Shoot, I hit the "back" button on my mouse (which I cannot disable) and I lost my whole post! Here we go again in Word: :scowl:
If you plan on making nice custom flashlights as a gift for friends and loved ones, it would be best to use quality components in these lights. I do not think that you would like to hear one of them ask you to repair you light, or ask why a feature stopped working. DX/KD are not bad places to shop if you are on a shoestring budget, but even today, you get what you pay for. The drivers they offer are not the most efficient, and I hear many complain that a fraction of the drivers they receive do not function. The reflectors are decent at best (you have to find the right ones –which we could help you with), but I found some that are complete trash. As for LEDs, some emitter you get are a good value, but there is a lack of complete details at times on most products you buy from there (wrong pictures, descriptions, dimensions -some are still mysterious), so you may get an LED of the wrong bin (which is impossible to determine by looking at the bare emitter), or you may get the wrong LED (color, brand). They do offer decent li-ion cells, but I cannot say anything about their alkalines or NiMH cells. Since you are using some nice Eneloops, that does not matter anyways. You often do not know what you will get until you have it in your hands so you can test it and measure it. Finally, depending on the product's availability and the condition of the shipping industry, you may not get your goods until Thanksgiving, or maybe Christmas! Please do not take this as a bash. I still shop there, but for my throw around flashlights and DIY parts for throw around flashlights. I would not put any component from these stores into a McGizmo flashlight, or any other fine custom light!
There are several sources for nice LED drivers for flashlights. There is George's TaskLED (TaskLED.com), the Sandwich Shoppe (the link in the previous post), then there is TnC (tncproducts.com). Some drivers may not work with your battery setup, but I will list them anyways.
-George offers several wonderful drivers. He offers two boost drivers, the Fatman and the MaxFlex. Then he offers a buck driver, the bFlex. Finally, he offers a nice PWM driver, the D2DIM. The MaxFlex, bFlex, and D2DIM utilize a nice GUI to change modes and set up features. The Fatman works great with a potentiometer to adjust current.
-The Sandwich Shoppe offers a nice variety of drivers. Their boost drivers include the Shark (the Remora board can be attached to add digital modes, otherwise current is set by a potentiometer like the Fatman), the Badboy, and the Madmax. The Madmax is designed for 2AA, so that would be a good start, I suppose. Their buck/boost drivers include the GD and the Wizard 2. The GDuP offers different modes to choose from. Their buck drivers include the Downboy and SOB. Unfortunately, I only had the opportunity to use the Downboy and SOB drivers. All drivers have been around for many years, and they are proven. Most drivers have pre-set current outputs, but most can be set by soldering on some SMD resistors.
-TnC offers a few unique drivers. These include the Flupic, the Tri-Flupic, and the Piglet. Each of these are just buck regulators (please chime in if I am wrong and they are buck-boost). These have GUI interfaces to them to change modes.
As for LED optics/reflectors, the Sandwich Shoppe offers all of McGizmo's McR-line reflectors. These are high quality, aluminum reflectors that produce terrific beams. You can find the one that suits your needs at the Shoppe (there is a variety of sizes and types for different emitters). The Shoppe also provides detailed dimensions of each reflector. The Shoppe also provides the classic IMS reflectors. They were designed originally for the lambertian style emitters (Luxeons and they work well with the SSC P4). The Shoppe also offers a few types of acrylic optics. In addition, PhotonFanatic offers a variety of plastic reflectors and optics. He offers the same IMS reflectors, but also some by Khatod reflectors that were designed for the Seoul P4. Finally, he offers several types of acrylic optics by Khatod and Carlco in different sizes and beam patterns.
As for LED emitters, the Sandwich Shoppe offers a variety of Luxeons, Cree emitters, and SSC emitters. There is an assortment of bins to choose from. PhotonFanatic offers a wonderful variety of LED emitters. He carries different Luxeons, but also SSC P4s and SSC P7s. He is a great guy to work with. I heard that Erasmus and Endeavour are good sellers. I believe that they sell mostly Cree emitters, but I have not dealt with either before. Finally, LiteMania offers some different emitters, but he ships from somewhere in Asia. If you look around in the "Sell" and "Group Buy" section of CPF Marketplace, you should find someone selling an LED emitter for a good deal.
I hope this was helpful for you. Lots may be useless for you, since I described some drivers that you may never use, but I did so in case you change your mind and change the basic layout of your flashlight design. Your question was sort of generic (not sure about emitters and drivers and optics), so I tried to make the most informative general answer possible. Also, I am sorry if I sound like I am advertising for any of these companies. They are all generally great dealers that have been around the LED community for a while, so they will serve you well.
Good luck with the design. You are lucky to have such a knowledgeable community to help! I look forward to hearing about your progress. :wave:
-Tony
