Scottiver
Enlightened
Very cool Heckboy, I need to see MORE pictures please! Like what the new tailcap piece looks like out of the light and show how it goes in and out and pictures of it from different angles. :goodjob:
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LunaSol 20 PD Modifications
- Thread starter heckboy
- Start date
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manoloco
Enlightened
looks very interesting, i am very curious too about how it looks in its connection to the piston and what will be the final shape, looks very well done.
RocketTomato
Enlightened
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2008
- Messages
- 475
That's exactly the type of piston setup you would need to make a workable AAA PD light.
And I think it is now easy to rotate the piston.
McGizmo,
How about a double kilroy (low-high, medium-high) converter that you access by twisting the end of the piston? The contact part of the piston would have to be cut or slotted to just press one of the kilroys. There could even be a contact-less section for lock-out.
McGizmo,
How about a double kilroy (low-high, medium-high) converter that you access by twisting the end of the piston? The contact part of the piston would have to be cut or slotted to just press one of the kilroys. There could even be a contact-less section for lock-out.
The lock out button is attached to the light by means of a two piece assembly, one piece (the mount) fitting inside the light body the other piece (the button) exposed at the end of the light and attached to the mount via a #4-40 FHSC. I constrained the design practice for this button in the following ways:
Regards,
HB
- The change must be completely reversible leaving no signs of it's prior existence on the light.
- The assembly must maintain the original water proof design of the PD system.
- Lock out is accomplished by loosening the bezel about 1/2 turn at most.
- The operating effort level must be on par with the Surefire L1, my current ergonomic champion for flashlights.
- Must be economical to manufacture.
- Must be very easy to operate.
- The change must respect the design of the light in terms of appearance and function.
Regards,
HB
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manoloco
Enlightened
Excellent.
I thought you modified the piston so the button screwed on it, i was thinking that i would be very easy for it to be accidentally unscrewed in your pocket or wherever you carry it or at least be insecure making use uncomfortable.
you design completely solves this, by having the mount being "free" and the button screwed to it, this effectively prevents accidents like the one i thought could happen.
I thought you modified the piston so the button screwed on it, i was thinking that i would be very easy for it to be accidentally unscrewed in your pocket or wherever you carry it or at least be insecure making use uncomfortable.
you design completely solves this, by having the mount being "free" and the button screwed to it, this effectively prevents accidents like the one i thought could happen.
Heckboy,
I anticipated the design of this first one but I don't think I have fathomed your next one. Nice work and process you have going there! :thumbsup:
brucec,
I actually have a number of ideas and designs that bounce in and out of my mind and some even predate the existing PD system. My designs have been able to improve in terms of complexity at the mechanical end because I now have access to a great machine shop capable of precision machining on multiple axis's. However, the electronics are a different story. I have some ideas that I find quite exciting but they require new black boxes that don't exist and I know I couldn't afford to fund them even if I found a source willing and capable of taking them on. I have a design for a dive light that would really be different and I think doable but it would require a converter similar in fashion to what you have described, I believe. The light would have no threads at all except for the screw holes for the belt clip.
On the outside chance that I might get to visit the idea some day, I won't get into the particulars.
I anticipated the design of this first one but I don't think I have fathomed your next one. Nice work and process you have going there! :thumbsup:
brucec,
I actually have a number of ideas and designs that bounce in and out of my mind and some even predate the existing PD system. My designs have been able to improve in terms of complexity at the mechanical end because I now have access to a great machine shop capable of precision machining on multiple axis's. However, the electronics are a different story. I have some ideas that I find quite exciting but they require new black boxes that don't exist and I know I couldn't afford to fund them even if I found a source willing and capable of taking them on. I have a design for a dive light that would really be different and I think doable but it would require a converter similar in fashion to what you have described, I believe. The light would have no threads at all except for the screw holes for the belt clip.
On the outside chance that I might get to visit the idea some day, I won't get into the particulars.
