What are the available KL1 mods?

I read a lot of you are sending your KL1s to Chop for modification but I can not find posts describing the modification.

I have a very purplish KL1 (old style before scalloped head) that just sits around. I wouldn't mind having something brighter and whiter put in it if possible so that I could use it with my E2, providing of course the cost won't exceed buying a KL4 outright. Of course it would be nice if it would work in a E1 body as well but I do have a whiter KL1 currently residing in my E1 body.

If anybody could point to links or give info about possible KL1 mods, I'd appreciate it.

geepondy,

There are a number of things that you can do with a KL1. If you have an older KL1, you probably have a low dome LED in it. The decision to go with a high dome is a no brainer. It will increase the performance the light and improve the quality of the light. The circuit can also be overdriven to get more performance out of it.

You can also choose what to use as a collimator. You could use the stock NX05 optic, for general purposes; the Fraen LP for more of a spot beam without sidespill; or a small reflector for a more conventional beam pattern.

I suppose it depends on what you want the KL1 to do. For a good all around general purpose light with moderate output, you could simply swap the stock LED for a 3W high dome and leave the circuit at the stock bias of 350mA. You could also go with a reflecor. This would make for a very useful light with lots of runtime on a pair of 123's.

I am not the only one that does these mods either. Yclo does them and CM (who I'd consider to be our resident KL? guru) also does them.

If you have any specific questoins, PM me.

Is the 3W brighter than the 1W LD or HD?

Does the reflector throw further than the NX05? Does it have more spill? Does it give off more light since it doesn't have losses associated with light working its way through the optic?

carl,

As a general matter, a 3W will be brighter than a 1W running at 700mA. It just may not be appreciably brighter. This is with high domes. I don't even mess with low domes anymore.

If you have a low dome and don't like the color, you'll be happier with a high dome. If you happen to have a nice Q3J 1W high dome laying around, it will probably serve you nicely. If you don't have anything and are going to buy something, I'd go for a WA, WO, or VO binned 3W high dome.

I do think that the reflector does throw farther. The great benefit of the reflector is the quality of the beam and the fact that they aren't as sensitive to centering as the optics are. The sidespill from the reflectors that will fit into the KL1 is about the same as that of an optic.

Chop: are those reflectors about the same size as an nx05? if not what part needs to be trimmed?

The reflectors drop right in to the KL1, if you use the stock heatsink. The reflector is not the same size as the NX05. It's a bit slimmer in the diameter department, but works very well in the KL1.

How is the height? Is it longer? Would it work in a MM? Do you think it would perform better than a MM reflector? (For throw) Thanks.

It is the same height as the NX05, in the sense that the actual reflector itself is the same height. If you include the support parts, then it's a bit longer. Let's just say that it is a replacement for the KL1.

It does NOT perform better than a MM reflector, in terms of throw, but it does make for a more general purpose light. It performs much the same way a modded KL4 does. In fact, they are almost indistinguishable.

Tony, thanks for your insight - very interesting!