Well after my 4th failed attempt I am completely discouraged on trying to mod lights my 1at 2 c8s 8 tried to de dome with gas that went well then when I went to try and solder springs they went up in smoke,now to my c12 I ordered a 16mm 8 chip driver and a xml2-6500k figured no problem just mount new driver to pill solder andnsolder + to + -to - went to fire up and shorted out emitter be ause one of the screws head contacted + and short,so with last f e w dollars I ordered another xml2-u2 mounted turned out everything was fine untill I went to dedome in gas took. Out pill and reinstalled after dry and now nothing!I got into trying to mod budget lights because since I now have limited mobility 8t would be therapeutic and help me pass my time now I want to throw everything into trash walk away and either pay someone or just save up and buy expensive t9rces ie fenix,nightcore,armytek I have taken pictures created a photo bucket account and since I've been a member on this board neither my self or my kids w ho are 21 plus years can get any pictures on sight go show any so no what how can check if I have power going going to emitter from driver on my c12? Should I just sent the pill and driver assy for someone to look at and take up knitting?
Never give up. Never surrender! Pm sent.
To post pictures from photobucket on here, you want the direct link, then put exclamation marks at either end: (!)directlink(!) Ignore the brackets.
Don’t give up though. You were obviously interested enough to start, just got to nail the first one down and you will be fine.
i’ve been failed many times when trying to mod a light based on my taste but never give up,its fun to modding even thought i was a noob with circuit and stuff 
C’mon, it’s the past failures that give import to the eventual success!
As I get ready to watch the World Series, do you think I would be watching if my team won every game, always?
It’s death that gives life meaning……
etc.
etc.
Don’t give up. It can be a lot of fun, and can be very therapeutic once you get going.
I would advise, however, that you avoid non-standard mods like de-doming, adding chips to drivers, and over driving until after you’ve gained some experience. The risk of failure on those kinds of mods is much higher than standard mods like swapping the emitter, driver, optic, switch, etc.
Also, read this article if you haven’t yet.
http://flashlightwiki.com/DIY_P60
It’s a set of step-by-step instructions on how to build a P60 drop-in, and is applicable to any light pill build. It’s very thorough and includes important steps that most people skip (e.g. testing with a DMM to ensure there are no shorts).
Thomas Edison failed over 1000 times at making a light bulb. When a reporter asked him about his many failures, Edison simply said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 1000 ways that won’t work.”
Another quote by Thomas Edison “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
It can be frustrating, I agree. But like most things you get better with practice and the person who practices the most usually is the best at it. Four failed attempts is not enough to warrant giving up, keep trying and you will be a pro in no time. You learn more than you think with every mistake. Trust me when I say “I have made plenty if not more than my fair share”.
Yesterday I spent several hours mucking around with a driver, adding sense resistors on a light I am modding for a workmate.
I smoked two XML’s in the testing process, then made a mess of the driver trying to remove one of the resistors….
I took a break, & came back to it a few hours later, & got it back together again. Sometimes it requires a longer break than that…. Sometimes it requires thinking about it a little longer…
Other times it works the first time.
Keep at it - the more you do, the better you will be at it, the more you’ll learn.
When I destroy an led/driver or something else like picking up a reflector with a finger inside :bigsmile: my wife just says something like “Are you enjoying yourself, if so, suck it up, keep going and destroy something else”
As long as you are enjoying yourself, its not an expensive hobby compared to a lot others, destroy $15 worth of driver/led, well thats cheaper than going to the movies, a couple of shots of whiskey, well you get the idea.
Look at it in a $ per hour perspective, two hours of trying to get something done that you want to do, even if you fail (and you will NOT always fail) that is only $7.50 per hour, pretty cheap entertainment :party:
Take a step back and look at the whole picture, when you do get it right and “you see the light” (sorry but I could not resist) you will have a bigger sense of accomplishment than if got it right the first time.
Cheers David, who has three non functioning lights (read, I broke them).
I always use Advanced Format for every post, because it is much easier for me to add photos and make text bold or different sized, etc. Others may not, but it's how I do it. I choose Advanced format before I do anything else.
This is the only way this old guy can get a photo put up.
