Well, you can do the zener mod to a Doc Jones driver - have to buy Richard's kit and do it yourself though. Was wondering if Richard will go into biz with the doc to provide his drivers. Richard is far quicker than the doc - it would be nice for us in the states.
Some good news and some bad news. Good news: I have finally been able to make some serious headway on the custom build backlog. Look for your order to ship soon, if it hasn't already! I now have two soldering stations and some new tools which have allowed me to speed up build times considerably.
Bad news: I don't quite know what is going on with the driver shipment, which also contains the MT-G2 LEDs and much more. It shipped before the Chinese New Year via DHL, which usually takes about 3-4 days, but there have been no status updates over the past 3-4 days which leads me to believe that something is going on with the shipment. I apologize for the delay, I really hate being out of drivers as it is the essential cornerstone of most of our flashlight builds. I have enough drivers committed for the outstanding custom builds but no more to sell. The "Super" XinTD V4 builds can still be ordered since there is already a driver in the light.
Thanks everyone for your support!
P.S. I built an S3 triple this week with some XP-G2 5A1 LEDs that I reflowed... wow what a nice tint! I really like it a lot. I think that I may have to build one for myself like this someday! I really like my 5B1 XM-L2 and this is just as nice, but with a lot more power!
Nice! A triple xpg2 in that tint must be amazing in both output and color rendition. I am also a big fan of the tints in the 5 region and actually have a 5A1 tint coming from you. How does the 5A1 compare to the 5B1?
It seems to be slightly more red/pink than the 5B1, which appears a little more orange/yellow in comparison. I'm not sure what the rated CRI is, but everything looks very nice to my eyes.
OK, here are some preliminary battery tests. I only ran up to 15 minutes this time, and this setup has a lot of extra resistance in it even though I am using heavy gauge wires. I have seen markedly HIGHER amps out of actual flashlights than in this setup, but it does give some indication. The next test I do will be with a hopped up BTU Shocker and with an actual XM-L2 in a single-cell flashlight. I do expect that the results will show higher overall amps for all of the cells in an actual flashlight.
Test setup:
- XM-L U2 1A on 20mm Noctigon, on a large copper/aluminum heatsink
- qlite with 14 7135s (approximately 5 amps)
- measurements taken from driver input (not LED amps)
| Cell Type | Start Voltage | End Voltage |
| 20R | 4.22 | 3.64 |
| PF | 4.21 | 3.75 |
| B | 4.22 | 3.82 |
| E1 | 4.33 | 3.86 |
| D1 | 4.33 | 3.86 |
A few thoughts:
- The 20R definitely has the lowest resistance and highest output potential, but when you look at the end voltage it is pretty well drained after only 15 minutes
- The NCR18650B seems to live up to its capacity rating, but at the cost of lower overall output
- The NCR18650PF does very well overall, but begins to lose to the 4.35v cells at the 11+ minute mark
- The 4.35v cells seem like they will really edge out everything else after the 11 minute mark, judging from HKJ's charts they are much better vs. the 4.2v cells in voltage sag as they become more discharged. We will see if additional testing bears this out.
For the 20R and PD/PF cells, those findings closely mimick what I’m seeing with my builds. I’ve found the PD to get higher initial amps in a light than the above chart, but their ability to hold the V longer holds true. I have a particular light that pulls 5.98A from 20R’s, and the same 5.98A from PD’s. Initial lumens output is slightly higher in the 20R’s, but then drops below the PD’s in less than 30 seconds and comes out far behind in longer tests. This is in a 2 cell configuration, in single cell use the 20R’s are almost untouchable for sheer output numbers and as one of the lower capacity cells runtimes cannot be expected to hold up like the other cells. When it comes to blasting out sheer volume, nothing I’ve found can compete with the 20R, well, except maybe a Powerizer 26650.
Dale, your change of avatar is tripping me out! I'm so used to seeing the old one!
