DIY MOD help

[johnpsmith]

Well i have 3 mini flashlight that i want to upgrade. They are really cheap (reason is i got them on ebay) This is my first mod/upgrade with any flashlight, so i was wondering if anyone could help me out by telling me what emitter and driver i should use. (it would help me out alot if the items could be bought at dealextreme.com)

Specs of the flashlight:
its 9.5 cm long.
the driver and emmiter is 1.5 cm.
It uses 1 AA battery

Thanks ALOT!

 

[Mettee]

There are a few options, help out a little with what type of outcome you would like when you are done.

 

[johnpsmith]

well i would like a brighter flashlight....right now the flashlights are about less than 10 lumens, from what i read online. It is not bright at all. I would like anything really that would just make it brighter. Preferably over 100 lumens (if thats even possible)

 

[AnAppleSnail]

Match an emitter and driver that fit. Thermally connect the led and emitter to the host. Maybe replace the optic and it's a good start.

 

[johnpsmith]

I dont know why my other posts were deleted but okay.....
I ordered the necessary emitter and driver, now i have a question about the heatsink. I was wondering, do you think this would work?
Its copper tubing, with a penny i shaped, then i solder and then i smoothed the top.

 

[Lumencraft (Matt)]

I dont know why my other posts were deleted but okay.....
I ordered the necessary emitter and driver, now i have a question about the heatsink. I was wondering, do you think this would work?
Its copper tubing, with a penny i shaped, then i solder and then i smoothed the top.

Thats actually not bad at all. If you can get that to fit snugly into the light body to transfer the heat it will be great.

What emitter and driver did you get? What are you planning to use to secure the emitter to the sink with?

 

[johnpsmith]

Well, the pipe is a little lose in the housing....ill figure some way to make it not wiggle around (if you have an idea, by all means teach me)
As for the emitter i chose:http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3393
as for the driver i chose: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4451

 

[johnpsmith]

...forgot to answer your questions....im going to put thermal paste on the emitter to the homemade heatsink and glue the driver to the bottom (if that is even possible with out destroying the driver)

 

[Lumencraft (Matt)]

Ok looks like your off to a decent start.

I am guessing you chose the P4 emitter because of the small 13mm base, this will give a good jump in lumens from your factory 10. Using that driver at only 300ma I am not sure you will see 100 otf from it though.

I realize you have already ordered you parts, but somthing you may want to try later is this.

http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-176/3-dsh-Mode-Regulated-Circuit-Board/Detail

I have used this driver in a 1 AA light and it seems to be fairly good. I dont know that it actually puts out quite 900ma on high, but for a 1AA driver I like it. The 3 modes is good too.

As for the heat sink the best way I know to just the size is with copper tape. I use it all the time and it works great. Just wrap a few rounds over the sink until it fits tight in the body of the light and you are done.

Thermal paste is good for the emitter if you have the reflector or something pressing against it to hold it down. If not thermal epoxy is better. Either way use a thin layer.

 

[johnpsmith]

That seems like a better idea, but then again, i didnt really know what i was looking for. I might try that next time. My next project is a streamlight stinger housing. This is a really thinker considering i need some sort of 'pill' (i think thats what its called). And i need to find out how to wire it so i can use the two screws for charging the batteries? really confusing when i explain it tho

 

[Lumencraft (Matt)]

Im sure it will all work out:thinking: . If you get stuck post a couple of pics and we can assist.

 

[johnpsmith]

i was just wondering what would be a good driver that would could with this emtiter http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.44305. This is what i am going to put into my stinger.

It would be great if it was from dealextreme....Thanks!!!!

 

[Lumencraft (Matt)]

There are several boards that will work for this project. Would you prefer single or multi mode? Is your battery pack the 3 cell?

 

[johnpsmith]

i would like a multi mode, but no more than 5 modes.... and i do have the 3 cell battery (25170).

 

[Lumencraft (Matt)]

I know you said you wanted the driver to come from DX, but the best driver I can think of for that is the SB driver with a max of 1.4A and 3 mode.

http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-133/3-dsh-Mode-Regulated-Circuit-Board/Detail

I always replace those skimpy factory leads with thicker ones. These are great drivers, and it will drive that emitter hard on high.

 

[johnpsmith]

What do you think about this:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.26110
i pretty sure it has no modes...

 

[Lumencraft (Matt)]

That would work. Being driven by only 4.5V pack the output would probly be around 7-800 ma ( just my estimation).

Here is another driver that will give 1A on high that has 5 modes.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6190

Is the reason you are considering the driver you linked from DX rather than the Shiningbeam driver a cost issue or is there another reason?

 

[johnpsmith]

I needed dealextreme just for this time, because i had some store credit. My next purchase will be definitely from the site you suggested.

 

[johnpsmith]

low and behold, almost everything i asked for from dealextreme was not in stock. so im going to buy just an emitter and a driver from that shiningbeam website. Is this a good combo for a stinger?
emitter:http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-23/cree-R5/Detail
driver: http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-132/3-dsh-Mode-Regulated-Circuit-Board/Detail

 

[Lumencraft (Matt)]

DX may have done you a favor. This way you get your stuff sooner and get a better driver out of the deal.

This is the driver you want. They look similar but the one in your link is 2.5A output and you need 1.5.
http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-133/3-dsh-Mode-Regulated-Circuit-Board/Detail