Help! I don't even know where to start?

I have been reading and looking and researching and perusing but I am just not wrapping my brain around where to start with what I want to do. I would like to build a red Tiablo A9 with a lens on it like lightforce2 shows in https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/239724

Now I have to admit I joined this forum for a very specific reason as I mentioned in my introduction. I want to build something to use for night varmint hunting. The closest thing I can find in production to do the job is a Laser Genetics laser designator but they are not getting very good reviews. I really am not interested in spending that kind of money on something that isn't going to work and beside the reviews their parent company doesn't have a very good rep in the shooting optics world so I am not to excited about the product.

My problem is that I do not know what I am reading about and I cannot seem to find anything to teach me how to modify the circuits (or whatever magic stuff I have to mess with inside the light). I could build the entire housing from scratch if I had to, I have the knowledge and equipment. I don't know much about optics but that doesn't seem to be an issue here. I know absolutely NOTHING about pills, emitters, driver, overdriving, R2's, WC's, etc etc and quite frankly my head is swimming try to get a handle on it.

Now I know I am probably breaking some rules or etiquette here but I really don't have the time to chase my tail around. I apologize if I am not going jumping through the proper hoops in the proper order. I almost did not join CPF because I feel guilty about not having the time to be a good member of the community and participating but the honest truth is I have nothing to offer here. I can't share knowledge because I have none.

I really just want to build a red Tiablo A9 like Lightforce2 has but I cannot even send him a message because I have not participated enough.

Can anyone point me in a really good and constructive direction?

Welcome to CPF. I am moving your thread to Homemade and Modified Flashlight Discussion, where you will probably get some help. I will say that you might be expected to do a little research to come up with your ideal setup, and you will find the CPF community very comfortable to work with.

Bill

Thanks, I don't mind doing research I just got to a point where I needed to just ASK. I read and read and look and look but I can't find anything that explains the basics of what I need. I don't know how to figure out which components I need to change and what I need to replace them with. Again, I apologize if it seems as though I am trying to skip doing the work but for some reason I just don't seem to be getting there from just reading around the forum. Maybe I just don't know how to search the right question?

Let me explain quickly.. it may not be enough but it will at least help you ask more questions that will guide you on your way. Even if I wrote a book I could not explain everything there is, that's why we have a billion posts in a million threads (exaggerating ... just a little).

To understand lighting systems you must have some basic electronics background.

Let's start from the frame of reference of a conventional flashlight, you have a bulb, you have batteries and a switch. Wire them up in an electrical circuit, use the switch to close the circuit and you have light. Tech changes many things but the basics remain unchanged.

LEDs take the place of a bulb, battery technology has improved (using lithium CR123 'camera' batteries nowadays instead of alkalines), switches remain the same. No matter how fancy the exterior package is, as you will understand with your mechanical engineering expertise, the 'guts' remain the same.

Here is the difference, LEDs like a fixed amount of power at a certain voltage. Unlike bulbs where you can choose a bulb whose characteristics matches the battery pack you are building, LEDs come in fixed sizes. Electronic converter circuits are either used to reduce the battery voltage (buck converters) or raise it (boost converters) to what the LED enjoys using.

Typically, a pill is a little assembly that contains a LED and a converter pre-packaged together (or assembled by yourself). You can screw this into a flashlight and it will take the place of the 'bulb' and do the necessary.

Ignore the WC and R2 and whatnot codes for now. You are after a red LED.

What I would recommend is that you obtain a Tiablo A9, figure out how to disassemble it and then swap the LED with a red LED. I am not sure whether the electronics need to be exchanged, someone with A9 experience could probably guide you on that.

XP-G puts out more light than XR-E, being more efficient, but it's white light. You'll throw the emitter away. I suggest you get the cheaper version

I believe the XR-E might be easier to mod to red as well, if you buy a RED XR-E emitter you can probably do a one-for-one swap.

Also, the thread you linked hints at the circuit board and LED not liking too high a voltage. You may need to change to a 3V battery (CR123 primary non-rechargeable) or LiFEPO4 rechargeable.

If you use a single CR123 they may be too short. Don't use 2 as that will give you 6V, instead make a CR123 spacer - just a rod of aluminium shaped like the battery, and insulated, will do the trick.

You won't burn your shop down from the LED. It's the batteries you gotta watch out for. Don't short circuit them under any circumstances.

At the most you will blow the LED like you blow an ordinary bulb and it dies... and you try again.....


When you receive your A9 and open it up you may want to start a thread (WITH pictures) and ask relevant questions like how do you get the emitter out, how do you solder one in, and how do you replace the battery pack with a 3V battery.