… I like to think of it as bringing it up to date :innocent:
I’ve had this McLux PD ti for a while and have been meaning to mod it because I hate the UI. In retrospect I probably should have looked for a clicky pack instead. There is a silver lining though.
I had kinda started on the mod but seeing jon_slider’s thread got me motivated to move it along a bit faster. Unfortunately I didn’t have all the parts I needed. Plus I’ve been quite busy at work lately so progress had been slow. I removed the driver, led + shelf, reflector to make way for the updated running gear.
Parts -
Mountain 17DD driver with e-switch D4 firmware
Some small mom switches
Nichia 219c triple + optic from Kaidomain
2020 size rgb colour fading leds similar to what’s in a Led4power rgb tail.
The rest will be custom made.
I originally ordered the rgb leds from china then realized in the now times it’ll take forever to be delivered. I found an Australian store that stocked them and ordered them as well. The first order from china has not been delivered yet.
A little explanation here. When the PD (inner tube) connects with the contact plate power is connected. When the PD is pressed it activates the mom switch. So this is very similar to ttere3’s cell side-switching only this is a non-battery crush version.
I also isolated the outer tube to 1. prevent flickering when installing a battery and 2. enable physical lockout
For the rgb leds I want to fit them in the head but instead of just showing out the front I wanted to have them visible from the side. Similar to what I did with a lighted tail on this light. I wasn’t happy with the first couple of prototypes.
I didn’t like the first couple ideas because I was worried about earthing, inconsistent spacing, difficulty in fitment, possibly having to glue it to the led pcb. So I thought maybe I could mount them under the led pcb. I lathed up a copper press fit pill and wrapped it with Kapton tape, copper tape, trimmed the tape then used the lathe to evenly space the rgb leds around the pill.
Pressed into the head and checked again
I’d already bored out some of the head with the lathe but this next step was a big one - point of no return. Except these holes in the head the rest of my modifications are fully reversible.
This has been a slow build especially because I don’t want to screw up this expensive light. More to come, the bulk of the work is done but I don’t know when i’ll finish it.