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Sold/Expired CREE XR-E Q5 Into U2 Clone

jake25

Enlightened
Joined
May 13, 2007
Messages
864
Location
Santa Rosa, Ca
Has anyone tried this? I think i might give it a shot, it seems pretty straight forward. Is there a time limit i should leave this emitter on, on high like the p4?

right now i dont think theres any other better drop in
 

glockboy

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 27, 2003
Messages
2,345
Location
houston, tx
I did put the Q5 in my U2 clone, it's much brighter than the P4.
Some time I turn it on for half an hour at a time, still bright.
 

bspofford

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Messages
824
Location
Colorado
I've always been impressed by the brightness of the Eastward YJ "U2 Style" light. It reportedly runs at 1200 mA, and I think it is as bright as other lights that advertise 150 lumen output. I have a number of Q2 lights that are noticeably brighter and probably in the 175 lumen range. I recently bought some "Q5" emiiters on "Premium Star" boards from Kai and DX, and I popped one into an Eastward U2 clone today. The tint was very similar, but the output actually seemed a little less than the P4. I checked everything and installed it a second time thinking that maybe I had a bad solder or something. I got the same results, so I put the slightly brighter P4 back in. In a related thread, others have suggested that the Q5 stars sold by DX are not the real thing. Nothing on the boards actually indicates that the emitters are Q5's. Unfortunately, I bought three from Kai and three from DX. This isn't the first time I have felt like a sucker. :naughty:
 

Yenster

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
172
Location
Texas, USA
bspofford,

I had the same thing happen to me, but now I know more about the Q5. It requires a higher front voltage to drive it properly so what you're seeing the dimmer light resulting from less current. If you have a multi-meter, you can measure this yourself and see what I'm talking about. The solution, specifically for the Eastward YJ "U2 Style" light, is the get into the driver and short out the resistor at "R1". That will bring up the current from around 400mA to around 700 mA. You will probably to very happy with this mode. However, if not, then go to the next level and direct drive the Q5 by moving "LED -" to "J1". This will result in around 950mA and you're bound to be happy with that brightness. Let us know how it goes.
 

nanotech17

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 31, 2006
Messages
2,150
Location
N 03°13.884° / E 101°29.329°
bspofford,

I had the same thing happen to me, but now I know more about the Q5. It requires a higher front voltage to drive it properly so what you're seeing the dimmer light resulting from less current. If you have a multi-meter, you can measure this yourself and see what I'm talking about. The solution, specifically for the Eastward YJ "U2 Style" light, is the get into the driver and short out the resistor at "R1". That will bring up the current from around 400mA to around 700 mA. You will probably to very happy with this mode. However, if not, then go to the next level and direct drive the Q5 by moving "LED -" to "J1". This will result in around 950mA and you're bound to be happy with that brightness. Let us know how it goes.

some photos would be nice :D
 
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