Oops, Clumsy Me!!

[Jash]

Don't know how many other people out there are clumsy, but I've managed to kill three lights in the last year by repeatedly dropping them and having them finally give in.

My last death was my Quark mini AA. I dropped it one time too many last night and it don't work no more.

So, what do you do with a dead light?

I decided to salvage the XP-G from the mini and transplanted it into a 3D light that had an XR-E in it. I never used the light a lot because the hotspot was just a little too weird for any sort of real use. It was neither floody, nor threw very far.

The XP-G transplant has transformed it into an AWESOME light that will run for hours and hours and hours with a now bright, wide and smooth hotspot.

So, what do you do with dead lights?

 

[csshih]

oo! pics of the dissection of the mini :p

 

[jhc37013]

One dead light should have been enough to make you decide to use a lanyard. I've never killed a light but long ago a dropped a couple very nice light's and chipped them up pretty good. Ever since then it's been a lanyard if the possible and I've never dropped one since.

 

[Flying Turtle]

I've got a semi-dead light, too, thanks to a final fumble last night. My beloved Task Force 1AA (best dang battery vampire I had) hit a concrete floor hard right on the tail switch, which is now hung up. Hopefully it's fixable if I can open it up.

Geoff

 

[Stress_Test]

Don't know how many other people out there are clumsy, but I've managed to kill three lights in the last year by repeatedly dropping them and having them finally give in.


.....

Somebody get the man a SureFire ;) At least if you drop and break that, you'll get replacement parts.

And if you got a G2 or G3 model with a good LED module, I can't see how you'd ever cause damage to that light by normal drops.

Just sayin' :D

 

[glockboy]

Sell it, somebody should know how to fix it.

So, what do you do with dead lights?

 

[Juggernaut]

My lights can’t die, if I drop them, all that breaks is the floor:devil:……

However all my EDC lights have lanyards, it’s extremely difficult to drop them when one is around your wrist:thumbsup:!

 

[Roger999]

I try to e-mail the manufacturer first....Never had a flashlight break though.

 

[dealgrabber2002]

should of contact 4sevens for warranty... MiNi AA is a darn good light.

 

[GregWormald]

Lanyard, lanyard, lanyard.

Greg

 

[Monocrom]

Lanyard, lanyard, lanyard.

Greg

Aww . . . You beat me to it. :D

 

[zwerky]

I actually prefer lanyard over clip. After reading this thread, I made a wrist lanyard for my new Ra clicky 170. Thanks to another cpf'er who posted a pic and an explanation that they used a constrictor knot to make the lanyard. It works well. :twothumbs

 

[Jash]

Yeah, I've got lanyards. I usually drop them when putting them on or taking them off. Or, as in the cae of the mini AA, they fall (get knocked off by accident) while being used as a candle for whatever reason.

Like I said, I'm clumsy, and I'm not making it up how butter fingered I can be. I break all sorts of stuff by accident (the joys of brain trauma = head on collision with a truck on a bicycle, out of action for 6 months, had to learn to talk again and all that, lots of fun).

I was mostly interested in what people do to a light they manage to kill. However they managed to kill it. Salvaging parts and all that.

The mini AA was the first decent light I broke, the others were just supermarket jobs that simply weren't very well made in the first place.

 

[Sgt. LED]

I can usually repair them but if not it's salvage time.

You'd be suprised how much you can strip from one and reuse.

 

[Monocrom]

Yeah, I've got lanyards. I usually drop them when putting them on or taking them off. Or, as in the cae of the mini AA, they fall (get knocked off by accident) while being used as a candle for whatever reason.

Like I said, I'm clumsy, and I'm not making it up how butter fingered I can be. I break all sorts of stuff by accident (the joys of brain trauma = head on collision with a truck on a bicycle, out of action for 6 months, had to learn to talk again and all that, lots of fun).

I'm sorry to hear what happened to you.

Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask a friend or family member to attach a lanyard for you. Then use cheaper lights for tailstanding purposes.

 

[Cataract]

Hastn't happened since I stopped buying 5$ flashlights.

I would try to get it fixed under warranty. If not, depending on which part is broken, get a replacement part of play Lego with it. Good move putting that LED in a 3D light... could we get some beam shots?

I'm very curious as to how many drops and how high it took to kill a mini...

 

[Jash]

I'm very curious as to how many drops and how high it took to kill a mini...

It's first drop was straight onto concrete, bezel first. I forgot it was in my pocket and it came out with my wallet. It had about a dozen or more drops onto concrete attatched to my keys.

Last week it was a small drop onto a wooden floor that did it.

Upon dissecting it I discovered what was broken. I don't know what it's called but it was that small cylinder shaped object wound with copper. It was snapped right off.

I had the same part break on my P7 module (it was the dogs fault that time), but being big and not glued together I was able to solder it back in place and it works like new.

 

[Jash]

Some pics: All shots F2.8, 1/50sec, 2 metres from wall.

The XR-E that the XP-G replaced had a hotspot about half the size and 1/3 less bright.

What the wall shots don't show is the P7 has a spill twice as bright and twice the size of the XP-G. Will try for some outdoor shots when it's dark.


XP-G transplant

Mag P7, current draw at tailcap: 1.15A

XP-G Transplant, current draw at tailcap: 0.93A

 

[csshih]

that would be the inductor.. doh!

 

[Cataract]

...
Upon dissecting it I discovered what was broken. I don't know what it's called but it was that small cylinder shaped object wound with copper. It was snapped right off.

I had the same part break on my P7 module (it was the dogs fault that time), but being big and not glued together I was able to solder it back in place and it works like new.

These are inductor coils. The smaller ones are pretty much impossible to resolder if theyr're broken (very likely), but if you knew the value and characteristics you could get one from your local electronics parts store.

Perhaps the manufacturer would still repair it under warranty. I think that manufacturers should be made aware of these things, so they know about weak points and look for ways to make their lights better.

If not, rather than throwing the flashlight away, I would take a wild guess (sometimes there's a number on there that can give an indication) and get anything close and see if it works. Then you could post your results and perhaps help someone fix his light in the future.

With a microscope and microsurgeon's hands it is theorically possible to fix it (solder the end of the wire straight on), but that requires more than patience combined with luck, and it will probably be very flimsy, unless you cover it completely with epoxy (a little risky).

And the there's always the transplant option of using the LED in it to upgrade an older light. Interesting to see what comes out of these operations