HDS B42 + SXOH equals a Basic 85 - Mercy!

EvilLithiumMan

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(Preface - I wish to thank everyone who openly shared their knowledge and experience about the inner workings of HDS lights, in this and the HDS forum. I spent a lot of time reading all I could about modding a B42 before attempting same. If you posted anything related to modding a HDS light, I probably read it and hopefully learned from it. There is no way I could have done this on my own).

I've been thoroughly impressed with my B42XRGT, purchased about two months ago. Bright, white and with a limited, but versitile range of brightness settings, I couldn't imagine a better EDC for $100. And had the U60 and U85 never existed, I probably would have been perfectly content.

But being a Flashaholic, well you know how it is - if X lumens is good, then 2X lumens can only be better. If it runs for 10 minutes, doesn't break the bank or char your flesh, more is better.

Initially, I pondered modding my B42XRGT, but learned it wasn't likely to realize an improvement as a B42 would. So I ordered a B42 from Lighthound. And keeping my B42XRGT unscathed means I'd have a reference for the project, along with my Orb Raw.

B42XRT with 1x18650 cell, B42 with standard (and old style) tailcap:
Lights1.jpg


With the light (or potential victim) on hand. I needed a suitable emitter. Prior to this project, I had a Fenix L1T with a tint just a little too green to my liking. I first tried a SWAK in the L1T. Great tint, but no real change in the brigtness, which I also was hoping for. Next I tried a TWOH. Again, good tint, but no change in illumination. Then I tried a SXOH. When I fired the L1T up on low, I could see immediately that something was "up". And low on the L1T is pretty low. The 205ma drain on the 1.3V nimh cell is only .265 watts - and giving the L1T converter a 80% efficiency rating (I'm guessing here, of course. But how good should we expect a mass produced and low cost converter to be?), we end up with .21 watts at the emitter. And high on the L1T was even better.

Next I tried a SXOH star in my Blaster 1R, driven at 600-700ma with a MadMax converter. Oh yeah, no doubt now. A SXOH is headed for the B42. So on to the mechanics of the swap, and my first disappointment - I couldn't remove the B42's bezel. Though many report the bezel to be removed easily, mine was apparently installed with a pneumatic impact wrench.

And with no spanner wrench handy, I was at a standstill. Too bad, I really wanted to get going on this. But a trip to the 99 Cent Store resulted in more than eggs, milk and butter. There on the wall was an oyster knife. Stainless steel blade, 24mm wide. I figured 15 to 20 minutes with a Dremel tool cutting wheel (and safety googles - OK, a pair of 99 Cent Store sunglasses) would get the job done.

Going slowly paid off - nearly a perfect fit spanner wrench:
Oyster.jpg


Now that the bezel was removed, I fully expected the reflector to drop out. It didn't. And worse still, it took my tired eyes a good while to realize an O-ring was securing the reflector. Once the reflector was out, it was a simple matter to unscrew the B42's emitter/converter module.

Using the technique, demonstrated elswhere, of adjusting the gamma and contrast to decipher the hand written valve on the module, I still came up empty:
B42-Bin1.jpg


As best I can tell, it appears to read, "B02 1.2V3". Without Henry's secret decoder ring, I have no idea what the existing emitter is. And seeing as how it was destroyed in the removal process, it's pretty much a moot point.

Despite a too large tip in the soldering iron and my ham fisted assembly technique, the SXOH was installed and the B42 reassembled. Time to power this puppy up and hope the next few moments do not invoke images of the Hindenberg. I screwed in the standard tailcap, the B42 came on for a second, then shut off. Just like it's supposed to. Then I gave the tailcap a single press. On it came in primary mode, great. Then I turned on my B42XRGT. Low and behold, the modded unit was clearly brighter than the unmodded one. It looked twice as bright to me. Two clicks for secondary mode and again, the mod unit is clearly brighter. Then I did three clicks for the minimum setting. At this point, my roommate enters the room and says: "Are you playing with those damn flashlights again?" (I have to keep quiet now. I got nothing). Then he says, unsolicited: "Those flashlights aren't the same. The one in your left hand is brighter." I loved it. (But he still owes me rent!)

Then the big test - two clicks and a press for maxumum mode. Oh baby, it was cooking! "Holy Lumineds Batman!" "Yes Robin, the Batcave will require only one light from now on."

Beam shots: Good news, I have beam shots. Bad news, I'm not really setup to do beam shots. It's a small apartment. Poor lighting at night. Not enough physical layout, in my opinion, to properly arrange things. Anyway, here goes -

This shot was taken in the middle of the night. Very low ambient light. The modded unit is on the right. (Gosh, I guess if I have to state which light is which, it's a bust) Lights are set to minimum level. Except for resizing, the photo is as it came from the camera. No adjustments to balance, contrast, etc.:
Minimum.jpg


Next shot is at the secondary level. In early morning and the wall has some daylight illuminating it. Again, straight from the camera:
Secondary.jpg


The final shot is at the maximum level, with the modded unit flanked by the B42XRGT and the Orb Raw. This shot was a royal pain to set up. Lights kept rolling around, either falling onto the floor or having their beams overlap. It's not by much, but the mod unit is outgunning the Orb Raw. If it's not throwing 85 lumens, it can't be off by much:
Beam1.jpg


As far as run time goes, I still need to do more tests. I did manage to get 18 minutes on maximum with a fresh Battery Station CR123. In the strictest sense, it wouldn't have made the cut for Henry. 20 minutes is his minimum run time. Although I guess there is a good chance a Duracell Ultra could have done it. And what about temperature? Yes, there was temperature. Quite a bit, actually. Not too hot to handle, but a might toasty in free air.

