15 replies to this topic

[atomatron]

Its pretty simple, and I'm suprised that I havent heard of anyone doing this before.
I dont have my camera on me but, this is simple enough to not need them.

1-open the gun
2-remove the "laser" from the shell
3-pry the little circut thing with wires off the black part
4-cut off the LED
5-find another LED (preferably one that is not red)
6-super glue the new LED on to the contacts making sure that the + and - are aligned and that it works. I E
half assembled so that the batteries are in and its a complete circut with the LED.
(ok, this is how I did mine and It sorta works.....unless if you drop it)
I would suggest that If you can manage a soldering iron, use it.
7-undo 1,2,3

Well, thats how I got a blue "lasered" NF.
I'll clarify if there are any questions about this.

[Shadowblade]

Cool, I assuming this is just purely cosmetics. I don't see any practical reason for putting a different LED in a NF, might as well put a laser pointer. Just my opinion.

EDIT: The reason someone hasn't taken the time to do a write-up for this is because it's easy enough to do using common sense and doesn't have any practical purpose.

Edited by Shadowblade, 12 October 2008 - 10:53 AM.

[Boss18]

Pictures?

[atomatron]

yeah, it just for looks.
I mean; how could a different color LED help in a war?

[TheNerfLoki]

Its pretty simple, and I'm suprised that I havent heard of anyone doing this before.
I dont have my camera on me but, this is simple enough to not need them.

Sorry you are not the first. OMC was the first. Nice job though. It would be helpful if you had pictures. How powerful is the light by the way?

[One Man Clan]

Thanks for the credit Loki, but it really wasn't me. Yes, it WAS my nitefinder. The skills to do such a mod, I have not. My old roommate was a tech wiz and soldered it up for me. I don't remember if I even still have that NF. None of mine have batteries anymore and I've gone through so many that it's probably in someoneelse's possession by now.

[atomatron]

I thought that at least someone would have done this before me.
Anyway; the light is almost exactly as powerfull as before. If not slightly less.

[analogkid]

Really, super gluing it is not the best idea. It might hold for a while, but super glue isn't the best for metals. It should be soldered in, not only will this assure that it won't break, but solder is conductive and will decrease resistance between the LED and power vs. super glue.

[atomatron]

I have come up with a new way to do this without super glue or soldering anything; on the back of the little circut piece there are two blobs of solder which held the original LED in place, now tape the new LED onto the back so that it's touching the respective + and - contacts. much simpler.

...as for pics sorry, I dont have my camera.

[Draconis]

No, seriously... How hard is it to solder the stupid LED to the stock circuit board? Guys, it's not magic or anything. Don't use tape, it is temporary at best. Don't use any adhesive, except for one special type that is conductive. Still wouldn't recommend it though. Soldering is much easier. And if you fuck it up, just reheat the joint and reset it.

[Longbow]

Seriously, people - either (1) learn to solder, (2) just stop messing with electric stuff, or (3) admit that you're a loser as a modder. Note that #3 happens automatically if you fail at #1 and #2 and then don't just keep it to yourself.

Sheesh, I built several Heathkits long before I was even 13. I earned my FCC amateur radio license when I was about 11. And you had to do live Morse code back then!


/grumpy old man

I definitely read that as "Healthkits" at first and all I could think of was a halflife style health pack. Now that would have been impressive.

Electronics knowhow is a great skill to have, especially for modding. I would really encourage people to take the first option and learn more about circuitry, with a little bit of time you can learn to do some really cool stuff. Some people get put off by the thought of math being involved, but it usually isn't as bad as you think. Just get yourself a basic electronics kit from radio shack and mess around. I still have and use mine from when I was a kid, and I am now in my last year of college. These will usually have what's called a breadboard. This is a plastic board with interconnected pin holes so you can easily build and test circuits without needing to solder them. Once you have the basics down you can get a soldering iron and start practicing. After a little bit of figuring out how the stuff works you will be putting LED's in everything you can get your hands on.

Edited by Longbow, 19 October 2008 - 03:35 PM.

[Lt Stefan]

Sorry for my electronics know-not, but I'm putting an LED in my LS and had a question. There are two metal prongs sticking out of the LED-- so which one do you connect to the posotive wire and which to the negative? Thanks

[Draconis]

What my esteemed colleague means to convey is that not only is there a POLARITY issue, but also a CURRENT issue. Don't power most LEDs over 3V, or you will likely burn them out, unless you have a current limiting resistor. Also, the negative terminal on the LED is generally denoted by the flat spot machined in to the side of the body.

[Split]

I really despise this thread, but the longer leg is positive.

[Longbow]

It is actually good practice to always have a resistor in series with the LED, but that is probably a bit beyond the scope of this forum discussion.