I’m trying to decide what mods can be done to a Blackshadow Terminator, preferably without requiring a lot of experience since I’m a bit new to modding.
My initial thought is that it should be pretty easy to swap the emitters. Instead of 4 x XM-L2 1A tint emitters, I’m thinking perhaps 4 x XP-G2 on copper at tints around 8-something, 6, 3, and 1 (or 7/5/3/1). This should give it wide-spectrum output and should increase the throw, too. Instead of 60 kcd of cool white, it could be 100 kcd of wide-spectrum.
OTOH, the wide-spectrum thing could be done with XM-L2 too, for a floodier light and more total lumens.
It would be nice to have better firmware too, but I haven’t found any information on whether the stock driver can be flashed. It looks like a SRK driver should fit though, such as the BLF SRK, and that would allow a wide variety of firmware. I doubt it will support the indicator lights in the switch though.
Any thoughts? If you were modding a BST, what would you do?
Also, is it even possible to buy a XP-G2 7* or 8* tint on a 16mm star? (preferably copper) I’ve found 1, 3, and 5, but can’t find 7 anywhere except in XM-L2.
I really want to do a wide-spectrum light, but I’m not sure if I should go for throwy (XP-G2) or floody (XM-L2, possibly with added diffuser film). Or maybe both — XP-G2 with removable diffusers.
Making it throwy would be cool, and appropriate for the light since it’s already pretty throwy at ~60 kcd lux stock. It would also mean the driver wouldn’t need modding, since a thrower mostly just needs a good high mode.
But for maximum throw I’d want to de-dome the XP-G2s, which would kill the nice tint. Granted, great tint isn’t really needed for a thrower, but that would kind of defeat the purpose… and I could throw just as well with a modded C8 or HD2010 without all the extra spill making it hard to see my target in the distance.
So perhaps a flooder would be better, and XM-L2 will give me more lumens for that. It seems a shame to waste the throwing potential of a Terminator, but it seems like it would be overall more useful to me. A wide-spectrum wall of light is pretty handy sometimes, and seems to fit the form factor of the Terminator. In order to make full use of it though, I’d need to reflash the driver, which means probably swapping out the driver for something more customizable. I’m not sure if I’d be able to keep the beautiful thick positive contact ring, for example, or still be able to light up the button’s indicator lights. It would allow me to give the thing a wide variety of useful brightnesses though, and probably a variable-speed true strobe function too (strobe lights are fun!). Plus, with the tripod mount, it’d make a great work light.
I’m anxious to order some emitters, but I’m not yet sure what to get.
What does the terminator driver look like? If the mcu isn’t a known or easy to flash chip perhaps you could remove the original mcu & hack up an adapter for an atmega or whatever.
~ edit ~
I see a couple pics of its driver in JohnnyMac’s Review
Your terminator driver is mounted the same way, with a screw in the center?
JohnnyMac’s review is my main source of relevant info at the moment; the BST itself is in the mail. I assume it’s mounted the same way though, which should make it really easy to access all the innards.
a driver swap seems too risky for me - specifically, messing with the switch and potential of low voltage warning and green ‘moonlight’.
i’d be interested in a resistor mod if anybody has done that though.
i tried to fit the ahorton aspherics and without a lathe, or way too much hand work, it won’t pan out
but, I did have a 30mm glass apheric that fit after removing < 1mm from the outer edge. I ordered more lenses, and if they focal length is the same as what i have on hand (can’t remember where i got this one) then i’ll do all 4.
the lens i have is at about 75? focus is it is sitting on the ledge inside, but >95 if it is sitting on the stock reflector. If I use the reflector I’ll have to make it black. I’m going to try plastidip…maybe i’ll be able to remove it if I ever decide to revert…
Haha, quad aspheric. That should be pretty sweet, especially if you swap the emitters for de-domed XP-G2s.
I got 60kcd easily with just one aspheric at 26mm with a XP-G2 running at like 2 amps. With four, driven harder, and with larger optics, you might be able to hit 300 kcd.
I’m thinking perhaps I’ll look in to some TIR’s with a mix of LED’s and well-matched TIRs. Having the elliptical lenses could make this a very cool trail light, especially if I can figure out how to rotate the TIRs freely (while ensuring they stay in place when wanted of course). I could imagine angling my TIRs for a beam pattern that fits the situation.
Give me
DBCstm is one of the best guys to talk about Terminators. On mine he installed XML2 1A’s on copper. Currently it is doing 3530 lumens and 74.7Kcd. Now his he did the same, but bumped the amps. And dedomed it at one point, though not sure if its still dedomed. I think his is somewhere in 4500 lumen range now. It was ip to about 150kcd when dedomed. You can PM him if you want better details about what works and doesn’t work well on these lights.
I’ve only tried some quick tests with it so far, with not-fully-charged not-high-amp batteries, at a not-carefully-measured distance of about 5 meters. Initially, I got about 50 kcd in that test, which isn’t too surprising since I hear 60 kcd is about the highest it’ll get stock, and that’s with good batteries and a more careful measurement. I think some of my emitters are a little off-center too, or the reflectors slightly off aim, but it’s hard to say for sure and it doesn’t much matter since I’m planning to make it a flood monster.
After adding some DC-Fix, the beam is wonderfully smooth (originally it had some rings around the spill), and it still throws better than I expected. I measured about 18 kcd with the diffuser film on… which is still almost as throwy as my SRK (22 kcd). In my quick use today, it looks like this will make an awesome work light, thanks to its bright smooth beam and its tripod mount.
