This is the mod that almost didn't happen! Thanks to some very helpful folks here on the forum, I sorted my issues out and the Light has Come to Life.
A 4x sft40 Astrolux EA01s!
My goal = a pocketable throwing machine, without Osrams!
My problems= apparently i shorted out the negative emitter pads on the mcpcb with misplaced solder, and the light was running completely on Direct Drive (40T charged to 4.15 volts!), it got HOT in about 6 seconds! no button response either
My result = (finally) A perfectly functioning, somewhat centered EA01s with SFT40 emitters, the hotspot is TIGHT (beam shots to come).
*More work to be done to center, ream, and lower the reflector to remove some of that "ringy-ness", bu ti need to see how it looks in the darkness first!
This is a photo album of the process, i took more but you will get the point. I have been planning this mod since i ordered the sft40's from Simon about a month ago, and it has finally come to fruition. I was originally going to use the FT02s and i still want to, but i was worried that the reflector would not be easily removable (like in the Haikelite HK04 which is very similar to the FT02s, the reflector has a machine screw behind the driver and through the shelf that holds the reflector in, making emitter swaps impossible without removing the driver first! i dont need those problems.)
So given that, i chose my second best option. actually my second best option would of been the EC03 with sst40 (bigger reflector than EA01s), but green and brown have been out of stock for awhile, so this was it! the EA01s it is. But this is the smallest of the 3, so i like that!
I obviously needed a SST40 light as my model so i could use the stock mcpcb for the mod. If i dont end of up being super impressed with this tonight or over then next week, i'm going to pull them out and use the very nice sft40's elsewhere and order (4) CULPM1's to try the same mod. Eventually, i will find the perfect emitter for this little hotrod of a light!
Anyone know where you can find bare CULNM1 emitters, by the way?? Are they non existent on the secondary market?
OK, here we go: