River Rock 2AA lens mod

it seems that the parabolic shape of the lense contributes to the lack of side spill. has anyone considered reshaping the beam by grinding the lens?

i was thinking of grinding the lens down-into a flatter surface. perhaps this will defocus the beam a bit? any thoughts?

Don't know about the River Rock 2AA lens. . .But if it's glass or plastic, I don't see why you cannot just etch it?

Checked out a product that Michael's sells called Sand Etch. It's simple and straighforward to use. Nothing complicated. The manufacturer of Sand Etch says that it'll work on glass, plastic, ceramic and metal. Only thing is it's kind of pricey at $50.00.

Well hope you get the "fix" for your lens and Enjoy!

does etching result in frosting the lens? if so, i don't think that would solve the RR's problem. it seems that the RR's parabolically shaped lens causes the beam to focus into the moon shape. in other words, it's not that the beam has a lot of artifacts, it's the overall shape that needs work.

In answer to your first question. Yes the sand etch causes a "frosted" or "misted" look on the lens—albeit permanent.

As to what you're wanting to achieve with your River Rock's beam shape. I don't even know where to begin. Sorry. . .

CHC said:

In answer to your first question. Yes the sand etch causes a "frosted" or "misted" look on the lens—albeit permanent.

As to what you're wanting to achieve with your River Rock's beam shape. I don't even know where to begin. Sorry. . .

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Try putting some satin scotch tape or press and seal on the lens. This will give a similar 'frosting' effect but is reversible. I have seen Inova X1s modded this way. Beam pattern is a blob of light gradually fading away from the center.

Does anyone know if the lens can be unscrewed?
It seems like it can be, but it's either loctited or the entire light is actually 1 piece.
I can't seem to get the top off.

do you know if this will widen the focus of the light?

icebeng said:

Does anyone know if the lens can be unscrewed?
It seems like it can be, but it's either loctited or the entire light is actually 1 piece.
I can't seem to get the top off.

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I was able to get the head on mine apart using a heat gun. I carefully heated it up amd was able to unscrew it. I could not figure out how to get the parabolic lense off though. I tried heating it up again but I think its glues with something like an epoxy or something. I woudl love to remove that lense and replace it with a regular lense. I think it might be a great light if it had some side spill.

Here is a piture of the head separated.

Just curious Peekay331. . .If I'm understanding you right, are you seeking to "diffuse" the light and make it more "flood" like? If so then either of the suggestions as to "etching" it or using a sand paper and sanding the lens some or what like LEDninja stated will work to provide a "broader" beam pattern.

I have the smaller River Rock light with the button batteries. I too didn't like the "moon" shape light, so I sanded the lens. Now it has a much "wider" spill pattern. But I gave this away to my father for his "collection."

Thanks for the info, Flame!
I don't have access to a heat gun, but will try boiling water.

I did the scotch tape trick and all it really did was smooth the edge of the moonbeam. I also have a scope cover with yellow/green tint, and with it over the head the beam is pretty much white. I had to build up some surface for the cover using tape.

The fact that this thing is so tough to take apart suggests that it pretty darn solid.

Thoughts...?

icebeng said:

Thanks for the info, Flame!
I don't have access to a heat gun, but will try boiling water.

Click to expand...

If you have a hair dryer that might work. I really didn't have to get it to hot.

Let me know if you figure out a way to get that lense off.

Taking apart an RR 2AA requires a serious, as in haudralic, H-frame press. You have to make a plastic piece to go against the optic and improvise something to support the bezel in the press. I've done it with the AA and 2C, and don't see them as good mod opportunities.

Larry

Mod? Who said anything about modding???
Ok, I must be one of the rare few weirdos here because I actually like the moon beam of the RR 2AA!
The reason I'm trying to get the head off is to clean the inside of of the light,
mine appears to have lint inside and thus my beam appears EXACTLY like the moon....
Complete with moon surface.....

And 1 thing I just noted, have you guys tried putting a finger over the light while it's on?
not to cover it completely, but just partially.
The beam is still kind of a moon spot and no clear shadow of the finger appears.
I would think this is because of the lens and mentioned it here as I guess this would be a factor for those who are trying to diffuse the beam.
I think the normal methods we use might have a different result here.

ok, i went to town on my 2aa and learned quite a bit. any insight is appreciated bc this was my first time modding a light.

these are the things i tried:

1. grinding down the center of the lens to make it less convex, basically i flattened the tip down with a dremel. result: diffuses it somewhat, but reduces overall output bc grinding it down makes the lens more opaque.

2. drilling a fairly decent sized hole through the center of the lens. result: actually diffuses it a lot, with a solid hotspot. problem is that it became VERY ringy, kind of like a ghetto 3D maglite.

3. drilling away the entire lens. this results in a very even floodbeam. basically about 3-5 times the size the original beam but i wanted a hotspot!

4. replacing the stock black color reflector with a modified 2aa mini mag reflector. the mini mag reflector has to be grinded down to size and the middle hole where the bulb goes through has to be enlarged. result: VERY NICE beam. has a bright and large hotspot with an even, decent amount of side spill. no rings. i compared it to my fenix 1lp, and it was brighter overall but not as wide a beam as the fenix (but close to). the color was also much whiter than my fenix-it made the fenix look green.

the only problem was that i must have not drilled the center hole big enough. this caused it to squeeze against and pinch the dome and eventually pulled the dome off when i took the bezel off to take pics. so sad. it was a great mod for about 5 minutes! i learned something new though-it's not the dome that actually lights up, it's the stuff behind the dome! the dome is just a "mini lens".

so now i have a mini mag reflector in it with no dome. it still lights up, but is very diffuse and not that bright. does anyone know of a way to re-glue the dome on???