My take on modding the Palight BOSS1

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
1

To star with, I really like the flashlight, but the threads are puny. They are not going to last long. Other than that I dont think it has any major issues.
So I tried to mod it like others did, essentially by shorting a dedomed xm-l2 u4 or xp-l V6 emitter, and then went even further and tried to do something about the threads.
My solution is not the best, but works, so was worth trying.
First of all, the BOSS:

I decided to mod it so that I could open the flashlight from the tailcap, right where the handle is mounted. To protect the flimsy threads in the middle of the flashlight between the part that carries the battery and the reflector part. It is easier on the threads to to open it while holding the light tailcap and. Risk of cross-threading them is much lower.To be able to do that I had to figure out how to mount the switch. The only way I could think of was to make it removable. I mean the red fibre glass circle. To make it easier to secure it I had to reverse the cells and rewire them. Enough talk, let the pictures tell the whole story!

the springs from the tailcap PCB board were substituted for brass knobs from the driver

Since I tried to keep the driver I made another PCB circle from a piece of a PCB board.

I tossed the retaining ring as well, it was too fragile to keep in the flashlight. To do that, I had to put some copper on the contact board to get enough contact with the aluminum ring. I moved the aluminum ring that was under the driver right above my new contact board.

I needed to do some soldering, too.
all mounted together - the body screwed tight pushes sufficiently to keep the contact plate int the right position. No flimsy stupidly thin retaining ring is needed!!!

the cells now protrude from the tailcap end

to keep he original switch I had to figure out how to take it apart put it back together in every time I change the cells without too much hassle or damaging it. So I drilled 2 7mm holes right next to 2 original holes for screws and the filed the fibre glass in between. The screw heads now keep the switch plate in its place. It is 3mm thick, so solid enough not to break from the spring load. To replace the cells I have to unscrew the tailcap end, which is much easier on the threads, and then twist the switch plate from this


to this

and it pops out due the tension from the springs. Did I mention I reversed the cells? It is easier to manipulate with the switch plate with the brass knobs instead of the long springs, the springs would make it difficult and clumsy.

And most importantly the tailcap with the puny flimsy frail threads can be screwed to the body without any tension that would definitely destroy the threads sooner or later.

That saves me from unscrewing the body each single time I want to replace the cells.

To sum up, it is not the most user friendly and easiest mod, but there does not seem anything else one can do to protect the threads. My mod is not the most convenient and handiest to use, but it works, so it is all I need. I need a cheap thrower that will last for years, and this mod will surely significantly improve the life span of the threads, which are the greatest design flaw of this otherwise decent flashlight.

Beamshots will come later.

HOpe you like it and will draw some inspiration for your mods.
Any ideas or comments or improvements are welcome!

2

That looks like a lot of work. I probably would have just unscrewed the body each time :slight_smile: Nicely done. And yes, please provide some beamshots.

3

That would wear out the threads, because they are screwed under tension from the springs, and are too fine to withold it over the course of time without cross threading.

4

Yes very clever!
Nicely done, I would not be able to.
Could a copper ring instead of the nubs not be making it easier to turn that part?

5

Copper ring? Yes, I thought of that too, I even bought a piece of a copper sheet, but then realized it is easier to solder the nubs instead of making the copper ring. On the other hand, the stock configuration requires knobs or something like that on the driver side, otherwise cells do not make contact with the driver, the retaining ring prevents from that. And since it is already extremely thin, any modding of it is out of question. One would have to solder the copper ring right on the copper knobs, which is quite difficult or modify the cells, which makes them unusable in other lights.

6

Glad to see you got a thrower together :slight_smile: I think you have been following most of the thrower build threads for quite some time!

What emitter did you decide on, or are you still playing with the setup?

Looking forward to some measurements & beamshots. :beer:

7

I am waiting for an xm-l2 u4 1c and xp-l v6 1d that I ordered some time ago.

For the time being I am using a dedomed xm-l 2 u3 1a. I was also thinking about a dedomed xp-g2, but the hotspot would probably be too tiny to be usable and it has a high vf, so it is out of question now. I will not be using this light for hours, so I am OK with the output getting low with the cells discharging. 4x 26650 have enough juice to push the emitter hard enough for a while. Should it become a problem, however, I will buy a MTN driver and somehow make it work, but that would require rewiring it to 2s2p, which is too much tinkering for me right now.

I will post some beamshots later, but I dont have a luxmeter, so I can not measure it.

8

an update- I did a test run. I let the flashlight on for an hour on 4p1s 26650s that were almost fully charged. There is no electronics in the light, so it is a direct drive. My XM-L2 U3 1A emitter has now a black stripe right in the middle, so I guess it is about to kick the bucket. It was on a 20mm noctigon, the thermal paste was a good quality one and there was an extremely thin layer of it. This test was preceded by another bench test with 16minutes of continuous running and the led was OK, but todays test run caused a black line across the emitter after 10 minutes…

I dont want to fry another led, but I want to keep this light as simple as possible, so I dont want to put there a driver, it only has one purpose- to throw, but I need it to be usable for prolonged periods of time - at least 10-15 minutes of continuous runtimes.

Now I have a noob question. I have an XM-l2 U4 1C and an XP-l V6 1D on 20mm noctigons. I want to run it 4p1s DD, preferably with no driver. What should I try next - the xm-l2 or xp-l or even order an xp-g2 ( it should be much harder to toast because of the highest Vf). Is it possible not to be destroying emitters in such a light with no current regulation or not? Thanks!

9

You could try a few more of the same emitters in case that one was less robust than usual- they do vary a bit even from the same lot. Also less powerful cells or a resistor perhaps? Keeps it simple, and hopefully working!

Phil

10

An XP-G2 would probably poof if the XM-L2 did. I wouldn’t try that one it you don’t want some kind of regulation. The XP-L might survive a little better, being on SC5 but I can’t say I’ve tried DD on that many big cells.

11

I’d try my luck with the XP-L.

12

An update after almost 2 years:
The tail end threads still look almost like new. Probably thanks to the mod. The tailcap o-ring was damaged and I did not bother to replace it.
I had to swap the emitter. I eventually used a dedomed xp-l V6 1A. It was not easy to dedome, and still has tiny pieces of the dome on the phosphorus, but has been able to withstand many hours of a direct drive on 4p1s 26650 cells without any visible damage. The throw is visually the same as it was before with an xm-l 2 U3 1A.
I have changed my mind and bought a driver to make it more usable. I know it contradicts what I wrote earlier, but it was reasonable. I had to buy a driver for another flashlight, so I bought one for this one too. The real life usability has actually increased with a few steps between full power and off.

This light has already been discontinued, but mine is still running strong. Too bad they did not improve the original BOSS, but stopped the production instead . If it was built properly with a few adjustments to the original design, it would be a very powerful, yet simple and reliable thrower.

13

Another update: My dedomed xp-l V6 1A is dead. After dedoming, there were tiny remnants of the silicone over the chip, so small I did not bother to remove them. Besides, I would probably not be able of such precise work without damaging the led. It was visible on a wall shot, but not in real outdoor use, so I left them. The silicone bits have survived countless hours of direct drive running, until they all of a sudden burned. Seeing the led is on its last legs, I tried to remove them with a scalpel in a final desperate attempt. And I removed them with phosphorus as well. So I officially killed it. It is blue and violet now.

I have 2x xp-l V6 0D already ordered, and I will post some beamshots after reflowing them and dedoming.

And I have a question. What is the best method to properly dedome these leds? I dont want to leave any silicone on the led now. Will acetone work? Thanks!

14

If there is anyone still interested in the fate of my old Boss, here are some beamshots

xm-l 2 U3 1A properly dedomed withou any residues of the silicone

  • I liked the tint, too bad it held up only about 2 months or so, then died suddenly after an hour of continuous running on the DD. It obviously could not take direct drive from 4x Trustfire 26650 cells. It died after a black stripe occurred across the die. Too bad I do not have better photos.

” beamshot”:https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4NMkuyBXm0_WU8yQmZjN2hhdnM

xp-l V6 1A poorly dedomed, tiny bits of silicone could not be removed from the led. This LED was much stouter and could really take some full direct drive , would probably be still running strong even today, had it not burned after some dirt from the dust landed on the remnants of the silicone dome. The tint was much cooler than the xm-l2 U3 1A.

beamshot

I will post some beamshots of xp-l V6 D0, but I need more time for thorough testing.
BTW the threads are still intact.

And for comparison ” BLF GT”:blf gt.jpg - Google Drive on turbo

15

I’ve had similar problems with dedoming the XPL V6 1A. I use warm has and the silicone does not separate cleanly from the phosphor. Did you have better luck with dedoming the V6 0D?

16

Luck is the right word. These leds are very difficult to dedome.

Firstly I tried to slice the dome off, but I could not get a clean cut, and ended up with a partially cut, partially crumbled dome.
With no other way than having to dedome it, I used hot acetone, kept the led in the warm/hot acetone bath for a few hours, but even then the dome was still stuck to the phosphorus, although its consistence changed and it was friable. That was pretty much the best result I could get from traditional dedoming. Then I took a scalpel and tried to manually remove as much of the dome as possible. So I removed piece by piece until there was just a thin layer of the original silicone left.
The led is between sliced and properly dedomed now, but I am not able to do it better.

That is why I did not post beamshots, it is simply too uncertain to tell how will it work, or whether it burns or not. But I am optimistic about the led, because I already let it run on direct drive from 4p 18650 30Q unprotected cells for about 30 minutes, and the led seems to be OK, but it is still too early to tell for sure…