That sounds like a nice design. I'm having a hard time imagining how the battery would be changed. Some kind spring loaded twist latch I guess. It sounds like you are a busy man.
Heckboy,
That is really cool work! I wish I had a lathe. And mill.
Bruce
Drywolf
Flashlight Enthusiast
I'm using Lee Spring # LB 024A 01 AAA in my LunaSol 20 and Ti-PDs Mizer for easier piston activation.
I then swapped out the #016 O-rings for the pistons and replaced them with the #015 O-ring. This made the pistons a little easier to push.
Adding two Tactical O-rings has really made both flashlights much easier to use especially with one hand. The rings fit tight and allow easy "one hand" operation. The ring at the base makes turning them on with the piston much more controlled. The ring on the head makes one handed twisty "a snap", oops I meant "a twist".
I'm pretty happy with these changes. Thanks to heckboy for the springs, Lighthound for the cigar rings and oil.com for the O-rings.
Happy New Year!
Frank
A couple of pictures showing my McGizmos in the three bodies I use [17670(Cx2)/18650(Leef-RPM)/123].
.......My favorite lite
.........LunaSol 20... ..................Ti-PD-s mizer ...................S27-Cx2
........
...
I then swapped out the #016 O-rings for the pistons and replaced them with the #015 O-ring. This made the pistons a little easier to push.
Adding two Tactical O-rings has really made both flashlights much easier to use especially with one hand. The rings fit tight and allow easy "one hand" operation. The ring at the base makes turning them on with the piston much more controlled. The ring on the head makes one handed twisty "a snap", oops I meant "a twist".
I'm pretty happy with these changes. Thanks to heckboy for the springs, Lighthound for the cigar rings and oil.com for the O-rings.
Happy New Year!
Frank
A couple of pictures showing my McGizmos in the three bodies I use [17670(Cx2)/18650(Leef-RPM)/123].
.......My favorite lite
.........LunaSol 20... ..................Ti-PD-s mizer ...................S27-Cx2
........
...
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precisionworks
Flashaholic
I received the 'low force' spring from RocketTomato & am very pleased with the lighter action. It's a little shorter than Don's original spring, but has more than enough force to return the piston to the off position.
Extracting the original spring was easy, using a nut pick (it was lying next to the nut cracker - hey it's that time of year). The new spring snapped into place and the light was ready to go. The feel is perfect.
Extracting the original spring was easy, using a nut pick (it was lying next to the nut cracker - hey it's that time of year). The new spring snapped into place and the light was ready to go. The feel is perfect.
Drywolf
Flashlight Enthusiast
precisionworks,
If you would like to try a #015 O-ring I have an extra. PM me your address if interested.
Happy New Year,
Frank
If you would like to try a #015 O-ring I have an extra. PM me your address if interested.
Happy New Year,
Frank
precisionworks
Flashaholic
That is awfully nice of you to offer😀
PM sent.
PM sent.
precisionworks
Flashaholic
Frank's O-rings came today ... installed the #015 with a drop of Sandwich Shoppe Krytox 50/50 & put it back together. WOW, that did the trick. With the lighter spring + standard O-ring, there was still slight spring stacking. With the lighter spring + smaller O-ring, the feel is perfect😀
I'm really surprised that a tiny change in O-ring diameter made such a big difference.
I'm really surprised that a tiny change in O-ring diameter made such a big difference.
Drywolf
Flashlight Enthusiast
When I installed the new spring I was not completely happy with the results, but adding the smaller O-ring really did the trick. I used the new spring for about a week and then switched back to the original. After adding the #015 O-ring I'm sure I won't be going back to the original spring again, unless in time it fails to turn the light off.
Frank
Frank
js
Flashlight Enthusiast
So, I hope people don't mind me reviving this old thread, but it is the appropriate place to post my recent experience with the Lee spring.
