Seven hundred lumen Joystick

Does the joystick upgrade still have a flash mode? My mk1 is getting a little long in the tooth but good to use for commuting all week and still have an OKish head torch for nightrides.

Yes it has a strobe setting 😀

Do you have to cut your way into these exposure lights?

I have a mk1 exposure Toro (single p7 led I think) that could do with an upgrade (could no doubt be a bit brighter, but more importantly needs a wider beam pattern), but it seems impossible to get into without some power tools….?

No cutting but not easy to unscrew the end caps sealed up with rubbery stuff and orings

put on a pair of marigolds 😯 for extra grip 🙂

Yeah, do these XML give a wider spread compared to the original LED (even keeping the original optics). Have a MaxxD that needs fixed (heatsink rattled loose) so id be interested in knowing if i could improve the spread somewhat at the same time.

See beamshots up top there
yes they do widen the beam a tad I have a maxd to explore but have as yet been unable to open it need some spinach and marigolds

Ace, if you want another to play with let me know :0)

let me know what you find inside the maxxd – only interested in the battery 😉 plus, how easy is it to open the battery end and resell after. Tah

Keep up the tinkering 8)

No cutting but not easy to unscrew the end caps sealed up with rubbery stuff and orings

put on a pair of marigolds for extra grip

you must have stronger hands than me troutie, I’ve only been able to get the button end off mine so far!

Hi trout, have you managed to get a new battery for this joystick?

camerone, smudge got me a battery for my joystick so have a chat to him, just needed to solder the protection circuit onto it and rebuild. I killed my driver board though, so keeping an eye on this thread!

Yep got the battery just struggling to get it to work with the switch
might have to change the switch I could do with an extra half inch in the joystick 😳

I could do with an extra half inch in the joystick

Ah, so familiar……….

So is the battery slightly larger and therefore not leaving room for original stuff?
I am getting excited about the end result now………..

Phew finally got it welded back together and out for a doggy walk works nicely so will pop it back in the post today for evaluation .

Camerone can you please send me your address I cant find it even under the fridge

Trout, have emailed my address. What power and battery times do you reckon it will have? I assume charge it in usual way, does the light on the back work as a fuel gauge and battery charging guide?

Will report my findings when I can!!

No idea yet thats for you to research for me .

there is no rear light now the main leds flash off 5 times when 2/3s empty.

and also flash when it is about to die but just how long to death I dont yet know.

Troutie, would be interested to see a parts list and how you did it if you can when you have some spare time, but nae worries if not.

Trout. Will have a play and report back. At risk of asking stupid question it won’t damage battery running it to empty a few times will,it?

nope it will switch off at 3 volts so no harm

to switch on. its 3 quick clicks not 2
and press n hold to switch off

Hi-Jack

No wonder you’re not replying to my emails…..you up to no good again 😛

Looking forward to seeing the ‘hauted barn’ phots.

Also, I want to buy some stuff off you Troutie; 3xXML, Bflex(have I got that right) and a tripple optic (if you have em)….gonna attempt the DIY lumi-hid…now all the boxes are unpacked, well nearly all of em 😉

PS: It’s rubbish not having a shed 😥

Trout. Received joystick but strange goings on are afoot.
It worked out of the box as follows. Three click on, then single click to scroll between two settings, a longer click took it to a lower level, then single clicks to the higher two levels.
I then plugged it in to charge – the light on the charger went red as expected, then after half hour or so it started high speed flashing red, and now the joystick completely refuses to come on…. No amount of button pressing will get it to come on, it’s as dead as a dead thing.. Any ideas?..

Kinda interested in this too.

Trout – have you had chance to ponder this problem above..?
cheers

Trout
Just checking you received my joystick back in the post for post mortem.
Cheers

Ok, joystick now back with me , went out for a pootle last night and can report as follows.
It fares well in the ‘shine on the shed in the garden’ test, incomparably brighter than before and closer to the Diablo mk3 I have.
I used it on the trails as a helmet light in conjunction with my Lupine Betty on the bars. Its a revelation, lovely focussed beam, no dark patches in the light, just a great spot light.
However, in order to test it I ran it full power and after 40 minutes it started to periodically flash, it still ran on high power but every ten seconds or so it flashed. At this point I put on the Diablo so don’t know how long it would have gone on for, will do further tests.

In practice I would use the medium setting for non-downhill sections, I will see how that affects burn time. Haven’t tried piggy back on it yet, again will try in due course.

Of course the Diablo only lasts an hour on full chat too, battery management is always going to be part of a powerful light with small battery, and I am confident that a combination on medium and full would get it to go well beyond an hour..

Will update next time used.

Sounds good. I’m not sure how long the XML + 18650 DX torch my gf has would last on full, probably about the same.

Troutie – any build tips coming? 🙂

So do you have pics of the joystick itself?
Can you just change the emiter?

Just wondering as I could be very interested to pimp up my 150lms 😀

Ive got an old Mk1 Joystick for sale if anyone fancies a bit of Troutie pimping.

Finalised now? how much for the upgrade Mr Trout? or should I mail you?

Ok, did another hour last night, in freezing fog, really eerie, would report as follows.

Fog was a pain, cannot use full power. Ran on medium setting, which is bright enough for majority of situations in conjunction with bar light. didnt even use high for descents as it was just too ‘white’ against the fog. after an hour still going strong. Medium is way more power than un-fettled joystick on high by the way

Not the most detailed analysis I know. Next Monday will plug in piggyback, run on high power and see how that goes…

Trout – want to email me and tell me how much to paypal you…

Can I just clarify something? When people are talking about “Mk1 joystick” do you mean the very original one – the one which came with a Luxeon LED? Very simple upgrade for one of those which I did with mine – simply replace Luxeon with a P4 to double the output.

Do you have more info about that aracer? I am very interested.

Will do Castone

Aracer yes a fair swop but we tried an XML and the lots lower forward voltage did not work with the onboard driver it though the led was overheating and dimmed the light so had to swop that also .

we tried an XML and the lots lower forward voltage did not work with the onboard driver it though the led was overheating and dimmed the light so had to swop that also .

I was assuming you’d swapped the driver board – didn’t realise you’d even tried it with the built in one. Hence why the P4 upgrade is much simpler and cheaper.

I’ll see if I can find any details – though I have a feeling I was the first (only?) to do it without any instructions, and I don’t think I made any notes – I do remember it was awkward enough to take apart that I’m not repeating it! So I’m afraid you’re largely on your own. A couple of quick little hints though – the driver board does just pull out if you get a bent safety pin behind it, and you need a bare SSC P4 LED (no star) which is a straight swap for the Luxeon already on there (I’m fairly sure I have some of those still if anybody wants – they’re quite old so not the latest bins though).

For clarity the fettled joystick is a MK2.
its definitely not a MK1 as the rear port will accept ancillaries..

I don’t think the MkII accepts the plugin toys either, I have one (P4 emitter) and I can’t use the piggyback, red eye etc.

Troutie – if you can do a brief parts list/how to I will give you a back rub. If you can sell me the bits I’ll give you money too!

mine is a joystick maxx2 . it has smart port technology. just looked and its written on the side. original full whack was 240 lumens

Holy thread resurrection batman.

Troutie, any chance of a parts list for this hack?