What did you mod today?

However, if it was some magic magnifier than increased lumens 2% you would be all for it!

To get one single light that can do all
And small and light is in my terms 16340. For me the mini is already big.

Where you never in the situation: Yes, at home I have the right light for the job

I need a dual switch light for testing all switch combos my drivers and firmware support. Iā€™ve had a L4 laying around hardly used for ages so why not give it new life as a driver firmware testing unit. My drivers are 17mm though, so I made a specific version for the L4 with integrated E-switch. As itā€™s bigger I can fit more regulators on it, so I now have full constant current PWM free ramping from 0.05 amps up to theoretically as high as 8.5 amps.

New custom L4 driver:

Flashing firmware acupuncture style, only have to unscrew the head and stickā€™em in:

The only LED I have around that can handle up to 8.5 amps is the SST-40 so thatā€™s what I used. So, now I finally have a test unit. I need one because testing on a bench platform is not the same as using a real light.

those capes are handy for colour filters.

Nice Mike C! Would this work as e-switch only? How's the parasitic drain? I got lots of questions, but mainly what's the MCU?

I believe itā€™s an attiny1634, he has a thread on them here

Beautiful driver MikeC, did you use a script for those vias or place them all by hand?!

Iā€™d say Iā€™d try to use that method (Cu ground ring with lots of vias) next time I need to size up a driver quickly but Iā€™d never get that many vias aligned that well. Thatā€™s a piece of art!

Thanks guys! Cereal_killer is correct. I use the ATtiny1634. Drivers and firmware support off-switch, E-switch and dual-switch. Same firmware, no need to re-flash, which is why I need a dual switch light for testing so I can test it all. I have a switch configuration setting so I can change on the fly.

I havenā€™t tested parasitic drain with my better DMMs. I just tested with the one I have here and itā€™s undetectable, but Iā€™ll test some tine during the weekend with my better DMMs. When I built 7135 and CAT4104 based drivers I got it down to 0.1uA with OTSM compatible drivers, but I need to test with my better DMMs when using these new regulators. They will have some sort of shutdown standby current, hopefully really low. Datasheet only specifies a max shutdown current of 1uA, no typical or minimum shutdown current.

To keep parasitic drain to minimum I power the digipot directly from a MCU pin, and the negative side of the voltage divider doesnā€™t go to ground, it also goes to a MCU pin so that I can switch off GND for the divider. On of the benefits to having a lot of pins to play with :slight_smile: I donā€™t actually need the voltage divider for 1S but I use it for OTSM power off detection.

I use a script. Placing them all by hand would be horrible! Iā€™ve deleted a few vias though, as I routed some signal paths out in the GND ring area.

K, thanx! Might be asking you more bout this, but on the dedicated thread - I'm subscribed now.

Recently (like 3 weeks ago) I've modded Convoy S2+. This is one of the twin lights I want to put together. This is supposed to end up on my bike's steering bar since I'm cycling a lot. So the plan is to install 2xConvoy S2+ with striped lens (as short range lights = do not blind other drivers), a mid range one (thinking if not use Emisar D4s) and a long range (Convoy C8 SMO?) and Fireflies PL47 on head. All the lights will be 4000K, various CRI (70-95). This is what I've done: I cut off a piece of brass rod, filed, sanded, drilled holes and fit into the pill:

Then put some Arctic MX-2 paste inside to fill out remaining gaps and pushed in the piece of brass rod leading wires through.

The rest was a piece a cake. Used Luxeon V 4000K from L4P (which I love, even with not the highest possible CRI). I soldered it onto the pill with a tin paste.

Soldered wires, bridged springs and put parts together. You surely know how does the C S2+ look like so I skip the picture of host. But what's significant. Firstly I put inside just a cheap striped lens for S2 (don't remember where acquired - BG? GB? or Ali?). After a few days arrived an original Carclo Stripe lens LT-0843. I was stunned with an output difference it caused. Looks like 29% lux gain!

Cheap stripe lens:

Genuine Carclo stripe lens:

May your weekend be full of succesfull mods! :BEER:

Have a while more so maybe I could get you bored with another my build. Nothing really interesting.

