Ok, I got some resistors today.
R68 and R82 - they are 1/4 watt
R680 and R820 - They are 1/2 watt
All are the same dimensions and all are 1%. I would think I should use the 1/2 watt. Correct?
Cool! Sounds like a nice mod. The J12 I modded is for manxbuggy1 and it's all packed, shipping today.
Oh - with the 3 cells, it's a nice 3.95A at the tail, but with 2 cells (TF 5000's), the tailcap amps went nuts - over 9 amps. Actually all 5 modes still worked, bright as hell initially (5,200+ lumens), but it loses output fast and dramatically, so it's not very stable.
OL - I'd check your mod for the 2 cell setup, in case the eventual winner wants to use it in the shorty 2 cell format. Stiil with this simple mod, it's a great give-away.
I got 2 J18's, got the 2nd for $45 from WallBuys I believe. Really like the look and small form factor of these lights. Would be cool with 2 cells, but definitely better using 3 with these resistor mods.
Apologies for the old thread resurrection. Does anyone have any idea how to simply remove all the modes from this driver and leave it as high only?
I don’t need to increase current, just avoid crazy flashing modes.
There’s discussion about how to do so on a similar-ish circuit here but my electrical knowledge are unfortunately not enough to transfer that to this driver.
I finally decided to risk trial and error bridging contacts. I tried a few that didn’t work, then destroyed the 8-pin component to the left of the ‘U1’ marking on the 2nd picture. So it would be great if there was a way of getting it to work single mode without that bit!
Also, if there isn’t a way of getting this working again now then does anyone have a link for the old KD ‘beast’ driver that people used to swap into this light? I can’t seem to find it anymore.
Modes are generally done by design in the hardware, or by PWM control in the firmware. So normally, you can't do what you want without a whole new driver. The firmware or MCU can't be updated or replaced so easy, and a driver replacement is difficult these days for this type of light. It's an odd combo of 2-3 cells and 5 LED's.
Looks like KD still has the driver for it though: http://www.kaidomain.com/p/S023794.5-LED-Series-1-Mode-Low-Voltage-Protection-for-Two-li-ion-Battery-Circuit-Board
Thanks, I’ve been trying to find that driver on KD for a while now, but the old links seem to be dead.
Yeah, I expected the PWM and flashing would probably in the firmware, but seeing as I don’t want to modify any on/off switching, but instead entirely remove it, I thought I may be able to bypass any switching controllers but still make use of the boost circuit itself in a single mode, a bit like they did in that other thread and how you can do with a nanjg linear circuit.
Do you not think that would work with this one? If not I’ll end up ordering the ‘beast’ driver, but I’ve read quite a few reports of that one’s unreliability and at $20 I’d rather repurpose what I have if possible as I’m happy with the output as is.
I looked through the CPF thread but couldn't find anything they did. Any clues where in the thread? Post #? Sometimes there can be tricks you can find, dunno.
Posts 7 and 8 seem to work out a way to cut out the modes:
I’ve found this driver too which seems to be suitable for the TR-J12: http://www.lck-led.com/26mm-3000ma-driver-modes-p-962.html
Do you think it is exactly the same as the three mode KD version? Or might it be better quality?
Ohhh, ok. thought you wanted 1 mode? The KD one I linked is 1 mode, but with LVP. If somehow that jumper method could be worked out, I think it eliminated all MCU control, so no more LVP, for example. It's probably the same driver at LCK-LED, but different firmware and/or hardware tweaks. Weird the LCK-LED says 5, 7, or 9 LED's while the KD has a different driver for each setup. Maybe you have to specify the option when ordered, or configure the driver yourself.
Yeah, I think it is the same hardware at least so will probably go for the slightly cheaper KD version.
I’d like one mode for the stock driver (and am not too fussed about LVP if it takes losing that), as that runs at only about 1.5A per LED. The KD one is significantly higher power though so I’d need a lower mode on that one.
Do you have any idea how I could apply that ‘jumper method’ to the driver in this thread? I can see components that look similar but am not sure which exactly to bridge or where to move the wire to.
Also, do you know if the KD driver has memory, or always starts in low/high?