Salvaged Jacob A60 Mod (242kcd - Hard to believe) - Lumen Readings Added

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
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Hi All

So, I’ve salvaged a Jacob A60 I gave to my 5 year old son some time ago, after being very disappointed with the overall quality & beam pattern of this light. The first one actually ended up in the bin, the 2nd one went to my son. I felt a bit bad about what I did… so I got hold of the one my son had and told myself I’ll give it my best to see what I can push from it. I decided on a de-domed XP-G2 S4 2B with a 20mm FET driver.

And, I ended up with… yes, I also cannot believe it… 6300 lux with turn on at 6.2 meters with an Efest Purple 35A. That’s 242 172 lux (984m). To make 100% sure I was not dreaming, I measured my tricked out Convoy C8 with de-domed XP-L V6 2C. Got 3620 lux @ 6.2m. This translates to 139k lux, which I know is correct because this is what I’ve measured before. I use a Dr. Meter LX1330B.

Edit: Lumen readings in my light sphere was 968.6 with turn-on, 926.6 @ 30s.

Tint came out well, beam very ugly & ringy, with an obvious nice intense hotspot. The hotspot is quite usable, not bad. I have not measured amps at the tail yet. Edit: Amps measued at 4.7 with my fluke 374 clamp meter.

Herewith a summary of the build:

  • Self built MTN-20DD Driver.
  • De-domed XP-G2 S4 2B.
  • 22 Gauge wire.
  • Braided tail & driver springs.
  • Cleaned out the paint on the mounting area of the MCPCB.
  • I’ve upgraded the switch with this one.
  • I’ve made use of this LED insulation gasket / spacer, sanded down. Take note: I believe this spacer is actually intended for XM-L LEDs. I’ve turned it upside down and it fitted perfectly over the XP-G2. Centering of the LED was not easy because the spacer has no slot that marries with the reflector. Was trial & error to get it perfectly centered.
  • Standard lens cleaned the best I could.

Herewith some photos of the build. Enjoy!

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I’ve checked the photos now… it looks as if the LED is slightly off-center in the photos, but on the wall its absolutely perfect. So, somewhere something has some tolerance that causes this. Anyway, just an FYI…

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Nooo the pics aren’t showing!

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Arrrghhhhhhh you’re right :( :( :( :( :_(

(I can see them now!) Awesome job shrick with the write-up! Very impressive results :wink:

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some privay settings for the photos?

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The A60 just has those magical dimensions that make it so special!

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Pics are working now.

Very nice build shrick, congrats!

Looking forward to some beamshots :)

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All pics are taken with my Galaxy S4 :slight_smile: I don’t have a proper camera for beam shots. I’ll see if I can get manual camera settings working on my S4 to try some beamshots.

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Seems like manual settings are only available as of Android 5. I’m still running 4.2… no luck then. Will still try to make a plan though.

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Hey, I can see the photos! ;)

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Very nice,

Modded Jacob is a killer.

Where did you bought Jacob A60? Is it available again?

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Your son did a good job of looking after that flashlight for you for all that time. I hope you paid him well for it.

Nice mod. You have made a real winner.

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Mmm, good question. Think I got them from DealExtreme around January this year.

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Jacob is out of stock everywhere now...

Enjoy in your last one :)

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Are my readings in line with what others got? I’ve read about ± 130-150kcd. But 240kcd!?

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Yes they should be ok. This is new XP-G2 and dd driver. Regular one should do about 200kcd, and some guys got even lower than that. Secret is with centering.

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100% correct… reflector height & centering of the LED… was the most difficult part for sure.

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I was very sad when Jacob disappear from market. I just can't believe that... Bestseller flashlight out of stock? Crazy...

I would like to know which factory manufactures Jacob. I would wrote them a mail.

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LI… not sure if you’re aware of this thread?

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Or, this... new Convoy L2