Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory & vice versa (Modding Fails & Comebacks)

I looked for an existing thread of people sharing, commiserating, and perhaps learning, from their modding fails, and I couldn’t find one. So I thought I’d start one, because, well, I’m in the midst of an epic…

Long-winded unedited wank moved to my blog. I liked writing it. That doesn’t mean anyone should read it. Much shorter tale of woe to follow…

well, I liked your writing style
I’m not into modding yet, butt I did live in Seattle circa Nov/1970
actually Federal Way and it was dark when I went to work and dark when I went home
got closer at Alki Point and then Bellevue (couldn’t afford it now)
update your wank, plse

Short(er) version, earlier this year, after finding I couldn’t use my newly acquired Convoy L2 to visibly light a spot on low Seattle winter clouds, I decided to try to build a more powerful thrower.

  • Misguided XHP35 HI thrower build wasn’t less than first hoped, but not bad. I decided to mod the host and driver to try and squeeze more out of it.
  • When I put it together again after spending much too long modding the host, I shorted the driver, melting the switch and ruining the driver. $10, wasted.
  • New driver ordered. Shipment delayed for a month, then sat untouched for 2-3 months.
  • I finally decided to try and finish things up this past week. I modeled and 3D printed some centering rings. Sloppy tolerances, so I reamed them out.
  • Found a suitable resistor for modding the driver in a broken 12v USB adapter. Ripped contact off one end while desoldering it.
  • Repaired with solder paste. Paralleled with stock resistor.
  • Tests with electronic load didn’t limit current, extra, unmodded, driver had same behavior. Decided test wasn’t good.
  • Partially assembled light. Driver seems to work and limit current. Yay!
  • Finish reassembling flashlight. It doesn’t work!
  • Troubleshooting points to the emitter loosing magic smoke. Maybe a broken contact while tightening down bezel/reflector.
  • Decided to try again with a $2 12v emitter from AliExpress.
  • Didn’t work. Definitely released stinky black smoke from driver. Another short??!

I think I may finally quit this build while I’m behind. Or maybe I’ll try to repair the fried drivers by replacing the mosfets. I’m definitely not risking another XHP35 HI, or the undamaged H2-C though.

One way or another, I’m going to try stupid-proofing the host and coating the bottom side of the reflector and the exposed parts of the pill (beyond the emitter shelf) with conformal coating or insulating dope.

Thanks for taking the time to read it, and thanks for the kind encouragement.

After less than 100 words, I realized it would probably take me a while to get to the point, but I was having fun, and I thought other people might enjoy it. ~1000 words in, I was no closer to the point, but that seemed appropriate, given how long I’d spent on the mod, and how far I was from finishing it.

At almost 2000 words, I was starting to fatigue, and when I took stock, I saw that I was in the territory of scaring others off from posting, or even reading, and I still had some distance to go to unload my most recent frustrations, the frustrations that inspired me to start the thread in the first place. Which is to say, while I had a good start on something that could be an interesting, successful, personal essay, I was failing at everything I’d set out to do, and I still had a lot more work to do to finish and revise the essay I’d ended up writing. So, I packed it up, set it aside, and tried again.

500 words into that fresh start, I saw that it was going to run long, too. So, one more try. That one stays. It may not be great, but at least it isn’t too long.

Sounds like you were in the area back when Seattle was a one company town, and that company wasn’t doing so well. I’ve been here for pretty much all my adult life. I’m lucky to have picked up a house within the city limits 20y ago. I need to get my career/employment back on course though, or we won’t be able to afford to live here much longer. We could probably hold onto the house though, and rent it out while we live somewhere a lot cheaper (and sunnier). At this point, our house, which needs some work, but is perfectly livable, would likely be a teardown if we put it on the market. It’s nuts. I’ve had a lot of contact with recent college grads, I can’t imagine trying to make a life here at their age, even with today’s starting salaries.

You should try your hand at modding, well, you should if you like tinkering. I think the important things are: a good soldering iron, good solder, heat sink clips, and extra flux. Oh, yeah, and not modding hosts unless you can either buy the parts ready made, or you have the tools and skills to fab the part in your sleep. That’s a start, anyway. Cheers.

More or less similar thread :wink:
What did you BREAK today?

I don’t go writing there that much, but I’ve done some mess during my short way here :smiley: :person_facepalming: