Lenser T7 upgrade with XML T5/T6?

[dc38]

Hello CPFers, I've been thinking of different things to do with my lenser, and need some help. I don't know what kind of emitter to stick in, and what to do to make it fit correctly under the lens. Basically, I want my Lenser to be able to focus the raw power coming out a an XML into a "TIR", while still having the XML easily flood an area. Thanks very much in advance, guys!

[davyro]

Hello CPFers, I've been thinking of different things to do with my lenser, and need some help. I don't know what kind of emitter to stick in, and what to do to make it fit correctly under the lens. Basically, I want my Lenser to be able to focus the raw power coming out a an XML into a "TIR", while still having the XML easily flood an area. Thanks very much in advance, guys!

I hope you find out what needs to be done as i have a T7 also that i'd love an XM-L mod to take place to make this light a 100% better torch

[TEEJ]

LOL

ANOTHER T7 that would be interested in how to do this.

I love the sliding head UI on the T7...and only dropped it from its part in my EDC due to a lumen shortage.

[dc38]

LOL

ANOTHER T7 that would be interested in how to do this.

I love the sliding head UI on the T7...and only dropped it from its part in my EDC due to a lumen shortage.

hey guys! im still working on it...i just took the loght apart, and it seems a little funky inside. i remember when lenser sent me a new tailswitch that isnt supposed to fail, its ok so far. my biggest problem is getting the resistors to work right with the led. im sure you both have seen inside the tail switch, theres a board with two resistors on it, the led is poorly heatsinked (its plastic lol) and i dont have the proper tools to custom fit a pcb or driver. so im stuck staring at it for now till i can find some kind of inspiration lol..on top of all of that, the light has no stock regulation, as im sure both of you have noticed, the light will drop to 60-70% brightness after about 20 min..so lotsa problems to solve. I totally agree woith making it 100% better.

[dc38]

Hey guys, I've been busy with stuff, but I have encountered two problems. 1) one of the screws in the Lenser is completely "stripped", no chance in getting the starburst hex to work with it...and 2) you can usually remove the aluminum heatsink by unscrewing it from the body, (i suppose it's the entire "pill" including the led) BUT my t7 seems stuck. I've tried wd-40 and alcohol and other such things but I can't seem to get the pill to unscrew...any tips?

[lennarn]

one of the screws in the Lenser is completely "stripped", no chance in getting the starburst hex to work with it...any tips?

To remove stripped screws you should (1) drill out the driver track with a slightly larger drill bit and then (2) either slowly drill in the opposite direction, or use a broken screw extractor in the opposite direction (counter-clockwise).
I just did this to remove a door handle, with great success. Hope it works for small screws too!

[dc38]

Thanks lennarn! I'm just worried I might destroy the covering/pill with said technique...I've done something similar with my late car's lug nuts before, but this is a much more delicate operation lol. Since the "starbursting" is completely worn down, and it measures about 3mm on the head, I don't know how I should go about extracting it without cracking the plastic housing...

[mocha_jo1]

You should be able to find a small enough reverse drill bit/screw extractor.

[Walterk]

Any updates?

Mine is 2 mode, from Fleabay, but no indication to think it is fake in anyway.
What if we would just improve heatsinking and fit in an aspheric?

[dc38]

Any updates?

Mine is 2 mode, from Fleabay, but no indication to think it is fake in anyway.
What if we would just improve heatsinking and fit in an aspheric?

Hey Walt, I haven't quite gotten around to getting an extractor bit just yet, I've been busy trying to pin stuff down >.< Anyways, the Lenser already has an aspheric of sorts, it catches a surprising amount of light. After I modded it the poor man way (opened up the head and wrapped a conical orange peelish aluminum foil around the cone portion of the lens), It gave out visually ~8-13% more light. Heatsinking might actually be quite adequate in its stock condition, it's a rather large disc of aluminum with a slightly raised portion to fit that plastic white led retainer (the part that says do not touch the led, and has two screws-the ones i'm trying to get out). My main concern is the tail-button. Under the tail button is a resistor to control the current that is thrown at the led, I'm sure the driver is probably recessed into the heatsink. That resistor may prove to be troublesome later on, but i don't want to just rip it out, especially since the light is a 2.5 stage light...fully depressed button from any position is overdriven "130%" light, primary mode is "100%" and secondary is somewhere around "30%". I'm also kind of strapped for cash at the moment-one of the many things i'm trying to pin down lol. I'll update when i'm able to get back to this tiny project though. I'm sure that if completed correctly, it would be greatly rewarding. (i'm thinking >400 Lumens OTF)

[Walterk]

Ok, I am trying to get an Ahorton aspheric, I don't like the rings in the TIR.

[davyro]

Keep on trying my friend 400 OTF sounds great,can you imagine how many Lenser owners would be sending buisness your way if you crack this.Since the last time i posted in this thread i haven't touched my T7.It
just doesn't get used at all in its current form.Anyways all the best of luck to you in sorting this problem out.