FWIW, a UK 2-pence coin seems nearly perfect as a cutting stencil for the diffuser film (if you don’t want to remove the bezels, which I hear is extremely difficult). The exposed part of the lens seems to be about 25.4mm, and the 2-pence coin is about 25.0mm. It just barely fits, and allows for a small tolerance for the thickness of the cutting blade. It may leave a sub-millimeter gap on the edge if you cut really close, but it doesn’t affect the beam since there is no line-of-sight to the emitter in such a small gap. (on a ZL SC52 a gap like that actually does affect the beam, but not on the BST)
If you don’t have a UK 2-pence coin, a 2-euro coin is almost as good. Nearly identical size, but its edge is ridged.
Now I’m waiting on emitters to arrive, and I’m trying to figure out the best way to make the driver flashable. If I can’t flash the stock driver, DrJones’ Quasar driver looks like it should work (assuming I can get one).
Good, I’m counting on the heads coming off easily. That’s what makes this such an easy mod host. (well, that, and the driver just pops out after removing a screw, and the wires are plugged instead of soldered, and … etc)
I ordered four XM-L2 tints on Noctigons from RMM: T4 7B3 80+CRI, T4 5B1 80+CRI, T6 3C, and U2 1A. Looking at the tint chart though, perhaps I should have opted for a 6B3 tint instead of the 5B1. And I would have taken a 8* over 7B3, but those are really hard to find. I can change it later if I don’t like how it turns out.
In any case, these should make the color rendition quite a bit better. I’ve compared some high-CRI lights against a combination of different medium-CRI tints together, and I find that I prefer the combination. I guess high-CRI shows colors more accurately, but wide-spectrum shows colors more vividly.
Watching, and with an opinion. The wide spectrum issue, seems to me, is a moot one if you’re wanting throw. The further away you are trying to identify a subject the less detail will be visible, so the benefits of a wide spectrum light will be of the utmost importance when viewing a closer subject. If a floody light is used, then wide spectrum would be ideal. A cool white light tends to penetrate the humidity in the air for throw, making better definition at any real distance, like beyond 400M.
I’m using XM-L2 U2 1D domed emitters on Noctigon pads, with the resitors removed for 4564 OTF lumens at start, 4371 OTF at 30 seconds. This accomplished by removing the resistors and soldering short solid copper wire (as in, not stranded) in their stead.
I am considering a driver swap, but don’t want the glowing power button as I personally can’t stand it. When trying to see in the distance, the brightly glowing green shining up at you is a nuisance! Mine illuminates over 600M fairly easily. Difficult to see that far, even without the green light in your face!
When I de-domed the XM-L2 U2 1A the tint was too green, far too many lumens were lost, althought the beam itself was indeed tighter. The tint was just too ugly for me to keep it that way. In all fairness the emitters may not have actually been 1A’s but closer to 1C’s as they were from the E1 kit designation from Mouser. That turned into a costly experiment.
Would like lower modes though, as it’s doing around 500 lumens in low as it is set up now. 2305 in medium. So, finding a way to achieve the lower modes is of great interest to me, while maintaining or increasing the high end.
You’re very right about tint… in a thrower, wide-spectrum is pointless.
I decided I could either make this into a somewhat awkward thrower or a kickass flooder. And I have a lot more uses for a flooder, most of the time. It’s particularly well-suited as a flooder because of the multiple emitters, stubby shape, handle, tripod mount, and lumen capacity. And it should be a good host for some new firmware due to having an electronic switch. Maybe I’m weird, but I like somewhat complex e-switch UIs like Zebralight.
I’m planning to do some other mods before I touch the BST driver though. I have parts for three other lights coming soon, and that should be good practice before I attempt anything new or tricky.
The driver is set up with 4 channels, each channel has an R010 resistor. Two are side by side, the other two are on opposed sides of the board. The emitters are unique to this board in that they have a plastic plug on their wires, as does the switch, each emitter unplugs from the drivers easily (comparatively, I used sharp pointed tweezers to push the male out of the female connection) and the switch plug comes out from between the 2 boards fairly easily, making for complete removal of the driver the easiest I’ve worked with.
The shelf where the star sits is a bit strange, with a circular cutout along the inside edge that you have to keep the star in true middle or it will slip into this “groove”. I guess it makes the heat take the only other way out, to the outer body of the head where the dispersion fins are. Seems odd, but it works.
I’ll see if I’ve got pics, if not I’ll try to get some…
Here’s where the emitters sit…
The driver and inside of the head…
A better look at the driver…
I guess looking at it, the 2 R010 that are side by side are where the two clips are together, the resistors are on the main motherboard and can be a little tricky to stack or remove as there’s not much room. Not really a big deal, but a little tricky.
though i suppose shorting them with a blob of solder would come relatively close to replacing them with copper?
i think the shelf arrangement is sufficient, but i wish it was solid so that I could screw down the emitters for use with aspherics. as it is, I’ll need to use the reflector to make sure there is pressure on the emitter and it stays centered. i’m not a fan of adhesive….especially down in that pocket…
I haven’t found a socket or wrench of the right size to unscrew the driver, but the heads are easy to remove with just finger untightening… and the stock emitter stars are stuck on with non-adhesive thermal paste so it really is easy to swap them out. The surface they mount on is a somewhat weird shape though… I can see why they’d remove a semi-circle from the inner edge, but I wonder why they made it a (for lack of a better word) pregnant semi-circle. The extra material might have been useful for better thermal contact.
I’m hoping to get a good look at the MCU somehow, but it seems to be hidden between driver boards and I get the impression the boards might not separate easily without breaking anything.
(well, that, and the driver just pops out after removing a screw, and the wires are plugged instead of soldered, and … etc)