A Jaxman X1/XHP50.2 This is bill of components:

2.5A 6V FX-35 driver

XHP50.2 4000K 80CRI LED

Jaxman X1 host (not available any more, a pity)

Some on-site pics:

Resuld? Predictible - not bad performance but greenish corona is above my acceptance level. Some pics:

have the 3-LED version; do you think itā€™s enough to change the FET to give the flashlight a bit of sprint?

Good mods 1stein!
I find the 80CRI Cree leds very acceptable outdoors, even the yellow corona.

Thanks djozz. I wish I knew as much as you guys, but Iā€™m very happy I can learn from this forum. Actually from the great people willing to share their priceless knowledge. Though itā€™s still a long way ahead, but seeing own skills improving is great as well. However there should be a warning at the forum entrance: you enter at your own risk. Not leaving this forum in time may result in becoming a dedicated flashololic. This is contagious! Yep, too late for meā€¦

My Wally World Solar Street Light,
Aint really solar anymoreā€¦ It got a power assist.
Cant count on the Sun, what can ya count on?
Added a 2.1mmX5.5mm power jack to plug it into a USB wall wart. Charge circuit cuts out about 4.1V so itā€™ll be fine. Still got a couple 18650 laptop pulls inside cause they are better than the garbage cells it came with.

Look Ma, no batteries.

Glued the modified #14 finishing washer around the button of my Fireflies E07 last night.

Used epoxy so this is permanent. Removing it would probably damage the finish. Didnā€™t see the post about Goop till Iā€™d already done it.

Still the final result looks pretty good. The gap below the sides of the washer are covered by tiny bits of aluminum strip. It hides the glue and makes the light look like it was manufactured this way.

Here are some pictures:

Trying to flash my D4 to Anduril, but I canā€™t get AVRdude to run.

Every time I try running it the command prompt says ā€œDoes not have permissionā€. And a popup window appears saying the app is not allowed to run on my PC.

I installed AVRDude last week briefly. For the first 20 minutes it worked and behaved normally, but now the app wonā€™t even run. Uninstalling and reinstalling didnā€™t help.

Using Windows 10. This is a home PC and Iā€™m the only one who uses it. I have admin privileges and have no idea how this happened or why the app stopped working.

Any ideas? or suggestions for alternate programs that might run?

You may need to install the driver for the USBAsp, Windows 10 may not have it in itā€™s library. I recently had to restore Win 7 Pro and lost things such as this, had to hunt everything down and do reinstalls.

Might try running it as admin (right click), even though you have admin rights. Seen you need to do this sometimes just once.

[

I installed AVRDude last week briefly. For the first 20 minutes it worked and behaved normally, but now the app wonā€™t even run. Uninstalling and reinstalling didnā€™t help.

]

that happens a lot with 3D printer stuff, it seems microsoft runs some kind of check or something then disallows the the thing! ā€¦ i.e. it ran fine for 20 minutes? hmmm then not.
next comes the windows update that resets everything back to let every one use and record and store bumf on your pooterā€¦ then your drivers no longer function.
(in hind sight microsoft are robbing you of any non microsoft ā€˜approvedā€™ things. very anoying being monopolied isnt it).

ā€˜zadigā€™ can be a help, havenā€™t got a link to it off hand but itā€™s got the printer working a few times. it basically recalls or initialises the drivers microsoft reset to ā€˜offā€™ā€¦for want of metaphorā€™s that seem extremely accurate lol.

UltraTac A1 emitter swap/tear down

The sum of the parts are actually pretty decent. It has a copper mcpcb, short brass pill, retaining rings, LED spacers, o-rings, etc. HOWEVER, itā€™s glued everywhere. The retaining ring has a slight indentation on it that I tried to use but it didnā€™t budge. I ended up using the smallest dremel drill bit I had (1/32ā€) and making two holes in the retaining ring and nearly breaking the best hardened stainless tweezers I have but I got it free. I found blue loctite on the retaining ring only. I was going to swap the tail spring as well but that ring is also glued so I decided not to.

TL;DR - dremel > blue loctite :frowning:

Parts:

Money shot:

Two holes in the ring are mine and the left hole in the driver ground ring is mine, the right hole was already there.

I swapped in a LH351D 4000K 90CRI and didnā€™t really lose much/if any output from the ugly XP-L HD that was there before.