I got the new Sofirn SP33 today, they changed up the old version to the XHP-50.2 and made some small changes, biggest of which is the boost driver of course but also an Orange Peel reflector. Mine had a horrid beam profile, so I sliced and diced the 50.2 to not only clean up the aura but also warm it somewhat, it started out very cool white, almost with a lavender hue. After removing the dome, there was still a discolored greenish center to the hot spot so I made a different centering ring work and raised the reflector about 1 mm, not completely right but much better and I can live with it. I think it’s now making a little over 2200 lumens, pretty decent.
I had put an 50.2 in a Utorch UT02, sliced and diced it this morning before the SP33 came in so it’s been a day of cleaning up flip chip aura’s.
I almost sat down to do my first proper mod – two driver swaps on my older Convoy S2 and my single C8. Unfortunately I found out (thankfully ahead of time) that I need flux to make good solders
I never could solder until I started working on flashlights. Got the Hakko 888 station and some .031 Kester solder and it suddenly got much easier. Before you know it I was stacking 7135’s…
Flux helped me a bit when i tried to use lead free as a beginner. Since i switched to leaded solder I dont even bother with flux. I dont care what it says it makes a sticky mess.
I may try lead free again now that i have a couple dozens mods under my belt, but maybe not. It just works
I use organic flux, the “washer fluid”-looking stuff. Works a treat. No idea what’s in it, maybe M-stoff and water, who knows.
Wiring up some small resistors to eliminate the dreaded “hyperflash” when using LED bulbs, and needed the Evil Third Hand to hold the wire and resistor against each other, sooooooooo precariously. Slightest jiggle, and they pull apart.
Wellp, a drop of organic flux to sizzle away, apply a blob of molten solder, and it’d flow nicely… but almost instantly skin-over and turn ugly. Needed a coupla more passes with flux+iron to get a solid (haha) connection without snapping apart.
Without flux, it’d turn butt-ugly and might not even be a good joint.
Then again, I was going easy on the heat, not cranking it up like I usually do. Didn’t want to turn the wire-insulation into “bellbottoms” (melting, pulling-back, and bunching up).
On, say, soldering a through-hole component on a peecee board, where you can press hard and get good heat transfer, the rosin-core in the solder is often enough.
I’ve always used lead free solder with no flux other than what’s already in it.
Not that difficult to get a good solder joint, at least now that I have a good quality soldering iron.
Eswitch wires on fet+1 boards are the hardest things ive run across and its prob cause i refuse to change tips mid project. The signal wires on L4P drivers are so easy and have huge durable pads.
I haven’t even owned extra flux for decades, although I soldered thousands of my self developed boards “professionally” in the first years of my business live, back in the 80s. There is plenty of flux in the middle of the solder wire, I just had to learn the proper technique. Not much different with unleaded solder nowadays.
Main reason for it is that I damaged the inside of the head a bit.
But I didn’t want to wait till Thursday I looked around in my workplace what I could use, then I remembered I have a Dremel tool. :person_facepalming:
So I used the Dremel with a small drum sander the enlarge the inside of the head and removed the damage. Also sanded the board a bit smaller with a nice bevel on the underside so it will sit flush.
And, after replacing the springs for those beautiful springs from Blue, the light is assembled and is working. :partying_face:
Used the small spring on the driver and the big one on the switch. Have to say that the springs are a but large, you’d need to use some force to put the tailcap on.
With the LH351D’s there is a slight hint of green in the beam (as reported by many others), compared to the XP-G2’s 5500K that where in there before (RIP! )
I don’t find it to be that bad, probably not noticeable in real life use.
Extra flux really helps my rework, though more recently I’ve found that adding a bunch of fresh solder (and the embedded flux) works well too, and with the added bonus that it can heat multiple legs at once on chips like the 7135.