So I managed to fry the driver… don’t know how, but it doesn’t work anymore.
I opened my S Mini Ti (my EDC), dropped the XP board from S1 Mini with a 219C reflowed on it, put the new frosted XP TIR and have now the pefect EDC.
Nichia tint, Olight UI !
Congrats!
jealous with admiration
When can I get one in Copper?
You and maukka gave me such low expectations for this light that it turns out to be not as bad as I thought! Still disappointing, but not as much as it would have been otherwise. Do you think you will be able to come up with a non-fatal way to mod this?
Perfect!
I ordered a Copper Smini, now I just want to wait for a sale on the High CRI donor…
Im not sure I can resist long enough…
The only way to know is to accept the sacrifice of my second one…
That will come, because I ate the CW tint anyway and I don’t see me selling it…
To be continued, but i need a pause because frying the driver was a bit heart breaking :cry:
I wonder what it would take to get Olight to make an aluminum S Mini (not S1 Mini) with the S1 Mini’s frosted TIR, 4500K-4750K Nichia 219 high-CRI emitter, and my Anduril firmware.
(probably also no CR123A support, only 16340, could even come with the same cell as the S1 Mini)
What is the difference between the S Mini and S1 Mini?
-S1 Mini is aluminium, S Mini is copper or titanium.
-S1 Mini has a tailcap magnet
-S1 Mini comes with a usb rechargeable 16340
-S1 Mini has a dual way pocket clip
-S1 Mini has a battery/lock indicator on the side switch
-S1 Mini is a fraction of a mm shorter
-S1 Mini has a marginally higher output (640 vs 580 lm in my testing)
I like the clip on the S Mini better than the bigger 2-way clip on the newer model, and I like the old square knurling design more than the staggered lines. It’s a bit longer, but the extra length at the front goes toward protecting the optic. I also kinda prefer it without the magnet, though I don’t care much either way.
The things I like more about the S1 Mini are the lighted button, the choice of two different optics, and the low-battery detection (finally). It’s also nice being able to get it in aluminum, which is generally cheaper and has a good balance of weight and thermal properties.
They’re already good, but it would be nice to combine the best parts of both and upgrade a few other things…
thanks for the answers
We need a special BLF edition:
- a deeper bezel to protect the optic with two little notches for easier disassembly
- two clips to choose
I would vote for the new knurling
any new developments that could lead my Olight Copper S Mini to Nichia Nirvana?
or is Sacrificing an Olight S1 Mini High CRI, still the OnlyWay to Enlightenment?
Sorry for the thread resurrection, but I got an S1 Mini cheaply and am itching to take it apart. I have a question and an observation.
First, Yajiamei 17mm TIRs fit in an S Mini; I’d assume they will also fit in an S1 Mini. I suggest the 20° Beaded as the smooth versions project a square.
Second, does drilling/breaking out the optic seem like a viable way to get into the S1 Mini without risking the switch and driver? You’d still have to figure out a way to pry the retaining ring loose, but you could do that on the ring itself and work from the back where scratches would be hidden.
Yes, the Yajiamei optics fit.
Drilling the original optics and prying the bezel is the easiest way, I should have done that instead.
Getting to the emitter via the lens is definitely a viable approach, it’s the approach I took here.
The photo from X3’s teardown (OP above) of the 5500K CRI model appears to rest the optic on a LED spacer
My experience with the 6500K (non-CRI) has the optic sitting in a retaining cup. Something to keep in mind if drilling/breaking out the optic -
This seems to be the new assembly, it’s the same in the S1RII and S2RII as well
pc_light
How is the MCPCB fixed?
Glued?
No mechanical or adhesive used on MCPCB, thermal paste only.
This means to some extent the optic holds down the board, thus height of emitter/board assembly is important -
I’ll add another variable in the equation : focusing the LED in the optic :-p
These lights are a bit tricky to mod if you don’t keep the stock emitter model.
That said, my S2RII now runs a Samsung LH351D (on a 10mm KD MCPCB) and the beam is nice so everything is doable
PC_Light, in your picture the optic looks intact. How did you get the retaining ring out from the front?
Similar to your proposal, I tackled it from the optic side. I was prepared to but fortunately did not have to replace the optic. I simply inserted the flat tip of the smallest micro-screwdriver I had between the optic and the blue ring and slowly worked it around/out. The TIR optic survived fine with only two small indentations where I first inserted the screwdriver.
The worst damage was some light scratches to the ring’s blue finish and to the bezel where I pried the screwdriver against the bezel edge. Working slower and gentler I probably could have further minimized even those scractches but since I intended this as an EDC any light scratches weren’t a concern.
I was fortunate this time and nothing got broken (which with modding is always a risk). All I can share it to take your time and be gentle with the blue metal ring because (a) it is not as hefty as it looks and (b) unlike the optic, it cannot be replaced!
As -X3 indicated above, the only issue I had was with the LED centering which because of the emitter size differences (5050 XM-L2 versus 3535 LH351D) was a challenge to center exactly but beam looks fine so I must’ve gotten it right enough.
