vacuum3d
Enlightened
This is my first time posting a mod, please be gentle.
Inspired by Newbie's post here on the Cree Xlamp UV led, I experimented with these powerful leds and was determined to make one that has throw. The hardest part is finding a suitable reflector/optics for the led because the focal point is different from Luxeon.
After having fooled around with over a dozen options, I've decided on the Inova X1 host to be the most suitable for the Cree because 1) it has a built-in aspherical lens (necessary for throw due to viewing angle of the Cree is different from Luxeon); 2) it has enough room for a BadBoy sandwich; and 3) it is built like a tank.
The mod is made possible by the following people...
Newbie for introducing the Cree Xlamp UV to CPF and for constantly providing useful information not available to the rest of us; belyo for showing us the Freeze-and-Pop method for disassemling the Inova X1; and dat2zip for the bad a$$ BadBoy. All I did was put together other people's great work.
Here are a few pix. Comments/questions welcomed.
The head assembly showing a thin BabBoy 500 sammie. The Cree is hidden inside the barrel.
Top view of head assembly. The Cree is mounted on a turned down dime. Could you see the Green Glow powder surrounding the led? Soldering and fitting this bugger inside the barrel is extremely tricky.
The whole thing before I put it all back.
The finished product. It is driven by a BadBoy 500. Powered by a 14500 Li-Ion.
Looking down the barrel. Small trace of Green Glow.
Same view as last pix, but no flash. Green Glow Powder was charge by turning on the flashlight previously.
Some beam shots...
This is against the wall a meter away.
The same shot another five feet away from the wall.
Comparison... Left to Right... Cree UV, ebay 7-led UV, Peak UV.
This is the best beam I can get from using a reflector. It happens to be an Aleph III head. Making the hotspot tighter would probably require that I destroy the perfectly fine Aleph reflector. I've tried 7 different optics, Aleph I II III, Mag, MiniMag, and a couple of nameless reflectors, none came close to producing a tight hotspot like the Inova X1 aspherical lens could.
As promised, more beam shots. The next pictures all taken from the same distance...
This is Peak UV.
This is the Ebay 7-led UV. This time I used 2x Rechargeable 123 because using 2x CR123 this thing is weaker than the Peak.
This is the stock Inova UV.
This is the Cree UV. Noticed that this is the only one bright enough to make the wall socket show up near the bottom of the picture. I can get more focus or flood from this led by adjusting the distance between the led and the lense.
This is all four together... Cree, Inova, Ebay 7-led, Peak. I must say, the stock Inova UV is not too bad. The picture doesn't show it very well, but by my estimate, it is roughly 1/4 of the intensity of the Cree.
This one has level adjusted to show the difference in intensity.
Thanks for viewing.
ernest
Inspired by Newbie's post here on the Cree Xlamp UV led, I experimented with these powerful leds and was determined to make one that has throw. The hardest part is finding a suitable reflector/optics for the led because the focal point is different from Luxeon.
After having fooled around with over a dozen options, I've decided on the Inova X1 host to be the most suitable for the Cree because 1) it has a built-in aspherical lens (necessary for throw due to viewing angle of the Cree is different from Luxeon); 2) it has enough room for a BadBoy sandwich; and 3) it is built like a tank.
The mod is made possible by the following people...
Newbie for introducing the Cree Xlamp UV to CPF and for constantly providing useful information not available to the rest of us; belyo for showing us the Freeze-and-Pop method for disassemling the Inova X1; and dat2zip for the bad a$$ BadBoy. All I did was put together other people's great work.
Here are a few pix. Comments/questions welcomed.
The head assembly showing a thin BabBoy 500 sammie. The Cree is hidden inside the barrel.
Top view of head assembly. The Cree is mounted on a turned down dime. Could you see the Green Glow powder surrounding the led? Soldering and fitting this bugger inside the barrel is extremely tricky.
The whole thing before I put it all back.
The finished product. It is driven by a BadBoy 500. Powered by a 14500 Li-Ion.
Looking down the barrel. Small trace of Green Glow.
Same view as last pix, but no flash. Green Glow Powder was charge by turning on the flashlight previously.
Some beam shots...
This is against the wall a meter away.
The same shot another five feet away from the wall.
Comparison... Left to Right... Cree UV, ebay 7-led UV, Peak UV.
This is the best beam I can get from using a reflector. It happens to be an Aleph III head. Making the hotspot tighter would probably require that I destroy the perfectly fine Aleph reflector. I've tried 7 different optics, Aleph I II III, Mag, MiniMag, and a couple of nameless reflectors, none came close to producing a tight hotspot like the Inova X1 aspherical lens could.
As promised, more beam shots. The next pictures all taken from the same distance...
This is Peak UV.
This is the Ebay 7-led UV. This time I used 2x Rechargeable 123 because using 2x CR123 this thing is weaker than the Peak.
This is the stock Inova UV.
This is the Cree UV. Noticed that this is the only one bright enough to make the wall socket show up near the bottom of the picture. I can get more focus or flood from this led by adjusting the distance between the led and the lense.
This is all four together... Cree, Inova, Ebay 7-led, Peak. I must say, the stock Inova UV is not too bad. The picture doesn't show it very well, but by my estimate, it is roughly 1/4 of the intensity of the Cree.
This one has level adjusted to show the difference in intensity.
Thanks for viewing.
ernest