Like several of you , I ordered a 502b from Tmart for $11.50 and although I wasn't impressed with the host or lamp assembly that much , I saw that the driver looked familiar . Langcjl found a review by Brted of the AK47 driver . This driver is an AK47A . Same stars . So since I was less than pleased with the flashy modes in the dropin I went out and bought a soldering iron and some rosin core solder . I have always wished that I had the ability to change emitters and drivers like so many of you do , and this seemed like the perfect starter mod to try my hand at it . I took a chance that the AK47 and the AK47A stars had the same functions and I soldered the far right star to the edge ring ( and the pill ) and lo and behold - I now have a two mode high-low light !
I'm sure that the soldering job I did isn't great , but it is adequate . It works !
Now I like this light a lot better . It is my first two mode light and both of the modes are useful to me . And who knows , I may get up the courage to desolder and resolder and try out the other mode groups . But not quite yet . because
Awsome, Im going to try it on mine. The same night that we were talking about that, I was able to finally repair my old Fenix with a new driver and emitter. First time I was able to do something like that so I know how you felt.
Guess who also helped me? brted. He helped with getting the right driver and sent me a Q5 emitter. Not to mention the help from his wiki.
brted, your contributions are noteworthy sir! :star:
Nice job, jacktheclipper! It is great being able to improve a light and nice that the gamble on the AK47 paid off. The 1.4A driver from KD was like that; it seemed like it should be able to be modified, but KD's description didn't say so. I was so ecstatic when I found it I could make it 3 non-flashy modes and now I have 5 more on the way. I've never understood why more of the flashlight makers don't use drivers like the NANJG ones that let you change the modes fairly simply. The 1.05A AK47 driver is just about perfect for a XR-E or XP-E light. 1.4A is about perfect for a XP-G.
[QUOTE=Langcjl]brted, your contributions are noteworthy sir![/QUOTE]
Aw shucks . . . That's what it's all about though. I love seeing people posting things like this light being able to be modded.
Soldering can be summerized in a very short time and a feww passes thru google and paying attention to some basics will help .Maybe some solder wick will help to remove solder ..a small can of flux makes life much easier and Probably the biggest mistake most people make is buying a 3 $ soldering iron .Just make life simpler and spend a few bucks on a decent weller
If you can't find Weller soldering irons the ERSA branded rivals Weller perfectly. I learned to lean toward ERSA in the last decade (for small soldering irons, not stations). Do not go below 25W tho.
You have ventured into regions I hardly understand at all, and have walked a path I will never tread with such ease. IC chips are rocket science to me.
Lol! My first mod was a AK47, too! And you're absolutely right, it changes a lot. My first "blob of solder" in a flashlight was approx. one year ago and today, well, I just returned from my workshop after grinding two heatsink slugs for some Mag 3Ds that wait to get XM-Lified (that's right, I don't have a lathe, so grinding it is :Sp )
I know, Oppenheimer said something similar - "it was only two chunks of subcritical mass. But it changed everything!"
I don't experiment with electronics (and not with Uranium, either), I just read what others have written, try to figure out what they possibly were meaning, then screw that and just go ahead without further thinking. Thus, I am showing the proper ignorance well-known by whole mankind when it comes to the responsibility with technological achievements.
Just like a chimpanzee that has found the game warden's loaded rifle. Monkey see, monkey do...
You, on the other hand, knew what you were doing. And you did very well!
I took an Ultrafire K41 (1xAA zoomable) and performed the following modifications:
Replaced driver with 3-mode 1 amp driver from shining beam.
Replaced emitter with XPG-R5.
Replaced green tailcap boot with black tailcap boot from shining beam.
lens assembly did not retract enough towards the emitter. In the stock K41 this results in flood mode being a fairly narrow cone. I fixed this by filing down the ridges on the main part of the body to increase the distance the lens could retract. This significantly increased the beam diameter in flood mode, while at the same time making the light a few millimeters shorter.
Used thermal epoxy to glue thin sheets of brass around the body of the light where the telescoping portion of the lens slides. To increase surface contact and heat transfer to the head.
