Astrolux EA01s (SFT40 6500k); A pocket thrower Mod (picture heavy)

LED Flashlights – General Info
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This is the mod that almost didn't happen! Thanks to some very helpful folks here on the forum, I sorted my issues out and the Light has Come to Life.

A 4x sft40 Astrolux EA01s!

My goal = a pocketable throwing machine, without Osrams!

My problems= apparently i shorted out the negative emitter pads on the mcpcb with misplaced solder, and the light was running completely on Direct Drive (40T charged to 4.15 volts!), it got HOT in about 6 seconds! no button response either

My result = (finally) A perfectly functioning, somewhat centered EA01s with SFT40 emitters, the hotspot is TIGHT (beam shots to come).

*More work to be done to center, ream, and lower the reflector to remove some of that "ringy-ness", bu ti need to see how it looks in the darkness first!

This is a photo album of the process, i took more but you will get the point. I have been planning this mod since i ordered the sft40's from Simon about a month ago, and it has finally come to fruition. I was originally going to use the FT02s and i still want to, but i was worried that the reflector would not be easily removable (like in the Haikelite HK04 which is very similar to the FT02s, the reflector has a machine screw behind the driver and through the shelf that holds the reflector in, making emitter swaps impossible without removing the driver first! i dont need those problems.)

So given that, i chose my second best option. actually my second best option would of been the EC03 with sst40 (bigger reflector than EA01s), but green and brown have been out of stock for awhile, so this was it! the EA01s it is. But this is the smallest of the 3, so i like that!

I obviously needed a SST40 light as my model so i could use the stock mcpcb for the mod. If i dont end of up being super impressed with this tonight or over then next week, i'm going to pull them out and use the very nice sft40's elsewhere and order (4) CULPM1's to try the same mod. Eventually, i will find the perfect emitter for this little hotrod of a light!

Anyone know where you can find bare CULNM1 emitters, by the way?? Are they non existent on the secondary market?

OK, here we go:

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Any Beamshot comparison pics between the SST and SFT?

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I wasn't able to take beamshots last night because the weather here is like 110% humidity so on turbo it just looks like I shining it into a blanket of rain droplets. Hoping tonight (still raining forecast though) Or more likely tomorrow will be better. Also, the reflector height needs some work too.

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Nice job. Very curious how the new leds perform in the small reflectors.

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So, i have since removed the SFT40 form the EA01s. I actually cracked my glass lense which stopped the testing process, but also after a substanital amount of time being spent on trying to "Focus" the reflector, i was at a loss. THese are my thughts on the EA01s reflector witht he SFT40 and also the SST40, and why i think there are beam issues noted by many enthusiasts with this light:

The reflector is the reason why there are pronounced rings in the sst40 version of this and the FT02s but not so much in the xhp50 version. The same reflector is used (i think, but i am going to verify in a week when my xhp50 EA01s arrives). the problem lies in the height of the reflector is relation to the LED. I also think the side illumination of a domed LED has something to do with this as well but i have not looked this far into it.

But essentially after i modded my sst40 EA01s with SFT40, the spot was tight but also scattered and more ring-y because the LED was sitting to low in the reflector and not "catching" the reflector well enough to be "focused" properly.

The EA01s would need a redesigned reflector (note completely redesigned, but definitely minor design changes in whole opening at the LED side at minimum) to make any substantial and efficient use of the wonderful SFT40 emitter. Honestly, the EA01s needs a reflector design change even for the sst40 version of this light.

i had done multiple centering ring changes and even went with tape and no centering rings to lower the reflector as much as possible to try and focus the SFT40 but none of that helped. i actually think the relfector may have needed to be heightened to create more of a Tunnel effect to the base of the LED, but this would effect how the bezel fits onto the head. The bezel will not screw down all of the way if you lift reflector too much.