Civictor for the Wife

Just got an order from Lighthound, tossed in a Civictor V1 for the wife's purse. Thought she needed an upgrade from a modded MM. I really like the little V1, well built and not to bad on brightness with the stock Lux1 . Overall a decent work horse for $27. Im thinking it would make a neat host for a SSC P4. Guess I need to get searching for threads on this as Im sure its already been done.

I may order several more of these to tinker with. I really like no modes, just on at max and off. After I cleaned and lubed it (it didnt need it but I always do that to a new lite), the twisty if pretty stiff. Not sure she will be able to do it one handed. May have to thin out the lube and loosen it up a bit.

FYI, they do make nice Seoul SSC P4 mods.

Civictor V1 - Excellent budget flashlight.


CFU

If only they would manufacture the Civictor with a Seoul/Cree, they would sell many.

light_emitting_dude said:

If only they would manufacture the Civictor with a Seoul/Cree, they would sell many.

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If they did I might even give Fenix another try!

I have one of these V1's....and I'm with you guys on this. Mine has a wonderful tint, but the twisty is a bit hard to "fully engage"...it's tough to get a good connection turning it on one-handed, it will flicker. It just needs the extra "push" to get a good contact....

I never thought about doing a Seoul swap, it's just been my bathroom light in case of a power failure.... the wheels are turning now :naughty:

I have two Civictors, one of them absolutely required that I reduce the contact gap between the body and the circuit board. I placed a ring of copper wire inside the head to allow for easier turn-on. I think the circuit board was seated so deep in the head that the body was running out of threads right as contact was barely made. Adding the bit of cleaned copper wire, shaped in an oblong ring makes it much easier to use.
You must use a piece of wire with a diameter less than the height of the battery's positive terminal so there's no chance of the wire contacting the battery.
You also have to shape it correctly. If you install a perfect circle of wire, the beveled (anodized) edge of the body will not make good contact. If you squeeze the circle into a slight oblong, then the flat contact end of the body will make better contact with the wire and thus the outer circle of the circuit board. The oblong also keeps the wire firmly in place, just as using an oversized-diameter circle of wire does, but with much better contact and release. Just don't make it too oblong and run the risk of also touching the center contact of the battery.
This is all much easier than it sounds.
You could also put several beads of solder on the contact end of the body instead of using a wire in the head. This would eliminate the chance of the wire moving into contact with the battery, but could put extra stress on the circuit board if they contact unevenly.

light_emitting_dude said:

If only they would manufacture the Civictor with a Seoul/Cree, they would sell many.

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Yeah...! I'm still waiting. I've told friends who rely on me to let them know what's what, that they would come out with one soon.
I'm still waiting..........

i have one and like it. no mod needed on mine. if i want MORE/BRIGHTER light i just pick out a different one. my bride says it is to big for her and will stay with the E1.

Was outside a bit ago, the V1 is brighter than a MM with ArcMania SMJLED drop in, and about the same as my L1Dce on medium and maybe more then half as bright as my MM 2AA factory LED......all using E2 Liths. No focus, but I like the beam alot. Its tinted a bit yellow compared to the Cree on a WW but in normal use you dont really notice it. Nice balance between flood and spot. The wife loves it, so do I . Before she went to bed she said "hey you....where is my new Civictor ?!" .

You might want to try this method if you were to swap the emitter
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/162678&highlight=viren

Was just playing with my Civictor tonight. Discovered it's better at draining batteries than either generation Inova X1. Had some pretty worn out AA's that would not light up the Inovas, but they fired up the Civictor just fine.

Geoff

light_emitting_dude said:

If only they would manufacture the Civictor with a Seoul/Cree, they would sell many.

Click to expand...

They could sell a Seoul/Cree Civictor to me.

Even better would be if they'd update the E1 - my all time favorite Fenix light - with a Seoul/Cree. I'd probably buy a bunch of those to give as gifts.

Fenix seems to have abandoned making simple, reliable lights with outstanding performance, to produce a line of gimmicky lights with mickey mouse UIs and questionable reliability.

Too bad.

.

Nano: Thanks for the link. I ordered 2 more and now need to figure out what parts I need to do a mod. About the only mod I have done is a Mag Solitaire, made a wood plug, recessed a resistor in the plug to drop the voltage of a 12v batt out of my garage door opener, trimmed the posts of a 5mm LED and drilled the reflector. Pretty basic and silly looking mod I guess. Have to start somewhere, eh ? I have some nice benchtop MM's, but have not the training or know how to really use them. Always wanted to get some traing or try to book teach myself. Just ran out of time with raising a family and all. I see everyone on here giving voltage readings and wish I had the know how . I have one from Radio Shack from years ago, its a big thing...Micronta 22-195. Also have one that was Sears top of the line, I got it for the temperature taking function. It came with a probe type, and a thin wire about 3 feet long with a tiny bulb at one end. That one is neat as I can get some internal light temps. I got it years ago to dispell the myth that fluting a rifle barrel helps it cool faster. I took temp reading inside the bore of some .224 and .257 cal rifles before and after fluting. The operator manuals are ok, but in sort of dense and need some "you put this lead on this...and that lead on that to test for this" type of instruction.

ringzero: I agree, about all I use on my L1Dce is low and turbo. It is nice to be able to set the head to which one you want to use but all that strobe and SOS stuff.....eh. The V1 is built sturdy and is a nice size. I think if I get it modded I will make that my belt EDC as I usually only need a short time high output light. The L1D is nice, but almost seems a bit flimsy compared to the V1. I find myself wiping off my hands and even not using the L1D sometimes if im in grease and oil .

Maybe I need the V1 as a work EDC and the L1D as a go to town light. Heh.

Now you have 2 civictor coming you need 2 ssc p4 U bin emitter from here - http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2026
And some Arctic Silver thermal compound from here - https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/85330
And some copper spacers from here - http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/product_info.php?&products_id=945
And some simple soldering tools from your local hardware store.
You can read the tutorial on how to mod but you have to search for EngrPaul posts.

All i can say after you mod your own flashlight is = priceless feeling
But try to read as many information B4 you get started so that you have more confident .

Thanks Nano ! I have 2 irons.....a 15w and I think the other is 25w. Probably need a certain solder im guessing.....searching some posts will help. Have a Radio Shack in town, maybe road trip tomorrow. Off to order more goodies. My wife hates it when I stay up late on the computer because im usually shopping !

Tempa (my wife) ran around the house tonight gathering up all the LED lights she could find. I kept watching and finally started getting worried.....after all with them all in one location what if a tornado hits ? They would all be lost in one swoop ! I was reading CPF as this was going on and wondered if my torchy ways had finally pushed her over the edge. She came up and rifled my pockets for lights and slipped my Fenix off my belt and I couldnt take any more and said "um....sweety............whatcha doin ?" as I was getting worried for my lights safety. She said "im going to line all these LED's up and take a picture and send it to my work email so tomorrow I can show the girls what goes on here at home.......you need a meeting !" LMAO ! Hehehe.

If you want you emitter to ship fast maybe you can buy it from Photonfanatic because his location is in US.That 25w soldering iron is efficient enough but you may want to use the 15w first and remember don't put too much heat while soldering the resin on the emitter legs or you may fry the emitter phosphor .
Enjoy your mods

But if you want to save your hand from burning while soldering this one is good too
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1995

Yeah, does seems silly to go to all the work and expense when I could get one at that low price. Guess its the "want to do it myself" kicking in.