change a Dinotte 200L from white to red?

max503

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Jan 29, 2008
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Hi. I posted this on another forum but this seems more appropriate.
I have a white Dinotte 200L headlight. I'm wondering if I can change it to red. If so, what emitter would I use and where could I get it?
Thanks in advance.
 

BrianMc

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Nov 4, 2009
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940
I admire repurposing. All my lights so far are converted Marwi Halogen units.

Do you have the multimeter to measure the driver's current output to the LED? The Luxeons Pe2er and I have used can't handle more than 400 mA (overdriving red-orange LED's is bad= dead). It gives me about 100 lumens out the back. The CREE XP-E red-orange can handle 700 mA max and is about the same output. If you have to replace driver and LED you may as well build a new light and let the old one be. You could try a red lens and see what you think. That is not the way to build a red light from scratch, but it's an acceptable mod to a light you have. So what if you lost 50% of the output? You'd be the same place, about 100 lumens out the back from a very easy mod.

Seems worth a try.
 

pe2er

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Dec 22, 2007
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Location
Europe - Holland - Almere
A Similar question is asked in this thread: does anyone know dinotte 200L AA L where to get the red leds (mini tail)

I just swapped the white emitter for the K2 orange-red. It fits perfectly and the pattern looks right (not that it really matters that much for a tail light). I haven't run it for an extended period but I think it will be fine.

Here's the LED I used.

http://www.luxeonstar.com/luxeon-k2-led-redorange-lambertian-100-lm-700ma-p-261.php

Note that this product is being discontinued at the end of February 2010 and the suggested replacement will not be as easy to use for the swap.

Thanks, y'all for the tips!!
 

max503

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Jan 29, 2008
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This project got moved to the back burner, but now I'm in need of a powerful rear light. Dinotte can do the switch for about $50. I'd like to try it myself and save some bucks. Any other ideas for a replacement red led?
 

find_bruce

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May 5, 2011
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2 years, yep that's a back burner :) I can't give you the answer, but I might be able to give you some assistance in figuring it out. First you need to know what you have currently - the physical dimensions of the LED, how much current is supplied to the LED & any peculiarities of the "star" it is mounted on - some pics I have seen of dinottes use a donut type board where the LED connects directly with a pedestal. Good for thermal transfer, harder to replicate.

As BrianMc said you want to make sure that the driver is not going to supply more current than the LED can handle

Take some nice pics of the set up & you should be able to tell what might work. Just to give you some examples from DX

XP-E http://dx.com/p/cree-xp-e-3w-120lm-650nm-20mm-red-light-board-silver-white-dc-2-0-2-6v-198054

XP-C http://dx.com/p/cree-xr-e-140lm-red-light-aluminum-bulb-plate-for-flashlight-white-187968

In each case the star is 20 mm, but the difference in LED size is significant.
 
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