I made no pictures but I modded my Supfire F5 with dedomed XP-G2 S4 2B (one of my last good ones) and BLF-A6 driver. The switch was replaced with a small Omten, bypasses and tweaks were done for maximum current, with the driver floating above the 22mm stock-driver-made-into-contact-board I even heatsinked the 7135 to the edge of the pill.
On maximum output:
The throw is almost exact what was predicted from calculating the throw of my Brinyte B158 (with same led and direct driver, 322kcd) back to the smaller (25mm vs 45mm) lens of the F5.
It has become a good small alround flashlight with great throw for its size.
Today I gave new life to a very special flashlight: the Nitecore Extreme Infinity (The father of all SIPIK clones). This little light is special because it was the very first high quality LED light I ever bought and it has never failed me in any way, let’s say I trust this more than most other light in my collection. Back in 2008 it was one of the most highly praised lights for it’s excellent design and build quality, it’s been with me 8 years already and it was still going strong. It had flat regulation, infinitely variable brightness and hidden strobe, something you don’t easily find even in modern flashlights.
However 200lm was falling short for most EDC tasks, so I decided to give it a 2016 revamp:
-XR-E changed to XP-L V6 1A
-Stock driver replaced with a MTN-17DDm FET+1 w/A6 FW
-Filled the gaps on the pill, improved thermal transfer on the light engive
-Replaced all o-rings
-New tail switch and rubber boot to handle the high amps
Used masking tape for better grip to unscrew the brass pill
Stock driver used twisty action to set brightness, so it has 2 grounds
As you see above the shelf was fairly thin, so potted it with lots of solder.
OLD vs NEW, the switch has to be reverse to workwith the A6 FW
Copper tape used to maximize contact to the head, it actually works pretty well.
OLD vs NEW. I first tried an XP-L HI but it wouldn’t focus properly due to the low height, but XP-L has perfect focus.
An old favourite of mine, the Nitecore EA4, now with Ledil cute optic housing 3 Nichia 219C LEDs and handmade 19x 36mm aluminium heatsink. I had previously installed the Tailcap Lockout some time ago.
Then I placed in a vice and used a pipe wrench to remove the top. Be careful so as NOT to squeeze so hard you bend or break the case shell. a 12 inch pipe wrench with a light pull should loosen it. Also take note where the vice grabs.
cut the bottom part of a c8 pill off to act as spacer for 17mm driver
*** I couldnt get the pics to post here for what ever reason and Im not putting any more time into it. The following is a link to a story line on photobucket. http://s430.photobucket.com/user/dehc111/story
The product of this mod: (The second pic I think i got my finger in the way but it should give u an idea of what to expect.)
That EA4 mod will have me looking over to the shelf where mine resides. I’m assuming you left the driver as is. Definitely need aluminum for that heatsink, copper would weigh a ton.
Way back in post #592, KawiBoy1428 used this stuff: "Alum Fast Stick" for thermal potting
This looks really good for lots of applications, like fixing up pill-less budget lights, specially if you replace or build a shelf but need to add thermal mass, and get a good thermal connection to the body. I just ordered it on Amazon Prime.
KawiBoy1428 - can you or anyone advise a bit more on this stuff? It looks pretty good, better thermally than JB Weld I would think?
Never used JB weld on a flashlight. This works up like any 2 part putty epoxy, kind of thick and heavy. Machines really nice once fully cured. Make sure your surface (s) are roughed up and clean Transfer’s heat in the S70 rapidly, warm in about a minute or less and LUX is way more stable, not rapidly dropping like it was before, even after fixing the mcpcb shelf. I think your going to like it Tom! I purchased 2 more sticks of it.
Solarforce L2M shorty 18350 added A6 driver heavy solder to the cheap pill. GB XPL HI V2 1A used gold Thermal paste and did the vihn aluminum foil heatsink wrap. 4 inch heavy duty foil folded twice. Used a plastic mallet to finish the press in. I left the forward clicky in place for 7 moon through turbo. It is “cute”. Giggle factor: yes. You can hear the clicking a mile away. No stealth for sure! Hey… I had the host so why not.
Built a few builds today I have been meaning to get around to completing.
The first is my 18500 Convoy S2+ triple. I used a 1.4A driver with Guppydrv, cut the pill in half and soldered the Noctigon to the half pill. I stoked the Noctigon with 3ea of the 219C 70+ CRI LED's from RMM... Very nice light. I baked the body until I got this color, which is actually very nice. A sand or light bronze color. Whatever you call it, I like it and it looks good with the black clip and switch boot.
The other light I rebuilt was my K5. I had buried the thing in a flower pot outside for a week after bead blasting it. The finish was coming along nicely, I oiled it with coconut oil after a good rinse. I put another 219C 5000K, this one a 80+ CRI in place of the stock XPL-HI. I like the tint much better.
The color comparison from stock to baked on broil for 45 minutes...
Some more close ups of the aged copper look.
The last mod was a Supfire M2-Z from Mountain Electronics. This is a sideswitch C8 almost. Not a bad host at all. I stripped the components off the origninal driver board and piggybacked a 3A Qlite with Moppydrv (also RMM's store) on to the stripped board. I also replaced the stock emitter with a 3000K 80+ CRI XPL-HI I had in another light. Now I have a high CRI thrower... It is nice, but I messed something up in the mod, the light goes to a 1/2 moon mode instead of off... So for now, just a play around light. I will see what I can find to fix the no-off situation.
You and djozz keep chopping down your S2 18350 pills to make room for a bigger (18500) battery, but I’ve been thinking of going the other way and building a full size S2 and running the smaller 18500 so I can make a longer heat sink. Don’t know if that would make any sense, or if I’d just be roasting my cells inside the battery tube.
Makes sense to me, if what you are after is more heat absorption. What amp levels are you running your S2 for output? I felt comfortable with my 1.4A build and the increased run time from the 18500, which is what I was after…
It gets warm, but not hot on a 60 second turbo timer, with a 50 minute run on high alone. Not the runtime of the ever so slightly larger DQG tiny 18650, but much more useful than the 18350 size…. Plus all the modes of guppydrv in this one…
Right now I’m mostly playing around with triple and quad single cell DD FET drivers. Going for the gusto. Mostly I find the time consuming act of filing and shaping of my copper heat sinks by hand therapudic. For some reason the concentration involved takes me far away from outward pressures. Therefore, if I’m going to build big copper, I might as well have big heat to go with it.
