I'm no Modder, but I can Solder. NovaTac 120 Upgrade!

There is a proper Subforum for modding and modders, but I'm no modder and they speak a language over there that few of us do so I think most CPF members might not be inclined to browse around over there. So I completely understand if this gets moved or deleted, but I wanted to get this info out there if possible.
This whole project is CPF based. I found my 120E for $89 on LAPolice after browsing through GreenLED's fantastic CPF discount page, then I did the 250 Click Mod that LLCoolBeans posted about. Good so far, but there was the issue of the tint and output. The tint wasn't bad, just a bit blue-ish, especially when compared to my beloved Liteflux LF3XT, (thanks DHart!), and I imagined that the output could be just a bit higher.
Looked around and figured out that you couldn't just drop any old emitter in due to the limitations of the hole that the emitter mounts in, saw a modder who milled it out, but I didn't want to go to that extreme. Surfed around and saw this offered by PhotonFanatic and pulled the trigger on a couple.
And now my world is forever changed.
Here's the 45 minute, (I'm slow), modification:


Original emitter:



Original emitter removed. De-soldered and lifted out. "Held" in by thermal paste.:



The new emitter, legs straightened out:



Straightened vs. Unstraightened:



Put a blob of thermal paste down and soldered legs:



Here are the results comparing the LF3XT(which used to be just as bright and much more pleasing white) to the Novatac.




I am shocked by the results. I had to check the battery in the Liteflux to see if it was depleted. I have an EZ123 that I compared it to. Similar results, the Novatac stomps all over the EZ123 and leaves it looking blue.



*******Hints********
A large fingernail clipper helped get the emitter down to size.
Use a VOM to determine the (+) side. I used the Ohm setting on the original and noticed which way the emitter lit up when touched with the test leads and oriented the replacement accordingly.
A lighted magnifying lamp made the operation much easier.
Solder sucker is always helpful for this kind of work.
Use a low wattage iron and very thin solder.


So, if you're feeling adventurous give it a try! Or, experiment on some DX cheapies first and then move up to the big guns.
I'm off to figure out the nomenclature of the modders and emitter gurus and then I'll be able to tell you what I've done to my light in proper terms.




Photography disclaimer: All pictures were taken with my iPhone. The closeups were done by placing a 30x DX loupe in front of the lens.
The beamshot makes it look like the LF3XT was very dim, it wasn't, it's just that the Novatac was so bright the camera used a fast "shutter speed".

looks 10x brighter then the liteflux?

great job :thumbsup:

i havent had a single regret about selling my 120

until now

waddup said:

looks 10x brighter then the liteflux?

great job :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Thanks! In person it is quite a bit brighter but that picture's exposure is stepped down so it doesn't do the Liteflux justice.
I'm just a parts hanger, so I don't know what the long-term effects of this mod may be. It gets pretty warm when running on high like that, but it's so much light that I may make full output the 4th setting on the 3x click and make the click + press/hold setting 80% or so.

If you've seen Spinal Tap, just think of Nigel's Marshall amps that go to 11.
"Why not make 10 that much louder?"
"...These go to 11."

Excellent mod. These are the best mods. Nothing extravagant required. A simple emitter swap and the 'dated' 120 is now a 200! Outstanding :thumbsup:

I would say you no longer need a new light but we all know that's not how it works.

Nice job. What emitter did you use for this and where did you buy it ?

I just posted in the nodding forum exactly this topic.

Thanks,
Budman

Very nice work. Thanks for posting the details. It makes me want to work on mine now!

Budman231 said:

Nice job. What emitter did you use for this and where did you buy it ?

I just posted in the nodding forum exactly this topic.

Thanks,
Budman

Click to expand...

I got a couple from here:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=190729

The sun has gone down now, I'm going out for a lightshow!

monanza said:

Excellent mod. These are the best mods. Nothing extravagant required. A simple emitter swap and the 'dated' 120 is now a 200! Outstanding :thumbsup:

I would say you no longer need a new light but we all know that's not how it works.

