ti-force
Flashlight Enthusiast
*UPDATE* 08/07/2010
This is an update for the red XP-E, low voltage mod - I always use Li-ion batteries, so I hardly ever use primary batteries, but I thought I'd check the 123 Red XP-E head to make sure it functions properly with the lower voltage primaries for anyone who might be interested in trying this mod. The results are not too good. This mod doesn't function properly with a single Alkaline or Lithium AA primary, so the only battery options for this mod are 1- Li-ion, 2- AA primaries or 1- CR123. I'm not sure about NiZn batteries, but I suspect the results would be the same. Like previously mentioned, this doesn't affect me because I'll be using a single Li-ion battery when I use this light, and I have no desire to use a primary battery that can only be used once and then it's thrown away, so I only mention this for anyone who would use a voltage below 1.5v with this mod.*UPDATE END*
This is my latest project, and as usual I thought I'd share some pictures with anyone who's interested. What I've done is pretty straightforward. I've taken a high voltage Quark 123-2 head and swapped in an XP-E Royal Blue emitter. I've also taken a low voltage Quark 123 head and swapped in an XP-E Red emitter. My main reason for this is to use the red emitter for walking in and out of the woods in the dark during hunting season. The red light should help preserve my night vision in case I need to defend myself against any type of wild animal (not likely, but it's always best to be prepared right). I share the woods with your typical predators; bears, panthers, coyotes, bobcats and even wild boar, which can be quite aggressive in certain situations, so I'm always packing a 357 mag on my side
.
Anyway, the blue emitter can be driven up to 1A according to the datasheet, and the red emitter can be driven up to 700mA. This is the reason why the blue emitter is fine in the 123-2 head, but the red emitter had to be used in the 123 head. I doubt I'll have a need for either light at max drive current, but why not have the option available right. The blue emitter swap was mostly for fun. I originally thought I might be able to use these two lights in combination with each other to track a blood trail, but I'm not so sure that actually works; I've heard mixed results.
Enough talking and on to the pictures:
Quark 123 head with an XP-E R2 emitter. Nothing new there:
Cree XP-E Red emitter:
Bare board prepped for the Red emitter:
Red XP-E reflow soldered onto the bare board:
Low voltage testing to make sure everything is working fine:
Placed into head with Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste :thumbsup: and wires soldered:
Red XP-E emitter installed:
Royal Blue emitter installed:
The steps were basically the same for the Royal Blue emitter, so I didn't see any point in taking pictures of the Royal Blue emitter swapping process. Now it's time for some colorful shots:
And a couple of indoor beamshots:
For all you Moonlight mode lovers out there
:
And on Max. The hotspot isn't actually orange in person, the camera just won't capture the image as my eyes see it.:
Outdoor Beamshots:
Each light was on the Max setting. All camera settings remained the same throughout the shoot, and the distance from each light to the pine tree is 25ft.
and some gif's:
This is an update for the red XP-E, low voltage mod - I always use Li-ion batteries, so I hardly ever use primary batteries, but I thought I'd check the 123 Red XP-E head to make sure it functions properly with the lower voltage primaries for anyone who might be interested in trying this mod. The results are not too good. This mod doesn't function properly with a single Alkaline or Lithium AA primary, so the only battery options for this mod are 1- Li-ion, 2- AA primaries or 1- CR123. I'm not sure about NiZn batteries, but I suspect the results would be the same. Like previously mentioned, this doesn't affect me because I'll be using a single Li-ion battery when I use this light, and I have no desire to use a primary battery that can only be used once and then it's thrown away, so I only mention this for anyone who would use a voltage below 1.5v with this mod.*UPDATE END*
This is my latest project, and as usual I thought I'd share some pictures with anyone who's interested. What I've done is pretty straightforward. I've taken a high voltage Quark 123-2 head and swapped in an XP-E Royal Blue emitter. I've also taken a low voltage Quark 123 head and swapped in an XP-E Red emitter. My main reason for this is to use the red emitter for walking in and out of the woods in the dark during hunting season. The red light should help preserve my night vision in case I need to defend myself against any type of wild animal (not likely, but it's always best to be prepared right). I share the woods with your typical predators; bears, panthers, coyotes, bobcats and even wild boar, which can be quite aggressive in certain situations, so I'm always packing a 357 mag on my side
.Anyway, the blue emitter can be driven up to 1A according to the datasheet, and the red emitter can be driven up to 700mA. This is the reason why the blue emitter is fine in the 123-2 head, but the red emitter had to be used in the 123 head. I doubt I'll have a need for either light at max drive current, but why not have the option available right. The blue emitter swap was mostly for fun. I originally thought I might be able to use these two lights in combination with each other to track a blood trail, but I'm not so sure that actually works; I've heard mixed results.
Enough talking and on to the pictures:
Quark 123 head with an XP-E R2 emitter. Nothing new there:
Cree XP-E Red emitter:
Bare board prepped for the Red emitter:
Red XP-E reflow soldered onto the bare board:
Low voltage testing to make sure everything is working fine:
Placed into head with Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste :thumbsup: and wires soldered:
Red XP-E emitter installed:
Royal Blue emitter installed:
The steps were basically the same for the Royal Blue emitter, so I didn't see any point in taking pictures of the Royal Blue emitter swapping process. Now it's time for some colorful shots:
And a couple of indoor beamshots:
For all you Moonlight mode lovers out there
:
And on Max. The hotspot isn't actually orange in person, the camera just won't capture the image as my eyes see it.:
Outdoor Beamshots:
Each light was on the Max setting. All camera settings remained the same throughout the shoot, and the distance from each light to the pine tree is 25ft.
and some gif's:
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