mat_the_cat
Newly Enlightened
After having a couple of E01s in the household for a while now, I agree with the general consensus that they are great little bombproof lights, with one drawback - the tint. I've bought several warm white LEDs (the same as Calipsoli uses in his A2 LED rings - the Nichia NSPL500DS) and am using a bit of spare time over my Christmas holidays to attempt the swap.
First challenge was to get the LED and PCB out of the head without damage! After hearing how baking the head just damaged the board before the potting softened, I thought up another way. I removed the O ring, loosely screwed the head back on the body and placed a small diameter tube in contact with the LED. I then put the whole thing in a vice, and applied a small amount of pressure to the LED via the tube. Using a pencil blowtorch I applied localised heat to the outside of the head, in the hope that it would loosen the bond of the potting compound before the PCB was damaged by the heat. As soon as I felt the LED move I stopped the heat and applied more pressure with the vice.
This was the result - my task for this evening is to cut/file away the potting compound so I can replace the LED...
First challenge was to get the LED and PCB out of the head without damage! After hearing how baking the head just damaged the board before the potting softened, I thought up another way. I removed the O ring, loosely screwed the head back on the body and placed a small diameter tube in contact with the LED. I then put the whole thing in a vice, and applied a small amount of pressure to the LED via the tube. Using a pencil blowtorch I applied localised heat to the outside of the head, in the hope that it would loosen the bond of the potting compound before the PCB was damaged by the heat. As soon as I felt the LED move I stopped the heat and applied more pressure with the vice.
This was the result - my task for this evening is to cut/file away the potting compound so I can replace the LED...
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