HD-2010 2 x 26650 mod. Edit. 6 amp driver 7.22.12. 9pm run time test added. 18.8.12 updated running gear.

Yes it is a chunk of copper. A real bugger to get enough heat into to get solder to adhere to it. I'm sweating making the next one that I do not make a mistake on it and have to redo it. The new driver I have coming will not fit in this one.

How do you con the Mrs that you need two flashlights the same so that this one can stay as it is?

Wow awesome job, that’s some amazing machine work. I really think that driver is fine, you might get another 300 lumen tops pushing it to 4+amps and it won’t be sustainable so I wouldn’t bother plus the spacing on that driver is just about perfect.

Thanks E for the input. Are you really back from your holiday? You have only just left.

I'm afraid your to late as the driver I pm'd you has been ordered. Its Foys fault and everyone else's that raves about 4 amps plus from this flashlight that it is going to get built. I have given Mrs, MRsDnf you pm addresses so be warned that you may all be recieving her wrath.

Seriously I just want to do it for the buzz whether its a dud or a winner. Cheers.

I am back at the house for the moment we are having a graduation party for the misses tonight. I wouldn’t want to miss a house full of drunk college girls now would I.

What are you doing here talking to a old fart. Get out there and show them all how bright you are. Show them your flaming flamingo drink skills.

Congrats to the Mrs and thanks for the barter.

Nice light.
nice pill :slight_smile:

I am an old fart to at least twice as old as most of her friends, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

It’s only 9am here party doesn’t start for another 12 hours so I have time for my nap.

Shhhh. Some people may think you should be working on this. https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/9345. This would keep me busy for the rest of my life, (No I'm not leaving any time soon), not partying on your holiday. I hope its not a Nanna nap and just a nap.

I am trying not to think about the biggest pile of flashlights I have ever seen in my life. What did I get myself into?

I read this from the start and admire you for your generosity, not only on this one but for all your other mods you have done for people on this and I presume other forums. I hope all the girls at your better halfs party know that you are a very sharing BLF D__K. (Trying to keep it clean).

I try to keep it a secret because they think I am a DorK

Thanks how2. This may end up an expensive lesson in failure but I will enjoy it either way and hopefully either impress or give you guys a laugh. Cheers.

I expect pics and/or vids. If it doesn’t look like “Project X” we will all be disappointed.

Thanks for reminding my of that movie. :)

love your work that pill is sweet as !

With your assistance the battery charging is almost 100% handled now by a hobby charger. Without your help and persistance with silly questions this would probably not have happened and I would be a little richer.

I had the flashlight apart today to draw up the new pill for the driver on order. Bugger, the maximum diameter of the pill can be is 26mm, the 5 amp driver I ordered is 26mm diameter. Another has been found on ebay so without Mrs Mooses (the better half) permision has been ordered.

Here is a picture of the pill I took while I had it apart with the plastic fruit juice insulator and baking paper insulator. Surprisingly the plastic was barely marked let alone starting to melt. Hopefully this is a sign that the pill is getting rid of the heat efficiently.

Thanks for the kind words, sorry about costing you money but it is a investment you will use for years to come.

Very nice looking pill you machined up there. A little trick I’ve used over the years when soldering to something that massive…

Put the pill in your oven at about 325F (160C) at let it sit for a while so the heat soaks all the way through. Take it out of the oven (CAREFULLY!) and immediately drop the driver in and solder it. It will solder very easily. Cool it off as quickly as you can without quenching it (compressed air or a good fan).

PPtk

Thanks PilotPTK. I will try this next time which would of been this weekend but Techjunkie and a few others have told me to take the weekend of. I was almost thinking of a small blow torch to heat it with but this sounds a lot more rational and cheaper.

I was tossing up whether to post this or not, but after reading Ledsmokes little adventure into over driving an XRE led on copper I thought why not share my dissapointment.

The driver in question was advertised as 5 amps. Thinking I would get maybe 4 to 4.5 amps out of it in this light the purchase was made.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Constant-Current-LED-Circuit-Driver-3-Modes-5-2-12V-5A-SST-50-SST-90-FL-/320867879642?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ab5374ada

I have only used this driver for a very short period of time so will not comment on durability. A good point though is that this driver does not hum on any mode unlike the driver in the JM05 mod.

This thing puts out 6 Amps roughly at the led. Not what I was hoping for.

left to right. Stock pill and driver. Pill in this mod. Pill and 2.8/9 driver in above mod.

Driver in this mod. Double springs for positve. XML U2 2s tint led.

This reading is with 2 King Kongs in series. I was hoping for about 2 amps. Consistant reading with 2 other DMM's.

New driver on medium. 2amps output.

New photo taken at the same time as the rest of the pictures here. Old driver from above mod. 2.8 Amps output.

Last but not least, the driver from hell. After looking at this picture and comparing it with the above shot, I thought that the led I used was a different tint as the color was washed out (it was purchased at a different time so may be from a different batch) but then I noticed that the shot taken on medium was the correct color. If you compare the leaves on the plant to the left in the picture you can see the difference in brightness between the different currents.

New driver on high. 6 Amps output.

It would of been nice to have something around the 4 amp mark fior a comparison but no luck. In the future for the sake of it I will do run time temps and take shots with the light on at different intervals to check sag as I dont have a light meter.

To sum up, if this driver is reliable I would suggest that it may make a good driver in a 3 led flashlight. Current at the tailcap running two x King Kong batteries in series in this flashlight was .15 amps low, 1 amp medium, and 3 amps high.