need parts list

[jasonsmaglites]

i need help digging up and or deciding on what parts to buy for a few builds.
i want some 3d dd ssc p4 for some "unenlightened" friends. so i need some ssc p4 heatsinks. remember them now that p7's are out? didnt think so. can i just use the same heatsinks made for the p7's or should i get the old ones? ive pm'd litemania and h22 to no avail. i dont see any threads for them. if i can use an annodized p7 heatsink, i might just get a half dozen of them for various builds. also, for a mce, do i have to use that special heatsink or will a p7 heatsink do fine? it would be great if i had some flexibility. id like to as much as i can from as few suppliers as possible to save some money.

what p7 or mce led suppliers are you guys recomending right now? who has a nice efficent, but warm bin ready to go, but maybe for less than $30 a pop.

also, can you recomend a driver or a way to build a p7 into a 4d mag. cant dd that one!

 

[JamisonM]

Jason, P4 heatsinks are available here, here, and here. You can use a P7 heatsink if that's all you have, but you'll have to center the LED yourself before the epoxy sets. I don't know of anybody right off who are selling MCEs, but I do you can get P7s from LITEmania, 4sevens(linked above) and PhotonFanatic. For drivers, I ordered a hipCC from George over at TaskLED today. I'll be putting it and a P7 into a 4D maglite as well. I'll be powering it all with 5 NiMH.

 

[ace0001a]

The best priced heatsinks in general are the DHS ones by H22A. You don't need to message and ask him, usually people just look at his thread, figure what they want and paypal him. I would recommend getting the HAIII versions since you plan on using SSCP4 emitters. The standard DHS heatsink also works with the Cree MC-Es.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=160483

Endeavor has some K-bin (equivalent to P7 C-bin, 700-800 lumens @ 2.8A) WF tinted MC-Es for sale @ $20 each, which is a good price.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=209463

Photonfanatic was blowing out his DSX0J P7s for $16 each (which is a fantastic deal especially for a D-bin), but is all sold out now. I snatched a couple when he first put them on clearance. He said they weren't selling because of the newer DSW0I emitters he sells now and those go for $28 each (less if you buy more than 4).

 

[jasonsmaglites]

some say the wf bin has green tint to it. i dont mind yellow, but green?

ok, i like the h22a heatsink. seems great price for the money, especially once you get up in volume. he has three haIII heatsinks pictured. one for ssc, cree, and lux. they all look the same. and did any of them imply they would work for the p7 or is that a special sink like i got from brightlumens?

also, is there anytime i would prefer the bare aluminum vs the electricly isolated ha3?

 

[JamisonM]

some say the wf bin has green tint to it. i dont mind yellow, but green?

ok, i like the h22a heatsink. seems great price for the money, especially once you get up in volume. he has three haIII heatsinks pictured. one for ssc, cree, and lux. they all look the same. and did any of them imply they would work for the p7 or is that a special sink like i got from brightlumens?

also, is there anytime i would prefer the bare aluminum vs the electricly isolated ha3?

I believe H22A's DHS heatsinks are a universal heatsink for cree, seoul and luxeon emitters. The only way you'll get them to works with a P7 or MCE is to sand the pedestal smooth. The reason you want an anodized heatsink is because you wont have to worry about isolating the slug of the LED as is with the case of Seoul's P4 and P7 LEDs. You don't have to use an anodized heatsink, but you will have to keep it in mind while setting the LED on the heatsink. If you use a anodized heatsink, it's just another thing you don't have to worry about.

 

[ace0001a]

some say the wf bin has green tint to it. i dont mind yellow, but green?

ok, i like the h22a heatsink. seems great price for the money, especially once you get up in volume. he has three haIII heatsinks pictured. one for ssc, cree, and lux. they all look the same. and did any of them imply they would work for the p7 or is that a special sink like i got from brightlumens?

also, is there anytime i would prefer the bare aluminum vs the electricly isolated ha3?

I got a couple of Endeavor's WF tinted MC-Es and they look mostly white, with a hint of green. I look at this way in the sense that the human eye sees the most shades of green and is the reason why night vision equipment uses green. With LEDs as long as the beam still looks mostly white, I don't mind too much if it has a slight tint towards any particular color...but if I see too much blue or purple is usually where I don't like it too much. I guess this boils down to preference, but personally I don't find green and yellow all that bad as I dislike blue or purple more these days.

