Today, while working on a light for another member here, I decided to change the XP-G in my T10 to a Nicha 219 while my soldering iron was hot. It was an easy mod but not as easy as I had hoped. I recently got a few Nichia 219 LEDs on 10mm stars from IS and figured I'd just have to swap out the star. The MCPCB was too thick and also the isolator/centering ring wouldn't fit so I ended up reflowing the Nichia onto the old mcpcb and swapping out the old hair thin wires with some 22ga wires. I took a few pics so you could see the driver and such.
First, here is one of the old wires next to the wire I replaced it with
Here is the driver with the new wires mounted...
Here is the shot of the pill itself. Really thin. The driver is just press fit into it. I did have to ream out the wiring holes so the new wires would fit through the holes.
Nothing special about putting it back together so I didn't take any more pics except for the following comparison shot next to my new BLF Saber 1A. I had to tighten up everything in the Saber just to get the damned thing to light up. When I tried to lay it down it would go out on me and I had to smack it a few times to get it to stay on long enough to take the picture. Obviously the Nichia is nowhere near as bright as the Saber but the color is the usual Nichia goodness...
Well, that's it. I just wanted to share an easy mod with all of you. It's an easy and cheap mod done for just the cost of an emitter and well worth your time if you have a few minutes to spare. :)
Yeah, man...I'm just sitting here watching TV and playing with my renewed T10. Pure, creamy Nichia goodness! My only other Nichia light is a TR-801 that I modded with one and this T10 now gives my a truly pocketable nichia light and my T10 now has a new lease on life. :)
that’s the funny thing about Nichias - they look terrible when put up against other lights, but they’re truly lovely lights to use on their own especially indoors. Outside I slightly prefer a nice neutral white for some reason.
Is the negative wire just soldered straight to that middle pin?
When I opened mine the wires were tightly twisted together and a black wire was connected to that middle pin but I thought there was another and that was a ground. I guess I’ll have to open it up and check again now.
Straight emitter swap eh? Nice to hear. What was your original T10 tailcap current reading?
I’ve been meaning to swap my BLF Mini with a Nichia 219 for a while, but never get to it, mainly because there’s a possibility that I could poof the 219 easily. Original driver gives a bit over 2A.
I wonder how I can keep the original driver and simply limit the current to 1.5A after swap. Any ideas?
oh I completely agree I have two Romisen RC-G2 1x AA lights for around the house and in the car, one with a Nichia 219, one with an XP-E2 NW. I prefer the Nichia for indoors/ around the house (where the XP-E2 looks washed out and unnatural) and the XP-E2 outside on walks with the kids, where the Nichia looks a bit too brownish. No idea why, perhaps my mind has been trained over the years of using CW LEDs outside at night to think that’s normal!