Further details in the Machining sub-forum if interested

Here I had it held together so I could put some epoxy/ glow powder on it


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (Apr 28, 2016)

I like your style Dan. I've adopted a similar style when squishing pills together with AA or epoxy. Some old junk lens to protect the LED and a set of grips or bench vise.


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## mcbrat (May 4, 2016)

completed an Aspheric Tiny DC. Has a beam similar to a McGizmo Sundrop, but bigger...
Used a Qlite 3.04A driver, and an XM-L2 from Mountain Electronics. drilled a blank pill for wires coming through away from center so the led had a place to set...
got an Aspheric Lens from ThorLabs, and used a blue o-ring I had laying around as the gasket. 
For the spacer between the pill and the lens, I used a small rubber leg/cane tip trimmed to be slightly taller than the LED.

Sundrop left, TinyDC Right.


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (May 6, 2016)

This weeks evening work went towards a Haiku Triple mod. Another triple I've always wanted to and the approach on this one was minimal modification to the Haiku light (if any at all) so that it could always be reverted back to a stock single emitter light if desired. Also, knowing that this light could be pushing upwards of 3Amps on the newer 15C capable AW IMR 16340 cell, additional heatsinking was mandatory.

This approach took a lot of time and measurements to get everything just right. Taking into account the timing for turning of the metal, fitment of the pieces, a few driver issues I had along the way with a couple of seemingly bad drivers I got and the stonewashing of the light I would say this mod took around 8-10 hours. 

The mod components used were:
Carclo Frosted Narrow triple optic
XP-L HI U5-4000K on Noctigon triple mPCB
Dr.Jones H17F lucidrv2 17mm driver
custom turned CuTe heatsink

First step in the process was making the heatsink and turning all the parts down to 16.75mm to fit the tube for the reflector in the Haiku. Note the lip near the top of the optic. The front of the Haiku fits the full 20mm diameter of the Carclo optic, but the lower part had to be trimmed so the optic would fit just fit and allow the lens and outer o-ring to seat tightly.





The triple mPCB and the heatsink bonded with AA.





Completed LED assembly. (The PCB is a bit off-center here - this picture was taken before I bonded the mPCB and heatsink together.)





The LED assembly inside the Haiuk head - bottom view.





And, top view.





I used the stock McGizmo LE as the starting point for the driver install. I faced off the top, removing the four centering pins for the stock PCB. Then I bored two internal diameters into the can. The first, wider, bore was to allow the driver to center and sit in the can a little bit as a way to secure it. The second, smaller, bore went a little further in to give some relief for the back side components on the driver so they wouldn't contact the can directly. I leveraged the stock battery contact board inside the can for the +/- battery connections. 










An o-ring will be used on the top of the driver when installed into the head of the light to protect the components on the top of the driver from contacting the head directly.





How the driver looks installed in the head.





The completed build with lens and o-ring installed. You can see how the turned edge of the optic sits on the metal shelf.


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## turkeylord (May 6, 2016)

Fantastic work SOYCD!


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## archimedes (May 6, 2016)

Wow ... nice


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (May 6, 2016)

Thanks - I've been on a bit of a triple kick lately.


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## recDNA (May 6, 2016)

ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond said:


> Thanks - I've been on a bit of a triple kick lately.


Now THAT is a McGizmo I could love. Wow. Great work.


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## write2dgray (May 6, 2016)

Sweet mod!


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## SAMongoose (May 6, 2016)

Very cool. Good job!!!


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## ven (May 7, 2016)

WOW WOW WOW Sean, amazing !!!! a triple gizmo..........:twothumbs that has to be about as close to 'as good as it gets' imo!


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## eala (May 9, 2016)

I have pondered this build for years. Figured it was possible. Took SOYCD to make my dreams a reality. Nice work!

eala


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## m4a1usr (May 13, 2016)

Long overdue and a well needed upgrade. My "Black Bullet" needed a better pill design, new LED and Driver. Much, much better now but me thinks a bigger Aspheric lens is on the horizon. 

:devil:


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## Genna (May 14, 2016)

Triple XHP-70 @ 10 Amp VOB Guppy driver, 2x26500 and 10A+ switch


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## kellyglanzer (May 14, 2016)

Genna said:


> Triple XHP-70 @ 10 Amp VOB Guppy driver, 2x26500 and 10A+ switch



Sweet. What are you using for a 10A+ switch?


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## Genna (May 14, 2016)

Thanks! A Judco switch from DellSuperman


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## nein166 (May 14, 2016)

m4a1usr said:


> Long overdue and a well needed upgrade. My "Black Bullet" needed a better pill design, new LED and Driver. Much, much better now but me thinks a bigger Aspheric lens is on the horizon.
> 
> :devil:



Is that the wavien collar?


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## ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond (May 22, 2016)

Last night I decided to have a go at building a poor man's e-switch from a McClicky. The goal was to be able to use this in a Haiku since the Ti e-series e-switches are rarer than rare to find and will sell for well over $100.

I started with a McClicky switch and one of the e-switch inserts used on the Ku and Tain lights. I pulled apart the McClicky to see if there was enough space and to gather thoughts on how this could be done. What I ended up doing was using only the threaded part of the McClicky and the push button switch. I bored a few holes in the McClicky threaded part to seat the e-switch, cut the push button to sit at the right height, and soldered on a wire to make the negative contact to the battery tube. 

All in all it is a functional prototype which does what I wanted it to do. But if I were to make another iteration I would definitely try and find a very thin o-ring to replace the wire and provide contact around the full outside circle.


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## Hiro Protagonist (May 22, 2016)

That's a fantastic idea Sean! It looks great.


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## eala (Jun 6, 2016)

Cool SOYCD. I was going to do the same and prototyped it a while ago. My solution was to use a washer that is 16mm OD and 11mm ID to mount on the shoulder of the Haiku and pickup the contact on the board. I would use a simple oring to center the switch board and then a slice of a McClicky to thread the thing down. A simple rubber insert works to transfer the presses from the boot to the eswitch. My issue now is to locate good quality, thin washers in the right size. 

eala


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## Poppy (Jun 6, 2016)

I modified the battery box of THIS:







The positive pole tips of AA alkaline batteries is just a smidgeon longer than those of my duracell rechargeables. With Duraloops installed, when the cover of the battery box is closed, it pushed the middle of the three batteries away from the center positive battery box contact. The light wouldn't light.

I took it apart... just six screws. I pulled the contact out, put it on my workbench, and put a dab of solder on the contact, to build it out, just a little bit.

Now duraloops work!

As a side note:
I have three kinds of duraloops, white tops, black tops, and green tops. The white tops worked without modification, but the green and the black tops did not. Now they all work! 

Here is a picture of the tips of the batteries,

Left to right... Alkaline, white top, black top.


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## turkeylord (Dec 9, 2016)

Getting ready to swap another forum member's S1A Cu. Wanted to do a copper MCPCB, had to thin it out for the optic to sit correctly. Soldered myself a little handle and took it to the disc sander. 






Before:





After:






Did the same on mine, turned out great!


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