I modified my gorgeous 5700K 519A buck driver stainless steel S7.
First by putting in a white lighted switch. I did my usual mods to the switch:
Glueing an extra cap to the switch in order to make it more responsive. The stock switch feels squishy behind the silicone cover since there’s a slight gap between the cover and switch.
Changing the resistors (from 330 ohms to 3K) to make it less bright. The current went down to 0.12mA, so over 3 years on the battery.
Putting some motor oil into the switch in order to eliminate the annoying sound it made (and to make it smoother) when switching modes.
Compressing the spring multiple times in order to make it smaller. No need to have all that force on the battery and threads.
Second by changing the reflector gasket. I didn’t like how off-centered the LED was with the stock gasket. That didn’t seem to impact the beam probably due to the OP reflector, but I also didn’t like the beam. Not a smooth transition from the hotspot to the spill.
So I made a makeshift flashlight to compare the beams with the various gaskets that I had.
I chose the blue circled one that I got from KD. The hotspot got smaller and the spill became much smoother. A much, much nicer beam! And the LED is now very centered. I’ve also had success with this gasket in the past.
Modded this Dawson Machine Craft one-off light that I’ve acquired. Josh Dawson called it the argyle pattern. So, I’ve been referring to it as the Argyle Slim (with a diamond slim head)
Custom 16mm mcpcb with FFL351A 3700k and blue secondaries. Sitting behind the only 18mm TIR I could find. And powered by a Dragon Driver.
Based on test it’s flatlining at about 6,5A and 1100 lumens. So about 25 Watts for 1100 lumens while SFT-25 uses about 10 Watts for 1100 lumens (3A drive current).
Of course FFL350RD at 6.5A is already really inefficient, but when it’s driven at 3A it’s only ~670 lumens. I think the fake roundness of it’s die eats quite a lot of it’s efficiency. I mean even 219B achieves 640 lumens with 3A drive current. Although it’s VF is little higher.
Because of these efficiency differences manufacturers use SFT-25.
Laser-cut a 2mm acrylic sheet to get a bunch of clear washers for Convoy S2+ tailswitch. The stock washers break rather often under pressure, while loosening the pressure results in poor electrical contact.
For anyone interested, the outer diameter is 18mm, inner diameter 7mm. The 2mm thickness is visibly thicker than the stock washer.
While on the machine, I also cut some 2mm x 18mm diameter lenses for Convoy T3, which simultaneously solves the problem of heatsinking (stock lens too thin to press down on the reflector, resulting in floating PCB) and waterproofing (stock head assembly is loose).
Also crammed a piece of double-sided clear silicone “magic tape” between the switch and switch boot of a Q8+. I’ve heard many reports of the tiny e-switch button tearing through the thin Sofirn switch boot in months; this should increase and soften the contact area and make the boot last much longer. The switching action now feels fuller and much, much quieter, which I like.
