I’ve had a subaquatic flashlight for a while now, and it finally flooded (I think the policarbonate screen cracked enough to let water in), and you know how is it with salty water and electronics…
So instead of just purchasing another expensive flashlight, I thought of fixing this one, so I’m going to be replacing the screen, but that’s a topic for another audience. I’m here for the electronics part
The thing is that I’m having troubles finding direct replacements to the original parts, so I’ve already purchased some other parts that might or might not be appropiate.
One of them is this one:
But I don’t think it’s going to work due to the size, as it seems to be a bit shorter than the original parts.
Then I’ve purchased an XML with the 20mm PCB and a 3-12V driver separatedly (the archon uses 2x18650 in series). Something like this.
However, I’ve been doing some research and I thought it would be a good opportunity to upgrade the flashlight with better leds and drivers, so that’s why I’m here, to seek for advise
To properly fit the flashlight, I need a 20mm LED pcb for a 5x5 LED, and a 22mm driver with a spring for the positive. The original has a spacer and a hole in the middle where the spring is soldered on top. See picture:
Any suggestions on what to use and where to buy it? for scuba diving it needs to be white light.
Looks like this light may have an electronic switch. Hard to tell. If yes driver you linked will not work.
What is this thing wrapped in tape, inductor?
For lens I used polycarbonate with abrasion resistant coating.
I cut circles myself with circular whole cutter. May be an issue to find right diameter.
Also AR coating is causing saw to slip at start, so I made template by drilling hole in piece of wood first. Still you need to be careful to get nice edge. Always can drill a bit larger and sand/file it after.
Also you need to go VERY slow, because polycarbonate melts quickly.
Drilling holes for screw should not be a problem.
I would not use acrylic, it cracks easily, you may be almost done and then last hole makes it crack
I see you can buy custom at Tap Plastics, they can even drill holes. Also they can make radius on corners, pretty big so maybe they can cut circle?
No idea if they ship to Spain though.
That being said seems like a lot of trouble and money to save old light when you can buy something like Sofirn SD05 for about $25.
Thank you arek 98. Yes, the taped thing is an inductor. It came like that.
Acrylic can be laser cut, so making the piece would not be the problem, it’s just that it’s not as tough as polycarbonate. But polycarbonate I’ve been told it can’t be laser cut, though I’ve found a company that is willing to test if it would actually work with such a thick plate (8mm). On the other hand, acrylic is a bit more transparent than PC, but I guess it’s not noticeable.
In any case, I was not aware there were so cheap scuba diving flashlights, and it has double the lumens with just one battery. I think I’ll buy one of those, and just leave the archon for an educational experiment.
I bought it on aliexpress. How do I know if it’s the newer version? and what’s that 3 minute step-down timer that you mention? does it turn off or something after 3 minutes?
One with timer when on high will ramp down to medium after 3 min.
There is no easy way to tell if not specified by seller. You can test it when you have it, put it in water to cool it down and wait 3min (in air thermal step down may happen sooner)
Its been couple of months since change and it is selling well, so maybe most sellers have a new stock.
