JETBeam RRT01 519A sm573 dedomed emitter swap

Here is a photo tutorial of swapping and dedoming a Nichia 519A sm573 5700K emitter into a JETBeam RRT01.

I finally dedomed a 519A emitter. Fans of 519A emitters were right! The beam looks much nicer with the dome removed.

Cheule created an excellent video tutorial: “Flashlights 101: Emitter Swapping a Flashlight”. I found it extremely helpful in terms of figuring out how to open up an RRT01 without damaging it.

Parts used

  • JETBeam RRT01
  • Nichia 519A sm573 5700K from Convoy
  • Leaded Solder Paste
  • Solder
  • Thermal paste

Tools used

  • Circlip Pliers
  • Soldering iron
  • UYUE 946-1010 hot plate
  • Isopropyl alcohol
  • Tweezers
  • Feather razor blade
  • Q-tips
  • Paper towel
  • Digital Multimeter
  • PanaVise PAN201

Steps

1. Unscrew the bezel with circlip pliers.
519A sm573 emitters
Bezel and lens removed

2. Dump the glass lens, o-ring, reflector and gasket out of the head.
Gasket removed

3. Remove the screws from the MCPCB.
Remove screws from the MCPCB.
Screws removed from the MCPCB.

4. Desolder the wires from the MCPCB.
Desolder wires from the MCPCB

5. Remove the MCPCB from the head.
MCPCB removed

6. Clean thermal paste off the shelf of the head and the MCPCB using isopropyl alcohol.
Clean MCPCB

7. Place the MCPCB on a hot plate and heat up to 210 C. Remove the emitter with tweezers.
MCPCB on hot plate

8. Take the MCPCB off the hot plate. Emitter removed

9. Add solder paste to the pads.
Solder paste added

10. Place a Nichia 519A sm573 emitter on the pads with the dot in the corner oriented toward the negative side of the MCPCB.
Emitter added

11. Place the MCPCB on a hot plate and heat up to 210 C. Take the MCPCB off and place it on a heat resistant surface. Tap the emitter with tweezer handles to make the emitter squeeze excess solder out to the sides. The emitter should bounce back into the centre of the pads. Once cool, remove solder balls from around the side.
Heat up MCPCB

12. Test the emitter by connecting probes from a digital multimeter to the MCPCB’s anode and cathode while in diode test mode. The emitter should light up.
Test the emitter

13. Remove the dome of the emitter by pinching it with your fingernails. There is a glass lens under the dome that must remain on.
Dedome

14. Carefully clean excess dome off by using a razor blade. You only want to remove the dome from above the square glass lens sitting on top of the phosphor so that the beam does not have any marks.

15. Add thermal paste the shelf of the head and to the back of the MCPCB.
Thermal paste added

16. Place the MCPCB back in the head. Screw the MCPCB down to spread the thermal paste.
MCPCB inserted into the head.

17. Solder the wires back onto the MCPCB.
Wires soldered.

13. Add the gasket around the emitter. Insert the bezel. Insert the o-ring. Insert the glass lens. Screw the bezel back on.
Emitter swapped.

And the emitter swap is done!

519A sm573 swapped

CCT, CRI, duv

I have taken Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) and Colour Rendering Index (CRI, RA of R1-R8) measurements with the torch positioned half a metre away from an Opple Light Master Pro III (G3).

The CCT dropped from the rated 5700K to about 4000K after the dome was removed.

CRI is about 97.

The Delta u, v is slightly negative. The beam is a little bit rosy in theory but it looks neutral to my eyes.

Mode CCT (K) CRI (Ra) x y Duv
Low 3872 97.5 0.3841 0.3715 -0.0035
Medium 4040 97.6 0.3786 0.3740 -0.0008
High 4144 96.8 0.3723 0.3628 -0.0042

Calculate Duv from CIE 1931 xy coordinates

There is no Low, Medium or High with this rotary torch. I used these terms because it is easier then explaining how far I have rotated the ring. Low is a few levels above the absolute lowest moonlight. Medium is around the middle. And High is at the top of the ramp.

Beamshots

Beamshots were taken with my phone without a fixed white balance.
Beamshot 1
Beamshot 2