Need advice on Driving a RED 1 watt LED

Wildcat · Nov 18, 2004

I just bought a red 1 watt and a 1 watt white side emitter. I'm planning on putting them on Aleph light engines. I intend to run them off a Pila 168 in a 2 cell body. Which board should I use for each? I was thinking around 300-400mA for the RED and 500-750 for the SE. Does this sound okay? The red will be for walking to the deer stand in the dark and just for fun, so it doesn't have to be a screamer. Would the Downboy be the best for both applications?

Also, can I AA the slug straight to the anodized surface of the E-screw?

Thanks,

kenny · Nov 19, 2004

It depends on the Vf of the lux, but some have said that you may be pushing it because the Vin would most likely be higher than the Vout. I believe that from what I've read the Aleph is a step-up device -- there are various implications for different boards, but it might spell trouble. Do you know the Vf of the 1 Watters? Seems like it might be lower than the lux III's or V's.

HarryN · Nov 19, 2004

The Vf of a Red Lux is approx 2.5 V. The Vf for most Lux I GaN based (White / green / blue) are in the 3 - 3.5 volt range. The important point is that most electronics do not deal well with battery voltages that transition from "step up" to "step down".

shiftd · Nov 20, 2004

Wildcat, if you don't need regulation much, you can just DD the red from 2AA (alkaline will be brighter than nimh)

For the SE, since it is 1W, it is recommended to go 500 mA. JMHO

kenny · Nov 20, 2004

if you want it regulated, you may be able to use a wizard (from the sandwich shop) as well, but hey are a little less efficient. Direct drive might be a good Idea for the red since it is not to for off the 2 AA alkaline voltage. Regulated would let you use whatever a little better NiMh etc. You could use the pila with the white DD with a small resistor as well, or use a wizard there also -- just depends on how fancy-schmantzy you want to get, plus $$$ you want to spend.