H22A's DHS heatsinks come in 2 varieties with 2 surfaces: The regular DHS and the P7 DHS with both available in bare aluminum and HAIII. The standard DHS will fit SSP4, Luxeons, Cree XR-Es and MC-Es and just about any emitter about that same size. The P7 heatsinks are mainly for P7s, but will fit any emitter smaller with the fact that you have to center them yourself if you chose to do so. Going bare aluminum is fine for any emitter that doesn't have a positive connection on the base or slug of the emitter. Since SSCP4 and P7s have a positive connection on the base of the emitter, HAIII heatsinks make things easier to work with as you don't have to worry about shorting out the emitter. You can still use bare metal heatsinks on P4s and P7s, it's jus that you have to make sure you're thermal adhesive is thick enough to not be electrically conductive, but not so thick that it becomes not so good on thermal conductivity.

 

[jasonsmaglites]

I believe H22A's DHS heatsinks are a universal heatsink for cree, seoul and luxeon emitters. The only way you'll get them to works with a P7 or MCE is to sand the pedestal smooth. The reason you want an anodized heatsink is because you wont have to worry about isolating the slug of the LED as is with the case of Seoul's P4 and P7 LEDs. You don't have to use an anodized heatsink, but you will have to keep it in mind while setting the LED on the heatsink. If you use a anodized heatsink, it's just another thing you don't have to worry about.

did you mean to say the only way i'll get them to work on a CREE or MCE is to sand the pedestal smooth? on the p7 we dont want it to touch bare aluminum right? get the annodized for a p7 or a seoul, nothing else as i understand.

 

[jasonsmaglites]

I got a couple of Endeavor's WF tinted MC-Es and they look mostly white, with a hint of green. I look at this way in the sense that the human eye sees the most shades of green and is the reason why night vision equipment uses green. With LEDs as long as the beam still looks mostly white, I don't mind too much if it has a slight tint towards any particular color...but if I see too much blue or purple is usually where I don't like it too much. I guess this boils down to preference, but personally I don't find green and yellow all that bad as I dislike blue or purple more these days.

H22A's DHS heatsinks come in 2 varieties with 2 surfaces: The regular DHS and the P7 DHS with both available in bare aluminum and HAIII. The standard DHS will fit SSP4, Luxeons, Cree XR-Es and MC-Es and just about any emitter about that same size. The P7 heatsinks are mainly for P7s, but will fit any emitter smaller with the fact that you have to center them yourself if you chose to do so. Going bare aluminum is fine for any emitter that doesn't have a positive connection on the base or slug of the emitter. Since SSCP4 and P7s have a positive connection on the base of the emitter, HAIII heatsinks make things easier to work with as you don't have to worry about shorting out the emitter. You can still use bare metal heatsinks on P4s and P7s, it's jus that you have to make sure you're thermal adhesive is thick enough to not be electrically conductive, but not so thick that it becomes not so good on thermal conductivity.

now why couldnt h22 have gotten back to me about all that?
looks like i want p7 annodized x2
and seoul annodized x2
and mce bare x2

does that sound right?

 

[JamisonM]

did you mean to say the only way i'll get them to work on a CREE or MCE is to sand the pedestal smooth? on the p7 we dont want it to touch bare aluminum right? get the annodized for a p7 or a seoul, nothing else as i understand.

Yes, you will have to sand the pedestal smooth, but that is also why you use a none conductive thermal epoxy as well such as arctic alumina. That doesn't mean you absolutely have to get an anodized heatsink, just that if you do, that another thing that you don't have to worry about.

 

[ace0001a]

now why couldnt h22 have gotten back to me about all that?
looks like i want p7 annodized x2
and seoul annodized x2
and mce bare x2

does that sound right?

Well, he's usually pretty busy I guess...and there seems to be plenty of info in his sales thread (you just have to read through it). So it sounds like you've figured it out. I usually just get the anodized ones myself because I like the look and feel of them.

 

[jasonsmaglites]

I believe H22A's DHS heatsinks are a universal heatsink for cree, seoul and luxeon emitters. The only way you'll get them to works with a P7 or MCE is to sand the pedestal smooth. The reason you want an anodized heatsink is because you wont have to worry about isolating the slug of the LED as is with the case of Seoul's P4 and P7 LEDs. You don't have to use an anodized heatsink, but you will have to keep it in mind while setting the LED on the heatsink. If you use a anodized heatsink, it's just another thing you don't have to worry about.

what i meant was in your original thread you said the only way the annodized heat sink would work on a p7 and mce is if you sand the heatsink down. i was asking did you mean to say the only way that would work on a CREE and a mce is to sand it down. cause the p4 i thought you DID want it annodized so the positive slug doesnt touch the heatsink.

 

[JamisonM]

what i meant was in your original thread you said the only way the annodized heat sink would work on a p7 and mce is if you sand the heatsink down. i was asking did you mean to say the only way that would work on a CREE and a mce is to sand it down. cause the p4 i thought you DID want it annodized so the positive slug doesnt touch the heatsink.

Depending on who made the heatsink and what LED the heatsink was made for will determine if you have to sand the pedestal smooth so it can be used with an LED it was not made for. Say all you have are H22A's DHS heatsinks and you want to use one with a seoul P7. You don't want to buy another heatsink, so you'll have to modify one you already have. You'll have to sand the pedestal so the P7 sits on it right. Here's one of 3rd_shift's guides. At the 9th picture down the page, he shows what he had to do to so he could use the heatsink with a seoul P7.

The anodizing of a heatsink acts as an electrical barrier. This means you won't have to worry about isolating the slug of the LED you putting on it. As I said, this just means this is something else you don't have to worry about. That makes a mod faster and easier. Heatsinks that are not anodized or after you sand the pedestal and reveal bare aluminum, will require special attention when you get around to putting the LED on it. All you need is a little arctic alumina and you'll be fine.

 

[ace0001a]

But of course as we all know that H22A also has P7 specific heatsinks in both bare aluminum and HAIII. The other difference between his P7 and regular DHS heatsinks is that the P7 ones have the inner bottom filled out, meaning there is no indentation on the inside bottom which gives the heatsink more mass to absorb heat.

 

[jasonsmaglites]

Depending on who made the heatsink and what LED the heatsink was made for will determine if you have to sand the pedestal smooth so it can be used with an LED it was not made for. Say all you have are H22A's DHS heatsinks and you want to use one with a seoul P7. You don't want to buy another heatsink, so you'll have to modify one you already have. You'll have to sand the pedestal so the P7 sits on it right. Here's one of 3rd_shift's guides. At the 9th picture down the page, he shows what he had to do to so he could use the heatsink with a seoul P7.

The anodizing of a heatsink acts as an electrical barrier. This means you won't have to worry about isolating the slug of the LED you putting on it. As I said, this just means this is something else you don't have to worry about. That makes a mod faster and easier. Heatsinks that are not anodized or after you sand the pedestal and reveal bare aluminum, will require special attention when you get around to putting the LED on it. All you need is a little arctic alumina and you'll be fine.

i think we're on more of the same page here than you think. what i was saying is my understanding was you wouldnt need to sand it down for the p7, which your original statement said. just the cree and the mce. unless someone corrects me to tell me different, i'll just assume it was a typo, or a misunderstanding as to what you meant on my part. im about ready to build a few sscp4 mags now, cause i know friends are just gonna put alkalines in anything they have me build them. seems a better build for a non flashaholic.

 

[jasonsmaglites]

ok, i think i like h22's sscp4 heatsinks the best. good price when i go for 3 ($31). i like the britelumens mce heatsink because it looks like its just made for it to sink down into it perfectly. is that a benefit over the regular flat top heatsink? i assume so. i already bought a p7 heatsink from britelumens and liked it so i may as well get one from him while im ordering everything. i'd like to use as few suppliers as possible. is there one guy i can get all the heatsinks AND the leds from, or at least narrow it down to two suppliers? heres what i got so far and who i prefer to buy each one from

2x mce heatsink britelumens#1 h22#2 BARE
2x cool mce led's ?
1x p7 heatsink britelumens#1 h22#2 ANNODIZED
2xp7 litemania d bin $17,
3x sscp4 heatsinks litemania? ANNODIZED
3x sscp4 w/warm tint photonfanatic
aa epoxy/grease fred pilon/photonfanatic
khatod reflectorstippled fred/photonfanatic since its $5 apiece, not my fav though
diy 18650 build sgt burkett sold out

this list is just for my sake, to keep track of what i wanna do. tips are welcome though
jason

 

[jasonsmaglites]

what drivers do you guys recomend for the following situations.

1) 4d p7 or mce (at least 2 mode perferred, no sos or strobe IF possible)

2) 2d driving single sscp4 (boost needed) maybe 1A

is the d2flex something i want to look at

how do i change modes in a maglite with a stock switch? does pressing the button halfway do the trick, since it does have momentary on.