Removing worthless modes ?

How many of these lights with 5 and 6 modes, 3 of which you'll never likely use, could be converted to 3 mode or even single mode by desoldering the driver and simply soldering a different star or connector?

It seems there are a fairly limited number of drivers available and a list of which ones need to be soldered what way to remove junk modes should be a fairly straight forward list to compile. Has anybody looked at this?

I'd remove the strobe and sos from a bunch of mine if I could find which driver they are and which connections to make/break to do it.

Not many, without reprogramming the chip. For whatever reason, very few lights come with NANJG drivers which are the ones with stars, though there are a couple (Shiningbeam's lights, but those are usually already modified for 3 non-flashing modes). The Trustfire R5-A3 is maybe the only production light I've ever heard of that can be modified to remove strobe mode.

Many of Xtar's 18650 lights also have a driver that allows customization (TZ20 and A01 for example). A little on the higher end of budget however.

So more a matter of replace the driver than solder it. That seems like it shouldn't be too bad a task - any caveats on just installing 105a drivers in a bunch of these lights? I might have to do a 1000mA driver for the XR-e though mightent I ?

They have purchased the cheapest materials they can .. emitter and driver included <<< so they can save a whopping 23 cents on each flashlight .. Every single budget light is poorly made .Snooty CPF jerks have that right ...Every one of them needs a driver and possibly an emitter swap and maybe a nicer peice of glass. spend the extra 10$ and theh budget light becomes a different animal ....Sadly the manufacturer who has the ability to get real discounts on emitters and drivers by buying large numbers ...is inept or ignorant .So you pay double throw awaydrivers and emitters and have to rebuild every light ...A mandate for every budgeterr should be a desire to mod. Beyond that You're just a good customer //sucker .. My fear is that if we don't unite and find a manufacturer to build what we want ...and add the pressure of our combined weight ... we simply are fodder for them ..That is in my mind the definition of a BLF light ..A couple times a year we come together and tell them ... this is what we want ... this is what we'll pay .. yes or no ??

I guess your bad experiences lately have been getting you down a bit Boaz? I think the biggest thing we have to remember is that you don't always get what you pay for, no matter how much you pay. When you pay more you might get a better product...or they might just make more money.

I'm not mad i'm also not under any illusion that it will ever change ..I'm like Old 4570 .. i hate stinkin disco strobes and sos and rotten designed junk with a passion . seemingly in a country of 700 bazillion some one would have some sense .I think it;'s a matter of lead and heavy metals in their own drinking water . I'd also like to see Blf push dealers around a little instead of getting used by them .. like one or two dealers and 30% off not ten.

+1

Well said.

Nicely said Boaz, I have to agree there must be something in the water that has turned the majority of our population into sheeple and the flashy disco strobes are beyond ridiculous.

Actually glad that spamming ass just bumped this cuz I was about to ask a similar question. From what I just read, you CAN actually reprogram the drivers to work as you'd like...am I reading that right? I have the original drop-in from my 502B that I am about to dissect and was going to start looking into that....now to go figure out about the actual programming portion of it :D