Solderless copper braid spring bypass discussion thread

Hi all, :slight_smile:

I present here, and open to discussion, an alternative to the usual soldered wire spring bypass, using a short length of copper braid, no soldering. On the BLF Q8, Astrolux EC01 and EC03 it resulted in a minimum of 20% increase in output.

The first attempt i did was on the BLF Q8 a couple years ago - following up on an AlexGT idea but without soldering. I used 6mm copper braid i ordered on EB at the time. Can’t find it again but it is easy to find on AE for instance.

I recently did it again on the Astrolux EC01 and EC03:

In both cases, the braid goes from the negative contact on the battery to the edge of the body tube and is secured by crews (Q8) or the battery tube itself (EC01, 03). It bypasses both the spring and whatever is in on the way to the battery tube following a shorter and more efficient current path.

When i first mentioned it in the main Q8 GB thread, some members expressed concerns a braid strand could come loose, find it’s way to the driver side and create a short. How probable and catastrophic this may be, it failed to alarm me so far. How dangerous is this mod is up to you to ponder.

On the Q8 where you had to unscrew the battery tube, remove the batteries, charge them, put them back and screw back the battery tube tight each time you had to recharge, the braid would certainly endure some stress that could possibly let a strand loose. On the EC01 and EC03 where you have USB charging, the battery will be left undisturbed and the braid untouched.

That said, i love this mod because it works really well, is very easy to do, undo and redo in seconds and does not require soldering.

I just redid a ceiling bounce comparison of the stock vs bypassed EC01 and EC03 and i was glad i could do several runs with and without bypass - it takes seconds to remove or replace the braid on these lights. I got a minimum of 23% increase in output.

Pro:

- No soldering

- Easy to undo/redo

- Shorter path - more efficient

  • Flexible - adapts to spring compression well

Con:

- Braid strands may come loose and create a short?

  • Copper braid less common then copper wire - need to source it

A word of caution: spring bypass as any mod that will significantly increase a light output will also produce more heat, stress both led(s), driver and battery(ies) and overall possibly push the light beyond its design capabilities - possibly resulting in a broken light, physical damages, fire, divorce, Darwin Award or regional disaster.

Going to try this method tomorrow, thanks.

Definitely this, at least put some solder in it so it stays whole.

I have a custom light where copper wool is stuffed into the spring. Ingenious solution. Reminds me on getting some myself to try.

That’s a clever idea, i like it.

The springs might be made of steel with some yellow coating, you could check with a magnet.

The copper braiding looks like solder wick or desoldering braid available at most electronic supply outlets
Cheers
OS

Interesting mod, good idea.
In order to increase longevity, could the Q8 get this mod with a single, longer copper wick?
Like… the same mod but “tied” (=fed through) into the springs on top and screwed down with a single piece of copper?

Very interesting! Reminds me of the copper braid bypasses Richard from Mountain Electronics used to do with his custom flashlights. And he still sells Solder Wick / Copper Braid for bypassing. His were soldered though. 6 years later and still holding strong in a Supfire M6:

I’ve never used copper braid for a spring bypass, but it seems to be very flexible due to all the strands. From my experience, a quality 22 or 24 AWG silicone wire is pretty easy to solder for a spring bypass. But I do see the appeal of using copper braid in certain flashlights without the need to solder.

How did it go?
Pictures?