my first build, any advice greatly appreciated

the problem is it just does not pop out!

I managed to get the stuck driver out from the head…

I think it was bad from the factory, it was pressed into its place with some serious force ( assuming from what it took to get it out)
the contact board got damaged a bit, but it still works. The current is not high, so it will be OK until my new driver arrives, but I will need to either repair this contact board or make a new one, it will not hold up to high currents in its current shape. But I had no other choice, I just could not take it apart ( I have LOADS of experience in taking delicate stuff apart, but this driver just could not be moved a bit)

Other than that it is OK.
I will take some beamshots in its bone stock form and then some after I have modded it.

Apart from that, I emailed the Mountain Electronics about the current draw of a stock LCK driver and a FET driver. This is their reply:
Jan, the LCK-LED driver is actually pretty good and you won’t see much of an increase from it. From the stock driver it would be a big increase, but from the 5A LCK-LED you will probably only see about 1A-1.5A difference.

Richard

which makes me really dithery…
is it worth it? Or not???

Both are great drivers. I have the LCK in mine at the moment. The stock driver on my j19 was about 1A per emitter. The LCK will give about 5A per emitter. The low resistance FET on the FET driver will squeeze some extra current from the cells on high. It will drain your cells faster on high, but Richard can give you as many modes as you want at whatever current levels you wish.

If you’ve already ordered an LCK driver, go with it. Six months from now if you want a different driver, it’s just a little project.

The bottom of your stock driver looked a little different than mine. I’m sure it will still be fine to use as a contact board. Hacking it up a bit shouldn’t make any difference. Take a picture of the driver.
You didn’t say whether you pulled the reflector yet. Did you see the screws that hold it in?

I think I will make a new contact board. I have loads of those fibreglass copper-plated PCB boards, so making one should not be a problem. I think I will use that old driver somewhere else ( it would be sick to mount it on one of my rc trucks and use 3 xml-2 leds left from this flashlight, I dont think I will need them in the J19 when my xml2s on noctigons arrive :D)

I already have an LCK driver on the way somewhere between America and Slovakia. I actually ordered it before knowing what a FET driver is. And after realizing I would gain only an amper more or so for the leds, I dont think I really need it now. I dont like keeping redundant stuff. Using the FET driver would also mean more tinkering with my protected cells to rid them of protection circuits… I will buy a FET driver and new unprotected cells when these go south.

I did not take the whole head apart yet. Since I still dont have the new driver and the leds on noctigons and a good thermal glue, I did not want to disassemble it to pieces. I also did not want to let dust or some dirt get into the reflector. But I saw the 2 screws you mentioned, so taking it apart when all parts arrive should not be a problem.

this is the driver. It took some punishment when I tried to take it apart. It might be different to yours. There is also no big spring like you or johnny mac or sixfifty had. The big spring on the right is not in my flashlight

my driver- the cables are short, so I could not take better pictures




Now that I see it, it looks like the same driver as mine. I’m surprised it was pressed in so tight, mine almost fell out by itself. If you’ve got circuit board, you’re all set for contact boards. I hope your driver doesn’t take too long to arrive.

all 32650 batteries have arrived, the driver and the leds are still on the way.
Now I need some good thermal glue to mount the leds. What is the best thermal glue?
And would mixing a thermal glue with copper powder like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/50-grams-Analytical-reagent-grade-copper-metal-powder-element-sample-99-8-pure-/271422906923?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f3210e22b make some difference? Copper particles should enhance the heat transfer right? But is it necessary in my light?

There are all kinds of arguments about the thermal properties of adhesives and pastes. On single emitter lights that the reflector centers itself on the LED I use Arctic Silver Paste. On multi-Emitter lights where you need to center and stabilize (glue down) all the LEDs before you wire it up, I just use Fujik Adhesive. Some will tell you that it’s thermal abilities are not the greatest, but when you are pushing the emitters at 5A, the heat moves where it wants…fast. I haven’t had any problems, and I can feel the heat outside the head immediately. I paint the underside of the MBPCPB with a thin layer and tighten down the reflector and bezel so it squeezes it tight…leave for a day.
If you have to remove a dead emitter, it is easier to remove than thermal epoxy.
I save my copper dust and have mixed it with Fujic to attach copper rounds to my pills, but have never used it with MBPCBs. You don’t need it, better to have only a very thin thermal layer between the Noctigon and the pill.

