RaceR`s 3xAA P60 host. Price, 8.75$

This is a very quick and simple mod if you have access to a lathe.

I started out with a Small ZUN ZY-123. Bought from manafont to the price of 8.75$

It was really crappy. Which was good, because I had plans for this light.

I modified the P60 reflector.

Its the one on the left side, as you can see, I had to take off quite a bit. So more spill, and a bit less bright hotspot.

Then I took away some paint on the flashlight body for good contact with the P60.

Put the P60 inside the light. And voila. Done!

Compared with other P60 lights.

Do not buy the Small Sun – ZY-B4 for this type of mod. The head is not that good suited. Small opening even though the head have a decent size. And the button will melt. I speak from experience.
The ZY-123 have worked perfectly, and its really comfortable to hold.
Nice, quick and simple mod if you have the tools for the job.

If you are interested in that shiny P60 light. Build thread here.
Thanks for reading.

Looks good! What was so bad about the original emitter/reflector?

Thanks
Original emitter: Not sure what it was. Some cheapo led im not familiar with. Tint was probably 7000k, if not closer to 7300-7500k. Way to blue for my taste.
Driver: next mode memory :Sp Never bothered measuring the tailcap. Light output was not impressive by my standards.
Reflector: Plastic
Pill/heatsinking: Press-in 20mm driver board, and a press in 20mm star. No thermal paste or anything. Not like that would have made a difference.
The pill was only 5mm thick . And it was basically completely hollow! A 18,5mm star would fall straight through it!

A nice P60 was a huge upgrade in this light! :slight_smile:

Nice mod RaceR!
For those without a lathe, it would take a lot of grinding to bring the P60 reflector down to size. A bench grinder would help.
Good to know about this anyway. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks relic.
yeah, I would never consider grinding that much of the reflector. At some point, it would probably get damaged too.
But for those with access to a lathe. The job is so easy that even a monkey could do it. (I suck, but it was super easy)

Thanks for the idea RaceR86! I got this POLICE 8W from Banggood ($7.29) and it looks the same. Ignored for a long time for the reasons you have mentioned earlier.

I did a preliminary measurement and looks like it will work. Hard part is cutting the reflector without a lathe!

Good Mod! Maybe the old "hand lathe" might work.

Scary thought...

Just did it a while ago:









I like it! You can use any P60 pill by just swapping the reflector for this light.
Tried it on my XP-G2, XM-L, XM-L2.
Works on 3xAA, 3xNimh and 1x 14500 with 2x Blanks.

Recommended to those looking for XML using 3xAA.
:beer:

Thanks for sharing your work. And welcome to the very exclusive Triple AA Modified P60 Club! :wink:

Racer, I’ve had this bookmarked for months because I thought that if I was every inspired enough I could try it by hand. Now that Tivo has actually done it, I really feel like I can too. You guys have really inspired me. Thanks.

BTW, Racer, where did that red Ultrafire come from? That tail cap is pretty unusual, no?

I found a $6.89 from eBay.

That is nice to hear. :slight_smile:

The red 502B came from here.
Is the tail cap unusual for that light? I have no idea, I just wanted a red light that was not another 501
:slight_smile:

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am more of a user/hoarder than a modder/flashaholic, but I have really like P60 lights and it would be neat to have one that used AAs. I am totally going to try this.

As for that tail cap, all of my Ultrafire hosts look like the two on the right side of your pick. That radiused tail cap really caught my eye.

Btw, how was LED SuperMall to buy from? Any issues?

Good luck in your attempt. Worst thing that could happen is that you ruin a cheap reflector.
If you are not aware, by making the reflector slightly shorter and thinner you will increase “the spill ring”, and decrease throw a little.

My package from that store arrived after 12 days, so hopefully shipping is normally fast (or maybe I was just lucky). No issues or complaints from me, but then again, I have only used them once and have not been in need of support.

Not too worried about that. I sometimes buy hosts with 18650 drop ins in them because I can’t find the same empty host anywhere. Since I run primaries, these drop ins just sit around taking up space. But they will totally work in a three AA setup, so I can bugger up a couple and I won’t really be out anything.

I’m mechanically inclined, so I’m pretty sure I can do it. :nerd_face:

I see what you are saying. Colored 501Bs are usually fairly easy to find empty for a fairly low price.
I don’t think that was the case with the colored 502s.

Feel free to keep us updated on how the mod goes… :slight_smile:

The lens on my POLICE 8W is 23mm. Know of any vendor for 23mm glass lens?
:beer:

Hey RaceR,

After reading your post a few months ago I bookmarked the Manafont link, I figured this would be a great P60 based light for friends without worrying about Li-Ion education. I ordered a couple of them a few weeks ago and just got them today.

I’m going to go with an XM-L P60 in one but after looking at the light I have other ideas for the second one.

I’m curious though about how many amps the switch can take, what is your drop-in drawing?

Nice find,
Matt

Edit:
Done, installed an Int’l Outdoor 3 mode neutral XM-L drop-in. I liked the Int’l Outdoor reflector so I cut down a spare smo reflector. After all the fitting was done the beam was somewhat crappy so I ended up stippling it, added a gid O-ring between the reflector and lens just for giggles. As expected, the beam is all flood but nice and bright, I’m getting just under 3.0A with eneloops.

Don’t know how long it will survive at 3A, I just ran it on High and just after the 5 min point the light dimmed down. Turned off and waited about 2 minutes and all seems fine. I don’t know if this drop-in has thermal protection but the switch still feels fine. There’s little thermal path but the whole body of the light was hot.

A few notes on the host, it has O-rings for the head and tail cap but they’re so thin I don’t think they touch anything but the body. The body however is built like a brick, the walls are thick enough that you could probably drive a car over it without damage. Then again there’s the threads on that body, screwing on either the head or tail cap was like fingernails on a chalkboard. No problem with cross-threading but just not something you’d want to do often.
A thorough cleaning and lubing resulted in very clean, well lubed crappy threads. Oh well, it’s cheap host.

All in all it took me about a half hour to make this into a nice little light for gifting to non-flashaholics.

And a quick teaser for my plans for the second one, I have a few spare heatsinks like this kicking around, just need to decide/order the LEDs.

Again, all credit to RaceR

I used a 3 amp drop-in. Never had it on high for more than 7 or so minutes of continuous use. Did not have any issues. The button is fairly similar to one of the Omten 1,5A switches being sold from FT. If stock switch should say "bye, bye, Ive had it". There are replacement options that could be fitted or be made to fit.

Stock tailcap spring looks quite crappy, so copper braid mod would not be a dumb idea btw.

Right now, I mainly have it as a back-up light. I don't use my P60s that much. And I prefer the complete P60 reflector to this cut one. (The one in my bling AA light is good though, barely cut anything off it). I just like having the ability to put whatever I want in a 3xAA light. :)

Edit: Btw, nice drop-ins! ;) drool....

If cutting down the reflector is a bit fiddly, how much easier or harder would it be to fit a TIR in this light?

Never done it, just curious as to whether it would be a viable option. Or would it be too fiddly making spacers, etc?