P2DCE Q2 TO Q5 upgrade - Caution!

AWGD8 · Jul 21, 2007

I tried to prepare my P2D CE Q2 to Q5 upgrade last night and it was a mess. :mecry:

For limited Q2, the head is not glued so accessing the CREE led was a breeze. :naughty:

The Problem with "MY unit P2D CE Q2" , was the way the Arctic epoxy was

spread all over the place. The 2 wires (+, -) has epoxy all over it- even

the hole where wires are coming from the driver board beneath has epoxy :faint:

.

So I decided to cut the wire knowing that I may just solder a new wires

from the DRIVER board. :tsk:

If you guys think you have to cut the wire to short , then STOP from there.

Send it to 4Sevens and let him deal with it. I learned it the hard way bec.

The DRIVER BOARD is epoxied not glued on the wall of the tubing. There`s

no way to access the component side of the PCB DRIVER.

I had to use a sharp cutter and cut the edge of the Driver Board that sit

against the tubing -(Driver board battery side). It took me 6 F...!!!

hours to finally cut thru it with blister and small cut on my fingers.

Here is the Pic of the driver board INTACT! with minor scartches on the

battery side.

All I have to do now is wait for my CREE Q5 emitter and Arctic silver epoxy

to arrive. :twothumbs

Shot at 2007-07-21

Shot at 2007-07-21

It seems like FENIX torch aren`t that service friendly or modders friendly at

all. How many led mode can FENIX accept before those wire get too short

for the next LED upgrade? maybe just one? after that you`ll be doing the

crap I just did... Just a thought...

ensile · Jul 21, 2007

oh man, the tint on the q2 is so good, they are very bright, was it planned to go into another fenix?

wintermute · Jul 21, 2007

yeah - don't cut the wires. They are waaaay too short as it is, and if you cut anything off...you're screwed. The glue they use is not Arctic epoxy - it some weird epoxy/glue - but it is also quite fragile. If you use a sharp pic or hemostats, the glue will shatter and crack and eventually break off in chunks. Make sure that you clean the head of the light where the new Q5 sits extensively. Get all of the old glue off until it looks like shiny aluminum. I posted pics of myself doing the same thing here. You'll also see pics of qips misadventures where he destroyed a head beyond recognition.

I never included anything about the wires, because I guess I just never figured that anyone would clip the wires, but not only are they too short (I was worried about loosing too much when stripping off 4-5mm of insulation), but the circuitry is impossible to get to. The driver I have here is from qip, after he attempted the same mod and destroyed his Fenix head in the process after the wires dropped down into the head and he couldn't get the circuit out.

I am trying to buy some broken or otherwise flaky Fenix heads to work on new ways to get the driver board out in a matter of minutes instead of hours - without damaging the light or your fingers, but I need people to sell me broken heads - I'm not going to spend $32 per head (cost for a LxD/P2D head shipped from FS) only to possibly destroy it. On the other hand, if I buy a head which is already broken, I won't mind so much, and the people who I buy the broken stuff off of can go ahead and use the cash towards a new head from FS (since they should already have the body). It's a win/win situation.

Hopefully, I can figure out some quick techniques for extracting the driver with ease. I would also like some broken driver boards to open up and do a closer inspection of the components - but that is for another thread. Good luck in your upgrade AWGD8 - considering that the tint between the Q2 David had in those SEs, and the tint of the available Q5s are the same (both are WG) - you are only going to gain a small increase in brightness. Something which is great for a modder, but I wouldn't have recommend replacing the emitter in a Fenix head like that to someone who hasn't been modding for quite a while.

Congrats on getting that driver board out - I hope that it all works when you get it all back together. If not - I'll buy your broken wares...not that I am wishing that on you, not at all. Good luck.

AWGD8 · Jul 21, 2007

The q2 didn`t survive, that darn epoxy is a messed! It even separated the led glass dome to the board when prying it ...

AWGD8 · Jul 21, 2007

Thanks Wintermute for the offer. Hopefully everything goes well as planned. I`ll update you if things go downhill....

wintermute said:
yeah - don't cut the wires. They are waaaay too short as it is, and if you cut anything off...you're screwed. The glue they use is not Arctic epoxy - it some weird epoxy/glue - but it is also quite fragile. If you use a sharp pic or hemostats, the glue will shatter and crack and eventually break off in chunks. Make sure that you clean the head of the light where the new Q5 sits extensively. Get all of the old glue off until it looks like shiny aluminum. I posted pics of myself doing the same thing here. You'll also see pics of qips misadventures where he destroyed a head beyond recognition.

I never included anything about the wires, because I guess I just never figured that anyone would clip the wires, but not only are they too short (I was worried about loosing too much when stripping off 4-5mm of insulation), but the circuitry is impossible to get to. The driver I have here is from qip, after he attempted the same mod and destroyed his Fenix head in the process after the wires dropped down into the head and he couldn't get the circuit out.

