I have both a Mini AA and a pair of AA2s, and I’d really like to upgrade the emitters. The drivers are clearly visible, of course, but I’m darned if I can figure out how to get them out without wrecking them. I can’t tell if the ‘guts’ are screwed in, or just glued - they don’t appear to be soldered.
Any tips would be appreciated. I’ve already tried heat up to the boiling point without success.
I got my AAT open with a ronson jetlite lighter. IIRC its very similar to your AA2. Heat the threaded area of the head for ~10 seconds around, with it screwed into the body tube. Wrap the lower half in 3-4 layers of duct tape and clamp it firmly in my bench vise, real tight. Leave the head threaded all the way onto the body tube to avoid crushing it. Use a pipe strap wrench and crank on the knurled area of the head until it cracks open. I have opened several Fenix lights the same way.
Good Luck!!
OEM XP-G2 R4
XP-G3
Thanks, I’ll try that.
I’ll just have to overcome my fear of applying too much heat!
The mini series is not like that. Look inside the head. You will see 2 small holes to unscrew the pill it may be glued though, so a little heat may be required.
You’re right - I misquoted my own lights. :person_facepalming: They are in fact MA and M2A. The tubes are very thin.
I have tried gently twisting on the two holes you mentioned, but I was uncertain if the pill was threaded or simply pressed in.
I’ve opened several Fenix lights simply by putting them in a Ziplock bag and dangling them in boiling water. That wasn’t enough heat to loosen these, however. I’ll try with a bit more heat.
Aah OK then… Yeah my commentary is directed at the older Quark AA lights, with the head that twists apart. Good luck, these lights really benefit from todays emitters.
Good Luck!!