Renamed Thread - Solitaire + Nichia 219 + Efest 10440 = another micro mod - Beam shots are up

there was never a more appropriate use for that meme.

Can’t wait to see how you pull this off. So far it looks more elegant than my method.

Updated, it's basically done now.

The parts on Solitaires are so small they make my fingers ache. Nice job.

Thanks, you're right. My fingers were swollen and sore this morning, after working on those tiny parts.

Nice work O-L. I have a Solitaire and have been wondering how I would go about modding it. I do want to maintain the head twist turn on though, so that should be a challenge. 1x7135 will be enough for my purposes. Should be about 30 times brighter than stock :wink:

Nice mod, 700mA is perfect for the 219 and the efest 10400. But is about time you get some copper boards, not because of the performance, but because they are solderable.

Very nice OL. You gotta love those twisty switches. If you dont mind would it be possible for you to do a video on how you join the likes of the round tube to the flat? I cant believe the small bead off solder around the join. Mine would look like it had been sitting in a chook shed for a week if I attempted that join. Thanks.

Can’t do videos at work, they frown on that kind of stuff.

  1. Set the copper round on something like a brick, which won't absorb heat or burn.
  2. Set the tube on the copper round, (centered).
  3. Take a pair of shears and cut two or three small lengths of solder, so that they will fit into the tube. (I use rosin core 60/40 solder).
  4. Drop the pieces into the tube.
  5. Heat the tube with a small torch. I use a small butane torch.
  6. When it heats up enough, the solder will melt and the rosin will allow it to flow. It will naturally flow into the seam and up the tube a little. Just heat till it starts to melt and flow and let off the heat. (If you use solid core solder, make sure you use flux on both parts before you set them together).

It's that easy.

Thanks OL. I would never off thought of doing it that way. Very clever.

I’ve recently did a rather large multi-piece solder job like this, but I used solder paste instead. It worked surprisingly well, even on the vertical joints. It allows you to put the paste exactly where you want it and it flows around the joints quite nicely. Just avoid direct flame contact (I used hot air reflow) as it might do bad things to the paste.

Updated the OP

Oh, I measured the tail cap current and with a fresh 10440 Efest, I got 650mA. Not bad at all...

Sometimes when soldering a cylinder to flat I tin the lip of the cylinder. When I heat the other part, the joint flows together. That’s how I did the laser mounts. Good when you don’t want to overheat one side of the joint.

Beam Shots are up!

Looks great as always! :slight_smile:

Amazing beamshot of the garagedoor, you turned the little Solitaire into a powerhouse!

Welcome to the toxic world of lithium OL. Its amazing how much light you have got out of this midget light. Thanks also for the hint on soldering. I put it to good use yesterday.

This thread says 2 x 7135 and the sale thread says direct drive. Do you mean current controlled but no modes? By the way, the efest 10440 will push 2A easily though not for very long. I mainly figure this mod for very brief use so I don’t worry to much about the heat but I do sometimes make or use a finned sleeve that fits over the head to help a bit.

That’s an incredible upgrade for this AAA host! IMR too!

How the heck do I know what I meant? Obvioulsy I haven’t a clue. It isn’t direct drive, it’s 2x7135 and I don’t know who made the sales thread but he was wrong.