As the title says, I just finished building my first flashlight! I’m sure the 90 minutes it took me from start to finish will decrease as I build more flashlights. It feels like a big accomplishment to have finally built one.
I used a Convoy S2 host, with an NLITE driver board and an XM-L2 T6 3C emitter. I also put in an anti-reflective coated lens. I purchased everything from Mountain Electronics. Richard’s website store makes it very easy to get into the flashlight building hobby, as he has everything you need in one place.
This flashlight will complement the S2 that Richard built for me, with the XP-G2 emitter. They will get put to use during nighttime bike rides. The XM-L2 will go on the handlebar, and the XP-G2 will go on my helmet.
My next build will be with my son, when the C10 parts come in from the group buy that 18sixfifty organized. My son can’t wait for the parts to arrive.
I have a C4 tint in the S2+ that I purchased from Banggood. I Like both the C4 and the C3 tints. The C4 is especially nice indoors, as it is less harsh than the cool white Fenix flashlights I have collected. The tint of the C3 seems to fit between the tints of the C4 and the cool white LEDs in my Fenix flashlights.
The most challenging part of the build was removing 7135 chips from the driver board. I won’t need supernova brightness with this light. I also put different spring on the driver board, as my protected cells were a very tight fit with the original board.
As it’s your first build we’ll allow you some leeway but the general rule around here is “Pictures or it didn’t happen”. :bigsmile: so show us the beam shots and glamshots.
Congrats! Strong work now let’s see some pictures, please. Like Rufusbduck said, without pics it is just theoretical. Don’t worry about how your soldering looks, mine is worse.
why would you want to decrease the time spent in this “job”?
Are you trying to mass produce flashlights so it is important to spend as little as possible time per one individual unit!
Or you do it because it is enjoyable and funn…
Here are some pictures. In each picture, the S2 on the left is the one that Richard built for me, with the XP-G2 R4 5A1 emitter. The S2 in the middle is the one I built, with the XM-L2 T6 3C emitter. The S2+ on the right came from Banggood, with the XM-L2 T6 4C emitter.
Here is a shot of the reflectors and emitters. Notice how the S2+ has a shallower reflector. It also has a much larger pill.
Here is a shot inside the head of the one I built. Before I fitted the emitter or driver, I used my old Weller D550 soldering gun to tin a couple of places on the pill. This seemed to make it easier to solder the driver to the pill with my regular soldering iron. You can see where I removed the 7135 chips. It wasn’t the cleanest of removals. I also changed the spring on the driver. The one that came on the driver was very stiff, and made my protected 18650s barely fit. In fact, it dented in the button top on a Tenergy battery. The new spring was scavenged from an old 3XAAA flashlight that quit working.
Here is my first attempt at a beamshot. I only have my iPad on hand, so the picture quality isn’t the best. The one on the left is the XP-G2 R4 5A1, built by Richard. The middle is the XM-L2 T6 3C I built today. The right is the S2+ from Banggood, with the XM-L2 T6 4C.
The beamshot doesn’t do the beams justice. The one on the right has a larger and less distinct hotspot than it appears. The colors also look different in real life. The one on the left has a very slight hint of rose. The one on the right is slightly creamy. The new one in the middle is closest to neutral white.
My driver has the NLITE firmware. I did ground star 4, as I don’t want mode memory on this light. This light will be used when I get up before dawn. I want it to always turn on in low mode, so I don’t blind myself.
I just looked at the driver that Richard put in my first S2. He removed four 7135 chips when he built that original light, and left the capacitor in the original place.
I don’t think I’ll try to move the capacitor to the other side. I may be able to remove it, but I’m not as confident in my ability to resolder it on the other side. I haven’t done a lot of surface mount soldering with such tiny components.
It was very relaxing to do the builds
