Intova Cree R2 upgrade

The output from the original Intova was a little lacking at 70 odd lumens. Apart from that it is a solidly constructed dive light, and was used as my cray torch for use during the day.
As the weather has not been the best, and I had a weekend without any water based activities planned, it is only natural to pull things to pieces, and see if they can be improved (seems to be a part of the NZ culture ).

The result was a XRE R2 on a star being used to replace the original LED. The original driver was kept, as it was putting out 3.7 V @ 700ma.
The whole modification involved grinding a little off the edge of the 19mm star to fit, and drilling the holes a little bigger to allow the wires to connect to the solder pads.
I reused one of the original screws to hold down the star, and attach the green wire. FYI...no light comes out if the green wire is not connected :thinking:
The star also got glued in with thermal glue.
I pulled out the original lens by grabbing it with a pair of long nosed pliers, and replaced it with a DX sourced lens.

The final result exceeded all expectations :twothumbs


The final result



New lens glued in place. (you can see the required green wire here)



A little spill, but mostly a tight 8 degree beam.

Good work.

So it uses a actual driver as opposed to a resistor?

The only Intovas I have seen have not come apart.

I does appear to have a small driver board, with the reed switch attached.
It was encapsulated in a black plastic insert, so I could not see what components were actually on the board. As the output voltage did not drop with a drop in battery voltage, I am just assuming there is a driver in there.

Getting the head off the body was not as easy as it could have been. It looks like it was glued on :shakehead. Lets just say a large bench vice, an oil filter wrench, and a very long bar were used. It was a case of open or break!

Yes,there is some sort of assembly glue. They will come apart without breaking though. I found that a propane torch,bench vise,and pipe wrench is a good combination.. 2 people on the task helps also. Once opened the first time it is no longer a problem.

Best place to get them is Kai <3NZ$ and free shipping, they also do 10 pack for 10US$

http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=1606
http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=1604

I've never attempted anything like this before, but think I'm going to give this mod a go. Could someone tell me if this is the correct LED to use or if I should be looking for something else?

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15943

Cheers,

Mike

No longer relevant.

Nevermind - Thread on torch gone. Oops.

Another torch to apply this mod to is the lenser frogman.. no vice or wrench required.
I paid £35 for mine $5 for a XRE and i also changed the resistor...
Yes theres no driver, there is what looks like a digital regulator along with the resistor..

From memory the stock reistor is a 3.3ohm swap it to the correct one according to battery choice, 4 x AA alakalines or AA NiMh