Another TR-J19 Mod: 3 x XM-L2 @ 5A per Emitter

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
1

I know the TR-J19 has been reviewed and modded by other members already, so here's another mod anyway.

You cannot really grasp how enormous this light is from looking at pictures, it's awesome, and built like a high end light.

Here it is beside a FandyFire/LusteFire 3XML. I used to think that light was obscenely big, but the TR-J19 dwarfs it.


I purchased it with modding in mind. The stock driver put out just over 1A per emitter.

So...let's get this over with.

The stock XMLs were on 16mm aluminum MCPCBs so I replaced them with XM-L2 U2 1A on 20mm Noctigons. I had to file down one edge so they would fit.


Everything was wired up with 20AWG 19 strand Teflon wire.

I used an LCK 5A 3 mode driver. The building and mounting of the contact board and driver is well notated in my DIY Tutorial thread.


This light has a weird set-up for the driver mount. There is an odd shaped spring locked between two nylon discs in the retaining ring that press down on the drivers battery in pad. It is not soldered onto it. Also there is another large spring that presses against the ground ring. I really don't know why it's there


I discarded one of the nylon bushings and the large spring that doesn't do anything. I then soldered copper braid to the board and soldered down the spring.

I like double copper braid on my springs. This is how I do mine. If there is an attached spring, I remove it first, solder down the braid, and then thread it up through the spring. Then I solder down the spring.


Okay. That's all installed and tested. Everything is working fine. I still don't know why they bothered with that cheap large spring. If anything, it would keep the retaining ring from making good contact. I'm glad I chucked it.


Since this is a hobby, I like to take a little extra effort withe the tailcap.

This light has one of those brass spring caps, but when I removed it, it was solid 1cm thick brass. I always like a copper connection, so I drilled a hole through the center of the cap. That took me a lot of time with my dremel.


I flooded the hole and the end of a copper rod with liquid flux, inserted the rod into the hole and hit it with heat and solder. I chopped off the rod and filed it down flush. A nice copper core.


After the spring is double braided, this is how it will fit together after it is in its collar. The end of the copper rod will jam into the top of the braided spring. I don't know if the results are worth the effort, but I don't mind doing it.

(The light came with an Omten switch)


I guess that's about it.

With three Sony US26650VT I'm getting a tail reading of:

High - 5.02A (per emitter)

Med - 1.35A

Low - 0.15A

I thought I might get higher than 5.A Per emitter. The exact same 4.5A version from IOS goes into direct drive on high. I'm wondering if this one is staying in regulation?

The J-19 and Tangsfire/Lustefire have pretty much the same diameter reflectors, but the J-19s is a lot deeper, giving it a smaller, tighter hotspot. I'll have it out tonight. It looks like it might be one hell of a thrower.

This torch is so massive, I had to order three Trustfire unprotected 32650s for it. They should arrive this week.

I just couldn't get a good picture to represent the depth of the J-19 reflectors.


And as always with my show off lights, I capped it with my signature "clear" bootcap.

THE END


2

Very nice. Seeing all these multi emitter mods makes me want to get one.

3

Holy cow that light is huge, I love it, can I send you mine to do, hehe. J/k

4

very nice Mod!

thanks for showing!!!

5

Can’t wait to see the beamshots!

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Nice effort. Looking forward to the comparison shots. What batteries do you have on order?

7

Trustfire unprotected 32650.

I don’t know about beamshots. All I have is an ipad, and it tends to make them all look the same. It also gets all mixed up trying to focus controlled light at distances. It can’t decide whether to focus close or far.

8

Ouchy - the last Super Shocker I did (couple weeks ago), I used an old IOS 4.5A driver and found it was current limiting! I know the earlier 3.5A drivers were not. So, I simply jumpered the resistors, then that got her opening wide to 6.2A or so -- highest amps I ever got in a Super shocker.

Ohh! Exc. mod by the way. Always wanted to do a J19, and those copper mods are real nice. Shouldn't have to worry about melted springs for sure.

9

Yikes! I’ll have to try that. I hope the resistors are on the top, because the bottom of this one is mounted in Fujik.

I have a few of those IOS 3.5A drivers that I’ve never used.
I’ll PM you if I need help locating them. (Resistors)

10

They are underneath, unfortunately. There's a pile of them. The older 3.5A drivers seemed to not need the jumpers though.

11

Thanks Tom. I’m not crying about only 5A per emitter. It’s kind of nice having a really nice light that can be made even nicer when I’m out of projects. I got some more 5A drivers in the mail today. I’ll compare them to the 3.5A ones, see if there’s something different.

12

Did not realize how much I needed a J19 until right now. That is a truly beautiful and massive light. Great mod too!

13

It’s dark and I just took it outside for a test. Wow. This thing can really throw!
With the deep reflectors and all that horsepower, this thing can really move some light.

14

Nice mod. I love the J-19 most bang for your buck of all the large head mutli-emitters possibly just the best. It is huge though. But still it’s easier to carry than the Shocker simply because the weight is balanced. It does actually weigh slightly more than a shocker but not a lot.

15

Btw, lately I've been getting just the Shocker as a host for $75 shipped from RIC. Just add emitter/stars and a driver - perfect setup for modding. It does carry like a Thor hammer though. I still don't own one...

16

That’s good to know.

17

I haven’t gotten around to modding my shocker. I haven’t had it apart yet.
Tom. I see you grind down some of the reflector. Is it that close, or is that done mostly for dedomed emitters?

18

How do the reflector / reflector wells compare Btu vs J19 vs the tk70 clone (roughly is fine, don’t need measurements, just curious).

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When you say “wells”, do you mean the depth of the reflectors? If so, I just pulled out my shocker to see, and the reflector depth of the TR-J19 seems to be the same as the shocker. The diameter of the shockers reflectors are larger though.
I haven’t seen my shocker since I bought it. I forgot how cumbersome it is.

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Well the bottom of the reflector is completely flat, so been grinding out indents for the wire connections, since the stock wires are thinner - price to pay for thicker better wires.