Tale of a TerraLux

[nein166]

I've done my best over the years to convert my co-workers (HVAC) to LED Flashlights and not the 9-LED 3xAAA type.
My boss insists on carrying a MiniMag so I told him about the Terralux SSC drop-in Module. Surprisingly he ordered some for the crew.
Now I should have thought about durability, after one too many drops and throws the SSC P4 shifted sideways and cut the bond wires on the edge of the reflector.
Should have gone with an XR-E

But I think he actually got a year out of it.
Well now its my fault that he spent money on a fragile little thing that must have been made in Italy.


So he tells me to fix it.
Now I don't want to spend $8 on a new emitter so I look through my parts bin.
He probably wouldn't notice a LuxIII as any different but he'd know it was dimmer.
A LuxV might not get enough voltage from the module.
So then I notice an old Cree P4 Star.
The Cree looks like it can fit the same surface mount pad on the module.



But how to get it off the star?
How about a butane torch lighter?
I've been having way too much fun with torches lately. :naughty:
So I grab the star with pliers setup the butane torch and start cooking the back of the star. When I notice the solder pads flow I just whacked the star on the table and the XR-E slid right off… and the Lens and Silver ring bounced away


Wonder if it works? I strapped 2 NiMH together with test leads and gave the XR-E some juice.
It does work! I picked off the remaining glops of silicone goo to truly epose the die.
So now I sit and look at this tiny FRAGILE XR-E die naked to the world, what a waste.
Funny it looks like an XP-E this way if only it had a dome to cover the LED die.

DevCon 2-Ton Epoxy to the rescue! I placed a small dollop of epoxy right over the die.
And went and watched some TV. A few hours later it was solid and I fired it up again,
Eureka, It Works! An XP-E on a XR-E sort of anyhow.

A little soldering and it replaced the Seoul P4 on the Terralux Module.

The second shot is at -2 exposure

The XR-E works well with the SSC reflector included with the Terralux Module.
Guess what he broke next, the Nite-Ize button switch, Here we go again

 

[John_Galt]

Your boss is expecting you to fix something that is clearly much more effective than his original light, over $8? What BS. Tell him to buy a new one, or fix it himself. Give it back with the original incandescent bulb, and ask him how long that lasts.

So he liked the LED ouptut, and the multi-mode switch? Let him know about some of the very durable, much better made than Mag lights from 4Sevens, Fenix, etc.

 

[nein166]

Your boss is expecting you to fix something that is clearly much more effective than his original light, over $8? What BS. Tell him to buy a new one, or fix it himself. Give it back with the original incandescent bulb, and ask him how long that lasts.

So he liked the LED ouptut, and the multi-mode switch? Let him know about some of the very durable, much better made than Mag lights from 4Sevens, Fenix, etc.

Truthfully I just love fixing stuff, thats why I did it the way I did. The Cree P4 was a pull from a light I upgraded to a Q5.

And he broke the 1 level NiteIze switch not the IQ. He mashed the microswitch inside the tailcap too much. I have broken a Vitalgear button with the same kind of microswitch inside. I fixed his already by drilling out the tailcap and putting a DX 11mm clicky switch inside. So I am now out $0.40 for the button. But that gave me the incentive to fix my Vitalgear 2 Cell body with the same clicky switch. Works much better now and the reverse clicky works much better with the FluPIC

 

[John_Galt]

I'm not yelling at you... Just saying it seems dumb that he would want you to fix something he bought and broke, when it was so much better than the original.

BTW, I also had the same drop in, and it died the same way, bond wire got sheared off by the reflector when it was dropped. Lasted me a couple months, but I liked it, had a nice, creamy white tint, and a relatively smooth beam. Decent battery life too.