De-Doming the X6

Where did u guys purchase the x6 at

Here

Or twist then pull up? What’s the purpose of the “twisting” action - seems like it may damage the bond wires?

I’m keen to give this a go but don’t want to destroy my prized possession just right now …

Cheers

I read someone lift the dome up with sharp knife either. Looks like it is not very tightly glued at all.
But I haven’t dedome mine yet. Still waiting for the day it might happen when I suddenly have the urge to do it.

The twisting doesn't hurt the bond wires because they are under a layer of gel or something. A sst-90 is much easier than an XM-L.

Why the big price difference? Are they the same light?

Trustfire X6 SST-90 Luminus LED Flashlight Searchlight
(TX6)
US$159.99 HKEQUIPMENT - 照明及戶外用品

Cool - thanks for the clarification mate!

Cheers

Messin’ around with a fine torch like that. Next thing I’m gonna hear is you’re buying 15 more for spares in case somethin’ goes wrong. :open_mouth:

Rey has the X6’s. See rikr post.

Luminous LED’s in general are a lot easier to de-dome than CREE.Cree uses a stronger adhesive.
SST-90 and 50 LED’s doent require heat IMO.You can but not much fun watching the dome slide off your flashlight
after a ping of your tweezers. XM-L’s , power up your torch and when hot its almost easy to de-dome…not quite…

Is it not problematic to have the LED explosed? Do you cover it with something to protect it???

I did it too, and my flashlight was an Elektrolumens ST90 (cost over $250 shipped to Australia)!!!

I had been very unhappy with the throw and output ever since I got it a week or so ago … my Sunwayman T40CS easily out-threw it and my Nitecore TM11 easily “out-lumened” it. :~

I had my heart in my mouth as my pliers slipped and scratched the dome several times - I was really afraid of the pliers suddenly slipping and gouging into phosphor and bond wires or something. But after about 6 or so slips, the dome came loose at one end and I used my fingernail to pry it up and removed it perfectly - no scratches on the board or anything! :slight_smile:

As you said Scaru, there’s already a protective layer over the phosphor as it is shiny / sealed - it is not exposed to the air for those wondering.

Also, the adhesive on mine seemed to only be around the circumference of the dome and not over the entire die (phosphor / bond-wire square) itself, so there was no way the phosphor or bond wires could be ripped off in the process.

This is unlike an XM-L, for which pulling off the dome will almost guarantee tearing away half the die and definitely ruining it. Put it this way people … I’ve ruined several XM-Ls trying to de-dome them, but have been absolutely successful with my one and only expensive SST-90 flashlight.

Day time here so no beamshots or anything … but for initial whitewall testing, my ST90 now has a brighter more concentrated hotspot than my Sunwayman T40CS. :bigsmile:

Wow, you all have done it. I am still waiting for the urge. Too bad ST90 can’t throw as far as expectation and has to be de-domed.

Would this benefit my Skyray 3t6 818 at all?

Hi mate - de-doming XM-Ls are much trickier, with more risk in damaging the Phosphor or Bond Wires in the LED.

However if you’re successful you will get more throw with a narrower more concentrated hotspot, with the downside of less output overall.

If you want to try, there’s a large thread on this site with numerous techniques and feedback on XM-L de-doming!

Good luck

So how did this work out for you?

I am curious as I am just about to make one of these ST90 purchases or the Trustfire version. And I have heard the same rumblings - while the throw is great, its not GREAT!

Hi mate - depends on your budget, how much trouble you want to go to, and whether you want your light to get burning hot after a few minutes or be able to run on “high” until the batteries’ protection circuits kick in (direct drive).

There are several threads on how the X6, de-domed and with a driver change (9 - 11 Amp drive) makes it into an amazing thrower … but from what I’ve read the drivers have been found to drop down from its high setting after only a couple of minutes, and also the host gets very hot. Also the X6 is very hard to open up to do a driver change in the first place.

With the ST90, it is massive and solid with more than enough heatsinking to run on its highest setting without getting too hot to hold. Also it is running Direct Drive, meaning it will draw as much current it can (around 9 Amps I think) from your batteries on “high” settings. It does have a larger reflector than the X6, but unfortunately (for a throw junkie) it is a faceted reflector so you will lose a bit of sharpness.

SO … if your modding is to “simply remove the dome” (no messing around with drivers or further modding etc) then ST90 will be a much better thrower with much higher output (mine had one some issues as its output was not good, but dealing with Wayne has been great and I have a replacement LED and board coming my way which should fix that!!). The ST90 will also not overheat, being so massive and solidly built, and also being Direct Drive its output will slowly start to taper (this could be a “con” to some people, who may prefer a regulated output).

BUT … if you want to muck around with tracking down a reliable high Amp driver, and trying to open up the X6 to mod it without causing too much damage, then the X6 (from all I’ve read and researched) will give you a much narrower intense hotspot and further throw due to its smooth well designed reflector! It will however get hot very quickly due to its smaller mass.

Either way, you will get good results, but obviously void warranty. But just throwing an idea out there - if you’re after an great budget DIY thrower, how about modding an XM-L thrower with an XP-G2 and either direct driving or upgrading the driver? You’ll get much less lumens that you would from a de-domed SST-90, but you will get a smaller and more intense hotspot at much greater efficiency (less current and less heat).

Good luck with your decision … and have fun!

Thanks. Not only did you answer my question, but you gave me all sorts of other fun things to consider in my decision and buying process… I appreciate your extra thoughts.

How did you determine that your ST90 had issues?

One of my fears with making a large investment in a boutique manufacturer (or reading and falling for the slick marketing hyperbole of a larger company) product is just not getting what I expected.* The forums are very helpful and there is a fair amount of feedback on this particular unit. Also for the Trustfire X6 I am considering, the Fenix TK70, the Shadow and then there are the new models constantly springing up that make you wonder about what you just committed to buying.

My interest varies too (from big thrower to big flood), as what is out my back door at the house is not necessarily what I need or want when we go to the dark forest for a weekend outing (or as my wife says, who takes 5-8 flashlights to go camping?!).

And with any of the better units, I will also invest in 4 new ‘best’ grade batteries to get the most out of the unit.

Decisions, decisions…

*no lux meters, etc in my gear closet. Nasty old analog multimeter, decent batteries and charger, I have those.

Hi,

the sent me over here, via a link on this thread:

I’m finally getting around to doing this, and am trying to get up the nerve do de-dome the SST-90.

So, as I understand, all that’s involved is to use a needle nose pliers, grab the SST-90 dome, twist, and then pull. This is with no pre-heating or anything.

Is that right?

Thanks,
Jim

Edit:

Scaru,

Per PM I sent to you (again, sorry), I also was wondering about this other thread I found:

and was wondering if, after de-doming the SST-90 emitter in the X6, would the X6’s reflector need to be somehow adjusted in order to optimize the beam with the de-domed SST-90?

Thanks,
Jim

I used a knife to stick it under the edge of the dome and just gently pry it open mini crowbar style.
It was extremely clean, no imperfections.