I´ve just spent most of my day playing around with the old sipik sk68 i had destroyed by dedoming the led.
So my first mod was to change the led to a xm-l I have just received. That was unimpressive though.
Then I tried a warm tint xp-g. That was unimpressive.
Wholly unsatisfied with the thing i decided to DD the XM-L. aND That was also unimpressive. Until i did a check on my battery. I´ve had 3 900 mAh flames sitting in a drawer all day, and just put them back in there when I finished to do the next mod. I never thought I could be so unlucky that all day I would pick the same battery when I needed one - but I did!
After tryin to put another battery in the flashlight I smile again. The DD XML is so much fun. Sure the light gets hot. Sure the runtime probably suck. Sure the battery can probably be damaged. But that is funny how those things doesnt matter once there is insane amounts of light.
So now I have to go over all the mods again. And BTW - the battery that did not perform very well measured 2,42 V when I checked it. Its now getting recykled.
Sorry I dont have any pictures , if you like I´ll try taking some in the morning.
After breaking it down to this i took the pill apart and took out the old parts.
Then I soldered some random wires to the new XML led and put it in the pill. Had to drill the wire holes a bit bigger since i used these mega wires.
The led was given some thermal goo to make a better thermal path. Something I was happy with later.
Now you must know that this mod is as much a "proof of concept" as anything else, so for making the plus battery connection I just cut the top of a plastic bottle with a plier until it fit and pressed it into place while at the same time squeezing the wire from the negative on the led firmly to the pill side. Crude but it works.
:bigsmile:
Now I´ll go outside and see if I can figure out how to make beam shots :~
Well I´m no expert fotographer and these were all taken with a pocket camera called Canon Ixus 300HS.
But here goes
Control shot
The tree is 25 meters away by the way.
Sipik SK68 original Flood
Sipik SK68 XML Flood
My dog decided to be a model because his master neglects him in favor of flashlights.
A Change of venue was in order since I dont work with models ;)
The tree line is 50 meters away.
Control shot
Sipik SK68 original flood
Sipik SK68 XML Flood
Sipik SK68 original Zoom
Sipik SK68 XML Zoom
And a side by side comparison, XML mod on the left.
Then a third venue. The hedge row tree is at 110 meters distance.
Control shot
Sipik SK68 original Flood
Sipik SK68 XML Flood
Sipik SK68 original Zoom
Sipik SK68 XML Zoom
Final thoughts on this mod:
Well I´ve had it for about 24 hours now and I must say I like it. I get around 15 minutes of light and it is constantly fading allthough never belov the original.
The zoom becomes somewhat useless since the lens cannot gather enough of the light, but it is still useful to me.
Regarding current and battery drain.
The current starts about 2,4 A when the battery is at 4,2V. So I´m well above the 2C that is normally regarded as max safe drain. I will not be keeping the light in this format for long. But I´ve yet to source or build a driver that fits the 15 mm pill. But it is a fun pocket rocket type of mod. Wish it was safe and had a 2 hour runtime in the same format. And a QTC pill for variable output. Well I can dream cant I :X
Notice how the larger die size of the XM-L does not focus as tight a beam.
I wonder if there is a smaller die that can be used /
Or if you tried overdriving the Cree Q5 the way a few throwers do that run it at 1.7 amps on high mode- that may actually throw a more intense beam than the XM-L..........
I have no idea how hard I can overdrive the thing, nor do I have any idea how since I only have the original driver as of now. And I have no idea yet if that can be modded to produce higher current output....
Well I just happen to have a XP-G that I bought for that purpose. But I dont think I´ll be all that impressed with the result. But I think I´ll try it none the less!
If you want it to throw you will keep the current emitter. If you want it to have more output in flood mode then that would be a case for changing the emitter I guess.
I have a P-4 edi-t with a xpg r4 4b neutral in it .
Most flood to throw lights have bad tints in them anyway ...the xpg is exactly what you'd think it would be .. a loss of throw and an overall gain of flood and output ....and a hell of a lot better tint . worth every bit of 7$ and soldering/desoldering 2 wires ..tough part is the driver since it ramps .. Even though hate the pwm ...The driver remains ..On this one anyway.:)
I won't show you a beam shot because not many people own a edi-t anyway BUT if you have a sipik 68 and another flood to throw that cranks the zoom down to half the size in throw mode ..you'll know what I'm talking about .. It made my edi-t light in throw almost the size of the sipik 68 ..So it almost doubled the size of the emitter pattern on the wall ...and an xpg emitter looks nicer anyway :P..tint again much nicer ...overall output doesn't seem brighter but it is because it's floodier rather than concentrated like the xre ...So don't do it for more output unless you plan on cranking up the amperage with a new driver too .. do it for the tint if it's a nasty purple ,or do it to pick up the natural colors outside ...
*** To all the sipik lovers... I must admit the sipik on a 14500 is much much brighter ..I'm still not a fanboy .. but it's bright (needs 3 modes)
Edited: XR-E or possibly XP-E for the throw end of it. A small die and smaller viewing angle would be much better for the throw, but the XM-L is great for flood.
Need a flashlight with interchangeable LEDs where you can rotate them around like a microscope. XR-E for throw, XM-L for flood, SST-90 just to scare people with. All in one light!
I am currently working on this XML directly to copper thing that match has proven can work. Well I can tell you he is good because it is REALLY HARD TO DO! Uhmph. I have 1 XML left (on this boat where I work) and I am debating if I should try it again.
