Congratulations on a magnificent flashlight. I have one with a dedomed XML T6 1A on a copper pcb from DX.COM that just completely fulfills my need for a thrower. Gets about 175 Kcd after the thermal sag. A LOT more when I use it in -10°C conditions though.
Ledsmoke, thanks for the XML on copper upgrade report. Your results sound fantastic. Im considering a dedomed XPG2 on 20mm copper sinkpad but Im not sure how well the emitter will hold up to +4A. Yeah, power LED’s love to run cool.
Thanks very much for the review! Frontpage’d and Sticky’d.
UPDATE: I installed a Cree MT-G2 on copper Noctigon mcpcb. The results were nothing short of amazing and the numbers speak for themselves:
|
Before |
After |
|
|
emitter |
SST-50 |
MT-G2 |
|
light box |
53k |
142k |
|
center beam at turn-on |
570k |
1795k |
|
center beam at 30 seconds |
465k |
1760k |
|
tail cap current (amperes) |
1.54 |
2.65 |
|
estimated amps at emitter @80% driver efficiency |
3.696 |
6.36 |
Cell voltage @4.20V, 3 x 18650.
Lux measurements were not calibrated to any standard but in this direct comparison show substantial increases.
The only mod beyond swapping the emitter was to add a 20mm x 2mm copper disk beneath the emitter star to properly space the MT-G2 into the reflector and notch it for the hold-down screws. Copper is mandatory to conduct this amount of heat! Dont use aluminum for the disk. All surfaces were lapped & polished.
The driver seems to have taken care of the rest of the equation and increased current without need of resistor mods. Hopefully it will survive being driven nearly double the stock spec.
I wouldn’t think you will have any problem driving it that hard. I did the same with an XM-L2 in that same light and it had no problems at all.
Nice mod by the way. Must be a nice tint too.
Nice mod! 
Me like!
thats a really nice mod and with those numbers youre getting im thinking of doing something similar
if only the blinky modes could be eliminated
i wonder if a nice ios driver would fit
I still need to get some more run time on it to test for driver reliability… maybe tonight. I almost went for the XM-L2 but couldnt resist the temptation to see how it performs with the MT-G2. Yes, the tint is very nice. The MT-G2 with the X7 reflector stomps my 6.5A (3 terroid driver) CW SRK; with a much larger hotspot, wider spill beam and more throw. If its not to much trouble, can you please get a tail current reading with 3 fully charged 18650’s? Im curious how the stock driver handles XM-L2 amps.
Thanks! Im more than pleased with the performance. Its hard to believe what a difference this change did for an already well designed light. It just shows the age of the SST-50. At least the driver has a reliable memory mode and cranks out some amps, although I think 5A (at the emitter) would have been slightly more efficient. Like nearly all of my lights, they run continuously in high mode so heat can become an issue.
I sold it to Orion (green spot avatar) Plus my MM is wonky it works fine for testing batteries and to check current flowing and stuff but not for much else. I really need to buy a good one and a lux meter as well, but each month I end up spending my monthly budget on a new mod instead. It’s an amazing thrower with an XM-L2 in it, it crushes the SST-50. That is past it’s prime. Frankly I don’t think the SST-90 is worth a whole lot either. I de-domed my last one and still didn’t care for it. It’s now sitting in a zoomie.
Nice job FlashPilot. Sounds very sweet. That driver looks alot like the TR-3T6 driver. The 3T6 driver is one tough hombre. I’ve used it to drive all kinds of set ups including MG-T2’s.
I thought Id add a bit of commentary for those considering an MT-G2 swap:
I compared the X7 on a long bike ride last night with my SRK (both simultaneously bar mounted). After running through 2 sets of cells in continuous high mode use, the driver survived the abuse. The host got quite warm after some time but not hot enough to burn skin. Id guess 130-140 F. This was observed while under way @15mph or greater.
My conclusions remain the same. The X7 with MT-G2 definitely has a brighter, wider and farther reaching beam than my 6.5A driven CW SRK. Color rendition is far superior and will make for a fantastic walk-about flashlight in the woods & while camping. As others have mentioned with other MT-G2 mods, this emitter does best as a medium to medium-long range flooder, and this fills that niche perfectly with the X7 (considering the size of the host, weight, driver amp level, heat sinking, battery efficiency, utility, beam profile and run time). Its spot on. If you want an all out thrower, go with a dedomed XM-L2 in this host or something else. With MT-G2, one thing I noticed right away is that the transition while viewing from the bright spill beam to the large spot beam is far easier on the eyes than other lights driven at this level. But for a bike light, the neutral tint just doesnt cut it. While at speed, a CW tint is still required for the sharpest contrast and least amount of eye strain in reading the surfaces that lay ahead on the trail, or for identifying targets at the farthest reaches of the beam. Im fine with that, which is why we all own more than one flashlight for different purposes.
