nerdgineer
Flashlight Enthusiast
So I have some of Dae's Xnova 8's with the reversed battery, and they're OK. However, they have the beam shape typical of "LEDs mounted in a hole" Xnova type lights: narrow hot spot, dark corona, bright ring at edge of beam. I wanted to widen the beam so I removed the bezel retaining ring (by the freeze and pop method) and reamed each of the holes wider with a wood drill, cutting a 30 degree half angle cone about 3-4 mm down each hole. The holes overlapped a little. There is plenty of metal there, so the cone can be cut considerably deeper, which I might do next time.
I cleaned up the edges and reassembled (same LEDs and PCB).
After, drill, and before:
When lit (hard to get exposure right):
Can't do beamshots yet, but the result was a noticeable improvement in the beam. The hotspot is the same but it has a softer edge and the corona is brighter. The ring of light at the edge is also reduced so the beam is much less contrasty than before and easier on the eyes in a dark room.
I cleaned up the edges and reassembled (same LEDs and PCB).
After, drill, and before:
When lit (hard to get exposure right):
Can't do beamshots yet, but the result was a noticeable improvement in the beam. The hotspot is the same but it has a softer edge and the corona is brighter. The ring of light at the edge is also reduced so the beam is much less contrasty than before and easier on the eyes in a dark room.
