BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... Completed with PICTURES

So far I have disassembled the Blimp and cleaned all the thread lock out.

Today I received some P4 WC/X0 Stars from waion's group buy.

Here is the stock BLIMP disassembled:


Take a look: No thermal compound in the stock setup:


Normally a cree needs lifted into the reflector .015", but I also have a problem with the difference in thickness between stars. The stock star is .080" thick, the cree star is .060"


So now I need to come up with about .035" copper or aluminum to bridge the gap here:

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

Does anybody know off-hand how old a penny should be to be copper all the way through?

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

Prior to 1982, IIRC

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

Yup, what cry- said. You can also get small craps of copper at local shops, or hammer copper fittings flat (and cut/solder to size) from the plumbing section at your hardware store.

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

Well, I found a 1968 penny, and I'm down to .045", still copper!

I'm glad I still have fingernails this week

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

I found it helpful to stick the penny onto a square of duct tape and then fold or twist the duct tape up to make a handle. The adhesive of the tape is strong enough to hold onto the penny while you run it back and forth across the face of a file or sheet of sandpaper.

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

Sorry, Abe.

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

LumenHound said:

I found it helpful to stick the penny onto a square of duct tape and then fold or twist the duct tape up to make a handle. The adhesive of the tape is strong enough to hold onto the penny while you run it back and forth across the face of a file or sheet of sandpaper.

Click to expand...

Oh now you tell me!

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

Add some thermal epoxy at the lip, and then on top of the penny:


Screw down, and plug in the soldering iron (doh!)

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

OH CHIT!

I think my lens is defective (also see my third picture above, which was right after I took it out of the bag).

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

It looks like the lens separated from the goo underneath the lens. I have had this happen to me when an optic was not perfectly aligned and moved the lens. Bummer!

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

Here is how the star was packaged. I think the head of the stapler hit the lens. I will ask waion for a replacement.



Meanwhile, I'll take a step back and install another star.

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

Here I have replaced the defective star with another, and I soldered down the wire. Next, I applied Kapton tape to the emitter board. We don't want the reflector shorting out on the (+) and (-) pads on the top. If the Kapton tape doesn't cover a lot of area, it could shift on us over time.

You will also notice I cut access for the screws. This is because we can tweak the centering of the emitter in the reflector as needed.



Tighten the star screws just a little. Check the centering. Nudge as necessary. Note that tightening a flat-head screw will tend to push the star away from that screw. Once you have alignment, progressively tighten both screws back and forth.

You will see I did not have to open a larger hole in the BLIMP reflector. The emitter pops through with room to spare.



As usual with CREE upgrades, the resulting beam isn't up to standards. This is because the focal point of the reflector is higher than the Cree reaches. The next two pictures are normal exposure, and -2 stops.





There is more work to do!

I will have to figure out how to remove the reflector from the head. After that, I will file off the end little by little until I get the focus I want.

This will be the subject of a later posting, probably tomorrow.

The good news is I already accounted for this .010-.015" worth of reflector removal with my copper disc standoff.

If I hadn't boosted with the disc, the head of the blimp would probably bottom out on the body before the reflector came into position.

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

I've got the same light and I'm working on using an optic. Still struggling with mounting the emitter, but the beam should be a little better when done. I'll let you know. BTW, to remove the lens, I had to drill and cut it out. Not easy.

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

Great visual story EngrPaul! Although, you killed Abe! :laughing: No, seriously, I'm reporting you to the government. Ok, I'm not.

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

wmpwi said:

I've got the same light and I'm working on using an optic. Still struggling with mounting the emitter, but the beam should be a little better when done. I'll let you know. BTW, to remove the lens, I had to drill and cut it out. Not easy.

Click to expand...

I just finished removing the plastic lens. The best way I could figure to do it is put something soft on the end of a wooden dowel ,insert it through the back of the reflector and beat on it with a hammer.

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

:laughing: Mine must have been forced in a little harder. I tried a hammer and was close to destroying the head which is why I went to a Dremel and drill and had to take it out in pieces. I also used a plastic tube as a reducer and trying AA Li-ion to replace the 3xAAAs

EngrPaul said:

I just finished removing the plastic lens. The best way I could figure to do it is put something soft on the end of a wooden dowel ,insert it through the back of the reflector and beat on it with a hammer.

Click to expand...

Re: BLIMP + CREE STAR mod... in progress!

If I had to do it all over again, I would have left the reflector in the head and drilled/milled material from the back of the reflector. I originally thought it was aluminum, but consistent with many FU lights this one is again silver painted Lexan.

Here's a picture of my reflector after modifying it.


Here's a comparison with GLIMT, a 2xRCR-123 "10W" flashlight.


Here's the beamshots, the cree (with it's typical void and ring) on the left, the stock GLIMT on the right (set to it's high mode).

The BLIMP has 3 partially discharged NiMH AAA batteries (eneloop), the GLIMT has freshly charged 3.6 RCR-123a's


Same, -2 stops underexposed:


The big difference after taking the pictures is the temperatures of the flashlights. The GLIMT (K2-U) was becoming hot, while the BLIMP/CREE was felt like it was barely getting away from room temperature.

One other thing that became necessary. The (+) contact on the battery cartridge has a poor contact design, which maked the flashlight flicker. (I already investigated the (-) contact issue)

To solve it, you need to bypass the stainless steel coil spring, which is the weak link. Since the (-) terminal has a nice big sturdy spring, the (+) spring is not necessary.

I chose to bypass the spring by filling the little (+) cup with solder, running a stranded copper wire out of the cup, bending it at a right angle, and soldering it to the corresponding location on the battery terminal (remove it from the plastic carrier first). Discard the problematic spring. Now the flicker is permanently gone.

You can't solder to the spring, but both the cup and the terminal are nickel-plated, which is solderable.

Very nice mod...and looks like the results are good especially with using the smooth reflector :goodjob: