Go to the homemade and custom lights forum and do some lurking. You will find more threads specifically towards asking questions for specific driver boards.
However, you are correct, there are so many boards out there that it seems about all you can do is just take a stab at it. That is almost true until I tell you where and who to purchase your first couple of boards from. Taskled is where you should get your first boards. Why? Unquestioned and unstoppable help. You can email George and ask specific questions about certain boards or ask him if this combination will work with this board or that. He has a small number of boards that will do the job, however, you have to study his overview of them a little while, then the most important thing is.....what are you going to put them in.
For example, I had been lurking around here for months before I signed up. I finally decided I was going to do a mod on a
M@g. I will be doing the tri-cree and quad seouls eventually, but a very good starting point (hint, hint) is to do a single LED mod to a
M@g. Get a nice Cree or Seoul Led, it would be easier to order one of the fine heatsinks that are available at the marketplace or if you can't wait (that was my case) I just went out to the garage, grabbed some aluminum and made a heatsink (just look at what everyone else makes then copy it). It was not as nice and did require some secondary modifications but I had one. But I need to get back to your question.
I didn't know exactly what to get but others in the homemade and custom forum had many nice things to say about George and his boards, particularly when it came to problems or questions about usage. Since I knew I was going to go with a single emitter, and he had some VIP boards on closeout. I got some. Two of the 700mA and two 1000mA boards. You can read about the stuff they can do (I did not use the secondary switches for dimming, I just wanted a regulated light). I emailed George and asked specific questions as to whether the VIP board would be good for a 2 D and a 3 D setup. He promptly emailed me back. Told me exactly the info I needed. I soldered up the board and the rest is history.
Hint number one: Buy two of whatever board you are working with. Particularly if this is your first build. I soldered the first VIP board OK, then continued farting around with it in the flashlight and managed to screw it up. Fortunately, another is sitting right next to it. Applied lessons learned for first build....perfect (OK, good) job complete and working amazingly well. You wouldn't believe how much light a Cree Q5, a 700mA VIP board, and 2 C cell batteries put out.
Hint number two: While you are in the homemade and custom lights forum look for the thread "Anyone seen flexible "Helping Hands" holder that actually works? Answer: Yes!!" You need to get some sort of third hands inorder to really enjoy soldering these little boards together. They are small and you need help holding them. Just read the thread and you will see what I mean. Best 70 bucks I have spent in a long time!!
Many here that have been modding for awhile are not afraid to get the 5 dollar boards from overseas. I might feel comfortable with that later on, but right now, it is worth the money knowing I have tech support and engineering support available to me. When I was finalizing my 2 C build, George was there literally 10 minutes away via email answering my specific questions and actually giving me helpful advice.
Bob E.
