TR-J19 modded

On the other side, is it possible that the DRY driver doesn’t deliver REAL high current in DD? As JohnnyMac mention that he measured only 3.28A at the tail, is this where the problem is?

it always has done in the past, I’ve got a couple now (one none step down model). but thats besides the point.

the 3.2a tail current is at 12v, I’m not sure its the same as emitter current, but even if it is, it still comfortably puts those three xm-l2’s over 3a with better than average heat sinking.

How many amps are you seeing on the tail of your light gords1001, and are all/both springs copper braided?

Amps on the tail should be the same as emitter amps. The voltage of the 3 batteries in series are divided on 3 emitters since they are wired in series.

If the driver is proper direct drive on turbo without lots of resistance, the batteries are good, and there is not a lot of resistance somewhere, amps on fresh batteries should have been much higher than 3,3A, and OTF lumens should also be higher.

Do you know exactly which driver he used?

LOL...darn you guys! You've taken all the wind from my sails. :p

Now I have to figure out why this giant is refusing to wake up. All your help and suggestions are very helpful. Please keep them coming. :)

Sorry JM, there was no intention to take away all the wind from you sails. Just wanted you to have a light that lives up to its potential and what you probably modded it for. :)

Tom-E normally uses this driver since its direct drive when using 3 cells in series and 3 emitters in series.

Maybe try your light without the driver circuit. Test proper direct drive and see what kind of lux and amps you get in comparison. If its the same, I would double check resistance between batteries and the driver..

Edit: Before doing that, do you have another set of batteries you could try it with. Just in case you have a bad cell or something..

I’m not doing tail current tests at the moment, I’ve been getting too many wonky readings and until I figure out why, its not going to be helpful.

I can try with the clamp meter tonight if need be though,

johnny, do all you king kongs drop right through the battery sleeve without interference? And is there definitely some resistance when screwing the tail cap on?

for those who’ve not seen the guts of this light, everything is HUGE I sleeved some 18650 cells into it to test and they wouldn’t reliably run it, the plungers are almost the size of an 18650 so those puny cells don’t work so well lol

Sorry for my discourtesy JohnnyMac, but you’ve actually done a great job there with those assembling and cooper-braid-ing etc, I will need to refer to your work if I happen to try my hand on modding this J19 in the future. :slight_smile:

Yes as RaceR86 pointed out that’s the driver that Tom E used for his Shocker mod. Note that though it is written as 4.5A in IOS website but members here reported that it is actually DD in high mode, which is varying in between 5~6A. Also the contact board that comes with it is about 1mm smaller than the DRY driver.

Yes, Graham, they all drop right in with no resistance at all. The adapter sleeve is perfect on mine except for being @10mm too short and sliding front to back if you shake the light hard the same way.

There is also resistance when screwing the tailcap on. The switch plunger is definitely pressing against the back of the last cell. Tonight when I get home I will swap the KK for my TF Flame 26650 and see what happens with them with output.

I checked the tailcap resistance this morning while eating my breakfast. Resistance in the switch is just 0.1mohm. As a comparison I checked the body of my CQG S2 and with the leads about 3" apart (no tailcap joint in the mix) the resistance was 0.2mohms. I would have to say there is no contributing resistance in the tail section. I think tonight I will put a piece of 20awg wire in the anode spring as well to ensure no resistance from the driver spring. I had one when I first modded the light but that was before I change the spring from a floating design to being soldered directly to the driver contact plate.

Other that those things I can't imagine what else could possibly be causing the lower than expected output. Let me just add, so you are aware of another possible cause for low tailcap readings, my test leads are stock 3ft leads made of 24awg wire. They have been pretty spot on in the past with single emitter lights but may have too much resistance for this light.

