What did you mod today?

Just finished a Night Piercer mod of an Astrolux SC for a customer. LED swap, driver reprogram, bypassed springs, refocused reflector, upgraded wires, potted driver. Had to re-machine the LED shelf since it was bulged pretty badly in the middle but she’s nice and flat now. Came out at a cool 83Kcd (~575m).

You should post more details of that Eye of Sekhmet light if you haven’t already?
Looks really nice, interesting.

Wow…very nice…it’ll hurt my wallet though :person_facepalming:

I would like to know what led you used … Not the first time i ask , but it seems i may have to ask more times :blush:

Prolly the Super XP-E2 U5 high performance 3 amper de-domed! Been waiting for the smooth reflectors to finish the Jaxman M2!!! :rage: Just a wild guess!

I don’t have any to test … Edit : And they are only available at mtn or mouser :person_facepalming:

Anyone tried them @ 3 amps & dedomed ?

“G” you excited or what? :smiley: :+1:

Haha :innocent:

I did my 2nd driver swap today, but it was my first in a pill. I put the 17DD MTN driver in my S2+ and it was an experience to say the least… I also did a spring bypass for all my tailcaps since I had the soldering iron warmed up.

I got the stock driver out using a lighter which wasn’t very fun… I got the new one in using my friend’s heat gun and that was much smoother sailing.
Once I got it all in and snug with my 25 degree TIR optic I gave it a test and all seemed well. I then set it to have 6 mode groups + moonlight for 7 modes total. I tested the turbo mode and was comparing to my triple direct drive Jaxman E2L with XP-G2s and it started doing some weird stuff… it wasn’t really hot yet and it shut off straight to moonlight mode. When I did a half-press to enter the next mode it turned off completely for a few seconds then did a bright burst of light and started flickering… I unscrewed the tailcap and put it back on and every mode worked fine no flickering, but once turbo was on for several seconds it shut down to moonlight and did the same nonsense… I took the pill out and every solder connection was sound so I put the pill in with less force and everything tested perfectly. The Bistro temp sensor steps it down around 1min 40sec and no problems since and tested with a few batteries… was definitely scary I thought I got the pill too hot and the driver chips floated around on me.

I’m more than happy with my S2, but now I’m disappointed in my DD triple XP-G2 because it really doesn’t seem brighter than my BLF A6 or DD S2… I think a DD 219C triple is my next endeavor.

Actually not flashlight mod, but I gues it is related.

Just received MAX44009 ambient light sensor from Aliexpress (https://ru.aliexpress.com/item/GY-49-MAX44009-Ambient-Light-Sensor-Module-for-Arduino-with-4P-Pin-Header-Module/32754337040.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.FXk83y)
Added it to my arduino (actually STM32f103 board) with display.
So far it cost me ~ 10-12 USD (3$ for sensor 3-4$ for display 2-3$ stm32 board, ~2$ usb to serial adapter, plus wires etc.), and some time.
All needed can be found on Aliexpress (or Ebay maybe).

Roughly checked measurement results with my cheap luxmeter - results are very close, however I think max44009 is more precise.

When I’ll have more time , I would share more info (if somebody need it) :slight_smile:

Nice project!, and more info, yes please! Did the ambient light sensor come with a wavelength sensitivity curve comparing it with the official photopic luminosity curve?

Well you can see all needed information in datasheet :slight_smile:

(As I am not specialist in light metering , it is enough for me to see phrases like “The IC is designed to detect brightness in the same way
as human eyes do” in datasheet :slight_smile: )

And I gues minimum parts needed :

- to get (i assume precise) data from this device it is enough to have devise itself, standard Arduino Uno board (it should be powered from 3.3V - I am not sure all boards can work with this voltage) and USB port on PC - to get data from.

  • And software part - Arduino SW

Thanks for the datasheet (and sorry for not finding it myself). Here’s the spectral response:

That is not bad for an ALS actually (most ambient light sensors have a spectral response that is rubbish) but it is worse than a good luxmeter. The main error is that the blue peak of a led spectrum will be overvalued by 100, meaning that cool white led light will be measured too high compared to warmer light (think 10 or so).

The best ALS I have seen sofar is the Texas Instruments OPT3001, if that spectral response curve is really that close to the CIE1931 luminosity curve (which should be the red line) it would make a better luxmeter than anything under 300 dollar:

well) i dont see principal difference in obtaining data from OPT3001 ) so, i will order one module to try as well)

Even more ) it seems OPT3001 can work with 5 V logic level, and even more - you can connect 4 pcs OPT3001 to one controller to get like “simulteneous” reading (at same program cycle).

8) 8)
I can read and understand datasheets but what you are building is way beyond my skills!

One question. What kind of cleaner do i need to remove the anodization from my S2+? If someone know a produkt that i can buy here in germany or Netherlands i would be thankful for a tip.
But before i totaly strip the anodization i maybee should try to bake the light. Did anybody know which color i can get out of a blue S2+?

I use drain cleaner for this. People also use oven cleaner, but I have no experiences with oven cleaner.

Blue tube “baked”



Caustic soda (=sodium hydroxide, natronlauge), indeed those grains that you use for drain cleaning. There are versions that combine several chemicals but you want the simple white grain stuff with just the caustic soda. And be careful, do not splash around with the stuff, it makes holes in a lot of things including you.
I made a video a while ago in which I removed the ano of a flashlight rather rough and fast, but it can be done more subtle :wink:

Here it is again: