Hello and welcome! There's tons of modding info around, not sure best place to start though - others may have better suggestions. Do you mean C8 XM-L2 U2? Best to leave us a link to identify the exact light. By PCB board, do you mean driver board? We call the board the LED is mounted to the "PCMCB" or "star", while the driver board is simply the "driver". Mnay times the driver is soldered on the sides, but I've seen/heard of a PCMCB soldered on the sides.
If it's the driver you are trying to remove, I've removed soldered drivers many, many times, always successfully - you have to be pretty careful, but you can use solder wick to remove as much solder as you can, then shave off and cut through the remaining solder using a good sharp blade (I use an X-Acto type of knife), cutting between the board and the pill side, then maybe gently prying it up - seems to always work for me.
Yes I meant Ultrafire C8 CREE XML-L2 U2 Link But the info page is not very detailed.
I meant the driver board where there is this positive rated spring that touch the battery, there is no chips near the spring unlike better after-market drivers or flashlights Iāve seen online so I guess I got a very cheap one and I would greatly benefit from better driver.
The output lumen is from my eyes not very different from my Ultrafire 502b CREE XM L2 U2, the difference is obviously that the 502 have more flood and C8 got a good focus throw.
Well, that type of driver is typical of "UltraFire" lights, actually - regulation is usually questionable, sometimes it has it, sometimes not. The 7135 based drivers are better, but rare to find them in a stock C8 accept for the XinTD from IOS and the Convoy C8 from FastTech.
You will not get much output from any single cell XM-L2 light without a high quality battery - that's probably the biggest problem if you are using a battery pulled from a laptop. Panasonic PD's are my favorite for that setup, but Samsung 20R's are better because of their lower resistance, though lower capacity. The results you are seeing I would expect on a low quality battery.
Funny they look exactly like mines; ICR 18650 22B, just the next model from yours, not a bad battery at all from what I have gathered from google. But yeah the latest battery should be maybe a tad better for long use.
The 20R's are INR, not ICR - big difference. Here's the review and details: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/17136. HKJ's shown calculated internal resistance is the best of any batteries he tested. I got INR 20Q's as well and they seem just as good in my testing.
Oops indeed its not meant for the same use. I might get a pair, a good thing is that their rather cheap ! But isnāt that using 2 disposable lithium CR123a is the best power output you can get ?
My XinTD is en route so I will see how much of a difference it makes.
Also I discover 2 things to improve output power : copper pill and AR coated lens.
I would suggest not trying two cr123 cells unless you really absolutely definitely in no question know for a fact the light will take it.
You could order a brass pill from fasttech, if it screws into your c8 (no guaranteeās here) then an xm-l2 u2 on a noctigon star from intloutdoor, dropped in a jar of petrol till the dome falls off, qlite driver from intloutdoor with extra 7135ās (380ma rated) and copper braid every spring in the light should get it up there.
aren't the disposable CR123A's a lower voltage than rechargeable lithiums? So omega may have a point there, though I haven't heard it before.
I upgraded my mod'ed UF C8 to a true copper pill custom made on a lathe, but didn't measure any noticeable gain, and didn't expect to get any either. The direct thermal path copper stars will get a gain, but if you already have that, a copper pill really won't make any difference. The AR lens will definitely help, but has to be a good one -- FT or KD AR lens are garbage - again I did lumens and throw measurements and no measurable difference. flashlightlens.com are true quality ones, I believe Hanks at IOS sells good ones as well, but can't verify that.
Is that really this easy ? Because its rather risky to damage this high quality LED at $10.
I will not try 2 cr123 since it could be dangerous.
The best lens is to remove it and letting the head open but you have to be really careful.
Anyway the difference should be almost invisible to the naked eyes.
Dunno if you read my "perfect de-dome" thread, but I tried several failed methods until I tried gas, and there's no turning back, no better easier way - I'm 100% with the gas method and I've done a dozen or more now. My early attempts were all on old T6's I've got piles of laying around. so, try an old T6 at first and see for yourself. Actually now, I don't wait til it falls off - I let it soak 2-3 hrs and if it isn't visibly off or lose, I just flick it off because it's not really being held on anymore. so even after 6-12 hrs if it doesn't look loose, it is loose and can be flicked off cleanly with no phosphor damage, as long as you don't hit the phosphor.
Just got my XinTD V4 C8, amazing light ! I love the neutral tint, firefly mode and build color/quality, BUT it is not brighter !
Although I love the far better color rendition, it make things seem brighter when they are far way because the light is natural.
I will try dedome on my other LED, any kind of gas does it ?
Also I wonder how can different battery influence the light output since it is regulated ? All batteries are too weak to perform at 100% chips requirement ? Any recommendation of trusted battery supplier ? Because I fear there is many fake battery sold by chinese online and these things can become explosive !
Best battery is s Samsung 20R or 20Q. The more I test the 20Q's I find them getting the same result as 20R's. 20Q's are available now at FastTech - best price, just ordered 2 more myself. FT told me they will get in the 20R's, but who knows, not yet. The Pana CH's or Pana PD's or Sony 30A batteries aren't as good, but the Pana PD's may be worth it for the longer runtime, though they are pricey, even at FT. Type of gas shouldn't matter - I use regular from the pump. I got the 20R's and 20Q's off of eBay, think Hong Kong.
