Resistance Fixes to ROP

Hey all.


Recently I posted some pictures of ROP beamshots comparing the cheaper 3AA-1D battery adapters to the FM 6AA-2D adapter. I had always assumed that the resistance issue was overrated and it wasn't worth the extra expense. My test showed me that I was wrong with my assumption.

After the test I decided to tackle some of the resistance fixes and see if I could notice a difference. With this picture, I played around with the camera settings to make it appear as natural and real as possible. Please note that once again, the hotspot on the brighter light is exaggerated a bit by the photo. However, the difference is still very apparent.


This picture is of 2, 2D mags. Both have the exact same guts. Boro lens, Kai MOP reflector, ROP LOLA, 2 Kai adapters, 6 Eneloops. I've decided that the Kai adapters are best used with the LO bulb so that's why I did this test. That's my personal preference. YMMV.


The only difference is that I've done the following to the flashlight on the right:
Deoxit to all contacts on Kai adapters,
Tail cap spring fix using some de-soldering wick,
Took the switch out and used Deoxit on all the contact points,
Ran some de-soldering wick through the spring in the switch.





As you can see, the difference is very apparent. I was very happy with the result.

I realize that this isn't the full resistance fix on the switch. I decided to go very low tech on the fixes because there are some of us out there who are crap with electronics, myself included. All the fixes were done without soldering. I wedged the wick through the tailcap spring and did the same with the switch spring.

The complete list of tools I used:
De-soldering wick,
5/64 hex,
kitchen scissors (to cut the wick)
a couple butter knives (to work the wick into the springs)
Deoxit

It took probably 20 minutes because I had to figure out how the switch worked. If I can do it, anybody on here can do it and it's well worth the time! The end result is a ROP LO that cost about $60 to make (including the Mag). Tough and durable, rechargeable batteries, more than enough light for most tasks, and should have pretty good runtime.

Many thanks to the people on this forum! I still don't know much about flashlights but I know a whole lot more than I did a couple months ago!

If you're using low resistance battery carriers or no carriers I'd say leave out the spring fix or switch fix. As the initial surge will pop the high bulb easy. I had to take out the tail fix to stop it.

My resistance fix consisted of soaking the metal contacts in the switch in CLR and the spring in CLR to remove as much or the oxidation as possible, wipe clean then applying DeOxit then DeOxit Gold. I soldered in some copper wire inside the switch and initially had it in the spring but I had to remove it as it was getting to the point where the low bulb popped on occasion.

i didnt think it would make that much difference
i have a 2d that will become a rop and now im going to do those mods
thanks for the info great help

This is good info. If I'm reading your post right, you did not actually solder the wick to the springs? If so, you could reduce the resistance further by soldering. But, like tebore suggests, it's possible to "over-fix" these, and you may be right around the sweet spot as is.

Thanks for doing this direct comparison, as well as the Fivemega vs. Kai battery holder comparison. It's great to see the differences side-by-side with most of the factors accounted for.

-Rick

:thumbsup:

Welcome to the ROP club