D.I.Y. Illuminated tailcap

Hi pilotdog, do you know offhand if this will fit the Convoy S2? The Rev5.1x did not fit. The hole was too small to fit over the switch.

I was unaware the 5.1x did not fit the small omten, it was designed to. Probably Oshpark didn’t cut exactly where I wanted. The “Big Ring” version you linked will definitely fit over the switch, it will probably be even too sloppy. It might be too big around the outside too, so check the diameter of the washer that comes stock.

Rev5.1 for 14mm is the one I use the most and it has no issues with the small omten.

Thanks for your reply pilotdog. The S2 does not use the small omten like the S2+. It uses the larger one in the link here.

Hmmm i was not aware. Do you have calipers to measure the width of the post the hole has to go around? That might be the one matt had when he asked for the larger version

I will borrow a pair and report back. BTW, thank you so much. I did the tailcaps for my S2+ lights and I love them!

Also, if it’s close to fitting, you might be able to just drill out the middle a little. The Rev5.1x doesn’t have any hidden traces in the middle I don’t think

Has anyone had a chance to try out one of the new clear gaskets Simon made for the S2+ yet? He was hoping for some feedback. I would think djozz may have received them by now but I’m not sure. I sent out a few handfuls and I’m still sitting on a pile of them that I need to send to Richard. :blush:

I have not received them yet, there are still (probably, but I can’t see them) 6 red leds shining against the (still) black gasket in my red S2+.

Crap, I can’t believe I haven’t tried those yet. End-of-the-year school stuff has had me very busy with all these kids. I’ll try and get that done this weekend and report back. Sorry :confused:

Well…. I was waiting for what other people think, but I ended up not using them. They obviously allow more light through than the black and I’m grateful Simon made the switch.

But, they still block more light than a nylon glove, and I couldn’t get the retaining ring to screw down because of the thickness

Same here, got maybe 3/4 of a turn. I ordered 0.8mm boards to solve that; got the switch boards today and waiting for the ring boards. They should fit better. Still can’t figure out a good bleeder/tailcap combination (with decent current) that doesn’t mess up the modes, though. Need ~10ma to get a nicely visible red light on an S2+.

Not much to report, they work as expected. I’m having issues with the switch stack being too thick and my driver modes not working correctly, but the clear gaskets aren’t part of those problems. As far as I can tell they are exactly the same as the black ones. They work fine but you need decent current to get it visible - 10ma with red LEDs looked good to me while testing (would be less with other colors). Would be nice if the gaskets were totally clear but the current ones are much better than the stock black gaskets and definitely usable.

This thread is pure win, thx Pilotdog68 and contributors, i realized i need an amber gold lighted tailcap on my beside table torch more than anything in the world.

I finally got the clear gaskets in the mailbox, and more than I ould ever expect: 140!

I put one in my red S2+ and can finally see the red tail light! :slight_smile: The light has the driver scavenged from my blf-x5 so the driver timing is prepared for the lighted tail. I used the same tail resistance as the blf-x5/6 to retain normal driver performance, but with 6 red leds. Nevertheless it draws only 0.78mA. So the leds are pretty dim and the metal tailcap does not help with that: works as a dim locator light for use at night, but nothing spectacular. I will swap the resistor to get to 5mA and a bit more light (and 10 days runtime on a fresh 18500 cell). For now:

Excellent! :student: Thanks for the quick feedback djozz. I know it takes more power to see that glow in the S2+ because of the switch design but I’m happy that it works. It was a pretty simple change so it just seemed like an easy thing to ask Simon to do to help accommodate. If anyone encounters a problem with the function of the clear switch seals please let me know.

These clear gaskets were send to me to be distributed among BLF-members from Europe who have black gaskets in their S2+ lights and would like clear ones for building a lighted tailcap. (as I understand, Simon will use the clear ones for all new S2+ hosts that he will sell)

Now that I have so many, I do not think I will ever get rid of them, and because it is no more expensive to send them worldwide than it is to send them inside the EU, I will send them everywhere for shipping costs plus envelope (€1.50 worldwide).

(PM me with your address and your reasonable number of gaskets, I will reply with my Paypal)

The rings in this sheet of silicon are much larger than the black gaskets that is to be swapped. But you can rip off the center and outer part and be left with the exact gasket as the black one. So I had no problems with the swap.

(I used the 16mm 6 led lighted ring with a thin cardboard ring around the ring of leds to prevent shorts with the tail-section, even though it is anodised on the inside)

Now that what I call paying forward! :slight_smile: Very cool of you. I still have a handful as well but only for US residents as shipping outside the US is just ridiculous so this is an excellent option for non US residents. A tip of the hat to you. :face_with_monocle:

Cheers

Just wanted to drop you a note PD that I have followed your builds here or where ever I’ve found your info going back to the early build for the Krono’s project.
I always thought that lighted tail switch in the X6 X5 was so fantastic and I’ve tried repeatedly to follow your simple directions and all I get is failures mostly I think do to shaky hand old guy syndrome,
However the reason I wanted to say something to you is because I was one of those knuckleheads that got involved in that stupid CPFItalia Cometa thing and bought two of those dangerous lights, but sitting here one night looking at that darn light it dawned on me that they had your new revision dual Blue LED switch so immediately swapped it into the Kronos and wow, now that box set is absolutely perfect, those switches look so good compared to the original single led switch, so anyhow, if anything I justified my buying those two stupid Cometa junk lights and decided I just paid $40 each for your new switch and feel alright about that… Ha
I’ll keep trying to build them but since BG has them I sure wish they’d put them out for sale since I’d buy a half dozen to go in all my alums also. So thanks for all your amazing work PD…!!

Thanks for the comment T18. I had seen it in one of the Cometa threads but thanks for posting here too. I’m glad they brought a silver lining to your Cometa experience