Here is how to mod the ThruNite TN-31 flashlight...

Toppel · June 8, 2013, 11:11pm

Tom E:

Well, depends where/how you are checking by eye. Sometime indoors, I’m thinking a 1,400 lumens HD2010 is nothing great, but outdoors in a range of 50-100 meters, wow, incredible amt of light and throw. So I believe to really see the result of the resistor mod on an already de-domed LED, you have to see it stretch it’s legs in a real distance shot. The meters don’t fool you - every reading i’ve gotten is confirmed outdoors at distance - kind of all makes sense - I can see a 125 kcd light having the edge over a 110 kcd light, etc. Only thing that really shows up outdoors is the pencil beam vs. shear power throw - Small Sun T10-S vs a BTU Shocker for example.

Also, did you have the kapton tape and remove it? Did you re-use the star and reset it in AS5 or equivalent, or use a SinkPAD?

Thank you for your answer! Had no chance to take it outside by night yet.

I unsoldered the star with the LED to put it into cellulose thinner to dedome it. In my TN31 there was no tape. After that I reset it like it was.

I have a spare XM-L2 CW from Thrunite incomming. Will dedome that too and exchange the stars.

Tom_E · June 9, 2013, 12:26am

Toppel:

Tom E:

Well, depends where/how you are checking by eye. Sometime indoors, I'm thinking a 1,400 lumens HD2010 is nothing great, but outdoors in a range of 50-100 meters, wow, incredible amt of light and throw. So I believe to really see the result of the resistor mod on an already de-domed LED, you have to see it stretch it's legs in a real distance shot. The meters don't fool you - every reading i've gotten is confirmed outdoors at distance - kind of all makes sense - I can see a 125 kcd light having the edge over a 110 kcd light, etc. Only thing that really shows up outdoors is the pencil beam vs. shear power throw - Small Sun T10-S vs a BTU Shocker for example.

Also, did you have the kapton tape and remove it? Did you re-use the star and reset it in AS5 or equivalent, or use a SinkPAD?

Thank you for your answer! Had no chance to take it outside by night yet. I unsoldered the star with the LED to put it into cellulose thinner to dedome it. In my TN31 there was no tape. After that I reset it like it was. I have a spare XM-L2 CW from Thrunite incomming. Will dedome that too and exchange the stars.

Oh, also I used beefier wires than they had - I think that's important with the resistor mod - I used 22 or 20 gauge wires.

Toppel · June 9, 2013, 1:17am

Tom E:

Toppel:

Tom E:

Well, depends where/how you are checking by eye. Sometime indoors, I’m thinking a 1,400 lumens HD2010 is nothing great, but outdoors in a range of 50-100 meters, wow, incredible amt of light and throw. So I believe to really see the result of the resistor mod on an already de-domed LED, you have to see it stretch it’s legs in a real distance shot. The meters don’t fool you - every reading i’ve gotten is confirmed outdoors at distance - kind of all makes sense - I can see a 125 kcd light having the edge over a 110 kcd light, etc. Only thing that really shows up outdoors is the pencil beam vs. shear power throw - Small Sun T10-S vs a BTU Shocker for example.

Also, did you have the kapton tape and remove it? Did you re-use the star and reset it in AS5 or equivalent, or use a SinkPAD?

Thank you for your answer! Had no chance to take it outside by night yet. I unsoldered the star with the LED to put it into cellulose thinner to dedome it. In my TN31 there was no tape. After that I reset it like it was. I have a spare XM-L2 CW from Thrunite incomming. Will dedome that too and exchange the stars.

Oh, also I used beefier wires than they had - I think that’s important with the resistor mod - I used 22 or 20 gauge wires.

Where do I get those?

Edit:
Something like this?
http://www.ebay.de/itm/2M-Silikon-Kabel-22-AWG-22AWG-OD-1-7mm-rot-schwarz-/271217575718?pt=RC_Modellbau&hash=item3f25d3c726

Tom_E · June 9, 2013, 2:23am

From IOS you can get 22 gauge and 18 gauge at a good price. I've been buying 20 gauge silicone from a rather pricey eBay source in the US - like $10 w/shipping for 30 inches of black, 30 inches of red.

