Inova X1 Mod thread..COMPLETED...X1 with a Nichia GS!

[cyberspyder]

:naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:

What do you think? The machining Inova did wasn't perfect, there are a couple of marks left in the stainless steel, but that'll require work with some wet/dry sandpaper and being tiny, it's going to be a b!tch. Dremel FTW!

A comparison between the stock (left) and the polished (right)^

Brendan

 

[climberkid]

Re: Ooh, that's one shiny reflector (X1)...

you did quite a nice job on that

 

[cyberspyder]

Re: Ooh, that's one shiny reflector (X1)...

Pics of my progress so far:

Epoxied the wires leading to the new LED (the old one snapped off, had no way of getting the legs out of the board)

Modded one end of the spring...opened and stretched it out a bit to make room for the wires

Spring and driver board pic

Brendan

 

[cyberspyder]

Re: Ooh, that's one shiny reflector (X1)...

Yay, updates...replaced the LED with a random temporarily blue LED I found and gave her a test run to see if my soldering and epoxy work had messed anything up:

A 'before' picture...

On....

Off...

Bezel shot...

A little 'solarize' action to show the different shades of blue emitted...thought it looked cool...probably is useless

Smooth beamshot

Brendan

 

[cyberspyder]

Re: Ooh, that's one shiny reflector (X1)...

Any opinions? Also, how bright is the GS?

 

[chitoz28]

Re: Inova X1 Mod thread..UPDATED AUG. 6

Hey, nice work. How did you remove the reflector? I have an Inova X03 that I'd like to take a part, but I don't want to break it. Thanks.

 

[cyberspyder]

Re: Inova X1 Mod thread..UPDATED AUG. 6

The most updated one: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...7&highlight=Inside+the+Inova+X1,+Gen.2+(pics)

 

[cyberspyder]

Re: Inova X1 Mod thread..UPDATED AUG. 6

IMO after trying out both the CS and the GS, I liked the beam of the CS better as it had a smoother transition from hotspot to the sidespill...BUT the GS was quite a bit brighter, so decided to put the GS in. Will see how the runtimes are affected.

A teaser of the Nichia GS in its new home amid tons of epoxy to seal the head up:

Brendan

 

[cyberspyder]

Re: Inova X1 Mod thread..UPDATED AUG. 6

Thank god for quick set epoxy...everything cured within 2 hours and I reassembled the light right away...couple taps with a hammer/wooden block and we were in business again...only differences being a GS instead of a CS, polished reflector, and an epoxied, waterproof head (remember, I had no window to start with).

One thing I've learnt is that a smooth reflector on LED lights highlight the deficiencies within the LED itself...as seen in the photos...the original smooth flood is gone, replaced with a 'throwish' light and many rings.

Let the pics speak for themselves:

Proverbial 'wall of light'

Brendan /satisifed// :naughty::twothumbs

 

[greenlight]

Re: Inova X1 Mod thread..UPDATED AUG. 6

Good job. I like seeing X1 mods. They're not the easiest to open.

 

[cyberspyder]

Re: Inova X1 Mod thread..UPDATED AUG. 6

Oh and BTW, will have runtime info in a bit...testing it.

 

[cyberspyder]

Re: Inova X1 Mod thread..UPDATED AUG. 6

Whoa...bordering 10 hours and it is still very bright. I'd say it has 80% of the original output...so that's great!

 

[cyberspyder]

Re: Inova X1 Mod thread..UPDATED AUG. 6

Past the 20 hour mark...double the runtime of stock...YAY! Still pretty damn bright...

 

[cyberspyder]

Re: Inova X1 Mod thread..UPDATED AUG. 6

Past 44 hours...about 50% output now...any comments?

 

[cyberspyder]

Re: Inova X1 Mod thread..UPDATED AUG. 6

Starting to pulse...approx. 15% of original brightness...won't be long now.

 

[cyberspyder]

Re: Inova X1 Mod thread..UPDATED AUG. 6

OK, 60 hours and it still refuses to die...

 

[depusm12]

WOW that's a killer mod. Have you looked at one of the New X1's with the 2 watt led?

 

[cyberspyder]

Nope I haven't...don't have the funds for a new one right now...blew it on an Emerson WWR La Griffe...

 

[kramer5150]

Nice mod...
I just got one of these... 50+ hours nice!!

How do you keep the water pressure from blowing out (or cracking) the window glass? Doesn't the expanding pressure place a direct load on the glass?

 

[cyberspyder]

Don't have a window ....unfortunately, it fell off and I don't know where it went, So I just epoxied the LED in there to keep it watertight.