I’ve heard he’s a legend in flashlight hoardery. lol
While at Costco in Novato, Ca noticed they had a sale on 500 lumen three C cell
torch for $24.99 for a pair. Didn’t get one, I was after the Eneloop battery special package
with adapters.
The bodys are near identical. The black friday light has an extra rib and the anti roll butt with lanyard hole. the Thrower body has about 2mm more threads up top. They ARE interchangeable as well.
Also the Thrower comes with a small and removable plastic ring that just sits around the LED. Other than that they are identical XMLs.
I decided to convert mine to Direct Drive to see what would happen. It was easy enough.
Here is a pic of the driver I pulled out.
Not much to it, just a 9485 and a resistor. I suspect that it limits the current to the LED because the stock light runs on 2.5A with the supplied 3 C Alkalines and only 2.0A off a single unprotected 18650. With my ohm meter I measured continuity from the outer ring and L- which means the the negative terminal of the LED is wired straight to the tailcap spring through the body, passing through the outer ring on the driver pressing against the pill.
I then measured for continuity between L+ and the positive contact spring and got none. This is of course because L+ is on the other side of the driver. I did notice however that the through hole above the L- is connected to the spring. So to convert to DD all I had to do was reconnect L- and move the postive wire from the LED to the through hole. Initially I was concerned with how close that through hole is to the 2 leads on the chip but it doesn’t matter, there already was continuity amongst the 3.
I put everything back together and noticed that the driver board relies on only physical contact on the negative outer ring and the pill, more on this latter. Here are my new measurements.
Original driver
3 original C Alkalines - 2.5A (1 - 18650 2.0A)
I was concerned with going straight to 3 Alkalines on DD so I first tried 3 Ni-Cads
3 - 1.2V Ni-Cad - 2.81A
2 - Ni-Cad, 1 Alkaline - 2.95A
1 - Ni-Cad, 2 Alkaline - 3.05A
all 3 Alkaline 3.15A
I then tried the 18650 thinking that I would get 4A like I do with a C8 that I converted to DD, much this same way.
What I got was 3.15A. To me this means there is resistance in the path, probably in the switch and the connection of the driver board to the pill. I’ll work on that later but for now I have a betterment, 2.5A to 2.81A all while switching over to rechargables. I know NI-Cads are not the best, but they are rechargable. 
BTW, this light out-throws my HD2010
But then again that should be expected.
I had success at a local HD.
It’s definitely a budget light (looking at the construction)… but wow is it bright and a heck of a thrower!
If I was an English peasant that needed something to fend off unwelcome Viking marauders; this would make a pretty good cudgel (for few swings until you broke it).
It’s pretty massive for a 3C light.
This is a real nice find for the price.
IYO do you think a driver like the HD2010’s would work well considering it goes to DD on high plus you at least would get medium and low modes? The fact that it goes back to DD high after shutoff is another plus, that and it can already handle 26650’s.
I just finished modding mine for direct drive, and it certainly is a good thrower. I never took before measurements but mine did 57kcd with the direct drive mod, I think if I decrease the resistance in some other places I could increase the current draw more.
45 Minutes at Home Depot and 4 associates later and i still have no Defiant 
One guy actually cared and went to the back room. He even remembered the similar flashlight from earlier in 2012.
But he could not find them either.
This company is effed up, If they don’t know where they are right now, how are they going to magically find them for the “promotion” ?
Bummed,
Keith
Ok, with new wires, copper braid on the tailspring, and wire from the switch to the contact board I got it up to 62kcd. :D
and with a plastic lens and plastic reflector. Looks like those high priced throwers are a little over priced, LOL.
Just tested it in my integrating bathroom and got 625 lumens, a definite improvement but not as much as I expected. (Of course my lumen numbers aren't quite accurate 
)
bathroom lumens are more accurate than any ansi tests… i do all my tests in the bathroom… as well as contemplating the meaning of the universe & life as we know it…
I got the “no home” bit. So they let me have the Coast PX45 for $22.
Plastic lens? Really?
Scaru, can you take measurement with the lens off, just out of curiousity? Who knows, maybe it can hit 70k?
I mean, even at 62k, without dome removal, is pretty impressive. Pretty sure dedoming and AR lens will push 100k.
So far I haven't been able to get the lens out, the bezel comes off but the lens stays in place. Anyone have any tips on getting it out?
Oh, knowing scaru, before you attempt another just-yank-it-off XM-L dedoming, just take note 12hr petrol soak works a million times better. 
The dome would just fall right off, clean as a whistle.
I actually tried that recently, the dome came off nice and easy; as did the phosphorus. :(
The lens is just held in by an o-ring. Mine usually comes out with the bezel. Otherwise, just push on the reflector.
I measured 480 lumens with the lens and 510 without the lens. Just the pill showed 600 lumens (all at 4.0V/2.5A). Bare pill at 4.2V/3.2A was 650 lumens.
And when putting it back together, make sure the LED is centered in the reflector… otherwise kiss 50 lumens goodbye.
I would have used the one out of my HD2010 but physically it is too small. But that type of driver should work.
A 26650 will not fit, can someone try one with the wrapper removed? If THAT fits, then a cut down tube, or better yet, no even better YET, someone should go into the business of making shorter tubes that can take 1 or 2 26650’s HINT
Magic lens adds 30 lumens! How else can you explain it. It’s already better than any AR lens I know.
Scaru: Petrol strip off the phospor? Wow. When I do it, it really ate only the silicone part. Maybe different formulations in there, I guess, with all the advertised engine cleaning yadayada… too bad about it.