D.I.Y. Illuminated tailcap

Thanks djozz, I have made it glow.
Just need to tweak the R size to get my desire brightness.

Are you using that green tailcap in the picture? My thought is that they might be turning on in the flashlight, but so faintly that it can’t be seen through the green. Adding the bleeder to the driver might help.

I’m not up on my resistor codes. What are those values on the tailcap? (103 and 104)

edit: just saw your new post. glad it is working. It definitely takes a lot of playing with values, with is why some started using pots

The OP is mostly updated, there are links for each board that go to their more detailed descriptions in this thread.
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For one design that can cover a lot of functionality, I recommend either Rev5.1 or Rev5.2 (get the default Oshpark option). These will work with stock switch pcb’s

If you pair it with either Rev5a or pyro1son’s board (Usually the 2oz board will be better for this one) you can adjust it without opening the tailcap.


you may be interested in this as well

And it’s nice that the led rings can be used with most stock switch pcbs

Ok, I think I figured out what was throwing me off.

You need 2 different boards, the first is the tailswitch board like normal except with resistors/pots and outputs.

You then use a second board that holds the LED’s and it mounts in place of the washer that is normally on top of the switch?

How does the switch boot seal/not damage the LED’s?

The pictures do not show the 2 boards, they just show a single board and a clear washer. The oshpark pics didn’t make it clear there was a hole in the center either, this was what was causing the confusion for me.

Does anyone have a picture of the completed setup for the stacked board design?

Also besides letting more light through to the tailcap, does the stacked design offer anything else over the single board setup? I could make washer out of acrylic easily so light loss would not be a big deal.

I already have a few of those high amp tail switch boards, I use them in the triples and such, I was hoping the lighted boards incorporated a similar design, which they appear to do.

I re-edited my post for more clarity. The ring/washer shaped pcb’s were designed using measurements of the common rubber boot sizes so the led’s themselves shouldn’t even be getting contacted during operation. Likewise the pads on the bottom are spaced for the small omten 1288 to have clearance. You may have issues with other (larger) switches.

You can also use the rings by mounting resistors right on them, and keeping the stock switch pcb (or the “high amp” one).

Even using crystal-clear acrylic, the rings let out way more light, meaning you can turn the power down and get tiny tiny power draw measurements. You also get more well-spaced even light. They all have pads for 6 led’s, but I usually only use 3. Here’s one picture

For instance, in my next build, I am going to use Rev5.1 to hold different colors of led’s, and use the onboard resistor pads to balance those different colors if their Vf are different from each other.

Then I will pair it with Rev5a and two pots, so I can easily make the switch brighter or dimmer with a flip of a switch

Yes, I’m using that rubber cap. I found that the LED is lit after I removed the rubber cap and I see the faint glowing LED :smiley:

About the resistors, they’re scrapped from any discarded PCBs so the value is quite vary and hard to get desired ones. Now I’m purchasing new SMDs from local online stores.

One more question, the smaller the value, the LED will be brighter or dimmer?

Thanks!

Less resistance = more power flowing = brighter LED

Too much power flowing can mess up your driver function though, so be mindful of that

Ok, that makes way more sense. You might want to add that picture to the OP, a picture is worth a thousand words as they say.

IIRC the stock switches in the S2 are the small 1288 correct? I have a bunch of those laying around so hopefully they will work.

Many thanks!

I yeah I should add it or another one. I’m due to go and make sure all the links are still active too.

If you get Rev5a, don’t forget to order some of the little slide switches too.

Yes, the S2 uses the 1288.

Ok, think I am about ready to order some of these. Think I am going to go with pyro1son switch as I can’t find the right slide switched on digikey for cheap (making an order anyways) plus if I want to turn it off I will just lockout the tailcap I think.

Or do you know of the right switch from digikey? Might grab a set of the 5.1a as well.

My only real question now is what components should I grab while making a digikey order anyways? I already have some 470, 560, 680ohm resistors in the cart for the bleeder. Any other sizes I should add for the LED’s themselves?

I have no idea on digikey, but here are some on ebay shipped from the US. They’ll probably get to you long before the oshpark boards.

It’s up to your preference anyways. I can understand having access to the pot from the bottom, but I prefer having “presets” of levels I can just jump between with the switch.

We started using pots because it can be annoying to be swapping resistors trying to find the right balance. For pots get either 50k or 100k. For LED resistors it could be anywhere from 2k-50k based on how bright you want them to be and how your leds behave under low power.

Ok, got the boards ordered, I look forward to playing with them.

Very simple and good idea PD now that I see how it is all working together.

Unfortunately it’s still a slightly custom process thanks to the differences in machining between lights. To give examples, I needed to use the thin 0.8mm boards on top and bottom for an S2+ with metal switch cap, but needed to use a thin bottom board and thick (1.6mm) top board for my Astrolux S41 with rubber switch cap. Otherwise the switch itself was too far back (pressed against the rubber) and it didn’t have enough travel to reset.

Yeah, I am used to modding, not scared of some custom work.

After years of this type of thing I have learned to buy the most universal parts ahead of time since you never know what you might want to use them in.

Hi pilotdog68, could you give me an advice, which one of this boards (with 2 leds) is easiest to build with parts available from OSH and ebay, for use on nanjg 105 and A17-DD and BLF X6 drivers

Thanks :+1:

are you saying you want a version that only uses 2 leds? most of the better versions you’ll need at least 3 to have a balanced look.

So it looks like it’s time to update the OP with new pictures and fix broken links.

If someone is building one soon, or already has pictures, or is willing to take apart a light:

I need some pictures of how the newer versions are constructed.

I’m looking for high-quality macro shots of the top of the board, how it’s stacked, etc. Basically an updated version of what are now the bottom four pictures in the OP. I would take some myself, but I only have a cellphone camera to work with. I’ll do that if I must, but I know we have some better cameras (and lighting) among us.

Also, if you have other suggestions on how to better organize this huge amount of info, please let me know.