Click to expand...

i absolutely agree with you 110%

bansuri

Great job. I'm sitting here looking at my 85P and GC temp control soldering iron thinking maybe, a new emmitter will bring new life to this great light. I just wonder about the driver. Looks like photonfanatic was able to get your K2 tffc emitters pretty quick. Thanks for sharing.:thumbsup:

I used the same emmiter in an 85P that already had a U bin Seoul P4. It made a big improvement. Now I just got an HDS EDC U60 that's going to get the same upgrade.

if anybody wants a full potential of lumens from these K2 TFFC TVOD,one should try power up the Novatac with AW IMR cells (16340 or 18650) and don't forget that UCL lens as well

Really? I didn't think the AW protected RCR123s were limiiting a Novatac...

gunga said:

Really? I didn't think the AW protected RCR123s were limiiting a Novatac...

Click to expand...

They aren't.

What effect, if any, does this mod have on the low end output? I'd love to have a better color output, but not at the expense of the super low mode.

gunga said:

Really? I didn't think the AW protected RCR123s were limiiting a Novatac...

Click to expand...

it's hard to tell,but at the back of my mind tells me that with the IMR cells it is slightly brighter.

I just went and tried mine with a few different cells.

With an IMR at 4.2V the overall lux shows 14,800. With an AW black at 4.16V, 14,100 lux. I also tried an Ultrafire 1000mAh at 3.96V and it showed 15,100 lux:thinking:. An AW 17670 showed 15,000 lux. These readings were after a couple of minutes of settling down.

What nanotech probably remembers is the first time I took readings, right after the swap, the IMR showed 16,400 lux. My light putput was jumping around then, but has settled down since.

My lowest light output setting still shows .13lm, so it didn't go up much.

The emitter is from Photonfanatic.

Would this emitter work in a 85T?

I seem to recall reading somewhere that the driver might be slightly different, but I'm not sure if that was just Novatac trying to discourage modding.

How hard is the LED being driven at max on the 120?

I'm likeing this, a lot!

clintb said:

What effect, if any, does this mod have on the low end output? I'd love to have a better color output, but not at the expense of the super low mode.

Click to expand...

jahxman said:

Would this emitter work in a 85T?

I seem to recall reading somewhere that the driver might be slightly different, but I'm not sure if that was just Novatac trying to discourage modding.

How hard is the LED being driven at max on the 120?

Click to expand...

Here are some more shots, (with iPhone, please forgive).

EZ123 on high on left, 120E full output on right:


Another shot of the LF3XT on left on High and 120E on right, full output:


LF3XT on minimum on left, 120E minimum on right:


These were taken while sitting pointing the lights at the ceiling, (9 1/2') and I centered away from the beam to help the exposure.
I haven't done any runtime tests yet, but I will.
Also need to figure out a way to get my VOM hooked up to get reading on current consumed.

So regarding the low setting: still nice and low.
I'll get back with ammeter readings ASAP.

I've settled in to the 4 modes programmed as such:
1C=lowest
2C=level 10
1C+PH=level 18 or 19
3C=100%

The full output is something that just wouldn't be practical in normal use so I put it on what I consider the "4th" setting.
Something my pathetic beamshots don't reveal is that the flood is pretty nice and the transition from the spot to flood is smooth, though not as smooth as the Liteflux, which is very smooth.
I don't understand any of this stuff, but I'm hoping that this emitter gets more lumens per unit of energy applied and will get longer runtimes when the output levels are set similar to the original emitter. If not, no huge loss as I prefer the lack of blue the new emitter presents and if I really need some light it's in there.
Now I just need to figure out what to put the other emitter I bought in to!!!!

More stupid questions, I took mine apart to have a look, how did you get the LE out? What tools in particular please!
Have you changed out the lens as well with the UCL yet?
Also, I am asking a lot I know, could you provide just a couple more outdoor shots so we (I) can get a better idea of how the tint works with color rendition, please?