mudman cj
Flashlight Enthusiast
When I saw the new Sundrop by McGizmo, I knew the era of poor color rendition with LEDs would soon be a thing of the past. I have been looking forward to high CRI LEDs for a while now, and couldn't wait for them to come out. I would love to be able to afford the real deal, but I have a bit more time than money. 
So, since the Nichia 083 became available already mounted on a MCPCB from the master himself :bow:, I had to see it with my own eyes so I set to work modifying a light to house one.
I ordered one of the LEDs, bought a nominally 333 mA converter from the Sandwich Shoppe and got to work making a two-stage version of the Sundrop out of an old favorite EDC: the venerable Nuwai Q3. Why this light? It is a relatively easy-to-mod host that readily accepts a 3/4" star and has a reflector that works well with almost anything after perhaps a bit of modification. It is also possible to replace the tail switch with a two stage version and add a resistored low.
With this mod I had to make a choice of which battery types I wanted to run and weigh that against the efficiency that different circuit boards achieve when choked by a resistor. It turns out that the most versatile board for battery types (the buck/boost GD series) is also the least efficient when current-limited by a resistor. On rechargeable it pulls 92% of the current draw on high. (using a 7.2 Ohm resistor give or take - but I could have used up to about 10 Ohms for less output). I could also have decided to limit myself to primaries and chosen a boost board (BB or BBNG series) ; with that one could reduce the current to something like 70mA (using a 22 Ohm resistor) for a good 18 hours on low, or the low could be reduced to a lower low for even longer runtime. But, then I could not use rechargeables or
. Finally, I could have chosen to use a buck board (SOB series) with rechargeables only and also taken advantage of a more efficient low. However, this approach would only work with a Vf on the low side for the bin of available LEDs, so you would have to measure Vf before choosing this option. I decided to go with a GD because I like battery flexibility, and the 0.37A draw on high is gentle enough on the ol' batteries anyhow. :nana: The main reason to include the low with this converter choice, despite modest efficiency gain, is for dark-adjusted situations when you don't want too much light.
And now on to the build section.
To open the Q3 you need to heat it enough to weaken the adhesive securing both the bezel and the reflector. Sometimes I have luck with the boil-in-bag method, but I have better luck using a blow drier or a heat gun. First get the bezel off and then reheat for the reflector. Once the reflector is removed you need to file or otherwise remove material from the bottom of the reflector until you have about taken it down to the step as shown in the picture.
EDIT: I had already filed down the reflector prior to this mod in order to make it work with Seoul LEDs, but have since found that the reflector works fine for this mod if left stock. Note that if the reflector is left original length, a shorter spacer will be needed to raise the LED height for proper focal setting.
The washer in the photo is what I started with to make a spacer to raise the LED into focus. More on that later.
The converter board was soldered to a 0.165" thick washer I cut out of brass. This washer is necessary to make the 0.55" board fit where a 0.75" board goes. To make the washer, the inside was drilled (between clamped aluminum slabs - to keep it flat) out to 1/2" and then the outside was cut down to fit in the Q3 using tin snips. The soldering is tricky because the washer has to get uniformly hot before attempting to solder it to the whole board at once. I heated the washer on a masonry surface to help it hold heat better. It still took a while even with a 40W iron. Here is what it looks like after soldering.
Edit: Note that this does not apply to Downboy rev 4 boards. On those, the physical attachment to the washer is made with epoxy from each side while the electrical connection to the negative terminal of the battery is made by a wire from the appropriate place on the converter board to the brass washer. The wire needs to be soldered in the center of the ring so that it does not interfere with placement of the board or heat sink.
To reinforce the solder joint, I added a small bead of epoxy at the bottom and at the top.
Of course, I waited for the epoxy on the bottom to cure before I set it on my pool table. Can't get too :tinfoil:.
Next, I decided to go one step further and make a support ring for the circuit board out of a *short* piece of 1/2" CPVC pipe. The final length after sanding was about 0.200". I then wrapped the perimeter with a bit of masking tape to increase the O.D. so it would be easier to get it to line up in assembly. Now, this ring is not really necessary, but I wanted to make every effort to avoid straining the solder joint that connects the outside ring (- battery contact) of the board to the brass washer. The photo below shows how the ring fits around the electronics on the board.
Edit: Here again, there is a difference if you use a Downboy rev 4 board. The components are too close to the edge of these boards for a support ring to rest directly on the board without pressing on components. Pressing on circuit components would be a no no. :tsk:
So, here are the parts again, this time showing the stock heat sink along with the converter+washer assembly and the board support ring.
And here they are assembled.
The LED star was then added and the LED was wired up (after trimming the wires a bit). Then I dry fit everything and realized that the LED was below the focal point of the reflector, so I found a 1mm thick (0.025") washer with the right O.D. to begin with (0.796") and used a Dremel tool to enlarge the I.D. to fit around a CR123. In other words, it is now roughly the same I.D. and O.D. as the stock wave washer. Here is the spacer washer along with the stock wave washer and the light engine.