ELM
 
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AW

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If brightness is what you are after, a Lux I SXOH will beat hands down the Lux III UXOJ in all drive levels. Please see the following test results from CPF member DFlorentino in another thread :



SXOH.jpg
 
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treasurydept

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Thanks AW! Will the LuxI be SUBSTANTIALLY brighter than the LuxIII? Could you perhaps put it into lumens terms for me?
 

AW

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treasurydept,

Don't have the lumen conversion figure. My eyeball tests confirmed they are indeed brighter visually.

AW
 

EvilLithiumMan

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treasurydept said:
Thanks for the great write up! Just one question though... why did you use a SX0H instead of a UX0J?

In addition to AW's response, the HDS converter is designed/calibrated to deliver a constant power to the LED. So if Vf goes down (H bin vs. J bin) and the power remains the same, what has to happen? Why If (forward current) has to increase. And when current increases, brightness increases. (within reason, of course).

DFiorentino's table demstrates what took me a long time to realize - that a Lux I device is not a 1 watt device, per se. It was simply binned at the 1 to 1.25W level. Both Lux I and Lux III devices can handle 1000ma when properly heatsinked. If you are lookng for a great Lux III device, don't assume that a Lux I can't also equal the task. They are virutually the same.
 

jar3ds

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it is strange that a SXOH is brighter than a UxxJ just because of the bin coding...

From what I know the SXOH is having its life cut short a lot by current over 350mA's.... just how much? who knows...

anyone have any idea the life expectancy of a SXOH ran at 1amp compared to a UWOJ ran @ 1amp?
 

EvilLithiumMan

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treasurydept said:
Will a SX0H also be brighter than a UX0J in a HDS U60, or are the benefits only to be had in a B42?

You'll realize the greatest benefit from the "worse" (least efficient) B42 you can find. If your U60 isn't a XR device, you could potentially see increased brightness. But the higher you move up on the HDS quality scale, the least likely it is that you'll benefit from swapping the emitter.

Unless you aren't happy with the tint on your U60, I really wouldn't mess with it. Besides, the approx. $105 you'd pay for a B42 and an emitter is probably far less than you paid for the U60. Why risk having less of a light?

As for a "J" bin device being better than a "H" binned device, it will all depend on what your U60 is presently calibrated for. IE - it may already contain a "H" device and if so, the "J" bin won't make things better.
 

CroMAGnet

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Very nice write up and thread. Thanx :)

What I don't understand in the LUX I III V chart is how does the LUV V out throw the LUX III at 1000mA for instance? I must be misunderstanding something.
 

chesterqw

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umm... is the led in the hds 42 a luxI or LUXIII?

because i was told that it was a luxIII and if it is, the poor luxI is going to die VERY soon.
 

AW

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My ARC 4+ is a Lux I with a current draw of 1.25A and I don't see it going to die very soon:whistle:
 

EvilLithiumMan

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CroMAGnet said:
Very nice write up and thread. Thanx :)

What I don't understand in the LUX I III V chart is how does the LUV V out throw the LUX III at 1000mA for instance? I must be misunderstanding something.

Lux V is a totally different animal - essentially is a 5 to 6 watt device. It consists of four dies on the chip and requires a much higher Vf to operate. That is why it's figures are higher. Although the emitter package is the same size as the Lux I/III, HDS converter is not designed to drive them.
 

EvilLithiumMan

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chesterqw said:
umm... is the led in the hds 42 a luxI or LUXIII?

because i was told that it was a luxIII and if it is, the poor luxI is going to die VERY soon.

Here is a long, but great thread on modding the HDS by Billson:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/119540

Around post #100, you'll see one member discovered a QX1H device in his B42. It all comes down to finding an efficient device and good thermal management.
 

jar3ds

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i believe CroMAGnet is asking more as to why the luxV is showing hiring lux readings.... since i believe DFlorentino lux readings are taken at a point...

a luxV puts out more overall photons yet the lux3's put more photons toward the center (at least with a reflector).... hence there must have been a milk box test or something done with the tests...

i still think its really strange that a S-bin anything can be brighter than a U-bin anything... it doesn't make luxeon sense
 

vortechs

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jar3ds said:
i still think its really strange that a S-bin anything can be brighter than a U-bin anything... it doesn't make luxeon sense

The reason a S-bin Lux-I can be brighter than a U-bin Lux-III (at the same drive current) is because the Lux-I and the Lux-III are binned at different currents.
 

EvilLithiumMan

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CroMAGnet said:
Very nice write up and thread. Thanx :)

What I don't understand in the LUX I III V chart is how does the LUV V out throw the LUX III at 1000mA for instance? I must be misunderstanding something.

Take a look at the WATTS column - Lux V are running at about twice the power of the I/III. That's where the difference is. Higher Vf times the same current equals more power.
 

mudman cj

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vortechs said:
The reason a S-bin Lux-I can be brighter than a U-bin Lux-III (at the same drive current) is because the Lux-I and the Lux-III are binned at different currents.

Combined with the fact that the S could be at the upper part of the bin and the U could be at the lower end of it's bin, this is definitely possible and has been observed in many tests. Now what we need is someone willing to bin S Lux Is at 1000mA (or even 1500mA) and sell the champs to the highest bidder!
 

DFiorentino

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CroMAGnet said:
Very nice write up and thread. Thanx :)

What I don't understand in the LUX I III V chart is how does the LUV V out throw the LUX III at 1000mA for instance? I must be misunderstanding something.

Just an FYI, my lux readings were measured using a 'light box'. So, what that number represents is essentially a comparative overall output.

Here's the original thread.

:)
-DF
 

conor

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very interesting....i wonder what the life span on the led will be =)

im gonna do this mod soon...with either a SX0H or a UX0J hmmmmmmm
 
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