Modifying an SST-50? Replacing engine and LED.
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benchrest
Newly Enlightened
I just recently replaced the driver in my sst-50. I swapped it out for a 1.5 amp, 4 mode (moon,2%,33%,100%) constant current driver. The light originally had a 2.8 amp driver but I was more interested in keeping the lower modes low. The high output is still impressive for only being pushed at 1.5 amps.
This can be done without removing the reflector, which is a pita, by removing and disconnecting the wires from the driver. As you can see additional modules can be added to the driver to bring it up to 3 amps.
I would be eternally grateful if you would find the time to post pictures. Any tips/tricks that you would care to share? I am a complete newbie when it comes to swapping out drivers and am having a difficult time removing the current one haha
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With the pill removed take a small flat screw driver and gently start prying the driver out where the slots are you use to unscrew the LE from the head. Just work it out little at a time until it pops out. There will be three wires connected to it, one to a ground screw and the other two to the LED. Depending on your soldering experience you can go about this a couple of different ways. Most likely the wires are all the same color, identify which is the positive and negative from the driver to the LED and label them. You can also test this with a muli meter if unsure. If your experienced in soldering on small boards you can remove the new drivers wiring and solder the existing wires it their place. If not, solder the LED wire ends to the new drivers wiring and insulate the connections. The ground wire that was attached with the screw on the pill needs to be attached to the outer ground ring on the new driver. Sorry I didn't take photos of the process and have probably left some things out. If there's anything I can help with I'll do my best to answer. Good luck.
benchrest
Newly Enlightened
Spot on, mate. Thanks for that.
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benchrest
Newly Enlightened
Am I correct in thinking an Aw 18350 3.V 700maH has a C rating of 8 and safe to run at 6.4A with a max of 7A? Also, will an SST-50 emit light driven at 5ma?
The 700mAh were only rated up to 6A and that's just the safety rating. Useful capacity at that current is very low. Please see this thread https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/392163
I'd recommend the new 800mAh AW IMR18350's for that application, if you want to use AW's.
Not sure about the 5mA. Did you check the data sheet? Might be in there somewhere...dunno.
I'd recommend the new 800mAh AW IMR18350's for that application, if you want to use AW's.
Not sure about the 5mA. Did you check the data sheet? Might be in there somewhere...dunno.
I've got Mac's SST-50 2.8 in Ti (not bored for 18mm cells). Love the 4500K SST-50, I have a light from Salytri with the same LED. I would not push mine beyond 2.8A, it gets warm fast enough on high with 2.8A. Lots of great information on this thread.
Badtziscool is right, the SST-50's were reflowed directly to the pill.
As for the hum, it is called inductor whine and can be fixed by reprogramming the levels to different frequencies. FWIW, most lights have this high frequency whine on one at least one mode. My Oveready Triple, Surefire V2 Vampire, and SOYCD Tri-EDC all have different frequency whines if you listen closely. Other lights I've own did so as well.
You could get the driver swapped or reprogrammed...its not any different from working on a Tri-EDC. Or....you can find someone to machine a pill...then adding the LED, MPCB, and driver should be something most modders can do. The threading for the pill should be 7/8-28 UN.
My .02 would be to keep the SST-50 engine and just upgrade the driver. Here's why, I know that the SST-50 seems like old technology, but the it is actually a very powerful emitter. Right now, it's only being driven at either 1.2A or 2.8A. However, it is capable of up to 5A of current and a maximum of 3.9 forward volts. For reference, that is 19.5W of power!!! Max junction temp is also pretty good, 150C. But here is the real kicker, these suckers were designed to put out over 1,150 lumens at max drive levels. Of course, OTF lumens will be less depending on thermal management, optics, driver efficiency, etc...
What does that mean for you? It means you have a beast just waiting to be unleashed. It means that the LED is bonded to the heatsink for very good heat dissipation. It means, with minimal effort, the driver can be swapped for something much more powerful and with the option for custom firmware and user programming. Sure, an XM-L2 may have better efficiency per watt at a much lower drive current. But if you give this baby enough juice, it can hold it's own quite nicely. Even though you're limited to an IMR 16340, you can still run it at ~4A and see a significant boost in output.
If I am mistaken about any of the data above, please correct me.
Here's the data sheet from Luminus
As far as batteries go, your best options are AW IMR16340 (red), Efest IMR16340 V2 (red), or AWT IMR16340 (yellow). AW is considered the gold standard for IMR cells but both the Efest and AWT look like they outperform the AW 16340's.
I've got one that's direct drive, that I think was a 1.4a previously, but the little IMR 16340 doesn't last very long
but it doesn't seem to get that hot though...benchrest
Newly Enlightened
Looked everywhere and I got 5ma from BFL. Some have had issues with emitters not working with the moonlight in the driver I got, Qlite rev.a 7135*8 3.05 with 7 additional 7135 chips totaling 5.49 amps, flashed with guppydrv set at 2-15-50-100%
You are correct, capacity is an issue. Is AW selling the new 800maH on the marketplace?
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Yup, dealers have had them for a while too as well. The big difference is the 12A discharge rate. Haven't seen curves yet but they should be better at handling increased load.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-IMR16340-IMR14500-IMR18350-IMR18490-IMR18650
The list of Canadian dealers
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sh...500-*Part-2*&p=4862964&viewfull=1#post4862964
Last edited:
benchrest
Newly Enlightened
Awesome! Thanks, bud. Much appreciated for the links.
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benchrest
Newly Enlightened
From what I read, poor ground like you said and some LED's have an issue...if I understand the posts correctly. I just hope I didn't fry the moonlight when I attached the leads to the board...it does use a separate 7135 chips for it, right?
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From my understanding it does use a single chip for moonlight rather than a percentage of the total drive circuit. So moonlight never worked? Have you contacted M.E. about this issue? Hopefully they could test it and correct the issue.
benchrest
Newly Enlightened
It has not worked since I soldered the driver to the SST-50 leads and I have not contacted M.E about the issue, as I am probably the cause of the problem
I wonder if I don't have an open to the 7135 chip? Is it possible I 'siphoned' solder from the chip to my lead? I don't know...kind of a newbie. To be honest, I doubt I'll ever want/need moonlight, so I'm happy enough without it, I just thought it would be cool to see an SST-50 driven that low.
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