Ultrafire sst-50 strobe question

[Jaq]

I just impulsively purchased a Ultrafire sst-50 drop in and I like the flood beam, but it has no memory and I would love to kill the strobe mode. Any suggestions, short of throwing it away and purchasing something different.

 

[Ecolang]

Short of replacing the driver, the easiest way would be to replace it with something else. If you are prepared to do some soldering, then finding a driver that will feed the LED enough current in the size you want may well be tricky. An SST-50 wants 5 amps. Not many drivers will provide that.

 

[Jaq]

Thanks for the suggestion, I was hoping that someone had had some experience at modifying this driver to eliminate the strobe mode. I have yet to play with drivers, I do not know if they are discrete components or ics.

 

[Fichtenelch]

You could just swap in that shiningbeam 3-mode p7/mc-e driver...max mode will be around 2.8A if you swap the thin wires it comes with to something thicker ;)
or you could just put another 4x7135 board on top of it to add another 1.4A ;)

 

[Jaq]

Thanks, where would you recommend getting the driver?

 

[Fichtenelch]

Thanks, where would you recommend getting the driver?

As i already said, Shiningbeam ;-)
Have a look at parts & accessoires.

 

[Chevy-SS]

Why does anyone make drop-ins with no memory? I can certainly understand your frustration with the UI on this drop-in........


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[FLT MEDIC]

Some like to be sure of the mode everytime they switch on their multimode flashlights. Different strokes for different folks. :)

 

[Techjunkie]

This inexpensive driver from KD has memory and the same max input range of a single Li-Ion, just like the UltraFire driver. It provides 5 PWM modes with memory and nothing else (no buck, boost, or regulation). I've used it in > 3A applications before without failure (4p MCE from 1 IMR). Considering that every connection in a circuit adds its own nominal resistance, you're not likely to over drive the SST-50 through it on a freshly charged 18650. It might just be the cheap and straightforward swap to satisfy your requirement. As long as you have the pill apart, you should ensure the SSR star has good thermal grease between it and the pill and not the pillowy goo that looks like tub & tile caulk.

 

[Jaq]

Thanks for the suggestions, I can't believe that I can modify this drop-in for $5. Ofcourse I run the risk of destruction. I am running the drop-in with a single aw 18650 and If I am going to take the risk, I would like to boost the output as well. Is there a driver suggestion that could boost as well as add more modes (of course with out strobe feature) I plan to use it daily, rarely needing full brightness.

Thanks in advance

 

[Techjunkie]

Thanks for the suggestions, I can't believe that I can modify this drop-in for $5. Ofcourse I run the risk of destruction. I am running the drop-in with a single aw 18650 and If I am going to take the risk, I would like to boost the output as well. Is there a driver suggestion that could boost as well as add more modes (of course with out strobe feature) I plan to use it daily, rarely needing full brightness.

Thanks in advance

The only way that I can think of to boost the output of an SST-50 emitter from a single cell is to follow these steps:
1) use the driver that I suggested, which is basically direct drive on high
2) replace your AW 18650 with an AW IMR18650
3) reduce resistance in your circuit by replacing your tailswitch and contact springs with beefier parts better suited for high currents

 

[Jaq]

Thanks, for the suggestions. Where do you recommend that I purchase the beefed up springs. Thanks for the spoon feeding. I have order lots of parts in the last few months and few have been successful.

Thanks

 

[Techjunkie]

Thanks, for the suggestions. Where do you recommend that I purchase the beefed up springs. Thanks for the spoon feeding. I have order lots of parts in the last few months and few have been successful.

Thanks

The forward click switches that KD sells are so far holding up against SST-50s in the lights that I have tried them in. They are a little taller than standard 12mm reverse click switches, so you will have to cut the stump off inside the tailcap cover to make room for the increased plunger height.

To reduce spring resistance, you can either bridge the top and the bottom of a spring with copper wire or copper desoldering braid, or sometimes you can get lucky and clip fatter springs from other parts you don't need. I always seem to find springs from somewhere or other without having to buy them. Some of the larger reverse click replacement switches come with large springs that you can cut down and some of the larger reflector with brass pill combos come with decent annode springs.

 

[Jaq]

Techjunkie,

Thanks for the reply, I'm going to order the KD driver and IMR battery and give it a shot.

I followed your thread on your sst-50 builds and I liked number #9 mag with the sst-90. When I am completed with this project, I'm going to take apart some old mag lights and and attempt a sst-90 mod.

Have you ever tried Sandwich shoppe's custom drivers? I was browsing around and they have drivers that you can custom configure the mod currents, but I think they use resistors. Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[Techjunkie]

Techjunkie,

Thanks for the reply, I'm going to order the KD driver and IMR battery and give it a shot.

I followed your thread on your sst-50 builds and I liked number #9 mag with the sst-90. When I am completed with this project, I'm going to take apart some old mag lights and and attempt a sst-90 mod.

Have you ever tried Sandwich shoppe's custom drivers? I was browsing around and they have drivers that you can custom configure the mod currents, but I think they use resistors. Any thoughts?

Thanks

Ah, you mean this one. Good eye, that's a favorite of mine too, for lots of reasons.

The Shoppe has some products that are very highly regarded here at CPF, but I usually try to go with cheaper solutions to keep cost down. (I go through a lot of trial and error with modding drivers from KD/DX.)

Also, don't confuse the sense resistor values used to configure a true current regulating DC-DC buck driver with just using resistors in a resistored-direct-drive configuration. For high current applications, I'm not crazy about using just resistors instead of DC-DC converters unless they're only pulling down the voltage a very tiny bit, like when Vbatt on a full charge is just a fraction of a volt higher than needed. Somewhere in between needing just a little resistance and a true buck driver, like where a fully charged pack, sagging under load is still 0.6-2 volts higher than needed, a variable resistance regulator (like multiples of AMC7135) can be a good fit (like in my Big Red build). Those kind of regulators provide constant regulation until Vbatt drops below LED Vf at the max current of the regulator.

The best solution for regulated output over most of the battery discharge, without wasting lots of power is an efficient DC-DC converter (a driver). Until recently, such a thing was not available for running an SST-90 at maximum output. I have a lot of faith in the DerWichel's new driver. If I were building an SST-90 and had several volts of headroom, I'd give that one a try.

 

[Jaq]

Techjunkie,

What brand specifically would you recommend for thermal paste, and where would you recommend purchasing? I found http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=6954, but I think its tub caulking.

Thanks

 

[Techjunkie]

Techjunkie,

What brand specifically would you recommend for thermal paste, and where would you recommend purchasing? I found http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=6954, but I think its tub caulking.

Thanks

Jaq, we're getting way off topic here. Search the forum, the answers to all your questions are all here. Arctic Silver 7 is a popular favorite.