I got my two lights. They are very lightweight, they did not waste aluminium on these! But the build seems very ok, I see no major design flaws.
I like the light for the price you cant hardly beat it. I don’t have one of these style lights that is a hot rod so one them will be getting the treatment.
With the XPE in it still, I am getting 950ma on high, 425ma on medium, and 200ma on low.
This might be one of the best cheap lights I have bought in long time, maybe ever. :heart_eyes:
It inspired me so much that I bought a Convoy S2+ 18350 host from RMM. I have some efest 18350’s from vaping and they are just staring at me and wanting to be in something.
Warning: Coupon is either invalid, expired or reached it’s usage limit!
I would buy 3 more probably if it would go active again.
The reflector on my direct drive twisty SS-5039 softened and compressed in so the length was wrong. I sacrificed a Black Cat to take its Aluminum reflector. That made it end up longer but it improved the throw.
4.97$ now…
got my 2, I was thinking I’d give them to the boys to use at the airsoft range but this light seems to throw pretty well, don’t want them to damage other kids eyes. But then again, others (not all are kids) are using all sorts of lights.
Ok, my 3 arrived today and I’ve already started considering what I’m going to do to them. I have ZERO experience modding but figured a flashlight this cheap and easy to take apart would be a good platform to practice on.
That said, I have no idea where to start. Suggestions?
Mod I like to do but.
It should produce more lumens, if……
- Getting some thermal compound under the LED star. (easy enough).
- Weld in some wires to eliminate the resistant on springs.
- Add a better LED with star. this one on 16mm star. Eg. http://www.fasttech.com/product/1425001-cree-xm-l2-t6-4c-10w-1100lm-4200-4500k-neutral $3.84 for XM-l2 warm.
- Replace the driver with a better one. This should fit. 17mm diag chip. Eg. http://www.fasttech.com/products/1612/10001683/1186300-6-amc7135-2-group-35-modes-led-flashlight-driver-n (this will get pretty hot on hi 2100 mA.) $2.76
If a good reflector can be found, I don’t see any problem with the driver/LED upgrade.
What I did………
- thermal compound under the LED star.
- I cut up a piece of wax paper (from a box of crackers) adn added it between the glass and reflector. It warms up a bit and did not loose much brightness at all.
- I may add wires to the springs to lessen the resistant but that is about all I’ll do since these will be beater lights in the cars.
Someone mentioned that there may be a way to up the current easily. But I have no idea how. If someone would take a picture of the board and show what needs to be done, would be nice.
Cheers
The best LED size depends on whether you want throw for distance, or a wide beam for up close. Usually, the choice is an XM-L or XM-L2, but not if you want to see as far as possible. This is a light weight flashlight, so one shouldn’t increase the current too far. Get at least an SK-68 if you want high current.
Received mine today. I’m really happy with these! For $2.77 each, we really do live in a “budget light” world nowadays don’t we?
The modders can go crazy with these and spend more money and time to make them better, (and more power to them!), but I like these just the way they are.
I love CW beams and these “only XPE’s” deliver. Beautiful white, white with no yellow or orange. With their deep, smooth reflectors these really are throwers.
Thanks to lancman though I remembered I had some diffusing film I bought years ago and covered the lens with some and now have a wider beam that still throws well.
My examples are very well made and I’m happy with the build. Yes, the threads could be a little better but all in all, these things are more than adequate quality wise.
With a GID O-ring under the lens, a GID tail cap that operates a nice reverse clicky and pretty darn nice build quality, for $2.77, what’s not to like? :bigsmile:
Edit: Forgot to thank myled.com. My last 3 orders with them have been superb. Fast shipping with shipping confirmation number provided and just great service all around!
I got the 3 I ordered and I am very happy with them…what a bargain! Of course it’s not up to Convoy standards but IMO the annodizing on these is a lot better than many of the cheap lights.
I gave one to my dad and another to my daughter. The last one I modded and replaced the LED with a XM-L2 U2 3C on a Noctigon. I also replaced driver with a standard 3A Qlite. I had to trim/sand the driver with a rotary tool for it to fit. The spring for the Qlite was too short so I replaced it with a longer one.
I used a regular XML butterfly centering ring which fit perfectly into the stock reflector. However I found the stock reflector somewhat ringy. So I replaced the reflector with a 10 degree TIR from LEDDNA. The TIR spacer had to be trimmed in order to fit.
But wow, what a beatiful bright smooth floody beam! It has a nice big defined hotspot and wide spill. The light does warm up quickly, but it seems to handle the heat quite well. The beam is now very similar to my Roche F6 and Convoy S2+. I will add pics of the light and beam shots later when I get home tonight.
However while I am super happy with the light after I modded it…when I think about what the mods cost, it’s only a few more dollars for a Convoy S2+ and I much rather have a S2+. I’m not complaining about the light though…just my choice of mods. I could have saved some money and just bridged the stock driver.
Here are the beam shots. Sorry for the poor pictures, I shot it with my compact camera and it was shot through a window hence the strange reflections. It was just too cold to go outside, lol. In reality there’s the spill is brighter than pictures show. My camera didn’t have the dynamic range to photograph it properly.
Beam shot of light after the mods (XM-L2 with 3A Qlite)
Beam shot of light before the mods. I had to push exposure over a stop since the stock XPE is dim compared to the XM-L2 @ 3A.
I like them too, but I will just put some leftover xml/xml2 on al in there and gonna keep the stock driver +pencil mod. Just not really worth it to put 10$ of parts in there. Will do it’s job just fine in the workshop.
My thoughts exactly. I had an XML U2 1C. soldered it on to the star and complete change. Much better light pulls a little more @1200ma now as well.
It’s the reason I don’t mod any more, by time you spend money buying hosts, drivers, LEDs etc and put all the time in, you realise you could have bought a branded light that works better out the box. Unless you want to build a monster of course.
Marc.
I guess the 2 amp. SS-5039 on my keychain is a monster.
Received mine, these were a great deal! Thanks torchjunkie!
Replace the centering ring with this shorter clear one.
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1616/10007066/1576101-xm-l-reflector-to-xp-g-reflector-converter
A great, cheap & easy mod whether you're keeping the emitter or swapping to another XP sized one.
Just wondering Gj, what does swapping out the white centering ring for the shorter clear one accomplish?
These little cheapos are great. I bypassed the spring and bridged one of the resistors and swapped out the led with a dedomed xm-l2. Runs at just over 2A and gets only slightly warm. Side by side with a stock one it blows it away. I’m giving this one away to a guy who works at the gas station down the street. He’s seen a few of my lights and wanted to know if I’d build him one he can take back to Pakistan in a few weeks. I almost hate to give it away now, but he’ll be thrilled with it. And, it only cost me a few bucks. I have an XP-E2 on Noctigon I think I’ll try next.
It allows more light to reach the reflector, which is generally a significant factor in a flashlight's performance. Specifically, the tall ring blocks or diffuses the light headed for the inner part of the reflector which produces the corona around the hotspot. That's why the stock light has a 'pencil beam'. Replacing it effectively widens the beam making it what many will call 'more useable'. Certainly depends a lot on personal preference.
Thanks much for the explanation Gj!