Improving the FF1 functionality

[dat2zip]

I carry my modded FF1 with me everywhere I go. I love this little light.

It has since stopped working on low and I've replaced the 2 stage switch now several times to no avail.

Here I am just about heading off the the shot show and my precious FF1 is not working up to speed.

Kinda bummed and pissed I decided to investigate this and here's what I did to get back the functionality.

First off, the copper head oxidizes pretty fast and I found that is making a poor connection with the sandwich module. To remidy this I bought the plugNplay Nickel Anodizer at Caswell plating caswell Plating and was able to electo plate the inner ledge where the sandwich makes contact. In addition to that I ended up chopping off a AA contact spring and after some contortion was able to solder that onto the two stage switch as shown below in the picture.

Since this particular mod the spring is actually higher than needed I decided to take advantage of the arbitrary cut length and remove the solder blob and replace it with a solid silver ring as shown in the photo below.

You can get the silver rings at most online jewelry places or here's a link to artbeads.com silver jump rings artbeads.com solid silver jump rings.

I also cut some poron foam washer to prevent battery rattle as shown in the photo.

I also ended up cleaning the gunk off the top of the module. After I completed all these tasks the light now works flawless and is back into near pristine condition.

I hope you enjoyed my findings.

Wayne

 

[paulr]

Won't the silver oxidize pretty fast? I thought the preferred contact material was cobalt gold, e.g. from a relay.

 

[dat2zip]

paul,

The reason for the ring or solder blob primary purpose is to prevent wear of the anode contact. To me the silver ring controls the height more precisely, is harder and won't flatten as easily as a solder blob and lastly is readily available for 13c each.

Having a custom made anode contact so far looks like it will cost 25c or more depending on the material and or plating involved.

 

[cy]

very durable looking solution!!!

tuning the two stage switch with a cut foam pad from 3/4 size to 1/2 size has resulted in a very reliable switch for me.

But your looks much better!!!

 

[cmendoza]

Any plans on nicklel plating the copper heads for the DIY Fire Fly 2's to prevent those from oxidizing? Would there be any drawbacks? Thanks.

 

[DSpeck]

There are no plans to plate the copper heads on the FF2s.

 

[cy]

I love my FF1 and prefer it over FF2.

my FF1 has been updated w/aluminum head and BB500 R2H. NX-05 optic has been tuned to perfection! two stage switch has been tuned to give reliability and clear separation between hi & low.

My FF1 is so reliable, I would carry it along with ARC LSH-P and ARC AAA on an extended backpacking trip over a host of other lights.

In short FF1 works perfect! I even prefer my old non standing 123 body over the CR2 body.

to me FF1 is sleeker than FF2. it's beat up and my favorite.