Tricks to brighten a Fastfire?

[Garrett]

I've got a Fastfire II on a Glock, and overall it's been pretty good. It's bright enough to use outdoors, but it could be brighter. Where it really has issues is when shooting the local indoor match. It is dim in the range, and the dot is so dim it just flickers. It is very difficult to pick up.

Is there anything that can be done to make this sucker brighter? Was there some thinner replacement battery that you could stack two of in the sight?

[kmca]

If it uses CR2032's, two CR2016's will sorta work. The battery voltage is double, but life is a lot lower and I'm not sure if the circuitry will take it.

btw, 2032 is 20mm diameter and 3.2mm thick..likewise 2016, 20mm diameter, 1.6mm thick.

Edited January 19, 2010 by kmca

[mda]

I've got a Fastfire II on a Glock, and overall it's been pretty good. It's bright enough to use outdoors, but it could be brighter. Where it really has issues is when shooting the local indoor match. It is dim in the range, and the dot is so dim it just flickers. It is very difficult to pick up.

Is there anything that can be done to make this sucker brighter? Was there some thinner replacement battery that you could stack two of in the sight?

Would not recommend increasing voltage by adding batteries. There is a light sensor on the front of the sight. Make sure it is clear and not covered by dirt. If you really want to brighten the dot, change out the light sensor with a fixed resistor that will give you the brightness you want. Just will not adjust with light conditions. You can't just take is out either as the circuit is designed for a certain amount to control current through the diode. To much and while it will be bright it will not last long.

Thinking about it, you could also just insert a resistor in parallel with the light sensor which should make dot brighter and still be light adjustable.

MDA

Edited January 20, 2010 by mda

[Chris Keen]

I dont know about the Fastfire, but anybody whos ever owned a J-Point or Tasco Optima (which are very similar in design to the Fastfire) know about the 2-battery trick. It boosts the voltage in the same way that many computer processors can be "over-clocked" which also increases the voltage to the chip.

I would be very careful about doing it though. Do as much research as possible prior to trying this. Check other message boards, forums, and maybe even contact the manufacturer. Dont just take 1 persons word, or 1 source as the correct answer the the question.

[Neomet]

Angus was playing around with a Fastfire and was saying that he was getting a brighter dot by opening up the aperture for the light sensor. Not sure how the experiment turned out though. You might

give him a call.