I am trying to buy some broken or otherwise flaky Fenix heads to work on new ways to get the driver board out in a matter of minutes instead of hours - without damaging the light or your fingers, but I need people to sell me broken heads - I'm not going to spend $32 per head (cost for a LxD/P2D head shipped from FS) only to possibly destroy it. On the other hand, if I buy a head which is already broken, I won't mind so much, and the people who I buy the broken stuff off of can go ahead and use the cash towards a new head from FS (since they should already have the body). It's a win/win situation.

Hopefully, I can figure out some quick techniques for extracting the driver with ease. I would also like some broken driver boards to open up and do a closer inspection of the components - but that is for another thread. Good luck in your upgrade AWGD8 - considering that the tint between the Q2 David had in those SEs, and the tint of the available Q5s are the same (both are WG) - you are only going to gain a small increase in brightness. Something which is great for a modder, but I wouldn't have recommend replacing the emitter in a Fenix head like that to someone who hasn't been modding for quite a while.

Congrats on getting that driver board out - I hope that it all works when you get it all back together. If not - I'll buy your broken wares...not that I am wishing that on you, not at all. Good luck.

AWGD8 · Jul 22, 2007

I just finished soldering the 2 wires to the PCB DRIVER. I only used 15Watts

soldering gun. Hope I didn`t fry my CIRCUIT.

I wonder if these wires are long enough for 20 LED upgrade for CREE R20 BIN

HE HE HE...

Hopefully, the CREE Q5 bin and arctic silver arrive tomorrow.

wintermute · Jul 22, 2007

AWGD8 said:
I just finished soldering the 2 wires to the PCB DRIVER. I only used 15Watts

soldering gun. Hope I didn`t fry my CIRCUIT.

I wonder if these wires are long enough for 20 LED upgrade for CREE R20 BIN HE HE HE...

Hopefully, the CREE Q5 bin and arctic silver arrive tomorrow.

15W should be fine - that's what I have been using on circuits like this for quite a while.

And yeah - I think you might have to trim those leads a smidgen.

AWGD8 · Jul 23, 2007

Wintermute, Did you try a router bit (smallest diameter available) with a dremel? I guess, this might work for removing a PCB driver. I haven`t tried this but, just a thought...

FirstDsent · Jul 23, 2007

Let's hear it for Fenix! Way to make a light guys. Does anyone wonder why I don't buy Fenix lights?

Bernie

wintermute · Jul 23, 2007

AWGD8 said:
Wintermute, Did you try a router bit (smallest diameter available) with a dremel? I guess, this might work for removing a PCB driver. I haven`t tried this but, just a thought...

That would prevent the driver from re-seating in the same placement...

I have other ideas, but they will be unveiled only after I have tried them on other non-working heads. If anyone ever has a broken Fenix. Days and days have gone by with my sig the way it is and not a single person to sell me a broken or otherwise flaky Fenix. I think this is strong evidence that they are built extremely well overall.

flyingbrass · Jul 23, 2007

Here's a shot of the emitter in my stock L2D. The head unscrewed on its own. Hardly any glue was used. I guess Fenix made up for that convenience by using excessive glue around the emitter.

I gather I need a 15 watt soldering iron, some Arctic-whatever epoxy, perhaps some ordinary heatsink compound, some solder, and some common sense to swap in a newer Cree.

ensile · Jul 23, 2007

is it possible, if using the right tools, to salvage the q2 emitter ? because, I think i'll transplant that into my p3d if so, if not. I'd like to know about it

and might be able to see a true 160 luimes.

I am heading out to rip open my p2d. is the WG Tint on the q5's a cool blue like the original p3d's ?

half-watt · Jul 23, 2007

AWGD8 said:
I only used 15Watts soldering gun. Hope I didn`t fry my CIRCUIT."

given the highly miniaturized state of modern day electronics, it is often difficult to employ a heatsink, of sorts, when soldering.

whenever possible, i will either clip, or even just touch a object to function as a heatsink between the solder joint and any electronic components that would be adversely affected by heat being conducted along a run/trace connecting it to the land/pad i'm soldering.

sometimes a "third hand" is required to accomplish this temporary soldering heatsinking. look for creative ways to employ a soldering heatsink - if at all possible, or go with a lower wattage soldering iron (if that's a possiblity). of course, tin all contacts and wires first before joining them together via soldering.

P2DCE Q2 TO Q5 upgrade - Caution!

AWGD8

Newly Enlightened

ensile

Enlightened

wintermute

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AWGD8

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AWGD8

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AWGD8

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wintermute

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AWGD8

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FirstDsent

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wintermute

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flyingbrass

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ensile

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half-watt

Flashlight Enthusiast

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