Here is another calculation for those who feel the OTF lumens are low for 3.28A at the tail.

dedomed OTF lumens = 2215

Add back 25% that is lost by dedoming = 2768.75

Add another 20% lost by the reflector and uncoated glass = 3322.5 emitter lumens or 1107 lumens per emitter. Frankly this sounds just about spot on for 3.28A

I really feel that the less than expected output is due to the driver and/or anode spring resistance which will be addressed in short order. I'm also ordering that driver from Intl-Outdoor. Hopefully it arrives before FCW10 but I'm not holding my breath.

No need to apologize and no discourtesy seen from my end at all, Bibihang. :wink: I was only joking about the wind being taken from my sails.

I truly appreciate everyone's suggestions and encourage even more. This was posted originally by me not so much as bragging rights but as an example of a fantastic and inexpensive alternative to lights costing twice as much and not performing half as well. We are all here to share our knowledge and learn from one another. It's what makes places like this so wonderful! :hat:

As for the I-O driver being smaller than the DRY, it is of no issue. The DRY is smaller than the original driver anyway and had to be fujik'd to the back of the original driver anyway.

amps is amps.. If you can easily measure 4-5 amps then there is no reason why you should have issues here just because the voltage is higher.. Its not really a big deal if your reading is 0,1A too low either..

I was not one of those questioned you OTF vs amps numbers (,although I do think 25% loss because of de-doming sounds a bit high compared to what I have read some places..) The issue is that both your amps and OTF are low. I would worry more if you saw 4amps and only 2215 OTF. ;)

Improving the resistance in a stock driver spring can do a lot in a setup like this.. (And so can freshly charged batteries) Fingers crossed you will find some hidden oomph! :)

I know you didn’t question the output vs amps. I thought my output (and amps) was low but the still brilliant output (no pun intended) makes me giggle like a school girl when I fire it up. The cells were/are freshly topped off when I tested. I will test again with different cells, then again after I mod the driver spring some more. Something has to be causing resistance. I just need to keep trying.

Great Job on this mod!! Those are very good #'s. I'm really thinking of getting one of those now.

I'm not a fan of the DRY driver for several good reasons. If you could have gotten an IOS or LCK-LED driver in there, you would definitely get more amps out of it, though something else may be stressed - tailcap switch, etc. Here's the issues with the DRY driver:

- seems to have/add resistance, quite a bit

- short timed turbo mode (don't tell me you can't handle the heat, I'll decide that! Smile)

- poor PWM's on low and med

Of course at $13 or so, the IOS driver is pricey, and it's 2 board design is awkward - usually I replace the wires with heavier gauge separating the board, and you need to thermally insulate the components. Overall, the IOS driver is more a PIA, but, wow - it's super low resistance and can produce crazy amps!

Yes - +1 with the other issues raised above as well. Just trying to help JM Smile. Still, this light has more potential than I previously thought, so it's all good. It's a 90%-95% Shocker, with a much better power source (26650 or 32650's).

I've seen/measured 20% typical loss for de-doming, many times. Sometimes I saw 15% loss, but still suspect it was really 20%. 25% is bit high to rate the loss at - if so, could be focusing issues.

Are you guys talking about this driver from ios?

Yep - same as LCK-LED 5A driver - one with the same looks.

Thanks, Tom! I have the IOS driver on order and will be swapping it in shortly after it arrives in my grubby mitts.

How do the reflectors and total heatsinking mass on this compare to the BTU Shocker? This seems like it could be a comparable option in a different format. Tempting too, considering the price. Another big investment but 26650/32650 batteries seem like they could potentially bring a lot more runtime to a power hungry (or capable :slight_smile: ) light like this.

I can see me getting one of those drivers in mine too, I’ve used three of them now and I do love them to bits, yes their pricey and can be a pain in the ass size wise, but its well worth it when you do get them in and running, the mode spacing is dammed useful too.

JohnnyMac, just humour me and try removing the emitter locators and retesting before you pull anything else apart, see if it helps.

The J-19 is about 2 ounces heavier than the Shocker without batteries. so they are pretty close in weight.