DaFab 007 XPG upgrade

[run4jc]

I'll admit that I am still one of the noobs as related to Spy ownership. Right after I got my 007, I sent it to DaFabricata for a heart transplant - a neutral tint XPG emitter. You see, as much as I loved that smooth, 6 speed control - the beautifully milled titanium body - the great feel in my hand - the "survive a nuclear blast" construction - the existing brightness and tint were not what I'd hoped for. Having had a McGizmo Ti PD-S upgraded to an R5 XPG and being blown away by the results, it seemed logical to have the 007 upgraded to a warm/neutral XPG.

Oh my goodness. It's perfect.

Tim did an amazing job - he did Data proud! The emitter is perfectly centered - there's a new heat sink and he also included some protective heatproof tape over the solder connections. Nice, neat work...

But the beam is absolutely fabulous. Beamshots will be added this weekend.

I know, I know – the 007s aren't about beamshots – no doubt, they are among the most, if not the most, technologically advanced lighting instruments out there, but the beam is so good that it needs to be seen. The shape of the beam and the tint are both perfect, and the ability to choose between 6 levels is sweet.

So as a teaser, here are photos of the business end – one with just reflected light, and the other with the emitter on uber low. And there will be beamshots this weekend.

Hat's off to Data for making these lights friendly to upgrades, and HATS OFF to DaFab for his terrific upgrade work!!


(Please excuse the dust!)

Interesting that the beam looks somewhat blue in this photo. Make no mistake - it is a 'warm neutral.' It's perfect for my tastes!

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Chauncey Gardner]

Very, very nice.

Is it any less throwy with the R5 in it now?

 

[run4jc]

Hard to say - but I'd guess not, if only because of the added 'brawn' of the XPG. I'd measured it in my home made IS prior to the mod and it was a throwy 148 lumen.... now it measures 223. The spot is a bit larger and transitions nicely, but we'll see when I take my pups on their early morning dog walk tomorrow. Wall shots in dark rooms lead me to believe that it is going to be a "Haiku like" perfect balance of flood and throw.

More to come!

 

[ninemm]

Looks and sounds awesome! I love me some neutral-warm tinted goodness. Tim did a great job.

Grr. Why do you have to have a thread that mentions bot the 007 and the Haiku!! Don't you know I already want both enough?

 

[Chauncey Gardner]

That is a BIG bump up in brightness & would make it hard to tell.

Hope you spot a fox with it walking the dogs. :wave:

That's a tough lineup you have to pick from.

 

[paulr]

Interesting! What was the old emitter? I remember the 005 used different reflectors depending on what led they were originally set up with.

 

[jslappa]

Cree or SSC P4 I would imagine.

I also don't envy run4jc's decision-making process when determining which light to take on which outing.

 

[TranquillityBase]

Cree warm/neutral tone LEDs are the shizzle :twothumbs

I upgraded my cold white Cree 007 to a Q3-5A :tinfoil:

Nice job DeFab!

 

[jslappa]

I upgraded my cold white Cree 007 to a Q3-5A :tinfoil:Nice job DeFab!

I also have the Q3-5A in a Nitecore D10. I love the color. I really hope the MCE of the Tri-V has a color similar to that. Now, come on with the new sales thread already. I'll have to take the day off work for a shot at one, but it'll be worth it if I snag one.

 

[run4jc]

Cree or SSC P4 I would imagine.

I also don't envy run4jc's decision-making process when determining which light to take on which outing.

It's tough - and I am in a bit of shock over the way the collection bloomed!

So - for nighttime - sleeping - a Surefire T1A modded with a high CRI emitter - DaFab did that one.

For photography - the McGizmo Sundrop XR-U

For 'always in my pocket', an Arc 6. Perfect size - although there is an aluminum Quartz MiNi CR2 on my keyring.

For the dog walks at 4:30 AM...Haiku XPG, Ra Clicky 170 narrow or Milky ME1B Creemator - but I suspect that the Spy will take over that job!

the others are collector's items - it doesn't seem fair to 'shelf queen' these terrific tools, but someday I'll enjoy passing them to my kids.

And honestly, it is fun making the choice. I am a 'working man' with a son in college and a daughter in high school. I have 2 car payments and a mortgage....and I'll likely never revel in the joy of choosing which high end sports car to drive! But I do get to enjoy the 'luxury' of choosing from among these wonderful lighting tools!

Sorry - too much information, but jslappa's post made me think!!

:thinking: :twothumbs

 

[run4jc]

I also have the Q3-5A in a Nitecore D10. I love the color. I really hope the MCE of the Tri-V has a color similar to that. Now, come on with the new sales thread already. I'll have to take the day off work for a shot at one, but it'll be worth it if I snag one.

Good luck!! I think I'm going to have to just be an observer....

