Jetbeam Jet II IBS Q5 to R2 Cree mod.

AlexGT

Flashlight Enthusiast
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Jan 15, 2001
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Houston, Texas
Hi all!

I decided to change the Cree on my Jetbeam Jet II IBS from a Q5 Cree that had a WG tint to my eyes and I don't like to a WC R2 Cree.

The mod went very well and fast, I took some pictures on how to do it and made me think about the level of Jetbeam engeneering that went into the light.



First you remove the batteries and head



This is what we are going to work with



Drill a small hole to the side of the led being careful not to damage the little wires


Then with a small screwdriver or other metal object pry the white centering cap off. we then get to see the module which is a 14 mm star, I noticed that Jetbeam does not use thermal epoxy to glue the star in place, they use some white thermal grease so it was very easy to get it out, just unsolder the wires and pry it out with a toothpick



Now here is my critique about jetbeam engineering, :wtf:WTF is that friggin hole in the center???? :shrug: I don't think there should be a hole in the center right where the emitter sits, also noticed that the metal base is very thin, no wonder it heats up on high :thumbsdow, this should be fixed :sick2:



Anyway, the stock cree is on the left and the R2 Cree is on the right, just happens to be sitting on a round star that is the same size and thickness :twothumbs, I proceed to clean the base and led up before assembly using alcohol and Q-tips



Red wire is the positive (+) White wire is the negative (-) I insert the new Cree, fits nicely! I used Diamond based thermal paste (IC Diamond) It's supposed to have better thermal properties than arctic silver, we will see.

I coat the underside of the new star and insert it to the base, don't worry about centering issues until you finish soldering the wires, Test the light before proceeding to put the centering cap back on.



then use the centering cap to center the led. Press firmly to make the paste spread and coat everything.



Here is a picture of the light, the top is the Jet II R2 WC now and below is a VB-16 USWO on high. I should have taken pictures before and after but was too eager to start moding sorry! But it does look a bit brighter than the stock Q5 cree and the tint is better to my eyes.



Thanks for reading!

AlexGT
 
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I've noticed on other lights, a hole like that, where the star mounts to the heatsink, always wondered what it's purpose was.
 
wow that is a cool mod to do and looks like a nice tint as well ,, good job

one question did u think about using a r2 wh , which would be in between cool and warm ?

madi05

thanks for sharing this mod with us , kudos
 
When i saw that hole, I whose thinking at a 'bare emitter' holder for some other unreleased designs or features but i realize that is just a lathing hole.
Perhaps a piece of very thin copper sheet(.1 or .2mm even thicker if the space inside the head will allow ), cut to fit the barrel, two notches for the wires, and placed underneath the star with some thermal grease, should help cooling the emitter.

Greets!
 
Great thread. Just swapped the emitter of my Jet-III Pro I.B.S. to a Q3-5A yesterday. It was a little bit more difficult as you can't remove the head of the light. But it just worked fine and it's a really great now again ;).

rayman
 
WOW, there was thermal grease under the stock star? I haven't seen this for a while from Jetbeams I've recently opened. Lately I've observed they completely skip it.
 
On the raptor RRT-1 I modded to XP-G R5 the stock XR-E R2 had virtually no paste, look at the upside down star on the right, that was right after I removed it from the heatsink, and it was loose already!
1003761h.jpg


From this tread
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=249979&highlight=alexgt
 
Jeez Louise! No thermal compound!!! I built enough audio gear in the past to know that even w/ VERY solid mechanical fasteners for power transistors you had to use some sort of thermal transfer aid [grease, or pads] to get the heat out of the device and into the heatsink...LEDs are no different.
 

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