Rod911
Enlightened
Throwing this in here to see what some budget lights can do, but they do need a bit of work. 
The light I'll be modding can be found in places like DX with an SKU # of 279608. It has a nice 75mm head, thus the name of "Big Head". Note that, I have two of these lights and one of them is going to have an XP-G2 driven at around 4.2A and the other one, an XM-L2 driven at around 5A and both the LEDs will have their respective domes removed. Both lights will have the exact same mods done to them, with the exception of the resistor mod.
Now the pics.
20mm XP-G2 R5 2B de-domed. The XM-L2 used is on a 20mm star and an U2 bin, 1A tint. No pics of the XM-L2.
The backside will be used to place the LED on it. As per the pictures, it already had these massive scratches on it.
Using 120 grit, 600 grit, then 1200 grit to get rid of as many of the scratches. Only one or two left.
I also replaced the wire used in the contact plate with 18AWG.
Before.
After.
For heatsinking, this is what I came up with. The solution was using these heatsinks from FT, I lapped all the sides (up to 800 grit) that would bond with another heatsink or onto the LED shelf itself. I stuck them to one another using my preferred method which I have been using since the days of attaching CPU heatsinks onto GPUs, and that is to use a two-mix epoxy and a small dab of Arctic Silver 5. They all seem to be stuck fast to one another. This method will again be used when I stick the whole thing onto the LED shelf. At this stage, it hasn't been stuck on.
Orientation of the heatsink from a top-down view.
Put copper braid on the springs.
Before.
After.
Driver before any mods done to it:
Driver after mods. Mods done were to replace the existing R200 with an R120 for the XP-G2 and R100 for the XM-L2. Along with this, change the wires with 22AWG. Kept the switch wires as they were.
The inside of the driver cavity. A lot of space. The heatsink installed. Note that, I did apply a bit of Arctic Silver 5 on the shelf before screwing it in.
A slight set back with the XP-G2. It was working just fine for a minute, then after installing the reflector/head, poof. Turns out, the R120 was burnt out. Easy fix.
The XM-L2 mounted. This was the same for the XP-G2. To stop the reflector from shorting the whole thing, I put kapton tape over the positive and negative ends of the LED.
XP-G2 centred.
XM-L2 centred.
Note that, all centring was done by eye. The reflectors were screwed right in. I did play around with moving the reflector in and out, but found that, especially with the XM-L2, that the most intense hotspot was when the reflector was all the way down. Also, only Arctic Silver 5 was used to hold it in place. Essentially relying on the pressure from the reflector to keep things where they are.
Ceiling bounce shots.
Top is a D40A-NW, bottom left is the XP-G2 and bottom right is the XM-L2.
Top is now a modded OEM Big Head K8.
Top is now a Vinh modded BTU Shocker. Also, switched the bottom lights around (different part of room). Bottom left is the XM-L2 and bottom right is the XP-G2.
Also, the tailcap measurements are a bit weird. I didn't do a before measurement. But after everything is said and done, the XP-G2 is pulling 1.10A on high and the XM-L2 is pulling 1.11A on high. They're both quite bright, and, to the naked eye, probably around 650 lumens and 900 lumens respectively - but that's a total guess.
This thing is not waterproof. The bottom leaked water in whilst I was doing a runtime test despite lubing it up before the test was done. Luckily, no damage done on the light or the cells.
My first "real" mod and I am happy with the outcome.
Album of pics here at full resolution.
The light I'll be modding can be found in places like DX with an SKU # of 279608. It has a nice 75mm head, thus the name of "Big Head". Note that, I have two of these lights and one of them is going to have an XP-G2 driven at around 4.2A and the other one, an XM-L2 driven at around 5A and both the LEDs will have their respective domes removed. Both lights will have the exact same mods done to them, with the exception of the resistor mod.
Now the pics.
20mm XP-G2 R5 2B de-domed. The XM-L2 used is on a 20mm star and an U2 bin, 1A tint. No pics of the XM-L2.
The backside will be used to place the LED on it. As per the pictures, it already had these massive scratches on it.
Using 120 grit, 600 grit, then 1200 grit to get rid of as many of the scratches. Only one or two left.
I also replaced the wire used in the contact plate with 18AWG.
Before.
After.
For heatsinking, this is what I came up with. The solution was using these heatsinks from FT, I lapped all the sides (up to 800 grit) that would bond with another heatsink or onto the LED shelf itself. I stuck them to one another using my preferred method which I have been using since the days of attaching CPU heatsinks onto GPUs, and that is to use a two-mix epoxy and a small dab of Arctic Silver 5. They all seem to be stuck fast to one another. This method will again be used when I stick the whole thing onto the LED shelf. At this stage, it hasn't been stuck on.
Orientation of the heatsink from a top-down view.
Put copper braid on the springs.
Before.
After.
Driver before any mods done to it:
Driver after mods. Mods done were to replace the existing R200 with an R120 for the XP-G2 and R100 for the XM-L2. Along with this, change the wires with 22AWG. Kept the switch wires as they were.
The inside of the driver cavity. A lot of space. The heatsink installed. Note that, I did apply a bit of Arctic Silver 5 on the shelf before screwing it in.
A slight set back with the XP-G2. It was working just fine for a minute, then after installing the reflector/head, poof. Turns out, the R120 was burnt out. Easy fix.
The XM-L2 mounted. This was the same for the XP-G2. To stop the reflector from shorting the whole thing, I put kapton tape over the positive and negative ends of the LED.
XP-G2 centred.
XM-L2 centred.
Note that, all centring was done by eye. The reflectors were screwed right in. I did play around with moving the reflector in and out, but found that, especially with the XM-L2, that the most intense hotspot was when the reflector was all the way down. Also, only Arctic Silver 5 was used to hold it in place. Essentially relying on the pressure from the reflector to keep things where they are.
Ceiling bounce shots.
Top is a D40A-NW, bottom left is the XP-G2 and bottom right is the XM-L2.
Top is now a modded OEM Big Head K8.
Top is now a Vinh modded BTU Shocker. Also, switched the bottom lights around (different part of room). Bottom left is the XM-L2 and bottom right is the XP-G2.
Also, the tailcap measurements are a bit weird. I didn't do a before measurement. But after everything is said and done, the XP-G2 is pulling 1.10A on high and the XM-L2 is pulling 1.11A on high. They're both quite bright, and, to the naked eye, probably around 650 lumens and 900 lumens respectively - but that's a total guess.
This thing is not waterproof. The bottom leaked water in whilst I was doing a runtime test despite lubing it up before the test was done. Luckily, no damage done on the light or the cells.
My first "real" mod and I am happy with the outcome.
Album of pics here at full resolution.
