What to do with a dysfunctional Romisen RC-T601 II XM-L U2

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
1

Been awhile since I posted(back in 2012) when I came looking for a recommendation on a budget 18650, you fine folks talked me into the Romisen RC-T601 II XM-L U2 which is the two mode model. lately I noticed only one mode is working, I can’t really tell which but its no brighter than my pocket EDC’s so I assume its on low.

It is my only 18650 light and although I am a lumen enthusiast I have few lights thanks to some great recommendations from the forums, I have only an oLight T10 which has been in my pocket every day for over two years,(Love it) and a nitecor MH1C, the other was the Romisen next to my bed to light up any spooky noises in the neighborhood, it got little usage other than things like that. Today my new EDC an oLight S10R Baton arrived which after doing a few beam comparisons I noticed the lack of modes.

So the question is, should I use this as a host to play around? or just keep it as is and count my losses and spend my money on a different host to enter the world of mods? I have several years of electronics training so I know my way around a soldering iron, just been too lazy, it has been on my mind to delve into it for years and figure now might be a good time.

I had read about driver replacement which I assume would be the avenue to start?? that is unless you think I should just forget it and read up on what you guys are already doing.

Thanks in advance.

2

What size (diameter) is the current driver?
Also which LED does the light have?

3

Doesn’t look like a bad light. Driver is probably going to be 20mm and not 17mm. Your easiest solution would be to use a 105C driver from mtnelectronics, mounted on a contact board. Alternatively you can strip the components from the original driver and use that as a contact board.

4

I’m guessing you bought it here
http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/StoreFront

You can always e-mail the owner and ask if he has an extra driver he can sell you.

5

yes, got it from shining beam.com thanks for the idea I will ask them as well.

The LED is XM-L U2
here are some photos and measurements. certainly not a safe queen any longer but none I will ever own will be. I believe in using them for what they are made for.

20.27936 MM

18.4404 MM

23.8506

19.9136 MM

6

The owner will be able to advise you, i’ve bought a light there and Bryan is a nice guy.

The measurement needed would be of the driver circuitry itself, but its soldered in place, you can measure it with the pointy top of your caliper, but the important thing is to figure out if its 17, 20mm or more, 17mm is the most common and can easily be replaced by a 105C/qlite driver which is the bread and butter of good BLF lights.

If its bigger then 17mm you can hunt down an adapter or get suggestions from other BLFers

Most BLFers have dozens of lights or more so the philosophy of light problems is a bit different (i get the impression you have just this light), lights are simple devices, consisting of LED, frame, circuitry and switch so troubleshooting is not hard. However if you would rather just order a new light there are many excellent options, if you want something similar please measure the diameter of the lens and we can advise you.

You can also upgrade the LED for a few more lumens, XM-L2 (newer) and XP-L (newest) are good options. Simple LED replacement consists of buying a new chip with the LED mounted, desoldering the old wires (which you have to do for driver replacement anyways) and replacing it with the new one. This is an excellent replacement LED
http://intl-outdoor.com/noctigon-xp16-v2-mcpcb-cree-xpl-v6-2c-led-p-832.html

It looks like you have a 20mm LED star, and the one i linked is a 16mm, the reflector should hold it in place once installed, or you can buy one on a 20mm star (sometimes there are slight fitment problems so i suggest go with the 16mm, there is no performance loss). As for the thermal grease i can see under your current one, there is no need to worry too much about it, you can recycle a bit of it if you want, if you don’t you won’t notice any real difference in performance (there is too much on there right now anyways).
http://intl-outdoor.com/noctigon-xp20-v2-mcpcb-cree-xpl-v6-2c-led-p-833.html

Replacing the LED may give you 20-30% more lumens, since human vision is not linear you wont notice the lumen increase unless your lighting a large area, indoors the extra brightness in the spot can be hard to see so factor that into any decision on whether or not to replace the LED.

