I know this is a pretty common mod for many, but I haven't seen any detailed pics so I thought I'd contribute some. Very easy, straight-forward mod, with fantastic output.
To begin, the light in question is the 4W version of the CPF Limited Edition Multi-Level light available here from Wits' End (which seems to be one of the early VB-16 variants).
The SSC star is a P4 USWOH from PhotonFanatic available here
Here's the requisite headshot:
The light can be de-focused for a more floody beam, which is an advantage here since you don't have to worry as much about getting the emitter height exactly right to start.
And here's what the stock Lux III star looks like once you unscrew the head.
I was a little surprised to see the stock star was epoxied in place, instead of screwed down (you'll notice the screw holes). Took a bit of prying to get the old star off (note: you are likely to ruin to old star in the process). Once you get it out, you have to scrape off all that old thermal compound/epoxy, and do a thorough clean with a little alcohol.
Note that the stock emitter sits higher than the new SSC emitter. The picture below exagerates it a little (I didn't clean the base of the removed star), but black line I've drawn is helpful to show the approximate emitter height difference. In the past, I've found you need at least an extra ~0.02" or so to get the SSC emitter to sit at the same point as a stock lux emitter
Here's my solution: after removing all the old thermal compound and cleaning the heatsink, I added a little Arctic Silver and 3 copper slugs of 0.027" thickness from the sandwich shoppe (normally used for raising individual emitters).
I then added a little arctic silver to the base of the new star and mounted on top, making sure to spread the thermal compound around well. Given the over-driven nature of this light, I didn't want to use thermal epoxy (not as good a conducter as arctic silver), so I added a couple of screws to hold the star in place. Just solder the leads to appropriate pads, and here's the final product with SSC star in place.
Here's the final assembly with the head in place.
And now the beamshots. All shots below are with the light tighly focused for max throw. In the case of the stock setup, that meant the head fully screwed down. For the raised SSC star, it mean a half-turn loosed from fully down. If you didn't raise the star, you probably wouldn't be able to get as tightly focused a beam without altering the reflector height.
I've photoshoped the before and after beam shots together, taken at the same manual camera settings. You'll note the tint difference - my old stock emitter was a definite green-tint (which I rather like, personally) the new emitter is bit cooler with a hint of blue.
Stock on left, SSC-mod on right, shutter 1/125, f2.8
Stock on left, SSC-mod on right, shutter 1/40, f2.8
According to my home-made light meter setup, overall output has increased by 85-95% over the stock emitter, depending on battery (the light is about 15% brighter on primaries than 18650, both before and after the mod.)
To give you some relative values, on AW protected 18650, the moded light is about 25% brighter than the direct drive ZPOWER JYE SSC T-bin available at DX, or about 15% brighter than my moded direct drive Vika with a SSC U-bin - reviewed here:
DX shootout: JYE Wide SSC vs Vika Wide with SSC mod
That also makes this moded CPF-SSC light roughly comparable in output to popular "U2-style Cree" DX sells.
On primaries, the output is about 15% brighter than new series Surefire L2 on high (estimated at 120 lumens). That makes this mod the brightest light in my arsenal at the moment.
So there you have it: a straight-forward mod that nearly doubled overall output. I'd be a little concern about running the light for extended periods on the max over-driven setting, but I'll report back if any problems appear. So far, looks great!
Enjoy! :wave:
To begin, the light in question is the 4W version of the CPF Limited Edition Multi-Level light available here from Wits' End (which seems to be one of the early VB-16 variants).
The SSC star is a P4 USWOH from PhotonFanatic available here
Here's the requisite headshot:
The light can be de-focused for a more floody beam, which is an advantage here since you don't have to worry as much about getting the emitter height exactly right to start.
And here's what the stock Lux III star looks like once you unscrew the head.
I was a little surprised to see the stock star was epoxied in place, instead of screwed down (you'll notice the screw holes). Took a bit of prying to get the old star off (note: you are likely to ruin to old star in the process). Once you get it out, you have to scrape off all that old thermal compound/epoxy, and do a thorough clean with a little alcohol.
Note that the stock emitter sits higher than the new SSC emitter. The picture below exagerates it a little (I didn't clean the base of the removed star), but black line I've drawn is helpful to show the approximate emitter height difference. In the past, I've found you need at least an extra ~0.02" or so to get the SSC emitter to sit at the same point as a stock lux emitter
Here's my solution: after removing all the old thermal compound and cleaning the heatsink, I added a little Arctic Silver and 3 copper slugs of 0.027" thickness from the sandwich shoppe (normally used for raising individual emitters).
I then added a little arctic silver to the base of the new star and mounted on top, making sure to spread the thermal compound around well. Given the over-driven nature of this light, I didn't want to use thermal epoxy (not as good a conducter as arctic silver), so I added a couple of screws to hold the star in place. Just solder the leads to appropriate pads, and here's the final product with SSC star in place.
Here's the final assembly with the head in place.
And now the beamshots. All shots below are with the light tighly focused for max throw. In the case of the stock setup, that meant the head fully screwed down. For the raised SSC star, it mean a half-turn loosed from fully down. If you didn't raise the star, you probably wouldn't be able to get as tightly focused a beam without altering the reflector height.
I've photoshoped the before and after beam shots together, taken at the same manual camera settings. You'll note the tint difference - my old stock emitter was a definite green-tint (which I rather like, personally) the new emitter is bit cooler with a hint of blue.
Stock on left, SSC-mod on right, shutter 1/125, f2.8
Stock on left, SSC-mod on right, shutter 1/40, f2.8
According to my home-made light meter setup, overall output has increased by 85-95% over the stock emitter, depending on battery (the light is about 15% brighter on primaries than 18650, both before and after the mod.)
To give you some relative values, on AW protected 18650, the moded light is about 25% brighter than the direct drive ZPOWER JYE SSC T-bin available at DX, or about 15% brighter than my moded direct drive Vika with a SSC U-bin - reviewed here:
DX shootout: JYE Wide SSC vs Vika Wide with SSC mod
That also makes this moded CPF-SSC light roughly comparable in output to popular "U2-style Cree" DX sells.
On primaries, the output is about 15% brighter than new series Surefire L2 on high (estimated at 120 lumens). That makes this mod the brightest light in my arsenal at the moment.
So there you have it: a straight-forward mod that nearly doubled overall output. I'd be a little concern about running the light for extended periods on the max over-driven setting, but I'll report back if any problems appear. So far, looks great!
Enjoy! :wave:
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