All I know is that mine comes stock with a 17mm driver, not soldered in, but with a threaded retaining ring holding it in place. The 7135 driver swap will be as easy as they come!
Welcome to the family, Inspector34!
Would anyone know the lens diameter?
Yeah, I was thinking this too, but to swap out the original with the 8x7135, I’m assuming it’s going to be quite a bit less bright dropping down from about 4.0a to 2.8a. I’ve gotten so used to this blinding light as is, I may just wait until such a time the driver craps out and then replace it with one that will yield much longer run times like the 8x7135.
Richie,
I purchased an 8 x 7135 (the higher amperage one, check illuminationsupply.com). I also ordered a few extra 7135 regulators to solder on. I might just add one, because I’m not sure I want this running close to 4 amps.
Thanks Jonny for the advice. It wouldn’t hurt to keep a replacement driver on hand. I’ll order it today. That 4a really is a lot to be pushing a single XML, and I’ve never really been comfortable about it.
I just placed an order for 2 x 8xAMC7135 (3.04A) (selectable) Mode Driver. I’m sure I’ll find a use for the second one. Thinking about it, the thought of doing away with the blinky modes really apeals to me and I’ll switch out the driver as soon as they arrive.
I had to use cut P60 pill for my mod because the 7135 chips are too close to the edge of the board and would interfere with the ring. So I couldn’t just direct-swap one driver for the other.
Nice. I ordered two as well, as I may need to get another HD2010 because this is a great host for the money. Super easy to replace stuff, and is an awesome thrower.
If you ever want custom modes for it, let me know. I’m going to do a basic low-med-high for mine, but make the time required for the light to be on before switching to the next mode be shorter, less than 1 second instead of 2. I find I like this better for reverse clickies as it makes mode switching more deliberate.
Hmm…crap, I’ll have to look into this. Maybe I can stack them on the side that contacts the battery, and just add a brass/copper post to reach above the 7135 chips. Although it seems as though if they are soldered on real carefully they can fit inside the pill.
bought this 17mm driver a few days ago from KD for another light of mine, I suppose it is the same driver but cheaper?
Its the screw-down ring part that was causing the interference. The ring is not thin enough, and would have ended up sitting ontop of the corners of the 7135 chips because they are placed too close to the edge of the board.
Andi has a great straight-on view of it here… look at how close the 7135 chips are to the edge of the 17mm board, in relation to the I.D. of the threaded retainer. The ring would end up sitting on top of the 7135s. This creates two problems first the threads will not engage, second it will lose the DC-DC boards primary -B contact. The ridge inside the pill that rests the DC-DC board is barely ~.25mm (maybe .5mm), so I think the threaded retainer also serves as the primary -B contact for the driver.
Ah crap, how did I not even think of that?!! Thanks for showing me this. It would be nice to sink further down the edge that the driver sits on so that the retaining ring could still thread on (basically, the driver will sit lower to account for the height of the 7135 chips, and then the threaded ring will rest on the chips). That would be some tough work without a lathe though, and there might not even be enough room. Time to hit the drawing board tonight.
Another option I guess would be to buy a 4 x 7135 board, and stack 4 more 7135 chips on the existing ones. Would only get you just over 3 amps though, as I doubt there’s room to triple stack them. That way you can use a thin insulating ring between the driver and the threaded retaining ring.
58mm. Full specs on it’s components are in my review and pics here: UPDATE: 5/19!! Review: ULTRAFIRE HD2010 from Tmart (warning: lots of pics!!)
There might be just enough room in there to triple stack them… I didn’t take an actual measurement when I had mine apart. Theres definitely room for a 2x stack though. I dont think an insulator between the board and ring is a good idea though. I speculate that the ring also serves as the -B contact for the board.
Yeah, I wasn’t sure if the edge that the board sits on would be enough of a ground. I already have my 8 x 7135 board, so I’ll try to figure something out with that.
Back to the drawing board for me as well. I was really hoping the 8 chip driver could be screwed on.
Looks like Andi was able to solder the PCB edges straight to the pill or do my eyes deceive me?
No he used the brass ring piece from a C8 pill. Others have had success soldering directly onto Aluminum, I haven’t though. Its always been easier for me to solder onto copper or brass.
Just a side note… brass is a SUPER easy material to work with. Hand fabricating it is easier than Lexan-polycarbonate (which can be shatter & chip prone) and even some hard-woods which can have complex grain structures that complicate tool stroke motion and direction. Its on par with acetal (Delrin). Grinding tools and cutting wheels plow right through Brass with no tooling wear. I laugh at the boutique builders who tout Brass as an exotic, high-end option for their designs.
I would have taken build pics of my P60 pill cut-down mod… but I had no idea it was going to work as well as it did. So sorry about that.
Thanks JohnnyMac 58mm.