I bought a cheap C8 with a Q5 a while back, this thing has a pinpoint hot spot but it’s just not very bright. The reflector is plastic but well coated, the lens doesn’t seem to be all bad. The pill screws in and is fairly large but hollow. I de-domed the LED, actually more like the dome fell off when I tried to cut it with a razor. This did increase throw. I have no idea what driver is in it now, but it’s dim and only has one regulator.
So here are my questions. Am I wasting my time? What is the easiest way to get better heat sinking with the hollow pill? Should I have gone with a 2100mA driver? Does anyone have any idea what driver was in this thing? What can I expect with 1400mA and a XR-E Q5?
I would have gotten this XR-E R2 emitter: http://www.fasttech.com/products/1609/10001910/1137107, which seems to peak at about 2.45A. In theory this should be the top-of-the-line XR-E - I'm getting over 300 lumens on mine in an A60. Hard to say if you are wasting your time not knowing what the current driver is doing in amps - I think you should get an idea of what your current driver is putting out. If you have a capable DMM, take a tailcap measurement. By hollow, if you mean the star is mounted on it's edge and doesn't mount flat on a full flat surface of aluminum or brass, then it may be difficult going over 2 amps. Plastic reflectors are not necessarily all bad either, depends.
Thanks for the reply. The light I bought came with the Q5 so it’s what I have to work with. I thought about buying a new led and a new driver, but I figured I would try the new driver and see. Now of course I am waiting and wondering.
The star is flat with the pill, so that should be a good thing. I have left this light on high and it doesn’t get hot at all, so I am worried about it conducting heat. But then again it just might be so underdriven that it doesn’t heat up? I don’t know much about this as it’s my first driver swap.
EDIT, I have an A60 jacob hopefully on the way. It’s what gave me the idea to overdrive this Q5. However, I was worried about driving it too much because of the heat sinking.
I can’t say for sure, but the one I ordered from ebay was prety similar. I didn’t dedome it deliberately or otherwise (yet). I ordered the 1.4A driver form fasttech (just checked, not the same one - mine is 3-mode nanjg). It was a marked improvement over the stock driver. However, I wish I would have gone to 2.1A. Not sure if the switch would take that current, but it handles 1.4A just fine.
BTW, the tailcap reading with the original driver was about .47A on high. Pretty pathetic. Also, my pill is not hollow, so it is likely a different light. I can’t really give you any tips on increasing heatsinking.
Also, I did order a 2.8A driver and an XR-E R2 for some other trials. That may end up in there (with or without dome) if the switch can take it. If not, I’ll likely be looking at switches next.
Just my personal experiences. Sorry I couldn’t be more help.
Thanks. I’m not sure now if I know exactly what hollow pill means after the other reply. The pill screws in but won’t screw down into the light past the larger diameter place that holds the emiter. The star does fit flat with the pill.
I only just learned a couple days ago myself. Apparently, a hollow pill is more like a sleeve. A pill with a flat surface to which the LED is mounted is not hollow. At least that’s the way I understand it now.
Of course, having the pill completely solid, leaving only enough room to install the driver would make better heatsinking but it’s unrealistic — both for cost and for the sake of installing different drivers. Every driver would have to have a unique pill design. My light doesn’t get hot on high, but I have yet to do anything like an hour-long test with it. For the incidental use (and playing) it has gotten, I keep it turned on for only a few (maybe ten or fifteen) minutes. And usually high is a little extreme, so I go with low or med for most uses anyhow.
I only want to drive it harder because I want to see what it looks like. I’m new to this whole thing, so I want to see how different variables change things. Truthfully, the 3-mode 1.4A driver is plenty for my needs. I just wish I could have that same throw with a slightly smaller head…or at least a more streamlined design so it was easier to carry without worry of destroying it.
Oops, additional note. The driver is not a 3-mode driver per se. It is a 4 group, 2-5 mode driver. I selected the 3-mode option by linking one of the stars to the grounding ring as per the directions on fasttech.