Pimp your Apex (Cree XP-G mod)

[Szemhazai]

What do you need ? :huh:

Princeton Tec Apex of course .

Cree XP-G emitter on small mcpcb – you can think of it as a emitter, You will use it the same way here.

It's not ideal, but it's good enough :thumbsup:

Some thermal adhesive i.e. Arctic Alumina or other glue - I'm using 3M 467MP 0,05mm adhesive tape, some tin, soldering iron and screwdriver .

Remove the two bolts on the top and carefully remove plastic cover – do not try open the head, there is still one more screw.

Remove the last screw :

Now, you are in , open the head and remove the collimator lens.

Desolder the wires from the emitter :

Yes, I've already removed the thermal control diode between RT1 & RT2 pads – you don't have to do it, but don't cry if you break it .

Move the driver up, and remove old emitter, clean up the surface and glue there a new emitter in the center. You may use bigger mcpcb, but you will have to cut some plastic and will lost positioning pins for the collimator lens.

Put, the driver back and solder the wires, be careful to leave enough space for the collimator lens.

Screw everything together and her you have 250+ lumen Cree XP-G based Princeton Tec Apex :thumbsup:.

Luxeon III - low / high

Cree XP-G R4 low/high 6200K

Outdoor :
Luxeon III - low / high

once dry, once wet :/

Cree XP-G R4 low/high 6200K

 

[Yucca Patrol]

Great write-up and what an amazing way to beef up the Apex!

I did the old P4 Mod and thought that was great at the time, but this blows that mod away! Well done!

 

[Szemhazai]

And it may be a bit better than this... I get Cree XP-G R4 in 5000K so called outdoor neutral.

5000K vs 6200K

 

[kevinm]

Very nice! Where did you get those leds on tiny boards?

Kevin

 

[Szemhazai]

We, have our supplier in Wroclaw/Poland but you can get these boards and some leds from Led-Tech.de :candle:

Micro PCB for Cree XP-E in Frame

http://www.led-tech.de/en/High-Powe...B-for-Cree-XP-E-in-Frame-LT-1440_106_111.html

 

[Monocrom]

That is a sweet upgrade. :twothumbs

 

[NoFair]

Great thread:thumbsup:

I think raising the emitter gives a tighter beam if wanted, but the one in the pics looks great.

I used a xp-e on a 2mm thick pcb and got a tighter beam with a smaller spot. It isn't quite as smooth though.

Sverre

 

[Gonzo]

Those Crees are tiny. That got me thinking... would it be possible to run 4 of them in place of the 4 5mm led's? What is the minimum voltage/amperage required to run the cree?

 

[dom]

Great mod and superb pictures/instructions.

Hi Gonzo - the XP-G's should work fine but would probably be too floody and you'd probably have to chop out some plastic from the body

Cheers
Dom

 

[Avatar28]

Any idea what your light output might be with that? I am seriously considering doing this once I get my light back from Princeton Tec. I already did the P4 mod, though, so I'm not sure I would see a lot of benefit from this. I also replaced the stock collimator optic with a textured reflector. There is almost no hot spot or throw now but a ton of flood.

 

[Offroad'Bent]

Great write-up! Szem, would you be interested in selling an XP-G already attached to a board? It looks like one board will do a lot of emitters.

We, have our supplier in Wroclaw/Poland but you can get these boards and some leds from Led-Tech.de :candle:

Micro PCB for Cree XP-E in Frame

http://www.led-tech.de/en/High-Powe...B-for-Cree-XP-E-in-Frame-LT-1440_106_111.html

 

[Ace12]

Any idea what your light output might be with that? I am seriously considering doing this once I get my light back from Princeton Tec. I already did the P4 mod, though, so I'm not sure I would see a lot of benefit from this. I also replaced the stock collimator optic with a textured reflector. There is almost no hot spot or throw now but a ton of flood.

You got any beamshots of that OP reflector?

 

[Avatar28]

Um, maybe. let me search for some of my old posts.

 

[Avatar28]

You got any beamshots of that OP reflector?

Ah, found it. Only have the one and it's not very good but you can get some idea at least. As I noted, the slight hot spot in the picture was virtually unnoticeable in real life. It actually worked rather well for caving to be quite honest. I had a pair of L2D rebels strapped to my helment for greater throw if I should need it.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2215636&postcount=33

 

[Ace12]

Thanks. Im thinking about buying an apex pro and modding the led to an XP-G and also changing out the 5mm led with something more nutral. I need a good work light with plenty of useable flood and also throw when I need it.

 

[Jap1987]

What did you use to attach the Cree to the PCB?

 

[skuhr]

Is there anyone available who can do this mod for me? I'm getting a new warranty Apex and can pay a reasonable fee. I did the P4 mod once, but this seems out of my league. I'm in the U.S. Or if there are more detailed instruction on the part needed that would help. Thanks everyone!

 

[Offroad'Bent]

Great write-up! Szem, would you be interested in selling an XP-G already attached to a board? It looks like one board will do a lot of emitters.

None of us got any answers about this mod.
-How did you attach the emitter to the PCB? (Thermal epoxy?)
-Would you sell a single board segment as the whole board's 1.9 Euros + shipping and customs
-Would a small piece of aluminum or copper work as a spacer instead of the hard-to-find PCB, or does it need to be electrically insulated?

I found this XP-G on eBay. I assume it needs to be mounted to the micro PCB.
http://cgi.ebay.ca/Cree-XP-G-R5-Coo...012?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ad52d3b8c

Anyone interested in selling off individual segments of one of the micro PCB boards, or know a more reasonable source to get one?

 

[NoFair]

I got my XP-G from Cutter: http://www.cutter.com.au/products.php?cat=Cree+XPG

If you buy XP-Gs on this pcb: Cutter-XPG10SRO then it is the correct height, but the diameter is 2mm too big.

If you file or grind it down to 8mm diameter it fits perfectly and focuses well. I swapped out the xp-e in mine for a xp-g because the xp-e beam was a bit tight.

Huge increase in brightness and Cutter stocks neutral whites up to the R4 bin in brightness. (XPGWHT-01-5B1-R4-0-01 Neutral)

Hope this helps a bit.

Sverre

 

[Offroad'Bent]

Excellent! Thanks a lot Sverre. Are the R5s brighter in the different bins than the R4s?

There's a 1B0 R5, and a 1C0 R5, as well as the neutral and cool blue R4s.

I got my XP-G from Cutter: http://www.cutter.com.au/products.php?cat=Cree+XPG

If you buy XP-Gs on this pcb: Cutter-XPG10SRO then it is the correct height, but the diameter is 2mm too big.

If you file or grind it down to 8mm diameter it fits perfectly and focuses well. I swapped out the xp-e in mine for a xp-g because the xp-e beam was a bit tight.

Huge increase in brightness and Cutter stocks neutral whites up to the R4 bin in brightness. (XPGWHT-01-5B1-R4-0-01 Neutral)

Hope this helps a bit.

Sverre