[Walterk]

Ahorton's lens will be about a 4 weeks wait... so I've prepared my T7.

Have unscrewed the white led-holder (Torx T7), but there is nothing underneath. Its just to keep the TIR from breaching the Led and protecting the wires. The led is glued on the aluminium post on the sink.
The batteryholder is built to be dismantled. For both high mode [1R0] and for low mode [240] there is a resistor on the PCB where the switch is soldered to.
After a few attempts got the heatsink unscrewed from the tube, by holding the sink clamped in the jaws of a vice. The batteryholder-receiving-PCB is press-fit with maybe a little brittle glue in the recess of the heatsink. A screwdriver and gentle force opened it up. Between positive and negative two resistors were placed in parallel [2R4].
All we needed to know.

Did some crude tests with leds on stars to verify if I've remembered correctly from experimenting a few years ago:
DD 3xAA Nimh - XR-E led is fine
DD 3xAA Nimh - XM-L is fine

DD 4xAA Nimh - XR-E is on the edge of turning blue
DD 4xAA Nimh - XM-L is turning blue

DD 3xAAA Nimh - XR-E is fine
DD 3xAAA Nimh - XM-L is fine

DD 4xAAA Nimh - XRE - is fine
DD 4xAAA Nimh - XM-L is fine (Edit: blew an XM-L later this way)

I've made it direct drive 4xAAA, by removing the resistor for high mode and bridged the remaining solder pads.
Then I changed the mode sequence by moving the 24ohm resistor, so now its first low and then high.
Removed the resistors in the heatsink, and bridged the remaining solder pads.
I have tested it, it is brighter but also more warming up on high. Turned out to be at 20 Lumen on Low, 200 Lumen on High for the bare led. Thats a good number for a hack.

The TIR cant move as far from the led as I would want for a narrow spot (with my light that is).
'Overfocussed' by hand I've got 20 kcd, but the hotspot still is quite big and blurry.
I have tested with 4xAAA and with 3xAAA (and one paperclip in the batteryholder), initially the 4xAAA is a small bit brighter but that difference decreases quickly.
Appearantly 3 cells is sweet spot, while 4 cells just create more heat and is less stable output.
Similar sized focusable aspheric Tank 737 on 18650 showed also 20 kcd, but with a way smaller spot. Thats why I expect 30 kcd with Ahorton's lens.
Stock from manufacturer the T7 does 8.3 kcd on high and 11 kcd on momentary-turbo.
Really think I will like the aspheric edition ...

I think you will have trouble mounting a XM-L on the post and wiring it without getting them in the way with the TIR.
Just remove the post, file and polish and glue a xm-l on copper star on top.

T7-aspheric by wk_cpf, on Flickr


Post


Switch



Low mode


Sink

[Walterk]

As the focal length of the TIR doesn't match the geometric limits of my light, I removed the post on the heatsink to see if mounting the led lower on the sink would solve this.
It did help some; I can now project sharp, and can do some overfocus, but still the beam is ringy and asymmetric just like before.
It means, you have to test behaviour from the XM-L with the TIR before you even think of XM-L. The TIR really needs to match the led and its positioning.

Throw with TIR is still 20 kcd, but lux@1m without optics is 10% more, so it must be running cooler without the post.
Batteries are lsd Nimh brand HEMA, Eneloops are on order.
For comparison, I've measured my stock Fenix TK40 (Cree MC-E) to be 23 kcd.

Ledlenser mounting



Glue



Sanded


XR-E

[Walterk]

T7 + 4XAAA Hema NimH + XRE R2 + DX28mm aspheric = 31kcd

T7 + 4XAAA Eneloop NimH + XRE R2 + DX28mm aspheric = 26kcd

It seems there is thermal runaway with Eneloops.





Ahortons won't change much on throw, but will make it a zoomie .
Because of the shorter focal length the Ahorton sits a fraction below the bezel and has more then sufficient travel, in contrary of the DX-lens that extends beyond the bezel.

Sorry for drifting this experiment away from XM-L and TIR.
Well, the same can be done with an XM-L and leave the TIR in or change it for another TIR.

[Walterk]

My newest favourite zoomie is finished:

T7 + 4XAAA Eneloop NimH + XRE R2 + Ahortons aspheric = 29,7 kcd

All in all it was a clean job with no difficulty.
Especially the mounting of the lens was easy; dremel of the retaining ring right behind the threaded part, and use the remaining cilinder as spacer.
No intentions of modding it for 18650, but it would be possible with some ingenious wiring. There is a rather large lump of rubber to actuate the switch. You would need the space occupied by the stock switch to fit in an 18650.

[ahorton]

I'd love to see the pics!

[Walterk]

I guess you are right... a thread without pics is like a bottle of wine without opener at hand...

[Walterk]

[dc38]

Woah buddy That was awesome Between work and lack of equipment/time to complete my own mod, I congratulate you on following through with yours! Most impressive btw. The torch has been picked up by you!!