I never did cut the top loop off my LS20 spring, as I was pretty happy with the action and force as it was and also, unlike my Ti-PD-S (which I sold years ago, stupidly), my LS20 never did the annoying spring buckling and *sproinging* thing which I remedied in the Ti-PD-S with tape wrapped around the battery to keep it straight/axial. It settled down into a nice, smooth action with few aberrations.
However . . . I recently got a Haiku, and the ease with which one can hold momentary on that light, plus me reading that Don switched to the Lee spring as standard for his last wave of LunaSol 20's made me want to give a Lee spring a try in mine.
So, today (or rather, yesterday at this point) I switched them out. And I was REALLY not happy with the result!
For starters--and I wonder how many other people have had this happen--I found that the very low spring force was not enough to keep the head reliably centered in the PD pak threads which caused the high "C" contact ring to frequently and briefly contact the body, causing the high beam LED to have a very subtle epileptic fit while being turned, and even when the light was just sitting there at some times! The action felt MUCH less crisp and accurate. I didn't like it at all. It was sloppy, I felt.
So, I ended up putting back in the original spring. I definitely have a STRONG preference for the higher spring force. It seems I am in a very small minority! Is there anyone else who prefers the original spring, I wonder? If so, I would love to hear from you.
I never did cut the top loop off my LS20 spring, as I was pretty happy with the action and force as it was and also, unlike my Ti-PD-S (which I sold years ago, stupidly), my LS20 never did the annoying spring buckling and *sproinging* thing which I remedied in the Ti-PD-S with tape wrapped around the battery to keep it straight/axial. It settled down into a nice, smooth action with few aberrations.
However . . . I recently got a Haiku, and the ease with which one can hold momentary on that light, plus me reading that Don switched to the Lee spring as standard for his last wave of LunaSol 20's made me want to give a Lee spring a try in mine.
So, today (or rather, yesterday at this point) I switched them out. And I was REALLY not happy with the result!
For starters--and I wonder how many other people have had this happen--I found that the very low spring force was not enough to keep the head reliably centered in the PD pak threads which caused the high "C" contact ring to frequently and briefly contact the body, causing the high beam LED to have a very subtle epileptic fit while being turned, and even when the light was just sitting there at some times! The action felt MUCH less crisp and accurate. I didn't like it at all. It was sloppy, I felt.
So, I ended up putting back in the original spring. I definitely have a STRONG preference for the higher spring force. It seems I am in a very small minority! Is there anyone else who prefers the original spring, I wonder? If so, I would love to hear from you.
js
Flashlight Enthusiast
I can't seem to find the Aleph McE2S contact spring (i.e. PD contact spring) for sale anywhere. Does anyone know of a source for these? I don't necessarily need one. It's nothing urgent. But I would definitely like to know if we can get these in small quantities (i.e. 1 or 2) anywhere at this point in time.
fyrstormer
Banned
You might be the only person left who likes the old spring, actually. I even replaced it with the low-force spring on a couple McE2S switches that passed through my hands over the years.
If you have trouble with your PD piston wobbling inside the battery tube, remove it, de-grease it thoroughly, and wrap it with a layer or two of clear packaging tape. That will take up the slack and keep it from wobbling anymore, which should ensure a more predictable contact between the PD tube and the high-mode contact ring.
I've never had a problem with a wobbling battery, but if you do, probably the simplest solution is to melt the solder holding the silver bead on the driver board and re-center the bead. On the Lunasol lights this requires removing the bead and bending the wire the bead rests on, but on the other PD lights there is no wire protruding, so the bead can be adjusted without removal.
I have some flatter, wider silver beads that I'm experimenting with, which should further reduce battery-wobble. I've already used some "pancake"-shaped beads as contacts on my Haiku/Sundrop/Mule light engines, and they work splendidly...
...but the PD lights need something thicker. I think I've found something that will work, but I haven't had the time and patience to try it yet.
If you have trouble with your PD piston wobbling inside the battery tube, remove it, de-grease it thoroughly, and wrap it with a layer or two of clear packaging tape. That will take up the slack and keep it from wobbling anymore, which should ensure a more predictable contact between the PD tube and the high-mode contact ring.