I use Image Shack because it's easy to get the "direct link" to each photo. I would think you can get that on PB as well, but I don't use it, so I don't know.
Now, to the problem at hand. Some would say that modding is not for everyone. Modding takes a certain amount of basic "common sense". Modding takes some basic motor skills. Modding takes some basic ability to read and comprehend. Modding takes some ability to see and copy what you see.
As I say, some would say that, but here's what I will say: Modding takes a desire to "Do" and a persistence to "Overcome" any handicaps that are in your way. If you find it fun and relaxing, or if you just need to be able to do it, to know you did it, then you just need to have the perseverance to continue to try until you get to your goal. You can overcome just about anything.
I have always been "good with my hands". Which means that I just naturally can take something apart and put it together again, because I can remember how it came apart, so it is easier to put it back together again. Can't do that? Then keep a pad and paper with you and write down the taking apart step by step, or take a photo of each step, so you can go in reverse to assemble it again.
I have no clue about electronics and electricity. I never will. I cannot comprehend numbers any more since my stroke. They are foreign and I do not understand even simple numbers or simple theory any more. It's not possible. So I use other members to get the knowledge I need, by using PMs or e-mails or whatever I need, to get the job done. I copy what others say and do, until I can do it myself.
Soldering is difficult. I have found that I need to use a vise for the part and I need to rest my arm on a hard surface, to stop the shaking. Sometimes I have to hold that arm with my other hand as well as resting it on something, just to hold still enough to solder. Sometimes I have to use a nice big magnifying desk lamp to do it.
Even with all the complaining I do, I love doing this stuff and I persist. I keep on. I swear and I get up and leave, but I come back and keep on, till I get to where I don't want to any more. That's life, deal with it.
If modding is not for you, then after a while you will learn that. If you cannot persevere, then you will not ever get to that point. It's all up to you and what you perceive you can do. It's not what you actually can do, it's what you perceive you can do that makes the people who do, separate from the people who don't.
And don't feel bad about getting aggravated with it. I do all the time. I have a short fuse.
Like everything else I probably will take a break until the 1st of next month (I have to until I get more funds In Account) and think about what I did wrong ,which as a member brought up was the de-doming,I had the lights up and running until I de-domed them ,so for now I'll keep it simple and as was brought up earlier this is the least expensiveof all my past hobbies by far I think what was the most frustrating was ruining perfectly good stock lights. As far as photos I had a member offer me his # and walk me through the photo process and I always tried on simple format thank you all for heads and encouragement. I love coming on here and reading about the latest and greatest torches and mods that turn them into flame throwers it really does relax me and keeps my mind busy,Old Lumens I understand what you mean about being good with your hands,I used to work on everything crom cessnas to 747-400's do martial arts but now getting around without a cane is good day iam truly sorry to hear about your stroke.again thank you everyone ill take a break and try againalso thanks for the links
I solder for a living, but initially I had a REALLY tough time even upgrading to a new emitter. Even when I got one to work, the finished soldering job looked like it was done by someone on LSD standing on a Home Depot paint shaker during a 6.1 earthquake wearing 3D glasses. Just awful. But it did work, and once I saw it was possible (even though the solder let go several days later and it shorted out), I knew the quality would get better and the chance of success would also increase rapidly.
Just keep at it. PRACTICE. Once I toasted a few emitters and also had some T6s that I would never use again, I used those to practice on. And I practiced and practiced. There really are some tricks to it that really can’t be explained in a post. You gotta learn by doing.
Take heart in the fact that in many cases the light you make will be brighter than the commercial version!
I also agree with a previous poster: Stay away from the tough stuff like soldering power chips and dedoming. Stick with the known 17mm drivers from places like FT that are fairly inexpensive ….
You’ll get it. Just keep at it.
Literally just did this today. First time soldering and modding, looks far worse than the crappy job the manufacturer originally did. :bigsmile:
+1 on what everyone said. l know my limitations and ask other members here for help when I need it which is a lot of the time. I have not had a successful dedome that worked more than a week so I just dont do them. And also I’m never going to machine copper again. Its all in DBC hands now. Yep I may just start buying lights as well. With the pics I was having trouble even doing what OL mentioned until I started clicking on the appearance tab and letting the size come up. No issues since. Good luck on your future endeavours.