Spear/RQ driver mod. On request.

[StefanFS]

This is not a step by step mod, it's just a few pointers. The objective is to put a better driver into your average Raidfire Spear or RQ flashlight.

The first step if you are to use a driver with components on both sides are to enlarge the upper part of the tube with a reaming tool, this is sometimes called a stepless drill bit. Since the inner lip on the tube presses the driver in place and provide ground it's best to leave the inner lip about 1.5--2 mm thick (depends on which driver you use.

Next step is swapping the driver, I use what is known on DealExtreme as sku 7882 which is a boost driver that work well with one 18650 LiION. It has three groups of levels and usually I use the group with low-medium-high. But for this light I'm going to mod it to a single mode driver as it's going to be a safety light around the house and one level is enough when adrenaline might be involved.

Just pressed into the pill, setup with wires soldered to led + & -. This mod also need a longer spring on the driver, I just used a spring similar to the original and soldered it to the existing one. It pays to have extra stuff laying around.

On the left is the latest version of the driver, the white one I use is from the first generation. Between these versions there was a variety that was optimized for 1AA and that also needed a solder bridge to work, avoid the middle version as they have huge battery draw with one LiION.

How it looks on the upper side with wires to the emitter, neg. on the right and pos. on the left. This is the standard wiring. To make it one level I drill the hole for the neg. connection bigger with a fine tipped dremel-type diamond cone tip until a 26 AWG wire can go through to pin 4 on the PIC that's on the other side.

Other way around, pos. on right and neg. on left. Another angle.

The one level variety, closeup.

Down into the tube. See how the inner lip of the tube holds the driver in place.

My kitchen table setup for this little exercise.

With the driver tuned to ~1.25A it throws ~29 000 lux at one metre. My Dereelight DBS (with an identical driver and the same Cree Q5 bin) set at that level is ~32 000 lux or so. Battery draw is ~1.6A. So I'm very satisfied with this little modification. The stock AMC7135 ~1A driver managed ~18 000 lux on one 18650.


Battery draw & output in terms of throw @ 1 meter.

1 x AA NiMH GP ReCyko (with spacers):
1.44A and 12 800 lux

18650 AW:
1.43A and 29 000 lux.

2 x CR123 Panasonic:
1.60A and 30 300 lux


Stefan

 

[YourTime]

Excellent work Stefan

I see you still have the 7882 first generation :nana:, does that mean i bought them heap in the past?

I've just order 10 piece 7882 ill try to use this driver from now on:wave:

Can you do some long distance beam shot when ever it is possible.

 

[StefanFS]

Excellent work Stefan

I see you still have the 7882 first generation :nana:, does that mean i bought them heap in the past?

I've just order 10 piece 7882 ill try to use this driver from now on:wave:

Can you do some long distance beam shot when ever it is possible.

This light might show up in future beamshots, but it's really indistinguishable from a Spear or DBS V2. This was my last first gen. 7882 driver. Now I have the latest variety to use with LiION lights. This driver actually seem to have some buck functionality as well as it works with two CR123 and produces the same output on those cells as it has with one 18650 cell.

 

[Isthereanybodyoutthere]

This light might show up in future beamshots, but it's really indistinguishable from a Spear or DBS V2. This was my last first gen. 7882 driver. Now I have the latest variety to use with LiION lights. This driver actually seem to have some buck functionality as well as it works with two CR123 and produces the same output on those cells as it has with one 18650 cell.

Is it the new variety that has the buck function ??

How much does it draw when using two rcr123 ??

 

[StefanFS]

Is it the new variety that has the buck function ??

How much does it draw when using two rcr123 ??

I've tested 2 x CR123 (~6V) with all versions of the driver. The good thing is that it's possible to use just one AA NiMH/lithium cell with spacers or whatever fits in the light from ~1V up to ~6V. Output is ~half with 1AA NiMH. I'll check battery draw with two CR123 later today.

-------
Edit!
Added output & battery draw for a few common type of cells in post #1.

 

[problemchild200]

Found the driver at a USA dealer for 5 dollars.

http://e-lectronics.net/boost-driver-board-input-voltage-8v7v-njg18-p-422.html

 

[problemchild200]

Well this ended up being a lot more difficult then it looked. I broke the 1st driver and the second wont work. I put it all back the way it was and its still not working. So now I have no light.

Bummer......

 

[ruger308308]

Dear Steffan
Have you come up with any better variations for light throw. I am about to modify the RQ copy and would like to know if this is still the best moption.

Thanx

Ruger308308

 

[Shrigg]

SST-50 seems like the best emitter upgrade. Direct drive would yield 1000+ OTF lumens!!

 

[CampingLED]

For throw the XR-E should still be better than the SST-50. I noticed a spare 7135 slot on the RQ driver. For short run-times you could swap the emitter with R2 and add an extra 7135 chip to the original driver. If you run it for extended periods the extra current and heat may just end up in lower output.

 

[Everett]

To make it one level I drill the hole for the neg. connection bigger with a fine tipped dremel-type diamond cone tip until a 26 AWG wire can go through to pin 4 on the PIC that's on the other side.

Stefan

This is actually pin 8 of the uC

 

[Fusion_m8]

Hi Stefan:

I just got a RQ from KD and the emitter is very cool white around 7500-8000K, way too blue for my usage. Do you perform emitter swaps to something like a R2 or Q5 with a WG tint? Do I send the whole light or just the necessary parts?

Thanks.

 

[RepProdigious]

Great thread!!

I recently bought a RQ and im planning to do this same little mod, got a couple 7882's on route and im really hoping to see some improvements... When i first received the light the current draw was wickedly low (300-400mA max) but after a complete work-over its now pulling 900-950mA from the battery.

So basically when i set the driver to pull around 1.5~1.6A tailcurrent i'm set? lovecpf


[edit] And by the way, the light i received has a different battery tube that doesn't need to be reamed, the end flange can just unscrew! [/edit]

 

[Old goat]

I would like to have my RQ modded also. Are you interested in doing mine?

 

[StefanFS]

I made a gift of my last RQ recently. Before that I installed a failsafe 4x7135 AMC one level driver and supplied the recipient with one Sanyo 18650 cell and the appropriate one cell charger. This is an old thread, but the Spear/RQ were nice and slightly different at the time. Still good throwers with both XM-L and XP-G.

 

[elliotlyonn]

Is the NJG-18 still available? I've been trying to look for it in the chinese gadget shops but can't find any at all.

Speaking of alternative upgrades, which LED driver combination would you guys recommend. I'm giving this light to my beloved daughter who has been is a scholar at one of the best colleges in my country and who has consistently been both on dean's list and honor society. She ranks no 8 academically in a school population of more than 2000 college students. She specifically asked me for this light and I want to make sure that U can give her the best version that I can cook up. IT's the least that I can do for such a brilliant and good kid.

Your suggestions will be fully appreciated.

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas to all of you.