I've never had a problem with a wobbling battery, but if you do, probably the simplest solution is to melt the solder holding the silver bead on the driver board and re-center the bead. On the Lunasol lights this requires removing the bead and bending the wire the bead rests on, but on the other PD lights there is no wire protruding, so the bead can be adjusted without removal.
I have some flatter, wider silver beads that I'm experimenting with, which should further reduce battery-wobble. I've already used some "pancake"-shaped beads as contacts on my Haiku/Sundrop/Mule light engines, and they work splendidly...
...but the PD lights need something thicker. I think I've found something that will work, but I haven't had the time and patience to try it yet.
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js
Flashlight Enthusiast
fyrstormer,
If have no issues with the PD mechanism on my LunaSol 20. I like it just the way that it is. I just figured I would try out the Lee spring and see if I liked it better. I didn't.
On my Ti-PD-S, which I no longer own, the problem was with the spring buckling, not with the piston wobbling, so those other solutions wouldn't work for me, but they are all listed here and in the other thread I recently posted to.
I have no idea why I would ever want to mess with the center contact to solve a "wobbling battery" issue, however. The battery in my Ti-PD-S was moving at the REAR end, not the front. And if it was moving at the front, neither the standard contact point, nor the modified ones you have shown would solve it. Actually, they might even make it worse, as they are flat and would allow the front to slide more easily laterally, I would guess. But who knows. As I said, this wasn't the issue with my Ti-PD-S.
For the record, I did cut down the spring in my Haiku and SunDrop by cutting off the top loop, because I wanted the head to thread on at least a partial turn before having to fight against the battery contact spring. So far, it seems that the contact force is still sufficient to keep good contact even with dynamic forces on the light, and I like that the head turns on easier and the idea of less force pushing back against the McClickie.
If have no issues with the PD mechanism on my LunaSol 20. I like it just the way that it is. I just figured I would try out the Lee spring and see if I liked it better. I didn't.
On my Ti-PD-S, which I no longer own, the problem was with the spring buckling, not with the piston wobbling, so those other solutions wouldn't work for me, but they are all listed here and in the other thread I recently posted to.
I have no idea why I would ever want to mess with the center contact to solve a "wobbling battery" issue, however. The battery in my Ti-PD-S was moving at the REAR end, not the front. And if it was moving at the front, neither the standard contact point, nor the modified ones you have shown would solve it. Actually, they might even make it worse, as they are flat and would allow the front to slide more easily laterally, I would guess. But who knows. As I said, this wasn't the issue with my Ti-PD-S.
For the record, I did cut down the spring in my Haiku and SunDrop by cutting off the top loop, because I wanted the head to thread on at least a partial turn before having to fight against the battery contact spring. So far, it seems that the contact force is still sufficient to keep good contact even with dynamic forces on the light, and I like that the head turns on easier and the idea of less force pushing back against the McClickie.
fyrstormer
Banned
If the positive contact is too narrow, the battery can tilt to reduce the pressure being applied to it by the negative-contact spring. A wider positive contact will prevent this or at least reduce it.
To visualize what I'm talking about, stand a battery positive-side-down on the table. Does it fall over? No. Now balance it on the tip of a pencil. Does it fall over? Yes. The only thing different in this example vs. inside your PD light is that the pressure is coming from gravity instead of from a spring. While the battery can't "fall over" (or rather, flip sideways) while trapped inside the PD tube, it can rock back and forth a bit and produce a clicking sensation.
To visualize what I'm talking about, stand a battery positive-side-down on the table. Does it fall over? No. Now balance it on the tip of a pencil. Does it fall over? Yes. The only thing different in this example vs. inside your PD light is that the pressure is coming from gravity instead of from a spring. While the battery can't "fall over" (or rather, flip sideways) while trapped inside the PD tube, it can rock back and forth a bit and produce a clicking sensation.
