Nice! I’ve been looking at the Defiant Spotlight for a while, and was tossing around a dedomed XM-L or an MT-G2. Dedoming the MT-G2 scares me, that looks very yellow in the pic, is it like that for real?
OH MY……I do believe this is a record for the MTG-2!?
I may be on spotlight richer very soon……
And no, I regret to inform you that it was not I who was looking for a bike light. That would be the perfect situation, I on the other hand wanted some throw from this.
For some reason, it is much more yellow in the picture. The tint does warm up. Color rendition seems to be better with dedome. I like the dedoomed tint better.
The Defiant Spotlight is nice, but it has an all plastic body. I think the Wideshine’s (search Aliexpress) would be a better host because they have an aluminum body. It could be used to help shed the heat. They also have a bigger reflector and look even more focused. Also, the Wideshine (AKA Digital Projector) reflector is aluminum. I think they can be had for about $40. I should be receiving mine in a day or two. Here is a thread on it:
I think the emitter might not be in focus. Here is a picture of the whole beam:
Updates on my short DST (dedomed MT-G2, direct drive).
First, I removed the 0.5 ohm resistor I had, and got:
Tailcap current: 3.46 amps
Lux at 1 meter: 60477 (60.47 Klux, measured at 39 feet and calculated to 1 meter)
Batteries: 2xSibeile IMR 18350, fully-charged
I thought that I’d read that the Sibeile IMRs were NOT behaving as IMRs somewhere, so I then switched to 2xEfest IMR 18350, fully charged, and got:
Tailcap current: 4.81 amps
Lux at 1 meter: 71216 (71.2 Klux, measured at 39 feet and calculated to 1 meter)
Batteries: 2xEfest IMR 18350, fully-charged
The light is stock, other than re-wiring the pill for direct-drive, using the original driver as a contact board and the original driver-to-emitter wires. I have not done any braids on the spring yet.
Per request on another thread, here’s a pic of the dedomed MT-G2 inside the DST reflector:
Some pics of the emitter+Noctigon outside the light are here:
Jim
relic,
At least for myself, and for one other person, when the MT-G2 was dedomed, the tint went cooler instead of warmer. Here’s a whitewall I just took with my DST with dedomed MT-G2 (about 1.5 meters, I guess):
I have notes about dedoming the MT-G2 in gasoline on the “Accidental dedome” thread:
All I did was use the point on a tweezer, and carefully poke a couple of holes in the dome, then soak the emitter+PCB in gasoline. That worked for me, but maybe I just got lucky (only did it once).
Jim
EDIT: I just noticed the title for this thread was misspelled, which is probably why I a hard time finding it.
MG-T2 should be* MT-G2*
Thanks Ohaya. I’m in awe of the close up pictured of your dedome. Those pictureds and the dedome are amazing. They also show a lot of the anatomy of the emitter. My dedomes are not clean like yours. Mine are really partial dedomes. I think you have the only successful, fully dedomed MTG2.
That must have been a challenge assembling the head without a dome to help center the emitter. That DST reflector likes to wobble around when while the bezel is screwed down. So it looks like your reflector is basically resting on the emitters pcb. Same as my domed DST. So we both have about the same height placement. I get the feeling we are not focused yet. I think the emitter needs to be a little lower, but that will be a challenge to accomplish. I don’t think I will get around to playing with that any time soon.
I’ll update the OP first and then I better crash.
EDIT: Thanks for catching the header typo. Fixing.
EDIT2: Ohaya, did you see that CNG now carries an AR lens that fits the DST? That might give you a nice little bump in lux. Post 38:
Actually, I didn’t have any problem centering with the dedomed MT-G2, but I did have problems when it was domed… as you said it would “wobble”, and everytime I screwed the head on, I was afraid it was going to chop the dome off.
But, since dedoming… no more wobble. I just screw the head onto the pill, and I got what was in the pic I posted.
EDIT: I noticed that the updated results after changing to the Efest batteries isn’t in the OP?
Hi,
It looks like we’re getting almost exactly the same tailcap current now!! What body/tube are you using with your DST? I had asked awhile ago on the DST thread about a body for 2x18650, but didn’t get any responses, so I’d be interested!
