Show your Solarforce

[Midnight Oil]

Not too impressed with the anodizing on the above L2r, it was used around 15 hrs in total on a 4 night camping trip, it wasn't wrapped in cotton wool but was treated well.

Yet already I can see flaking! As evident in the photograph :tsk:

Yeah, type 2 anodizing is not durable at all. But think of it this way, with type 2, you don't have to treat your light well, cradling it like a baby, worrying that you might damage the coating the way you would if the light were HA.

 

[Tally-ho]

After cleaning the threads with rubbing alcohol and then re-applying the Super Lube

:huh:

You probably already know that "the more" is not always "the best".
If your lub product deserves its name, you prabably don't need to put so much lub, and if you need to put so much to have smooth threads, then you need a better one.
All the more since flashlight's threads aren't mechanical parts working 24 hours a day.

But you remain free to do whatever you want.

 

[OKWalker]

Well my stock L2P is very wobbly when I try to tailstand it. I might order a few different tail caps to try them out.

Thanks.

 

[pae77]

Well my stock L2P is very wobbly when I try to tailstand it. I might order a few different tail caps to try them out.

Thanks.

My L2P tailstands perfectly as the silicone or rubber cap does not protrude at all beyond the edges of the metal part of the tail cap, so I thought they all were like that.

Perhaps if you take the tail cap apart, there may be a silicone/rubber "post" underneath the center of the cap that can be trimmed a bit to prevent the tail cap from sticking out and making it unstable?

 

[old4570]

Solarforce L2s

Or L2small [ 18650 ] :naughty:

 

[Tally-ho]

Solarforce L2s

Or L2small [ 18650 ] :naughty:

:goodjob:

I am not a "lego guy" yet but after teasing us, now it will be appreciated to explain a little bit.
Which body tube is it ?
Did you remove all internal (+) & (-) contact springs ?
Which cliky is it ? Probably a very short switch.

 

[old4570]

:goodjob:

I am not a "lego guy" yet but after teasing us, now it will be appreciated to explain a little bit.
Which body tube is it ?
Did you remove all internal (+) & (-) contact springs ?
Which cliky is it ? Probably a very short switch.

Its my L2micro + a shortened CR123 extension ..
Shortened so it will engage the threads ..
Now its 1xCR123A / or 1x18650 ...
L2micro or L2small ...

With a lathe , I think I could shoe horn a 18650 into a L2m :devil:

Post 1066 for L2micro details

 

[Kevin1322]

Solarforce L2s

Or L2small [ 18650 ] :naughty:

Now Olds, you know you can't post a new creation like this without telling us how you did it! You're such a tease, haha. Very cool. :thumbsup: BTW, your making it awefully hard to catch up with you and your Solarforce collection, haha.

 

[old4570]

Re: Show your Solarforce / More L2s pictures

More Pictures :

L2small next to a regular L2 [ 18650 ]

Another angle of the two ...

L2s and 18650

L2s with 18650 exposed

The parts :

L2micro + CR123A extension :

The cr123A extension has to be shortened at the front as the threads are too deep to engage the body , I took of some 20thou from the front to engage the threads ...

Now I have a L2small [ 18650 ] and a L2micro [ CR123A ] L2GO [ lego ]
Maybe its a L2sm [ ????????? ] now ...

I took it for about a 3 K walk , and it rides the pocket much better than a regular L2 , feels better , about the same weight, just feels smaller [ it is smaller ] ...
So , for me , just seems a lot nicer size for a 18650 [ compact ? ] .. Ive had this on the back burner ever since doing the micro , I really wanted to see how small a light the L2 could be and still use a 18650 , I really think with some careful mods a L2M could be a 18650 host ... Take a bit of work !

 

[SuperTrouper]

Here's my L2 with a Malkoff M61W module in.

It runs very nicely! Click to embiggen!

 

[offroad]

Re: Show your Solarforce / More L2s pictures

Where does the shortened head come from? I have a couple of L2m's but the head is longer than the one above.

 

[PCC]

The regular L2 actually has a two-piece body. If you look inside of the body from the head end you should see a seam. If you are able to separate the lower body from the head then you'll end up with that shorty head.

I'm tempted to boil my L2 to see if I can separate mine. I've already installed a NetKidz clickie in the stock L2 tailcap but it only shortened the overall length by about 2-3mm. The NetKidz clickie also sticks into the body by about 6mm so having a battery stack that sits further back than normal won't work with it. I'm going to see if I can make a L2 twistie tailcap ala Z41 to get an ultra short tailcap going. The problem is that the threads end about 5mm short of the end of the body and there's a shoulder in there. The Z41 is threaded all the way in so it can be made a lot shorter. If that doesn't work then I'll be putting a real Z41 onto mine.

 

[old4570]

Re: Show your Solarforce / More L2s pictures

Where does the shortened head come from? I have a couple of L2m's but the head is longer than the one above.

First you have to make a micro ..

The earlier Solarforce L2's had 2 part bodies , dont know about now ?
So when you separate the 2 part body , you get the short head part , which the tail clicky screws into to make a micro ..

You also have to shorten the pill [ micro size it ] as internal space is at a premium , remove the + spring on the pill [ every mm counts ] and I did a Romisen forward clicky mod to the tailcap to improve the internal space in the tailcap . If you dont make more room , a CR123A wont fit in the micro ...

Once you have a working micro [ CR123A ] you then take a CR123A extension , shorten the front , as the threads are so deep they wont engage the body , I shortened mine 20thou , now you can squeeze in a 18650 .

I guess I call the combo a L2sm [ small or micro ]

Checked a few L2's , mine seem to be 2 part bodies - be aware they are glued shut ...

 

[pae77]

That's a really cool mod there, Old. :thumbsup:

 

[Superorb]

That's a really cool mod there, Old. :thumbsup:

All my 5 L2's are 2-part glued setups.

 

[Scuderia]

I got a little carried away on my first order of solarforce lights.

 

[kosPap]

Re: Show your Solarforce / More L2s pictures

You also have to shorten the pill [ micro size it ] as internal space is at a premium , remove the + spring on the pill [ every mm counts ] and I did a Romisen forward clicky mod to the tailcap to improve the internal space in the tailcap . If you dont make more room , a CR123A wont fit in the micro ...

A good starting point would be to get those bare dropin modules (either DX or KD) that are meant for the MCE (they have two grooves at the reflector body and there is no flat area in the reflector around the led dome)

the pill is about 2 mm shorter, but that affects maximum driver height....works fine with AMC7135 boards and the KD 1645 one (the last one I am using)

 

[old4570]

 

[kosPap]

indeed!
I got to apologize for beeing a bit misleading on the module identiity, in my previous post...

taht is one, but I can no longer find it in the KD site...

there is a ready made drop-in in there and in DX too though...

BTW old4570 GOOD job!

 

[old4570]

Thank you ...

Got my fingers crossed for a lathe before Christmas ..
Would be nice to do some serious custom mods ....

Trying to save money ...