Now its possible you have a switch problem or poor contacts, clean all lubricant and relubricate and see if that fixes the problem, and try using a paper clip instead of the switch cap and see if that fixes the problem before you buy new driver.

7

Thank you for the info. a little disassembly and sure enough it is a 20mm Star LED and 17mm driver.
I discovered one of the IC’s had a problem with leaky smoke. it should not be much trouble at all to get the parts. I will update if and when I decide its worth it. to be honest I think it will be fun and much cheaper than a new light.
I have plenty of good IMR high drain 18650’s I use with my vape mods. I need an excuse to place an order for a few more anyway might as well the driver and LED’s at the same time.

8

I would go for this driver, simple, reliable and bright (not sure what your current brightness is, but this is either the same or better, probably better

http://intl-outdoor.com/qlite-reva-71358-multiple-modes-circuit-board-304a-p-710.html

9

It looks like intl-outdoor does not have any batteries I would want to order, Mtm does so I thought I better make sure these are the same as you linked, (appeared to be to me)

http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=60_61&product_id=77

I will also be ordering 4 eFest 35amp batteries for my mods, because i know they work well and have seen what happens when a sub ohm gets out of control and watch a $150 custom Anatolian mod and dripper melt way for 15+ minutes, but these IMR’s act like nothing happened to them.
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_88&product_id=216

I do suspect that they are probably overkill for this light build.
i am thinking these ICR’s http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_88&product_id=302&sort=rating&order=DESC

or even these for a little less http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_88&product_id=396

would be better than the old Samsung and Panasonic laptop pulls I had been using in the lights (and in Vape Mod’s) before I started sub homing.

thoughts?

10

That is the same circuitry, but the LED is not as bright, but does show colours better, if you want more brightness i would get this chip instead
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=387&search=xp-l

The store is run by RMM (Richard), he is a member at BLF and has his own thread where you can ask questions

11

this is a really nice flashlight its C8 style ,in the one i had i installed a nanj with 15x7135 and xml2 on copper.great flashlight.

12

I thought I would provide an update. By the time I got around to placing my order the LED that Bort had recommended was out of stock so I just went ahead and ordered the only one of that style in stock, which was a ‘warm white’ version. I was not happy with it as it was more of a yellow color that reminded me of an old Rayovac bulb light, so I put the original XML U2 back and am very pleased.

I almost broke down and purchased a new light this week an Olight M2X Javelot M2X-UT known for its tight hot spot which is what I would am looking for. I am just not sure how much better the Olight is going to be compared to what I have now so I will probably just stick to what I have and save the money, after all this is the budget light forum.

Thanks to all for the help, I learned a lot but clearly there is much more to learn.

13

Which driver did you end up installing?

14

QLITE REV.A 7135*8 3.04A LED DRIVER - 17mm

  • Alternate Firmware: Flash Standard NLITE…
15

http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S023811

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/2015-Arrival-Free-Shipping-Nanjg-105E-AMC7135-x-8-MCU-3040mAh-4-Group-2-5-modes/809204_32259022955.html

16

So which LED chip did you end up not liking?
Most people prefer warmer whites but some do like the cooler whites

17

This is the only one that was in stock of that style. I probably should have checked back in here before ordering.
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=328&search=CREE+XP-L+U5+7A3+LED+on+Noctigon+20mm+MCPCB+-+80%2B+CRI

If it had not been so yellow looking it would of been ok.

18

Its a high CRI and very warm LED, at least now you know you don’t like warm tint light sources. Its about the same brightness as your XM-L U2, the high CRI means it makes colours look more realistic, someone made the observation that you want high CRI if your making a steak because you could never tell how cooked it is with a regular low CRI chip. Most complain below 80CRI that things don’t look natural, most high CRI chips are very warm, but not all, a high CRI neutral or cool white chip is rare.

19

Save that 3K warm white XP-L for a lantern, mule, or desk light mod …someday. The warm tint will work much better for this application.