Added o-ring to slide mechanism. Thinking of removing this. The light isn't waterproof even with the o-ring and it makes it rather stiff to slide.
Still to do: get some black paint to touch up the scratches where the file slipped when I was grinding down the edge of the body. I think black automotive touchup paint maybe. If I was doing this again I'd have masked the protected portion with thick tape to prevent the slippage. I'm thinking of trying automotive touch-up paint.
Following that mod, I tried a second one on a Sipik SK58 (1xAA zoomable):
Replaced driver with 1 amp shining beam 3-mode driver.
replaced Osram Golden Dragon emitter with XML-T6 from shining beam.
replaced metal o-ring with rubber o-ring for smoother slide action.
Bent a piece of copper into a ring and put it at the base of the pill's threads. This prevents the pill from screwing down all the way resulting in a wider flood when the lens is retracted. It also keeps the lens at the correct focal length in spot mode.
removed o-ring on tailcap. Having all o-rings in place and lubricated just didn't work for a 1xAA push-pull zoomie. Piston action would result in the bezel either retracting or extending on its own unless space was left to vent. If you want a waterproof zoomie it looks like you need to start with a screw-based mechanism like the Romisen RC29.
Changed ugly orange tailcap boot to a black one (used the spare that came with my Shiningbeam S-Mini). The plastic ring holding the switch mechanism in place is VERY firmly press fitted. I was finally able to remove it by enlarging one of the small tweezer holes with a power drill and then using a needle nose pliers to lever out the ring. Fortunately even with this damage, the ring still functions and reassembly with the new tailcap boot was easy.
Replaced the tailcap with one from a Sipik SK68. They are interchangeable, but the SK68 has more need of the knurled tailcap.
Of the 2 mods, I like SK58 more. Its flood mode is very bright and very wide (as wide as that of the EDI-T T11, but much brighter). It also feels nicer in the hand and has an easier sliding switch mechanism. The main downside is the spot mode with the XML is pretty huge. This light definitely doesn't have much throw for a zoomie. I'm planning on replacing the emitter with a neutral XPG R-4 when it arrives from Shining beam. I'm also thinking of trying a 1.4 amp driver if I can get it to fit in the casing.
I have had great success soldering with an el-chaepo Walmart $5 dollar special. Since I started modding I have gotten better and better at soldering these small wires and boards, it is really a lot of fun. I guess I should start looking for a decent iron.
The mods are of course for fun, but I'm not sure about using the new cree led's in a zoom light. They spread a lot of their light more to the side than an xr-e. But then the osram was not close to ideal in the same way in the sk58 either.
The R5 isn't too bad. In zoom mode, it's much more tighter than the XML, though still not as tight as the XRE. However, in flood mode it's brighter and wider than the XRE.
For me, a pocket EDC zoom light is all about compromise. If I want the best flood then I have to use an XML... but doing so costs me a lot of throw in spot mode. On the other hand if I want the best throw I have to use an XRE... but doing so costs me a lot of the short-range flood.
Most of the time I use my lights up close so I want a powerful flood. Being able to reach off into the distance is nice, but not critical. So for me an XML works well.
The XPG is in between: throw isn't as good as the XRE, but is much better than the XML. Flood isn't as bright or wide as the XML, but its considerably brighter than the XRE.
I'm looking forward to getting my shiningbeam XPG R4 neutral later this week, because I think the XPGs are a nice compromise in a pocket zoomie, and because neutral tints are much more pleasant to look at.
The Osram that came in the SK58 was just worthless. Throw was decent because the emitter chip is so small. But the amount of lumens coming out of it is tiny, and I didn't consider the light output usable for an EDC light.
The XPG is in between: ... Flood isn't as bright or wide as the XML, but its considerably brighter than the XRE.
I don't think in general this is true. I'm looking at the cree lum/angle graph and xml vs xpg look almost identical with xml has slightly more light coming out the front. Maybe because of the small lens the larger size of the xml vs xpg comes into play.
