Conversion Possibilities for Fenix TK45?

[FiveForm]

Just thought I'd throw this out there for discussion. Has anyone attempted, or planned a conversion of the Fenix TK45 three head LED flashlight into a combo light with LED, 445nm, 650nm, as an example. Or, RGB, application.

The existing TK-35 controller, to the best of my knowledge, allows for using one individual lamp for very low power and all three for various other levels. I didn't grab a pic, and don't have one of these, but here's a page from Battery Junction: Fenix TK45 R5 760 Lumen Tactical LED Flashlight! - 8 AA Batteries

 

[BShanahan14rulz]

You broke Bender's arm off! :wtf:

 

[Helios]

Sure you could. It's a pricey host though. You really couldn't do RGB in three true sense of combined beams since they are so far apart.

 

[Kmor2004]

I believe anyones best bet for a handheld RGB is to get a custom heatsink made that can house teh dichro's and all 3 lasers, by then though you geting closer to lab size lasers.

 

[FiveForm]

It would most certainly be a tech challenge (depending on the mod type), but to have a laser/flashlight combo is an interesting prospect. It agree that the challenge would be in the heatsink(s) and driver selection....

 

[Tech_Junkie]

You can do anything you really want, but its going to cost a large amount of $$. If you want go for it contact http://laserpointerforums.com/members/mohrenberg/ and he can make you the heat sinks. Then you'll need a couple of drivers, and laser diodes. There are many option so just do a little homework and you'll get it figured out.

Good luck.

 

[FiveForm]

Thanks. Not that I'm going to run right out and finance this, but I do have a source for diodes, drivers, and now heatsinks. Getting the right contoller at the right power and multi-mode settings seems like it would be critical to getting this beast running right and going into the laserpointer "hall of fame." :beer:

 

[Mohrenberg]

I've seen this flashlight before, but it's just so expensive.....

 

[FiveForm]

Anyone else ever try modding a mainstream "name brand" flashlight host?

Thus far I've only seen the econo hosts used, and except for Coleman and a few others, I'm not seeing any laser transformations of name brand lights like Fenix, Olight, Sunwayman, Jetbeam, etc. I suspect this is due to the initial cost and having to trash a $50-150 LED torch, then invest in a diode, driver, heat sink and such when you can get economical Chinese hosts for far, far less...

 

[Mohrenberg]

There is that crazy pineapple host that i would love to turn into a laser. but the host is $80.

 

[GBD]

There is that crazy pineapple host that i would love to turn into a laser. but the host is $80.

Im giving a shot at it myself, we'll see how it turns out. (for the kind of laser im puting into it, the host isn't the biggest spending here). now need to finish up the heatsink and waiting for the laser parts to show up..

The pinapple host is a clone of the Surefire porcupine, comming from DX, seems of very good quality as is (both as a flashlight and a host, has very good throw and ~200lm, it came with a charger and two batteries, but they reek of shit quality, so I will not use them.)... Ill post a built thread when I finish

Also, I tried to mod the TK45, but got bested by it.... reason? those guys DID NOT cheap out on loc-tite, and removing the main head setup to get to the driver guts is nigh impossible without me having to rip it to shreds and remachine a new head.... some day I guess Ill find the effort and time to turn it into a laser... (the three heads are loc-tited, but come off fairly easly with a strap wrench, but the base doesn't budge.)

 

[Mohrenberg]

I hate it when they glue shit together....

that powerlight b-50 host has the top retainer ring glued on with what looks like super glue.

first i remove hte pill, then i bust out the plastic lens with a vice, and then i dip it in wd-40 and after padding the head, i go around the retainer ring, squeezing it with a pair of pliers. after a few minutes it will break the glue free and i'm able to unscrew the retainer ring without warping or scratching it all up, which is easy cause they are cheap hosts.

I wouldn't even touch this thing if it's glued. chances are it's gonna get scratched and then you've fucked a $150 host.

 

[GBD]

Thats what I feared of doing... which is why I used strap wrenches for those heads

The 3 heads came of fine, but the base sadly didn't budge... looks like solvents and solution soaking is also out of the question if I want any chance of preserving the original driver.

 

[Tech_Junkie]

Doesnt acetone dissolve most glues?

 

[brandonhauser]

I am actually making a 3-In-One (Red, Green, Blue) Laser in the Fenix Tk-45 right now! I had Ehgemus make me three custom heatsinks, two for press fit diodes, and one for a green module, and he unscrewed the head from the handle and the three individual light heads from the rest of the head. And JohnyZ is designing me the driver as we speak (he says it is going to be the first handheld 'smart' driver with programmable modes like these...)

I am soooo excited I can't even bare to talk about it as I am getting my Tk-45 and heatsinks back from Ehgemus this week! Oh and Ehgemus also modified the battery holder to fit 4 14650's in parallel so I will surely have enough power. Once I get this laser all up and running I will definitely make a thread with tons on pictures using my big Canon Rebel T2i.

EDIT: Also it doesn't combine the beams... its just three colors of lasers in one host that you can either choose one to be on, choose one to strobe, have them all on at once, or have them all strobe at once.

 

[Tech_Junkie]

Looking forward to seeing it. Make a separate thread when its all together, and leave a post here telling where the thread is located.