What’s a Cu shelf? (a penny?) (Edit, haven’t thought of the elements chart since I was in high school— also distracted by nipples at the time I’m sure. Prolly got a D on that test) :partying_face:
So… if I wanted to add some thermal mass the the backside of the MCPCB here’s a thought I had. Can I just take some thicker solder and add a large “button” (blob really) to the rear side? Or maybe find a piece of aluminum (or copper penny does sound cool) and solder it to the back? Looks like there is some room back there but love thoughts from those who HAVE these in the hand (mine are due Saturday).
Probably not worth messin’ with, but also wondering about slicing the dome to drop to a lower “angry blue” tint as well.
Yeh, take a penny or three (older Cu ones, not “zinkies”), sand ’em perfectly flat, solder together into a stack.
Then clean the sides (excess solder, etc.), and either shave ’em down or open up the hole so they press-fit into the nothingness that’d be right under the pcb.
You don’t really care about thermal mass except for the first few seconds. What you want is a better thermal path to get heat out from the LED and into the pill, and then from there into the body.
If you really wanted to go crazy, you could bore out the ledge entirely and solder a Cu pcb right to the stack, then press-fit the beastie into the pill.
Anyhoo, looks like the pcb just lays on the shelf and is held into place by the plastic thingy, and the driver’s just press-fit into the other end of the pill (nb the little “cutout” on the edge of the driver to be able to pry it out).
So yeah, a new driver would be a snap(-in), and some thermal goo would at least make a marginally better thermal connection to the pill, but a Cu star would no doubt be better’n plain Al one, especially given the crappy thermal path that exists now.
OK, given I want to “ranch” engineer here… what about a Cu back (or something similar) AND… if I can solder (or thermal glue— whatever that is) to the MCPCB’s edges? That would transfer heat to the edge of the MCPCB to the host body (but maybe make a mess not worth cleaning up afterward). But I don’t think solder will work on the Al(minum), right? so maybe JB Weld???
I mean… 3 (literal) Cu (cent’s) and about $25 cents worth of JB weld on a $2.50 light is about what I’m willing to spend time (and 28 cents) to tweak. But someone might have other cheap ideas… I’m all ears. How about a dome slice- might that remove a touch of blue? -or is it a lost cause past a point?
Solder wouldn’t stick to Al, but thermal glue would.
One way I recall to increase at least thermal mass is to use metal-filled JB Weld and backfill the void once the star is pressed into place. Cu shot densely packed into JBW would be good thermal-goo to use.
What I was thinking of doing, wanting to do, but unlikely to actually do because of the precision necessary, would be an interference-fit. Get the Cu slug juuuuust ever so slightly bigger’n the hole, then heat the pill, drop it in, and once they equilibrate, you ain’t getting that slug out without drilling it out.
The light actually looks pretty decent, except for the puny ledge the LED star sits on. Swap out the LED and driver (easy’n’cheap), and the thermal path is all that needs tweaking.
The body and head are beefy enough, the switch is probably cheap but usable, Hell, the head rides on 2 O-rings and not just 1, so it ain’t bad at all.
And for 2fitty, Hell, I ain’t complaining. Couldda done lots worse.
But it kinda underscores a point. Pick up these zoomies at 10bux each, and people would probably value them more, and put more work and bux into improving them. Just like the earmuffs, pay 30-35bux each, down from 50, and we’d probably jump on the deal. After getting the H10s, H12s, etc., dirt cheap, we can sniff at 12bux and want ’em for 6 that we should be able to get ’em for. :laughing:
I have calipers and can measure when I get mine. Also, does Fastech have a driver you’d recommend? (or other cheap source?) It sounds like a decent host, but modding the MCPCB might make it a one shot deal if the pillar suggested here doesn’t screw in. It’s a future cold day project (idea) for sure and prolly not worth messing with past a certain point.
I’m still thinking of JB welding a homemade aluminum slug, filling it in good all around the inside of the host body (effectively sealing it up for good), shaving the LED… and running it till it dies.
But it’s kinda cool to check-out (ponder) all “BLF” options here… thanks again for some good ideas LB!
Some people want 4 crappy lights and some people want 1 decent light. I would jump on the A3 if it fully focused the LED. I like the ugly artifact covered square.
But someone might have other cheap ideas… I’m all ears. How about a dome slice- might that remove a touch of blue? -or is it a lost cause past a point?
