Take out the switch assembly in Nuwai Q-3?

I've been reading old posts on modifications done to the nuwai q-3 (which just arrived today - i like it!) to allow it to stand upright on the switch end by placing a #21 o-ring in the switch area. What is the best way to take out the assembly? I've try pushing a flat head screw driver to try to turn it counterclockwise, but i'm afraid of messing up the stuff inside. In all the posts i've searched through so far, they only say they took the switch assembly out, without going into any details as to how they did it. also, i read that to get flood, they untwist the head assembly - is this really helpful? or in other words, is it helpful enough to break through the locktite(sp?)?

Can anyone help?

thanks!

-Gnef

Use a pair of needlenose pliers to turn the switch assembly, at least that worked for me.
I see no use in turning the head for flood, this just means moving the reflector out of focus and will give a hole in the middle of the beam. On the other hand breaking the loctite seal is a good thing - you can't change the led without doing this. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Chrisse

haha. This led seems fine to me, albeit this is my first luxeon, all my previous leds have been newbie 5mm or smaller - fun to play around with. I read of some people replacing the led with a twoj led? or also switching out the circuit board for a dorcy aaa board. I'm not sure if i am up to that yet. I think i will work on getting the flashlight to stand on end first... This led seems VERY bright to me considering the size of the flashlight - so i'm not sure if i would see the benefits of a different led. can you give me more info?

thanks!

-Gnef

A twoj would be a good thing I guess. Most of the Q3's seem to have some kind of s**k or s**j (which is what came with mine) and changing it for a t**j will result in a noticeable increase in brightness. The dorcy circuit mod, as I understood it, will result in less brightness but much better runtime - you decide if you want that. Changing the led is so simple anyone can do it. When you have the new star lying in front of you and the light is disassembled you'll know what to do.

Chrisse