Thread: The flashlight sticky

Originally Posted by logesearle

My method is put the LED (on a copper or aluminium base) in the frying pan and heat it up until the solder attaching the LED to the base melts. Then take the LED and the base out of the frying pan, sit it on the bench, wait for the solder to set again, then (while it is still hot) flick the dome off carefully with something skinny like a small flat head screwdriver. I always make sure I flick it off starting from the side opposite the tiny bonding wires on the LED, the wires are very thin and break easily if you move them too much.

Others use petrol or something to dissolve the dome.

I do it similar to this. I might have to set up the new camera and do a quick video of the process. I use a hot air attachment on a gas soldering iron (for heat shrink tubing) from underneath and press down on the dome with a screwdriver till I feel it soften and the edges lift. Then I just peel it off as above.

Ok I have a 2s and a m24. My 2s will run virtually any 18650 battery. Samsung pink 2600mha pcb samsung purple 3200mha pcb panasonic 3100mha pcb panasonic 3400mha non pcb flat top with magnet and button top red Ultrafire non pcb. My m24 on the other hand won't run any pcb length battery only the shorter non pcb batteries. Is this common? Is it OK to run good brand non pcb batteries in this torch. Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Any good torch will have low voltage protection.

In saying that, I'm not actually 100% that the m24 has LVP, you could try check by discharging some protected batts and looking for the torch to dim (ie built into the torch), but if it cuts off its the batteries pcb so back to square one.

Otherwise your fine if you don't discharge them below 2.5v under load you are within manufacturer spec.

Chris

It probably wont have low voltage protection because it can be run on a single 18650 cell.

Hi Forum,
1st timer and new to LED Torch technology.
Have purchased an Ultrafire C10 clone XML torch. Am going to have a go at Dedoming with heating the LED underneath and soften the dome.
Im expecting to F**k it up. So want to purchase a replacement LED.

Is this suitable. I have a 21mm Pill. Yet I'm unsure, does it matter to the emitter if your torch is 1x or 2 x 18650 cell.
As mine is single cell.

Cheers
RF

sorry here it the link

Cree XM-L2 U2-4C 1100LM 4300-4500K LED Emitter on 20mm Base Board
10W / 3.5-3.7V / 2-3A

Originally Posted by Redflag

sorry here it the link

Cree XM-L2 U2-4C 1100LM 4300-4500K LED Emitter on 20mm Base Board
10W / 3.5-3.7V / 2-3A

https://www.fasttech.com/product/157...led-emitter-on

Originally Posted by Redflag

Hi Forum,
1st timer and new to LED Torch technology.
Have purchased an Ultrafire C10 clone XML torch. Am going to have a go at Dedoming with heating the LED underneath and soften the dome.
Im expecting to F**k it up. So want to purchase a replacement LED.

Is this suitable. I have a 21mm Pill. Yet I'm unsure, does it matter to the emitter if your torch is 1x or 2 x 18650 cell.
As mine is single cell.

Cheers
RF

Doesn't matter to the LED, all the power requirements are sorted by the driver circuit board in the torch.

Ok great thx a lot.
Cheers

The LED you linked is great with the dome on, but if you de-dome it (like you're planning to with the stock LED) it'll turn a yucky orange colour. When an LED is de-domed, the tint (colour) of the light shifts towards orange: the more orange you start off with, the more orange it'll be once de-domed. If the plan is to de-dome an LED you want a more white or blueish tint to start with. Google LED tints to get a better understanding of what I mean, or I could be here all night explaining it haha.
Basically, I don't recommend you de-dome the LED you linked, because I'd say you'll hate the colour of light (maybe a good idea to try it and see anyway). It is already 4500ish K which is quite a warm tint, de-doming it makes it really orange. A good LED to de-dome would have a stock tint of more like 6000K, and after you de-dome it should be more like 4000-5000k which is pretty much neutral white.
Hope that helps rather than confuses.

Like these
And they're pretty cheap.
And you can chose multiple board sizes.
And the seller is very reliable.
And nothing else for now

Edit: And if you fcuk up de-doming, you have spares

Originally Posted by logesearle

Like these
And they're pretty cheap.
And you can chose multiple board sizes.
And the seller is very reliable.
And nothing else for now

Edit: And if you fcuk up de-doming, you have spares

That one is too far the other direction. You want something in the neutral area to slightly warm. When de-domed this will give something more in the Halogen colour which is a lot less glarey when reflected off particulate matter in the air. The warmer colour spooks animals less so they hold better for your shot.

what do you start with gadgetman?

The general consensus is generally to start with a 1a. That way it goes "halogen" and has no green in it. 1b and 1c go much greener usually.

Heaps of variation though, Vinh54 gets about 1/2 of his de domes tinted right and chucks the other half (or sells them for pittance) and im pretty sure thats from a 1a colour bin.

Chris

I've found that anything warmer than about 1A or 2A ends up too orange or green after a de-dome. I guess it depends on the use and what tint the user prefers to look at. Personally I hate green and really orange tints (and blue which most of them start at).
The T6-4C has an awesome tint with the dome ON - would be ideal if we could get a LED to match that tint after a de-dome

Originally Posted by logesearle

The T6-4C has an awesome tint with the dome ON - would be ideal if we could get a LED to match that tint after a de-dome

Absolutely. I've found a lot of the cool whites tend to come out as very slightly warm. Still too much glare.