Q8 modding

Q8 2S/4S
6/12V LED 2.5-5A standard parts
6- 8A with upgraded parts

Well, that was fun. I just read this whole thread from front to back, and I enjoyed it more than I should of.

Right around Christmas I ordered the Q8, 5 VTC6, Nitecore SC4, and some other odds and ends. Up til then, my only “real” light was the Elf C2 warm with its recessed flat top battery. My Q8 came with Prime shipping, but the batteries, charger, and other stuff from Illumn.com took over a week because of the holidays(completely understandable). So in the week where I didn’t have any batteries to play with my Q8, I read this whole thread and that got my planning on doing some mods. My Q8 is 2nd batch(or 3rd??) and is perfect as far as I can tell. Screws don’t even look like a driver has touched them, the battery tube end is smooth and flush(but only making 1/2 ring contact), and the LEDs are nicely centered. My VTC6 batteries are flat tops, but they do work. I researched this and decided to go ahead since I got them for a lot cheaper.

What I was thinking about doing, is Brass Screws, cleaning all threads and contact points, tapping M2.5 threads, beveling screw holes, adding Brass Buttons to my VTC6 batteries for better contact to brass ring, lapping the brass ring to make it flat, maybe adding the center “reverse polarity protection”, and making a new Tail Plate with bypasses. The last one was so I could have my factory PCB with springs, for safety and more appropriate run times and heat output, and my modded, bypassed, high powered board for playing with. Obviously, the copper Tail Plates are not a big gainer, so I was wondering how 14-16ga aluminum would work?? I don’t have any flat copper here, but I do have plenty of aluminum, even scrap pieces.

I also would like to add the capacitor to the head PCB to stop it from bumping off. I think since I’m using flat tops, my light is relatively sensitive about bumping vertically which shuts off the light. My Elf C2 does this, but resumes instantly, you barely notice the flash in light. I’m thinking adding the Brass Buttons would help with this, but would like to not rely on it. While I am decent at soldering, I have never soldered a component that small. If I have to, my brother in law is very good with stuff like this and is schooled in electrical engineering. My question is, what capacitor is ideal for this, and can I get a link so I get the right one??

So TL:DR question list

  1. What Capacitor to use to prevent bump off??
  2. If I make a 16 gauge tail plate from aluminum with copper spring bypasses, will I loose any power using aluminum??
  3. I measure the spring height of ~ 7/16 of an inch, any Gold Plated Beryllium Copper Springs that tall?? I only see 5mm
  4. Are the springs in the OP ok for use without bypasses?? If not, which would you recommend. Any one find the IOS “A” springs Tom was talking about??
  5. Where can I source the center “reverse polarity protection” piece, or should I just try to make one out of plexiglass??

Thanks

1.) I used a ceramic cap with 100 uF, but 47 uF should be sufficient. Caps with this capacity are pretty large.

@Goodtobeking

You should solder blob your batteries, it is saver. If you use it without buttom top

- the shrink wrap can tear, which make it more likely to short.

  • it could be one battery doesn’t make contact.

You plan to bypass the springs? Hell make sure the positive side has good contact.
= You need nipples on your batteries!
This should be the first thing what you do before you start to mod the rest.

You should search the Q8 thread for solder blob or solder boob or your batteries.
You should find plenty how to dos and explanations why its save/better.

Soldering on aluminium is normally PITA. But I am no solder expert.

Have fun with your light!

Regards
Joe

Lightmalls sells this tail MCPCB and it’s a perfect fit for the Q8.

Happy modding

@FlashyMike Thanks for specifying the size tested and size recommended. Wow are they bigger than I thought. I’m going to put that on the back burner and see how upgraded springs do. But I will continue to investigate it.

@ Joechina Thanks for the concern and rationally expressing your opinion. Yeah I know about the risks using these flat tops. They are slightly raised flat tops, so they seem to be connecting fine for now. I have an order from mtnelectronics.com with a bunch of brass buttons for soldering onto my batteries. I know I can just solder blob/boob them, but I like the idea of brass tops. I also ordered the 4 different types of springs for modding and testing. And I got some battery shrinkwrap incase I get any damaged battery wrappers, and planning on using it to “snug” up my batteries in the tube so they don’t rattle as much.

As for the aluminum, I am going away from that. I wasn’t aware aluminium was so hard to solder. I knew you could weld and braze it. From what I read it can be soldered on, but not worth the extra effort and special supplies. I am just going to use the extra tail board that I ordered to mod and playwith.

@ Khas Thanks for that. I ordered one. ~$5 shipped is awesome.

I got another question though. How are you guys applying that center reverse polarity protection ring?? Press fitted, glued, magic??

Sidenote: sorry if my first post was a little incoherent. I had a half day off in the morning because of the bad weather. Took a lot longer to compose that post than I thought and I ran out of time.

I’m not sure this technically counts as a mod, so I posted the bulk of this in the Q8 thread. :partying_face:

you forgot to wire all the switches together
the middle one will be hard to use

:smiley: Tell me about it!

I had to use a chopstick to press the switch on the center Q8! I’m still seeing spots…

Have you switched them together into strobe mode? :slight_smile:

You are one crazy person goshdogit. One is bright let alone seven together. :laughing:

Does somebody know the length of the tail PCB screws?

I’ve read they are m2.5 5mm long. I bought 10mm long brass screwsand plan on cutting them down

no comment

Driver: M2.5×4mm *2 pcs
Tail pcb: M2.5×5mm *4 pcs
Reflector: M4×10mm *1 pc
MCPCB: M2.5×10mm *2 pcs

Thank you! Just ordered M2.5×6mm brass screws because the modification I have in mind will need slightly longer screws.

Is there a quad Nichia 219B version of this light? Or just a quad Nichia 219B mcpcb?

you can reflow the XP-L Emitters and change them to 219B or 219C. Its the same LED-Footprint.

So I replace the standard LEDs with 4 of” these”:Nichia 219C D240 4000K - Bare LED - 90+ CRI?

Best place to buy? I’m in Europe (most of the time)

BTW any discount codes?

4c3ad6