so you actually want to see several hours of PCB design. Thermal management and logistics all in a 7min video? wayy too high expectations. Not to mention you sure can build your own from scratch. Only issue is the companies already did that better for most part and for cheaper. Obviously there's other driver and PCB designs but not very easy. Also good luck with CNCing a aluminium shell for less than a few hundred bucks
I just found and sub'd to your site and I, too, would LOVE to see a build video on the DIY version because I own (FAR) too many SureFire lights with their original bulbs, and although they are bright as is, ANYTHING I can do to increase their Lumen output would be of benefit. And, in some instances (like on my weapons lights) I'd prefer to have a reasonable (?) battery lifespan, but given their purpose and anticipated ON duration when used in their, um, "intended" purpose, the trade-off would be a consideration. Wouldn't do to need the light for 60 minutes and get 30 plus a nuke-hot light casing, etc. Anyway, looking forward to seeing a build on this.
Nice, I would really love to watch the build! I have a BUNCH of old flashlights from the 70's/80's that use c and d batteries and really want to switch them over to led!
It's not worth the trouble. They won't be able to handle the heat the newer, brighter leds are putting out and the newer rechargable lithium ion batteries are far superior as well. It's much cheaper to buy new lights. There are lots of good lights for $15-$25 plus about $10 for a good protected battery. You'll be well ahead compared to trying to convert old flashlights. Convoy and Eagle Eye are some of the best brands right now.
What JasonWW2000 said. Unless you plan on modding them for fun and nostalgia, in which case go right ahead! Get a lower-power LED, a driver with not too many regulators, a few spacers and you're set to revive your Daylos of olden days.
JasonWW2000 $10 for a 18650 >3000 mAh Sieko protected Japanese? Did you throw the bill on the counter and run out the door? Orbtronics direct are $15 + s+h
cStu444 cStu444 Take a look at MTN Electronics, they carry the Evva protected versions and Illumn carry Keeppower protected versions. IMR Batteries in Houston are also a good source.
Hello, very informative, thanks. I have an Imalent DT35 with 4 cree xhp 35 leds (2017) and 2 of them are flikering, blinking... I recently bought it used, but it had very little use, so it is like new.... sometimes a 3rd led will start ok at 80lm setting, but then will turn off at 1000lm or 5000lm settings. The 4th one will never turn on. Do you think is there some solution for it? (by the way, with just 2 leds working the amount of light is impressive!)
so what was the max lumens from a single cree that you used? For 50$ i can get this 15xCree flashlight that uses 4 18620 3.7v lithium ion Batterries ( i think that is the number ). it also allows me to charge the flashlight and to see how much charge it has. I'd like to be able to make it zoomable though... im not too sure what the quality of the 15xcree is .. i think it was t6
Any chance you have, or would be willing to do, an updated version of this vid? Something like some hacks to DIY a light comparable to Cloud, Mod, Arista, etc?
Alls where did you buy your peb with xml2 led ion as I need a replacement for one of my torches but only found a bulk seller so far and $8 is a very fair price do you happen to know the diameter of the PCb each sh I need a different size thanks for your help
Nice video, right to the point and didn't rant on stuff. I like your style of videos in general. Are you using any of these for weapons lights? Also, have you ever timed the run time, Just curious.
You got a new subscriber. I like your approach on simplicity and would love to see a build. I'm thinking of doing my own. Maybe use a rechargeable battery with mini usb. Just my thoughts thanks for what your doing.
I'd recommend looking at the rechargable lights from Eagle Eye, the ones whose models end in R (for rechargable). Convoy doesn't have many models with built in USB recharging, but they do have more custom options.
Hello i got Convoy S21A from a friend and it has these annoying modes that change every half-click, can they be removed somehow i opened the flashlight but dont know what im looking at
sir hello .i have a question. i use to have a mares eos 3 pro .diving torch .i lost it .and im tryin to find just the led bulb it had .can you pls.show me where and what type of led it takes pls?
@kimo365 , recently a friend of mine gave me an ' atn javelin 169w flashlight . i dont even know if it works yet , assuming it doesn't , iyho would it be worth rebuilding .The end cap has a pressure switch on it and the wire is a little frayed . The body seems to be rugged , i just dont want to invest any money if the base line structure is lacking . Thanks , any info will be greatly appreciated .
I have several Pentagon X3 flashlights that are built like a tank and I would like to upgrade it to the high output LED bulbs assy. However, Pentagon has gone out of business. Any idea what bulb and from where I could find the upgrade? Thank for your help.
I don’t mind paying the money for quality gear. Especially if it has a warranty. Never had a surefire light, or headlamp fail on me. More than I can say for any other illumination tools I have. I lost a P3x fury in the Canadian wilderness. It was outside smashed into the wet ground until winter came, and sat frozen in the ground until I found it over a year later. Guess what? It worked without a hiccup. That happened to me 4 years ago, and I use that very same light almost exclusively at work everyday.
Being one who never met a flashlight he didn't like, let me reccommend one i bought at Wal-Mart. It's a pen size flashlight with a clip for your shirt pocket. Comes with batteries LED very brite, and the best part is they're $1.44 each. It's an unbelievable bargain. I have like 10 all around the house cars motorcycles. Check them out , you'll be impressed.
Can I do this on a inforce pistol light? Maybe I can bring it up to 1000-1500 lumens? I really like how it fits the Glock, olight makes a 1500 lumen but I don’t like a light sticking out. Great job on your videos sir!