Tom_E · June 13, 2013, 12:01am

Mine gets hot in the same place - think AlexGT mentioned the same thing. It's a good sign the heat is getting out because this resistor mod is really cranking up the amps. I notice it in 3 mins, hoping it would disperse better over time.

Toppel · June 20, 2013, 11:11am

Alright, finally modding my TN31 is done.

First I dedomed the stock XM-L.
Then I did the resistormod.
After that I replaced the stock wires with AWG 18 wires.

Today I recieved the XM-L2 in copper from Thrunite.
I dedomed it and replaced the XM-L.
Here is the result:

Don’t know, what to think about that…
Hotspot got tighter.
Colour of light got more yellowish.

Let the night come

Toppel

Slewflash · June 20, 2013, 11:15am

Do you have a light meter to measure which one is brighter and has more lux?

Toppel · June 20, 2013, 11:17am

Unfortunately not.

Tom_E · June 20, 2013, 11:33am

It's looking good to me! Think you nailed it. I believe the XML U2 is a 1A, while the XM-L2 is a 1C, so tint is as expected.

Slewflash · June 20, 2013, 11:49am

Stock TN31 XML2 is 1C?

Toppel · June 20, 2013, 11:54am

I asked Thrunite to send me the XM-L2 in CW on copper.

Tom_E · June 20, 2013, 12:44pm

1C is cool white, technically, and the stock star is copper with a direct thermal path - bigger than SinkPAD's, thicker -- actually nicest copper star I've seen. I emailed ThruNite a couple of weeks ago for the tint, and they replied XM-L2 U2 1C - I posted their reply somewhere...

Slewflash · June 20, 2013, 12:53pm

Ah right, thanks!

Nightbird95 · July 10, 2013, 7:49am

Thank you guys for all these information.

I have already dedomed my SupBeam K40. It also has a thick copper star similar to the Thrunite TN31. Like Toppel, I just removed the copper star and ‘marinated’ it in gasoline to get the dome off and I am very happy with the results. Here’s the picture I took comparing it with my 2 Convoy C8s. The leftmost is a Convoy C8 T6 3C with 10*7135, the middle is a Convoy C8 T6 3C with 10*7135 and dedomed, the rightmost is my SupBeam K40 dedomed:

I’m doing the resistor mod next using the resistors I won from RaceR86. J)

Nightbird95 · July 10, 2013, 12:15pm

By the way, what’s the value of the resistor that you used in your resistor mods? I have R910, R500 & R120 resistors.

Tom_E · July 10, 2013, 1:47pm

I've been using that exact R082 part from DigiKey - they are like $1 each. I've done 3 TN31's so far with resistor mod and de-domed, and I measured all 3 at about 345-350 kcd, though my #'s are a little low, so think slewflash measured one of those at 360-370 kcd I believe.

Actually even the expensive light meters ($150-$400) are rated at +/- 5% in accuracy, so there's potentially a lot of slop in these #'s.

Nightbird95 · July 10, 2013, 1:46pm

Thanx TomE.

Nightbird95 · July 10, 2013, 2:30pm

I went ahead and used my smallest valued resistor, the R120, in modding my K40. The results were just amazing. The previous tail cap reading was 1350 mA at 12.4 volts. The reading now is 1990 mA at 12.4 volts. 47.4% increase. :bigsmile:

Nightbird95 · July 10, 2013, 2:41pm

Correction: The total voltage was only 11.48 v at 1990 mA. Still a 37.33 % increase in current. :bigsmile:

ImA4Wheelr · July 22, 2013, 7:05pm

It seems almost everyone is only adding one R082 resister to get to about 5amps. Why not add 2 and get to about 7amps? It seems the light has adequate heatsinking.