This is continuing a conversation that started here: What is Your Favorite 1xAAA Light? - #91 by kamots
TLDR - I want to modify my Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 as practice for eventually trying to modify my Surefire T1A. Never done any flashlight modifications before but I do have experience with electronics including surface mount work using a hot air station.
So the following is in reply to this: What is Your Favorite 1xAAA Light? - #94 by jon_slider
@jon_slider: Thanks for the pictures, that was helpful. I’m sure I am rehashing some conversation that happened somewhere on this forum. But hey, maybe this will help others that are new like me. I will be using your advice and looking at my lights during the day. I find this really interesting. It is a lot more in-depth then I ever thought.
The last time I looked in to emitters (years ago!) I was thinking about modifying my T1A since I really didn’t like its blue tint from the day I got it. But I really liked the UI so I kept it and used it a lot over the years.
Looking at your pictures (in the other thread) I like the 5000K 219c and the 4300K 351d. The 6500K one looks like my T1A, so blue. The XR2 that I reviewed is maybe 6000K based on those pictures and my recent experience with a new D4V2 SST-20 5000K. I read several comments about the SST-20 having various problems with tint and different colors at dim levels. I haven’t seen any of this with my new light so maybe I just got lucky or I haven’t development my tint snob pallet yet I do kinda see the pink in your pictures, but then again that may just be my brain looking for pink and seeing what it was told would be there.
BUT the really exciting part for me about what I’ve learned since I joined this forum is open source lights! That is the reason I got the D4V2. It looked like the most modern, yet affordable, light that uses the 18650 batteries I already bought for my XR2. Most important, it has the programming pads easily accessible so I can start to tinker without taking it apart. I’ve taken a lot of stuff apart ever since I was a kid but now in my old age (heh) I like to learn more before I rip things apart. I don’t think I know enough about high drain Lithium batteries and the advanced drivers in these lights to be screwing around with them. So I keep reading old posts here and asking questions.
Is there a place that sells emitters that have been CRI tested and are known to not have nasty green/orange/whatever color shifting? As I said I think 5000K is my preference based on what I know so far. 4000K seems to pink/orange to me.