If size is not a primary concern, there are "lantern/boat/camping" style flashlights that often have giant reflectors and very solid waterproofing. $5 for the Rayovac one at the moment. That still needs the LED, brain-transplant, and decent batteries.
Great Video I'm new to this, but have an old school 6 D cell Maglight. what kind of power do you think that could get using that as my donor. Any ideas and suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Bruddah!
upgrade your maglite.. buy led upgrade for maglite from adventure sport flashlight on ebay... he has 5000lumens and 2500lumens upgrade led for maglite... i have use it and it really amazing... running on 2 26550 rechargeable battery...
great job I've tried telling people the samething,you have the Nanjing board amped up to what about 4.12 amps?and iam mor trying to be sarcastic or negative at all but your emitter has to be an xm2 because that circuit board is only a 3 volt not a 6 volt needed for a xhp50 or xhp 70 .But you did a superb job on education acting people
Hey boss, I’m in law enforcement and still use my streamlight sl20x halogen. Terralux use to make a drop in 600 lumen led conversion but no longer make it. There is little to no info on the interwebs on how to make a powerful and efficient conversion with the sl20x chassis. I love this light and it’s been with me for years. Can’t you make do a build on this? I’m sure there are others out there like me.
well I just bought my Fenix UC30 2017 at City Mill for $41.68 it even came with a battery, holster, and the batter can charge with-in the flashlight!!!! It should be all sold out by friday island wide.
Buying a Surefire is like paying someone building the custom light for you (time is money), plus the light is basically mass produced custom light so there is minimal differentiation in build quality. A thing about LED heat management is it must be solidly mounted to the aluminum for maximum heat transfer so you still get 70% efficiency at 50,000 hours, otherwise the LED will burn out prematurely. Surefire uses thermal epoxy to mount their LED to the body so it can withstand rifle recoil, so it's almost fail proof. Also, under a rare event the light malfunctions you can send it back and they'll send you another (I don't think your custom light comes with a warranty).
Good video. It's good to know that there are alternatives to paying a high price for a flashlight. The high end flashlights have some shock and or water resistance. How does your light handle shock and water?
Generally speaking they are the same. Convoy and Eagle Eye are both very durable and the water resistance varies from model to model like any other brand. The C8 he has in the video is submersible. What's nice is if a part should ever break you can buy new parts cheaply. A new stock driver is like $3. A new tail switch is like $1. All very affordable.
If you think it is same quality, why Gov not purchase flash light from other cheaper brand? Why always buy them from SF? I saw SF flashlight can still work after IED. My Fenix broken after one drop from about 1.7m. This is the same quality you were talking about
I noticed your comment about Fenix customer service being better. That has not been my experience. It took me 18 days just to get a response to a warranty service request. At 18 days I received a video on how to clean the light. It now works but 18 days for a response? Not what I had hoped for from Fenix.
If you ever have problems with a SureFire call their service dept and you will be talking to a American human within 2mins. And that's a BIG IF. Heard Streamlights CS is not bad either though.
lol when you build a flashlight…you are the customers service. I jut Lear how to do it thanks to you…… I have a convoy c8+ …. I want a Mateminco fw3 with all the bells Dual emitter… wide throw and LEP long spot simultaneously or individually… dual switch water resistant impact resistant. Mateminco $120 any other $200 + LEP I’m building my own.
Can you tell me exactly what driver and LED you used (part number etc.) so I can build the same light please. I noticed many options and I'm confused on what setup to get. I have never built a flashlight and this is a great alternative to expensive ones. Thanks, John.
If you could get me that information, I would greatly appreciate it. I want to build a duty light for me and a my partner. I'm tired of spending way too much money on this stuff. Especially if I loose one chasing someone. That definitely sucks. Any help is truly appreciated.
Excellent Video ! I would love to see how you put it together, step by step. I am a Flashlight Nut.... I keep them Every Where. My EDC is a "Luma Force" 250 lumens it's about 3 inches long holds one 1 2 3 battery
jcnme2020 ooo We're not quite on the tech level to make that viable. The differences in voltage among AAA, CR123 and rechargeable li-ion make putting together a universal driver system a complete nightmare. There are a few rechargeable Convoy models, but I don't know which. Your best bet would be to contact Simon (the owner) in Convoy's Aliexpress store after the 16th, when it re-opens.
thanks for teaching.....I had no idea it was that simplex to put A Flashlight together....I own a 2014 FENIX PD35 960 lumens... Of Unreal performance the 18650 battery's had to be Replaced after just a year but the FENIX Makes it worth shitty Battery's Once in a while....lol....Thanx again ....
I would like to see the build, and I didn't find the links for items you mentioned in the video. You stated in the video that links are in the description, but I don't see them.
I love to get beaten up ORIGINAL shurefire flashlights, dirt cheap, from local flea market etc., with blown incan bulbs etc, and mod the bulb assembly with whatever led solution i got handy... As i'm not going for high lumens, but as high reliability as possible, heat is not much of an issue...
For budget seekers I would recommend Nitenumen NE01 as per Welljuggleknives. You can get them on Gear Best for $20 and they have a real 1000 LM with USB charge. I bought 2 and Welljuggleknives was right they are great for the price the only thing is no power level memory.
Probably the best budget lights that have built in USB chargers are the Eagle Eye brand. I've got 3 of the X2R (550 lumen, $15) and 1 of the X5R (1000 lumen, $25). These lights have off time memory, which is the best, and simple modes. x2r is low, med, high. x5r is low, med, high, turbo, plus a hidden strobe. I hear the X6R ($23) is a good light as well, but I don't have that one.