Maybe I should have explained the test setup better: I always see lower peak amps with this setup than I do in an actual flashlight. I'm not sure if it's because the emitter stays so cool or because of all the extra wiring (even though it's 18 AWG), but I often test a driver with a PF in this setup and it will only pull 4.4 amps or so but then it will do 4.9+ in an actual light. That's why I need to do another test with an actual light.
Richard, any word on the XinTD with MT-G2 build? or was that something I just dreamed that you said.
Are you going to get other bins of MT-G2's? Like 4000k range?
I got the Super Xin TD as a gift for someone. more convenient than making it.
oh wow... I see the Xtar VP2 charger is in. I'm ordering it.
All your pictures on the site help. thanks. Nice addition with the gift Vouchers and site Specials
Now I know his scheme give some killer deals and service, get me hooked on the good stuff and now I am addicted! Well I’m glad somebody else found this out also but I got news for you Richard I was already addicted! Lol just kidding you are doing a great job by offering the customer service that you have been doing it’s so much better than dealing with emails that some times get answered and sometimes don’t from the majority of Chinese vendors
1. You didn't dream it... or maybe you did? Well anyways, I have had plans for this for a while, just waiting on parts now. I have been testing mine for over a month and I think it's pretty great. I am also working on one more addition for this driver (possible low-voltage stepdown / protection).
2. If there is demand for them then I'm sure I can procure something 
Is that the Zenar mod with step down for MTG2? I’m interested in getting that driver if you can get to make some of those. In a perfect world, you could make those and include DrJones’s programming.
That would be nice. Step down and low voltage protection on a 17mm driver for MTG2. Would make compact MTG2 flashlights much more practical and safer.
I probably have the smallest MT-G2 light out there, and I can safely say that compact and MT-G2 are not words that go well together. Like a 600HP V8 in a VW Bug. Air cooled. Oh sure! What a blast, until the wheels fall of it. Or the engine blows heads into the back seat. Or the makeshift driveshaft twists and comes through the cabin with the driver.
Yeah, I did it, I put one in a chopped AA minimag. yeah, it’s cool, er, hot, um, well you know… not practical.
Rebate Offer:
These offers are good from 2/2/14 until 2/9/14.
Here are the offers:
Buy either the XTAR MC0 or MC1 together with any battery sold on the website and receive a $0.75 rebate
Buy either the XTAR XP4, VP1, or VP2 together with any battery sold on the website and receive a $7 rebate
Buy the XTAR WP2s together with any battery sold on the website and receive a $5 rebate
Buy the XTAR SP1 together with any battery sold on the website and receive a $3 rebate
The rebate will be given as a refund to your PayPal account after the order is completed at the time the order ships.
No limit to number of rebates as long as there are at least as many batteries as chargers in the order.
P.S. No luck yet on the zener mod low-voltage... but eventually we will get it figured out if it is possible. Been working with JonnyC and some of his awesome programming skills and we're going to hopefully get it figured out, with a little bit of trial and error!
Any new news on the restocking of the 7135’s? Do you have any more of the Goot Wick braid coming?
P.S. No luck yet on the zener mod low-voltage… but eventually we will get it figured out if it is possible. Been working with JonnyC and some of his awesome programming skills and we’re going to hopefully get it figured out, with a little bit of trial and error!
Dude, I’m happy you provide MTG2 driver. Very stoked that you are working on more.
Zener mod low voltage is gonna be a bear. Reducing voltage makes the chips absorb and burn more of the difference, causing overheating and quite possibly failure.
Good luck with that one! Maybe there’s a different way to set it all up, I wouldn’t know anything about that.
We're not talking about reducing the working voltage, just about getting the low voltage warning (ramp down) and shutoff working, which should make it easier for some to use the unprotected cells.
No ETA on 380mA 7135s or solder wick.
Ah! That WOULD be nice! So far I haven’t run one long enough to have hit those levels, but to have it there in the background would indeed be a nice safety margin.
Keep on keepin on!
Hey Richard any news on the driver shipment and XP-G2 butterfly gaskets?
Thanks