Solarforce Skyline 2 - Modified to XM-L with 1.4A driver ...

Well , when I first got the Skyline 2 , I was like , Im not going to mod this light !

Then the XM-L emitters came out , and I was like , " I should mod the Skyline 2 " [ Then I had to go to school = Bummer ]

Well , Schools out , and Ive been catching up on my home work [ Modifying Flashlights ] , yeah , the important stuff .

Just let me say right up front , Modding the Skyline 2 is a PITA ...

Why you ask , because the darn pill is glued in , and mine was glued hard , real hard ...

It took a serious amount of heat to get the pill out :

In fact the XR-E emitter floated of its base [ de soldered ] , before the pill would budge ...

To get mine out , I drilled two holes , for needle nosed pliers to go in to twist it out , but I needed lots of heat , and multi grips and lots of swearing [ the swearing was mandatory and Im sure I entertained the neighbours during the pill removal ]

The next PITA was removing the emitter base , again seriously glued in place ...

Check out the abuse the pill has taken : Solarforce really put the Skyline 2 together with a lot of glue , %&(*Y^%$&^%^$ Solarforce !

Now you might think it gets easier from here , wrong , the next PITA is removing the old driver ...

The way it works is , the driver is poped inside just under the emitter , the brass ring is pressed over the top of it , so it sits just under the emitter and a contact pad is pressed over the back of the pill , so the driver sits deep inside the pill , and the only way to get it out =

Mash it good , and scoop it out ....

Once the pill is out of the body , the emitter removed , the driver smashed and scooped out ,

You can think about what your going to put in ..

Bear in mind that the ramping feature is in the tailcap , so pick a single mode driver ..

Pictured is my XM-L T6 [ 5000K tint ] and a 1400 4 x 7135 driver ...

The XM-L glued in place ...

The driver soldered ... At this point I test to make sure things work ..

Then I solder the driver in place at the back of the pill ...

I ever so slightly damaged the body removing the pill , *(*^^$&%&(*))(*&*&%$% Solarforce

Front of the Skyline with the XM-L in place ...

Measuring current from the back [ less tailcap ] = 1.44A with a Xtar 18700 , I would expect a small loss with the tailcap in place ..

But I have to say the beam is nicer than the XR-E original , the ramping work perfectly ...

Cant wait till it gets dark , ill post some beams ..

I have really grown to dislike the XR-E , the very small hotspot is a pain to use at close range , as it makes it hard to see anything except whats in the tiny hotspot ..

XM-L has really spoiled me , I love XM-L .. For around the house , the XM-L rules , and for anything out to 100 Meters the XM-L works well , and a XM-L thrower will extend that out to 200 Meters , I dare say the days of the XR-E are numbered , and Im so over tight narrow pencil beams , they are just not practical .. For everyday use , for making it easy to see everything at night , the XM-L rules the roost . It does what the MC-E SSC P7 does but better , cheaper , and easier ...

Though the Skyline 2 mod was a serious PITA , the result looks to be worthwhile ..

Beams tonight ...


Some output figures : [ Fresh of the charger Xtar 18700 ]

High = 455L

And the lowest it will ramp down too is 6L


Low 6L


High 450+


http://www.youtube.com/embed/kcm7pAvmhV8

Really bad video of the ramping ,

Cool .

wow... good job, and ballsy to pull this mod off. why did you only go 1.4a though? had to ask

Friends and neighbors . . . this difficult mod is BIG TIME awesome. Old, you have taken one of the best flashlights ever made and corrected its only shortcoming. Bravo.

I hereby confer this light . . . Foyapproved.

congratulationsFoy

very nice - cant wait for the shots

Because I dont know how much the ramping tailcap circuitry can handle , + 1.4A is still going to be 400L+ , and offer better regulation ...

I wanted to make the Skyline 2 usable for every day use , and not worry about reliability [ high current or heat ]

I have several 1.4A P60 Solarforce lights , and they are my favourites ...

So going with the 1.4A single mode driver was an easy choice to make ... This was never meant to be a balls to the wall mod [ output wise ] , just to make the Skyline into a more versatile light , one that I might reach for , rather than a shelf queen .

Great job Old! Can't wait for the beamshots! (hopefully you remembered to take before shots )

There was a review ... Jayki , seems to be down ATM ... [ Might be an upgrade in process ]

Not sure if I posted a review over at CPF [ or if its vanished ] ...

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/1012 Found the skyline review