is it worth modding an older luxeon headlight?

i have this

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/nuwai_hlx-712l.htm

can i buy an emitter and do a quick solder out/in the new one and get a lot of improvement?

25% 50% 100% brightness/runtime?


which emitter?

and from where?

or do i put together a grab bag for the marketplace?

A Seoul P4 bin is pretty much a direct swap for the Luxeon. The highest flux bin out is the U2 bin (at least from what I remember). Open the light up and see if you need a star board, the bare emitter, or something else.

Once you get the LED, just desolder the Luxeon and solder in the Seoul.

Not sure how easy it would be to open that headlamp, and if the emitter would be star mounted or something else... but I just swapped emitters in my Tikka XP yesterday and it was well worth the cost of the star mounted emitter and a bit of time. If you still have a use for the headlamp and like it apart from the brightness, then I would give it a shot. SSC P4s are generally good replacements for older Luxeon based lights. Very similar packaging, almost identical size, and similar radiation pattern so you shouldn't have to worry about funky beam patterns.

waddup... this is yet another thread of yours posted in the wrong forum.

You have consistently ignored everything you have been told by CPF staff about this. This is your last warning. The very next time you post in the wrong place, your posting privileges will be withdrawn for a lengthy period.

Moving this thread to Headlamps.

Except that if you read Flashlight Reviews Quick Facts Table at the bottom of each review it says:
Bulb Type .................................Luxeon I white LED side emitter

So, assuming this information is correct, here is what you have in your headlamp now:
Luxeon I, side emitter

And here is a suitable replacement:
Luxeon III, side emitter

Putting an SSC P4 in may result in a poor beam shape, as the reflector is designed for a side emitting LED, of which the P4 is NOT.

HERE is another short discussion on the subject. As the light in question was a focusing beam where turning the head changed the LEDs position within the reflector there was a getter chance of finding a suitable position/beam shape than on a fixed position light.

Good Luck … and dude … mind the moderators …

I've done some very successful mods of side-emitting Luxeon headtorches (Ring Cybalite Extremes) with Seoul P4s.

I removed the Luxeon emitters from the stars in-situ (which turned out to be very quick and easy) and thermal-epoxied the P4s in their place.

The reflectors did need opening up at the back to allow the P4 body to poke through. On the headtorches I had, that was just a slice with a Dremel and cutting disc, since the reflector base wasn't part of its support, and could be chopped off without destabilising anything.

The focal position was slightly out - the P4 needed to move a mm or so forwards relative to the reflector.
In the cybalites, the housing behind the reflector was cone shaped, with the reflector resting on three small radial ribs standing proud of the housing. To get good focusing just involved shaving off most of the thickness of the three ribs, and then placing a few small blobs of epoxy on the reflector front edge. When set firm, those blobs meant the reflector was held back solidly in its new position.

I guess I could have moved the P4 forwards by epoxying a small aluminium shim behind it, rather than moving the reflector backwards, but moving the reflector was very little effort.

Compared to the original setup with the Luxeon, at the same power setting, the spot was brighter, wider and smoother, with soft edges rather than bright/dark fringing rings.

As far as spill is concerned, the P4 gave more/better spill running at 25% power than the original light did at 100%.

The overall result was a light that was greatly improved, with about 3x the light output at a given power level than previously.

No real increase in runtime, but with a light that was more usable on low settings, it was certainly possible to make cells last longer by using lower power levels.

yes, it is worth,
yes, simple emitter swap is possible,
Lux --> Cree XR-E / Seoul P4 ... roughly double brightness, no change in runtime
Lux --> Cree XP-G ... visible more output than XR-E/P4, but atm only cool white led on offer

PS: better because more power goes into light, less into heat.
2 effects that are good in lights

Just watch out for the polarity of the Seoul slug! The Lux I slug is connected to "-", but the Seoul slug is connected to "+". If the LED mount is grounded, then you must isolate the Seoul slug. I used a bit of kapton tape.

While Kapton will work to isolate the slug and it can withstand the heat, I think the best thing to use between the slug and heat-sink is a thermal adhesive. This will hold your LED in place and facilitate the transfer of heat to the heat-sink. Look HERE for another discussion on using thermal adhesives to mod a headlamp.

Good Luck!