Just using the stock tube with pennies wrapped in copper tape as a spacer. I should be pulling about 5.3 amps with the NCR18650’s. I have some 18650 IMR’s that are a tool pack. I need to liberate them and see what my current goes up to.
Well, I’m currently about .3 amps ahead of you, so GO FOR IT :)!!
Did you do any of the spring/braid stuff on yours yet?
Thanks for the info. I have some 18650 dummy batteries, so I may try that with some Efest IMR 18650s I have.
Yeah. Spring braids and all the works. I’m pretty sure I know where the resistance is, but I haven’t got around to fixing it.
Last time I worked on the light, I just trashed the contact board and soldered the positive wire directly to the switch. I really got sloppy with the negative though. My pill is filled with 3/4” aluminum bar and with a 3/8” copper bar pressed through the pill and the 3/4” bar. I also have a penny reflowed to the bottom of all that. The penny is completely coated with old burnt on flux. I tried to solder the emitter’s negative wire directly too that coating because I was in a rush. That is where I think I have my resistance.
OP updated for new addition.
DX SST 90 Reflektor
84 KLUX with 2 AW 18350
4A -Tailcap
Defiant Super Thrower – 94kcd at about 6 amps.
Similar to Post 11, but dedomed emitter. Also, bored out emitter hole in reflector so that the whole emitter's PCB fit into reflector. So reflector bottom was at the same height as the bottom of the LED's pcb. Used 2 Panasonic CGR18650CH’s direct drive. Amperage was measuring almost 6 amps. 10 feet with AR lens:Peak reading 10,080 lux (94kcd).
This picture is at about 5 amps due to different cells and not full charge. Picture is slightly darker than reality:
Any chance of a picture with your reflector bored out that big?
What are you using for a host?
MRsDNF,
I don't think the boring out the reflector hole improved throw. So I wouldn't recommend the mod at this point. I need to measure without the bore which I will do soon and report back. The beam became slightly ringy too. That may be due to the dedome though. Didn't have to bore out that much. About a half inch (13mm) hole clear the emitter's pcb. Clearing the wires is a problem though. The reflector has to be notched in the back to get the reflector to rest on the Noctigon. Like I said, I wouldn't bother with the mod. If you still want the pictures, I can get some. Just let me know.
Ohaya,
Same set up as post 5, but with no PVC pipe. I'm working on a plan to build a host. There are a couple PVC plumbing parts that can be used to fit the reflector on a DST, but it looks super red neck.
Ive bored both my reflectors out so that the back of the reflector sits on the star, around 5/16’’ or just over 8mm. The beams appear ok to me. I was to scared to go further. 
For the MTG2? I need a tad over 1/2" to clear the MTG2's pcb. I'll take some pictures later today.
EDIT: Sorry it took me so long to getting around to taking some pictures of the bored out reflector. Here it is with an unmodified DST reflector on the right.
For those considering dedoming the MT-G2, here is the approach I currently use:
- Tools used: Helping hands, sharp pick, and a heat gun.
- Aim the heat down on the dome. When you see the solder start to melt, turn off the gun and wait a second for the solder to solidify.
- Start lifting the dome off. Surface tension will make starting the lift off hard. Once the surface tension breaks, the dome lifts with little effort. If starts to resist, apply more heat. The dome always breaks up. So you basically have to pick/crumble it off . Just keep the temp high so you don't remove phosphor.
They seem pretty easy to dedome to me, but you have to be careful and precise like in any mechanical dedome. I've only done 3 so far, but all have been successful.
You want to protect the dedomed emitter from flux splatter when you solder near it. Also, clean it with alcohol every time before you put it back in a light. I squirt the dedomed emitter with alcohol and also use an alcohol soaked Q-tip to wipe it down. I haven't lost any phosphor doing that and I have cleaned the first couple dedomed emitters many, many times.
Currently, I leave scraps of silicone over the diode area as I don't want to lose any phosphor. I think it can be all lifted off, but I need to get some magnification and have a steady hand day to try a total silicone removal. The scraps (actually like silicone crumbs) don't seem to hurt the beam. Probably reduce lux a bit.
You have to be prepared for failure on any dedome attempt. Best of luck to any that try.