I’ve never seen copper dust online before though, thanks for the link.

this one should be even better, it is from Germany and costs even less than the chinese powder I linked first :smiley: http://www.ebay.com/itm/99-50-Kupferpulver-copper-powder-7440-50-8-45-m-325mesh-vom-Fachhandler/251613610419?\_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&\_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D24901%26meid%3D5e6f9df9609b4ae5af1472fbff8a8648%26pid%3D100033%26prg%3D10502%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D271422906923

Which thermal glue should I buy? I think I need a thermal glue that is not epoxy based, but more like silicon. So that I do not damage anything should I need to remove it. ( I will also use it in other applications) Are there any except for the Fujik? I do not orientate on the market well, ebay churns out too many results when I search for it… I dont need brand top end stuff, just something decent that will do the job without damaging circuit board during removal

https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10000468/1049304-fujik-heatsink-silicone-thermal-glue-50ml

It doesn’t really matter what thermal paste you use, just lap the pill and noctigon so you use as little thermal paste as possible. Most people prefer Arctic Alumina.

Since he’ll be wiring up three emitters, he really should use adhesive, not paste. Trying to line up and center three emitters with wires attached that are not already secured by adhesive can be an unnecessary nightmare.

bad news: one 32650 cell does not work. It has even negative charge- –0,17V
Are DX good at warranty issues?

Perhaps the protection circuit is tripped.

To reset a batteries protection you need to hook it up to a good (non-tripped) cell. Only do this for about a second.

As as a last resort, you could remove the protection altogether and see if it will take a charge.

Resetting it did not help. I have already contacted DX, hope it will get solved soon. I dont want to remove the protection, because all the other batteries are protected, so I would have to do the same on them too.

a new battery from DX has arrived.
I made a contact board for a new driver. It looks really ugly :D, but should do the job.
But I am still waiting for the XML-2 LEDs on noctigons. It is really annoying to be limited not by your already extremely limited free time, but by shipping…

still waiting for the XML 2 emitters on noctigons. The seller did not respond to a paypal dispute, so I have escalated the claim to the paypal. That should speed the things up a bit!

this seller http://www.intl-outdoor.com has been ignoring me and all he does is play a dead bug for over a month! All I want now is to unleash the PayPal on him, so that I can get my money from July 29th!!! In the meantime, where can I buy similar XML2 leds on copper stars? I have already given up the idea of getting them from the Outdoor Store!

BTW, will I see some improvement with an AR coated lens? My longterm plan is to unlock the true power of this flashlight. I want to buy a FET driver, unprotected cells or remove protection from these ones, and an AR coated lens when the current driver or batteries die just to reach its full potential.

There is a measure able difference but you would likely only notice it by switching back and forth quickly between them. The human eye sees increased output on a logarithmic scale so a few percent difference is hard to see.

Yes I know that, but small details negligible on their own, make a difference when upgraded and fixed at the same time. The FET driver will increase current from roughly 5A to ±6,2A per led. Adding the AR lens will add up to 10% of the total output on top of that, so the change SHOULD be visible. I asked a few people about the difference after the driver change, and they all said it is a visible difference. Almost all high end light have AR coated lenses, so it SHOULD have some effect worth the effort. I do not expect a huge increase in the power, but a noticeable improvement. A lens is not that expensive after all. But I am no expert, and since I do not plan on having multiple lights, I will most certainly buy one AR lens just to see how much it changes the output. I always like to use the full potential of toys I have. I just like doing things properly :slight_smile:
Or is it really pointless? Any personal experience???

An AR lens is NEVER pointless. :slight_smile:

I ordered from Intl-outdoors many many times and never got a delay, sorry to hear that.

If you need them shipped fast, try mtnelectronics.com.

As for the thermal adhesive, I used arctic alumina on my lights, it works good.

By the way have you installed the BLF driver yet?