While walking with the X7 outdoors, it gets hot after 15 minutes of continuous high mode use and I need to drop down to medium to cool off. Not bad considering 33 watts of power. 10 seconds after the light is turned on, heat can already be felt radiating through the head… a good thing. The copper mcpcb and lapped copper spacer disk I mounted underneath it, facilitate the thermal transfer. Considering the way the X7 reflector plays with the MT-G2, and that the stock driver runs the emitter right about in the upper sweet-spot, Im more than satisfied that this will abruptly end my search for a great MT-G2 light. Hopefully Trustfire will build this same light in the near future (with copper mcpcb). In the mean time, if you can find a great deal on an X7 (or already own one), I highly recommend the mod. Whatever you do, get rid of that awful SST-50!
For those interested:
For bike riding, my SRK rides with a remote pack of 9 x 18650 under the saddle and 4 more in the light (total 13 cells). My route usually takes around 2.5 hours to cover and I leave the light on high mode nearly the entire time. It nice arriving home and often finding cell voltages still above 4V… zero voltage sag for continuous high output. :bigsmile:
Thank you. Great info. I think you created a winner.
I’m curious about the riding and neutral white not being as good as CW. I haven’t tried riding at night (well on anything with pedals, that is), but I would think higher color rendition would help read the trail better and cause less eye strain. To me CW’s sometime render an almost 2 dimensional world. I see depth better with higher CRI light. I don’t doubt you and take it as truth. I just want to make sure that is what you meant to write.
@18sixfifty - I never did get into the larger Luminus emitters, although the SBT-70 looks like a real thrower with the correct reflector. But then we are looking around the +10A mark for any real performance, along with the associated thermal transfer challenges, huge host & a dozen cells (ala big Olight). Id rather go HID/remote pack if I go down that path again.
Something like this (8000 lumen): 8000 lumen 100 watt HID handheld spotlight conversion.
Lets hope LED technology gains much higher efficiencies or a better technology comes along soon.
@ImA4Wheelr - If the driver is the same as a TR-3T6, that would sure make mods a lot easier for those looking at 12.6V builds. If its not to much trouble, can you please get a tail current reading with 3 fully charged 18650’s with MT-G2?
Probably not anytime soon as the only genuine TR-3T6 driver I have is in a nicely finished light right now. I do have a few Manafont 3T6 drivers. I can try it with one of those, but I don’t know when I will get to it. I’ll report back.
The Trustfire Drivers usually have a model number. I think it will be under the toroidal inductor. Do you know what your driver had labeled on it?
Thanks! White tint (not blueish or greenish) provides the best contrast for target acquisition & recognition, even if it is low CRI. You can easily test this. Just take a few flashlights into a wide open space and quickly sweep the area. Your eyes should pick out far more details at further ranges with the whiter beams than ones of different tint, regardless of CRI. For this reason, I chose 1C for my LED searchlights and 4300K for HID. Also compare the farthest ranges while remaining stationary.
For slow beam sweeps, casual walking and stationary viewing, nothing beats the tint of your preference + high CRI. Thats all personal preference. Now, how to add a rotating turret system to swap emitters within the host while on the fly. hmm…
Yep, I think you do have the TR-3T6 driver in that beast. The photos in post 65 look like the same driver. That is hands down one of my favorite drivers. Can drive one or multiple parallel xml’s from 1 to 3 cells (maybe 4?). Can drive mgt2 with 2 to 3 cells. It’s tough. I know it has flashy modes, but it has good memory. I live in the woods and strobe is supposed to be good at scaring off predators. SOS can be handy out there too.
Have you noticed that different tints make seeing through fog or rain easier? I have a 20watt incan that runs off of three 18650’s that seems to cut through fog better than any light I have.
I guess I like neutral white and high cri so much I haven’t thought to notice what you have observed. I tend to not be in fast motion when handling a flashlight. I’m now going to pay attention. Thank you for the insights. They make sense.
LightMalls has it on special for $67.50 here: http://www.lightmalls.com/trustfire-x7-sst-50-5-modes-flashlight-3-18650. Cheapest I found so far, but most sources sell it with 3 cells at like $95 or so.
This is who I got mine from but VIA e-bay.