Mod Inova 24/7
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glockboy
Flashlight Enthusiast
I want to know too.
Good to know I'm not the only bloke out here who wants to open one. The problem is that the Inova people are devilishly clever (at times) in construction and that front dial is so obvious and so tempting...but all my tentative efforts to dislodge it have failed. I'm afraid they've used some hi tech molding process to assemble it. I'm just not brave enough to give it a really brutal pull and chicken out telling myself that the 24/7 is a great little beacon as is, robust, waterproof etc and not made to compete with a P3D................still. Surely somebody must have done it.
Dougie Dukakis
Newly Enlightened
Hey Guys! I was just reading this thread and looked at my 24/7 across the table. I thought I'd yank a litte and... off came the crown. I was actually a bit shocked how easily i could do it. I did't have to use much force at all! I just made 2 pics and uploaded them on Imageshack for you guys to see.
One strange thing was, even though I have this light more than 2 years, the glue used to hold it together in the middle of the dial wasn't hardened! I managed to put it back together just like that. Not very convincing if you ask me.
Now the interesting part: as you can see on the pics, the LEDs are embedded in what looks like some kind of resin. The "faceplate" that you see once the crown is off seems also to be glued in. The white ring around the leds is not glued, you can remove it by hand. This doesn't matter though, this faceplate goes all the way to the edges, the same size and shape as the crown. This is what you'd have to remove. I didn't do it, as it's (almost) the only flashlight I have, and I couldn't do the mod anyway... I moved from Germany to Norway a year ago and still don't have any but the most basic of tools here. That said, I'm also not exactely a whiz in electronics.
If you pull it apart, be careful not to loose the two little white balls and the small springs behind them. I just put them back in their slots for the picture.
Anyone with the right equipment brave enough to go one step further? By the way, great forums!
greenLED
Flashaholic
:twothumbs
That's the first pic I've seen of a 24/7 taken apart. You can see the small magnets (?) on the bezel ring.
Could that whitish stuff around the LED's be silicone sealant/lube?
That's the first pic I've seen of a 24/7 taken apart.
You can see the small magnets (?) on the bezel ring. Could that whitish stuff around the LED's be silicone sealant/lube?
Dougie Dukakis
Newly Enlightened
:twothumbs
That's the first pic I've seen of a 24/7 taken apart.
Could that whitish stuff around the LED's be silicone sealant/lube?
Just opened it again - you're exactely right. The metal bits are magnets, and the whitish stuff is obviously silicone sealant. It felt rubbery when I touched it.
Wowwww
Nice work.
Mine doesn't want to come apart (as noted in my original post) but given that the LEDS are set in silicon sealant I don't fancy trying to dig them out anyway.
I agree with GreenLed - I've not seen the insides of a 24/7 before today either - Thanks for showing it to me.
Nice work.
Mine doesn't want to come apart (as noted in my original post) but given that the LEDS are set in silicon sealant I don't fancy trying to dig them out anyway.
I agree with GreenLed - I've not seen the insides of a 24/7 before today either - Thanks for showing it to me.
greenLED
Flashaholic
Dougie, I hadn't noticed you're new to CPF. :welcome:
What a great first post! :thanks:
What a great first post! :thanks:
Dougie Dukakis
Newly Enlightened
Thank you for the warm welcome! When I get my new headlamp within the next 1-2 month I probably try prying up the faceplate of the inova...
As many of you, I really like the looks of it but i find the output even with fresh batteries not satifying anymore.
As many of you, I really like the looks of it but i find the output even with fresh batteries not satifying anymore.
Dougie Dukakis
Newly Enlightened
I got my first soldering station today and after modding the UltraFire battery charger from dealextreme to accept the smaller batteries (16340), I took on the Quiqlite using the info and photos from Ralf's thread: http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=115781&highlight=quiqlite
Since both mods worked quite well I decided to take on the Inova. This time i had to remove the plate underneath as well, to get to the circuit board. This was quite awful to do, as the glue they used is pretty tough. However once I was finished, the rest was pretty easy to do.
As you see in the pictures, desoldering the old white leds is fairly easy. Same as to solder the new ones. I also used the 22000mcd 5mm white leds from the dealextreme keychain flashlights (sku 1253).
I shot two comparison photos, and i think it's quite a difference. Also, if you want maximum output I recommend 16340 Li-Ion rechargeables because of the higher voltage, they also made the stock 24/7 a little better. Only drawback is they are a little annoying to remove from the 24/7 housing due to their larger diameter.
When I was finished with this I thought of maybe buying blue or green leds to replace the orange ones but I'm not so sure if there is any voltage regulation so the blue/green ones might not light up as desired. That said, I'm not an electronics wizard - maybe one of you can see if this is possible or not. I just hope that I've broke the ice a little for future mods by you guys. If you have any news or info, please post.
Cheers,
Dougie
Comparison pics - stock Inova 24/7:
modded Inova 24/:
Since both mods worked quite well I decided to take on the Inova. This time i had to remove the plate underneath as well, to get to the circuit board. This was quite awful to do, as the glue they used is pretty tough. However once I was finished, the rest was pretty easy to do.
As you see in the pictures, desoldering the old white leds is fairly easy. Same as to solder the new ones. I also used the 22000mcd 5mm white leds from the dealextreme keychain flashlights (sku 1253).
I shot two comparison photos, and i think it's quite a difference. Also, if you want maximum output I recommend 16340 Li-Ion rechargeables because of the higher voltage, they also made the stock 24/7 a little better. Only drawback is they are a little annoying to remove from the 24/7 housing due to their larger diameter.
When I was finished with this I thought of maybe buying blue or green leds to replace the orange ones but I'm not so sure if there is any voltage regulation so the blue/green ones might not light up as desired. That said, I'm not an electronics wizard - maybe one of you can see if this is possible or not. I just hope that I've broke the ice a little for future mods by you guys. If you have any news or info, please post.
Cheers,
Dougie
Comparison pics - stock Inova 24/7:
modded Inova 24/:
greenLED
Flashaholic
Extremely cool. You're the first person that I know of to ever mod the 24/7. :twothumbs
Moka
Enlightened
Dougie, How'd you put it back together???
Inova use ultrasonic welding to seal it... What did you use?
Inova use ultrasonic welding to seal it... What did you use?
