Photon (The Light Hunter) Build Thread

I'm working on a possible solution.

 

Knobs and Things...(cont.)

The 0.2 nozzles came in, gave the tuner knobs another go. Top row finer details! Bottom row, meh...

 

On-Board Air (cont.)

Switching gears cause more goodies arrived in the mail...Upgrade completed and saved a bit of room on the Molle Panel to boot.

Old...


Upgrade...

 

After using the new on-board air storage set-up a couple of times I realized that I would like to try and eliminate the velcro tie downs. Result, a cleaner and quite robust clip-in method...clip in one end of the extension hose, wrap a turn and a half and clip in on the opposite side. No more fumbling with velcro and this can be easily used even with gloved hands.



©2024 PhotonChaser

 

That's really cool. You don't mess around. Thank you for sharing your build and all the great info.

 

There's a bunch more stuff in the works...

 

Dude I can't wait. You do good work.

 

Switching it up over the long weekend with a trial fit of the SS5 Pods behind the grill using the Stealth mounting kit.


Had a little work to do on the right headlight assembly while the bumper facia was off...



The Stealth mounting frame attaches with just two of the main crash-bar bolts so it was a very easy install.




Road test! Just the backlights on, I'll have to take an update photo once I'm in a better location to do so. Even though these are the 'Sport' version they are just too bright to use on-road and the 'Combo' lens pattern is a bit too wide (think flood)...I may get ahold of the 'driving' lens version as those have a more focused beam pattern.

 

Next up, Winch Bumper!

I did a great deal of thinking since the summer of 2023 about which Winch Bumper to go with and the final trigger was a helluva Veterans Day sale on a winch bumper with a free winch!
The order arrived in three days and all components without a scratch!




With the help of a good friend it took us the better part of 7 hours to do the full installation as there were a few confusing steps encountered along the way and we took frequent breaks to tend to other projects (we were timing a house painting project and some 3D printing simultaneously over the course of the day.)

First off we had to remove the SS5 pods, the Stealth mounting frame and the crash bar.

 

That is a sharp looking bumper.

 

Air Hose Hanger revisited...

Yeah, I think I'm overthinking this one too much, maybe I should just go back to velcro straps!

 

The factory installation instructions recommended that the winch cradle, winch, winch shell, etc. be all assembled first and installed in one cohesive assembly. With my shoulder acting up I did not feel able to lift up more than 50 lbs so we instead opted to install the cradle first, winch second and then the shell with light bar third.

Here you can see there was ample room for the winch installation into the cradle. I only needed to slightly push on the AC cooling line about 1/4" to clear any contact with the winch's transmission end and did not need to do anything with the Power Steering line.



By doing the install in this manner provided a much more accurate means of trimming the plastic bumper cover.

 

Once we were satisfied with the fit/finish we then installed the front shell and with three bolts on each side and some elbow grease with the torque wrench...Et Voila!



Now I eventually hope to re-install the SS5's behind the grill but with the storms happening right now I need the lights so...there happens to be two convenient perch details on the bumper which made a temporary installation possible.



All in all I am very pleased with the quality of this bumper' construction. The welds are all perfect as is the powder coat finish. The inclusion of very beefy recovery points that are located down low and tied directly to the frame. I was a wee bit concerned about adding an additional 150 ibs up front but the decision last year to go with the Eibach upgrade springset handled the additional weight just fine...I think Photon lost a total of about 1/2" from the +1.4" gained by the springs.

 

Winch Bumper Finale. Maybe...

After having watched tons of videos I noticed that the bumper access cutouts could accumulate snow, mud and water intrusion so some quick measurements and a little CAD modeling later...




I used two methods of attachment, no tool(s) needed. Already tested on a +150 mile drive...and the covers stay put.

 

Knobs and things, part Trois....

Slowly making progress on the proper print settings. I don't think I can get any more improvements to the font appearance but it's looking fairly decent now.



Need to work on fine tuning of the ring base as it is a very tight snap fit. The design geometries are quite challenging as dimensional tolerances are difficult to match up (but not impossible.). Here is where I am at on the 3D model.

 

Looks awesome

 

Thanks! I’m fairly happy with the way things are coming along on this project. Printing version four right now, discovered that the Blue and Red ‘squares’ are a bit too thick (not allowing enough light through to see easily)…will know in a little over an hour from now!

 

Got the SSC1s installed, I like the small form-factor and these do throw out a ton of light.


Wiring however will have to wait, USPS failed to deliver this afternoon...

 

Shifting gears (again). This time to address this one detail that's been kinda driving me nuts so while I was helping a good buddy with a re-wiring project, got out the calipers and made some measurements...



The real trick is trying to match as closely as possible the front end grill and bumper color/textures.

 

So....the winch came with a wired/wireless control pendant! I just figured out how to take advantage of the pendant's magnet with a nifty cradle on the molle panel.

 

The Flatlink arrived, finally get to properly stow the winch line. I needed to fabricate some extensions for the license plate frame as the Flatlink is a good 2 1/2" think.

 

Headed to the central coast to hopefully get an OTT tune for Photon and an opportunity to test out the newly installed signal booster.



I went with the Bolton Technical for three reasons:

1. Comparable Uplink/Downlink signal gain to other popular amplifiers.
2. I like the antenna design, narrower side profile...no wind noise! And to me isn't much of an eyesore as having a big end-loaded antenna on a mast.
3. Great Customer Service experience. I ordered the amplifier kit and antenna off Amazon but the company that sold the unit (based somewhere in Texas) short changed me of an important SMA adapter. I emailed Bolton and a rep. responded within an hour. Shipped next day the adapter to me at no cost!

The 'offroad' kit consisted of a tube mount with double sided ball joint, which I could not use so I opted to make a plate to fit onto my roof rack's rail.


Routing the cable was actually easier than I expected. I just ran the cable between the rear hatch and body, into the umbilical harness which then fed into the headliner.



From there it was easy to route over to Photon's opposite side where the amplifier is mounted to the Molle Panel.


Nice-sleek antenna design.


Bonus, pre-made antenna storage clip!

 

That was a quick two years...Photon got a birthday treat today, OTT Tune!



December 2022, pre-mods, yucky tires...


December 2024, almost got her fully kitted out the way I want. Well, maybe just a few more, maybe...

 

Knobs and Things - Finale ?

Well at least for this goal of the HVAC Control faceplate blackout project. I finally got the last tweaks done for the fitment issues as well as the proper layer heights and print resolution.

Still waffling over whether to keep the TRD PRO lettering or not.


Got the alignment with the backlighting all squared up.


Needless to say that I am quite satisfied with how this project turned out.

 

One last Winch related tidbit...

The first version of the hand control mount was okay but I felt that it needed just a bit more 'friction' to hold the controller more securely. The detail is hidden from view but is most effective in preventing the hand controller from shifting/slipping out of the holder during hard bumps.


And that little box thingie below the controller? Well, the winch can be operated via cord or wirelessly and what's inside the little box is a 'dongle' that is plugged into the winch in-lieu of the cord. We all know what happens to little bits over time and I wanted to be sure to not loose this important piece! The lid is held closed by magnets and the dongle is a light friction fit inside so I'll never loose it!