What did you mod today?

My C01S with honeycomb optics:

Yesterday, a SST-20@3500K arrived, implanted it today

Left to right: SST-20/3500, Nichia 219B sw45k, SST-20/2700

Somehow I can’t stand the 4000K SST-20 in the C01S, and not a fan of the original optics either. Dunno what’s wrong about that combination. All other LEDs make beautiful light.

very nice
which optics?

Someone posted a link to a shop. I forgot which one it was and can’t find the post nor the invoice :person_facepalming:

Sorry! I’ll mail you if I remember.

Ever have a mod not go quite according to plan? Yeah, I’m having one of those nights :weary:

I designed an aux board for the Wuben TO50R, which was my Peoples Choice Award prize in this year’s Old Lumens contest. The PCBs finally came in today. I built one up and it bench tested perfectly. Since I can’t reasonably reprogram the driver to control the aux board, I figured I’d use a JFET to turn the aux board off while the main LEDs are lit. Once voltage is detected at the gate pin of the JFET (wired to the main LED+), it would pinch off the ground connection of the aux board. Slick. And it worked great on the bench. Oh yeah, and it’s current controlled (3.0V LDO) and low voltage protected (a 2.93V reset monitor).

Well… when installed in the TO50R, apparently there’s always 5+ volts at the LED+ pad, its just a super low current that won’t turn on the LEDs. So my fancy new aux board wouldn’t light up until I disconnected the JFET and relegated it to being always-on. Bummer.

And then when I got it fully reassembled, I realized that I lost my moonlight mode. The flashlight thinks it’s on and in moonlight mode, but it doesn’t actually light up. It must have to do with where I tapped in to steal current for the aux board. The TO50R must be sensing/controlling current there. So hopefully I can remedy this aspect… I just need to take it all apart and find a new spot to steal battery voltage from. That’ll have to be another day.

Behold… the monstrosity of the TO50R driver. Triple stacked!

New aux board, fresh off the bench test

Selected placement of the aux+ connection (white wire)

Installed

First light

Behind the optic… thankfully, looks pretty good. At least I had one win for the night.

It’s a fun trek, but lots of stones on this path :frowning:

UPDATE: Eureka! So, the TO50R driver must have been monitoring current where I had tapped into the ground. I found a true ground connection and now moonlight works again! Everything is working like it should and the blue aux LEDs look beautiful under the optic. :smiley:

Simply, WOW. :beer:

I like how they connect boards with pins.

Very nice. The tint matches well with the copper.

I knew the TO50R had quite the driver, as it was a high-output quad without our simple FET approach, but didn’t really know any details about it.

What a monster. I want one even more. But I don’t know if my budget will ever overlap its price point.

It seems that Wuben has great and well structured drivers! :person_with_crown:
This is Tom E’s photo of the T70 driver:
Posted here: “REVIEW” - WUBEN T70 Camouflage – XHP70.2 Led – 4200 Lumens [PIC HEAVY] ***Extension tube = 2 x 26650*** - #14 by Tom_E

BTW, gchart, when I got my first TO50R sample for review, I had some “electronic” problem that after turning it on in Turbo 2 or 3 times, it stopped working on the Turbo level, I could only cycle between some modes (ML-L-M-L-ML - yeah, it was acting weird too!).
I sent it to Wuben again, to China, and they sent me another one! Jelina later referred that there was an hardware problem.

I do hope you can manage to make it work again, fully, and with those extra leds :wink: It looks great! :+1:

It’s a Wuben E05-I (TLF-version with much improved UI and Samsung LED). The 5000K LED was too greenish, so I decided to implant a 2700K LH351D. Hestitated a long time since this is or was a collectors item. My good taste won eventually.

You got one of those :o
I saw them on selected-lights but never ordered! The UI is better than the regular version, I am sorry that that version was never “implemented” in larger scale! :zipper_mouth_face:
Better tint now :wink:

Good taste indeed!

Thank you, guys :blush:

This light is often offered in the sales section of the TLF. Just in case anyone is looking for it desperately.

wow very cool gchart!

I decided to try an ammonia forced patina on my copper Olight i3t.

It was a spur of the moment decision after I absent-mindedly rubbed it with a rust eraser and wasn’t happy about the bright patch. I definitely could have done a better job with five minutes of prior research and preparation, but in the end I didn’t mind the result.

More photos of the process here: Olight i3t copper ammonia forced patina - Album on Imgur

I think its cool, and if you dont like it, just polish it.

First [light] mod at the new place! WF2 in a BLF D80 V2. This is on my barn varmint gun. I’m super happy with throw, it’s doing 128kcd but I have no way to measure lumen output. No centering ring for proper focus, just 2 layers of kapton for electrical isolation.

I’ve got more of the WF2’s, gonna toss one in the X6 on that 9mm Camp carbine, it’ll serve as the garage varmint gun (cause I’d rather not shoot 5.56 in the garage / next to the house). I’ll be happy if I get 90-100kcd from the X6 when I can get some spare time to swap it.

TrueRMS, nice job with the WF2, looks centered to me. Looking forward to seeing some beamshot in the X6, I don’t have “flats” in any light yet.


My mod today, an Olight i5T.

I like and carried the Olight i3T since it first released, so I was excited when the i5T was announced and picked one up during the first Olight Covid-19 charity drive. It was pretty much what I expected, a larger longer running AA version of the simply forward tail-clicky 2-level i3T, nice. The only thing detracting from this excellent light was the green tint-shift, so I decided to tackle an emitter swap.

I replaced the original cool Osram P9 emitter, which is a nice clean/cool white tint by itself (when viewed without the optic/lens in place) but as mounted in the i5T with the optic, suffers from green tint-shift. Perhaps it was an action-reaction thing with the cool white because I decided go in the opposite direction with a warm LH351D 2700K emitter for this reflow.

On the photo left is the view of the inside of the i5T with plastic lens and optic removed. The lens is press-fit so there’s no easy way to gain access without sacrificing the lens to get at the emitter inside. Similar to the i3T, Olight once again used a wireless post-through-the-MCPCB method of mounting. Clean looking but tricky to re-work.

On the photo right is the final light with warm LH351D installed. I salvaged the lens the best I could with repairs using optical epoxy. I have a glass replacement lens on order and will replace it later.

This was my first installation of such a warm emitter. For those desiring incan-like color temperature, the LH351D did not disappoint. Here is a comparison of the 2700K LH351D (on the left) with a real Surefire incan P-61 (on right); a 5000K neutral is on the bottom between the two for reference. The wider hotspot from the optic gives the illusion of the beam being slightly warmer/more orange than the focused incan hotspot. Frankly I found it a little too warm and may opt for something in the 3-4.5K range when I replace the glass.

(Continuation from post 9028) Eureka! So, the TO50R driver must have been monitoring current where I had tapped into the ground. I found a true ground connection and now moonlight works again!

Congrats. Really nice, I wish I could do this kind of magic. And thanks for showing the innards. Maybe that justifies the breathtakening prices Wuben takes.