:mecry:

 

[DaFABRICATA]

Thanks for all the nice comments guys!!:twothumbs
It really means a lot!!:bow:

Dan, I am so glad to hear that it made it's way back to you safely and you like it so much!

Before the weekend the neutral XP-G's arrived for several planned mods. Your 007, Viper715's T1A and a few others.
My 005 was the 1st to get the emitter swap to be sure it would turn out as nice as I'd hoped.
A really nice JE6 MC-E was in my 005 previously and had a nice tint but the beam was floody and had some artifacts that kinda bothered me.
After seeing the results of the XP-G in there, I was more than happy!

Fortunately, 1WRX7 had me measure the heatsink in my 007 to have his co-worker make some heatsinks for future upgrades to our Spy's.
The heatsink did need to be taken down a few mm's to allow the bezel to screw down completely and allow for proper focus and room for the solder joints under the reflector. A piece of black rubber isolation material was added to prevent any shorting on the bottom of the reflector.
Which BTW Dan, there is a perfect sqaure cut out that fits around the XP-G's base. I see it is not put back into place correctly in the top picture after you disassembled it to look at the heatsink.
Use a toothpick to help guide it over and around the emitter before installing the reflector, it will look cleaner.

I was also able to take a comparison picture of my 005 with neutral XP-G to Dan's stock 007 with Seoul before starting work to show Dan the difference.

My 005 has been getting a TON of use since the emitter swap.
The tint is great and it throws quite a bit better than the Seoul.

Again, Thanks for the nice words and I really enjoyed working on your light!

XP-G on top----Seoul on the bottom

 

[ninemm]

Whoa!! That is insane. Thanks for the beamshot Tim. Gives everyone an even greater appreciation for how much better your mod makes the tint and output. :twothumbs

Now I know who to call when I need some masterful emitter swaps done.

 

[RIDE]

SUPER job!!!

RIDE

 

[run4jc]

I tell you what, folks. This light is amazing! Took it out for the dog walk this morning - carried a camera but alas, with 2 dogs on a leash and no tripod for the camera, getting outside shots in the dark was impossible. I'll work on that this weekend.

Meanwhile, my impressions - the beam reminds me of a Haiku XPG - only considerably warmer and a bit brighter. I realize that the eye has difficulty recognizing differences of, say, an extra 30 lumen or so, but it does seem brighter regardless. Perhaps the warm Haiku XPG will look similar? The one beam shot of that light that has been posted would seem to confirm this.

The 6 levels are great! Used level one 'in the night' as I moved around trying not to wake my wife. JUST enough light to see without being obtrusive. For the dog walk, level 3 was plenty - level 4 was almost perfect. Levels 5 and 6 gave a 'wall of light' that, again, reminds me of the Haiku XPG. Throw was terrific, but again, like the Haiku, the transition from spot to flood is almost totally smooth so the net effect is a 'wall' of light rather than a spot that is concentrated.

I love it! I can see why so many enjoy this light. My only issue - it is heavy! But perhaps the 005, upgraded to this same emitter, might just be the ticket? Hmmm? At any rate, this one is a keeper, unless I fall prey to the siren song of the Tri-V.

Over at this post I did some color comparisons this weekend - if you go there you can see the full range of lights. I added the upgraded Spy this morning and here are just a couple of the shots:

this is the Spy, unlabeled

Comparison collage - again, the Spy is unlabeled.

:twothumbs:twothumbs

 

[1wrx7]

The next time I see Tim I plan on having him do this same mod on my 007. He mentioned he would have an extra XPG to do it, I just hope he still does It seems the MCR's that are designed for SSC emitters work great with the XPG's too

Having the extra heatsinks for the Spy's make it more convienent to do emitter swaps. I was going to make up a few with different LED's to try out, but it looks like the nutral XPG will be the winner.

 

[run4jc]

A new photo

I thought you all might enjoy this 'head shot'...

DaFab is the man. I love this light more every day. And of course, Data is the man, too!!

:twothumbs:twothumbs

level 2

Level 1

Is that gorgeous, or what???

 

[toby_pra]

Welcome to the club! :wave:

 

[toby_pra]

Some beamshots i already took...


...the lights are:

1. Quark Mini 123 Titan Cree XP-G R5
2. Gatlight V4 SSC P4 U3bin
3. McGizmo Haiku Cree XP-G R5
4. Spy007 Cree XP-G R5

all light setted on high!

controlshot (ISO 400, 4.0 and 2seconds)

Quark Mini

Gatlight V4

Haiku

Spy007 :huh:

 

[run4jc]

Welcome to the club! :wave:

Thanks, Toby...I'd seen yours and it helped me make my decision to go for it. I see also that you have trits installed - did you install them or did someone else? I have trits on the way from Bart - Norland 61 in hand - a 365nm UV light - gonna give it a try!

And thanks for the beamshots - I'd seen those, too!


:wave: :twothumbs