Edit: I have since found an easier way to raise the LED closer to the focal point of the reflector than machining the ID of a washer :green:. I just bent a piece of 14 gauge solid copper house wiring around an appropriate mandrel to form a ring that fits nicely in the host, but easily allows a CR123 battery to slide through it. Here is a pic of the copper spacer inside the body of the light where it will reside. Notice that a RCR123 fits easily inside. This also serves to extend the length of the battery tube enough to allow the use of the longer RCR123 cells out there. In this pic is one of the Trustfire high capacity cells.
These were then dropped into the light in order of wave washer, spacer, then L.E. Of course, I added Arctic Silver heat transfer compound between the stock heat sink and the star.
Edit: Remember, I shortened my reflector - if the reflector is left stock length, a 14 gauge wire spacer would raise the LED into the bottom of the reflector. You wouldn't be able to tighten the bezel down all the way. In this case, instead use either a sanded down 16 gauge solid copper wire or a piece of 18 gauge solid copper wire as found as the center conductor in coax cable. You will need about 0.40" for this spacer, which just happens to be the diameter of 18 gauge wire. Make sure that the spacer sits slightly loose in the light rather than tight against the walls.
I forgot to mention that my light already had the lens replaced with a UCL from flashlightlens dot com, so if you were to try to use the stock lens or a lens of different thickness, then that will affect the focal point location! The stock lens is 0.020" thinner than the one I used, so that means the spacer needs to be that much thicker. In this case, you don't want to use an 18 gauge wire, you need to use 16 gauge. Anyway, with the UCL installed and the modded reflector tightened back into place everything lines up. Some fiddling with LED star centering was necessary, but it turned out OK.
Edit: A trick I figured out to center the Nichia 083 star (which is smaller than a Luxeon star that fits snug) in the Q3 body is to use a piece of 28 gauge insulated wire around the perimeter of the star to evenly center it. The black plastic ring that holds the star down will serve to push the wire into place and hold it there.
And by request, here is a view of the entire light. It's an old pic, but the look hasn't changed.
Now for some beam shots. First I want to show the beam pattern. These were taken with the lights about 5' away form the wall. Color balance was set to sunlight. An Extreme III (similar to Lightflux LF2X only with a Rebel 100) at 100% on Nimh is on the left. The modded Q3 is on the right.
Same setup, but -2 eV):
And now the modded Q3 is on low. The Extreme III is still on 100%.
And again, this time with the exposure set to -2 eV:
And here is a comparison of color rendering, again with color balance set to sunlight. First is the Rebel 100. Keep in mind that this is a nice and warm Rebel.
And now the same shot with the modded Q3:
Ah, that's more like it!
And I know this next one will create some controversy, but even though it makes incandescent look 'bad', keep in mind the point as I see it for this light is to simulate sunlight. So, what better setting on the camera for white balance than 'sunlight'? Even though CRI is based upon incandescent light sources (they score 100%), I personally do not think they are ideal for color rendering. Our eyes evolved to sense light created by the sun after all. IMO the CRI of the Nichia 083 does not tell the whole story. This next shot shows the painting lit with a Wolf Eyes Sniper with the 3.7V lamp assembly. It's a very white incandescent light.
All in all, I am very happy with the way this light turned out. I am even considering making a very limited number of these for interested folks, but when and if I decide to do so, information regarding this service will be posted in a different thread and in the appropriate forum. These are a lot of work, but PM me with interest to twist my arm.
So, since the Nichia 083 became available already mounted on a MCPCB from the master himself :bow:, I had to see it with my own eyes so I set to work modifying a light to house one. I ordered one of the LEDs, bought a nominally 333 mA converter from the Sandwich Shoppe and got to work making a two-stage version of the Sundrop out of an old favorite EDC: the venerable Nuwai Q3. Why this light? It is a relatively easy-to-mod host that readily accepts a 3/4" star and has a reflector that works well with almost anything after perhaps a bit of modification. It is also possible to replace the tail switch with a two stage version and add a resistored low.
With this mod I had to make a choice of which battery types I wanted to run and weigh that against the efficiency that different circuit boards achieve when choked by a resistor. It turns out that the most versatile board for battery types (the buck/boost GD series) is also the least efficient when current-limited by a resistor. On rechargeable it pulls 92% of the current draw on high. (using a 7.2 Ohm resistor give or take - but I could have used up to about 10 Ohms for less output). I could also have decided to limit myself to primaries and chosen a boost board (BB or BBNG series) ; with that one could reduce the current to something like 70mA (using a 22 Ohm resistor) for a good 18 hours on low, or the low could be reduced to a lower low for even longer runtime. But, then I could not use rechargeables or
. Finally, I could have chosen to use a buck board (SOB series) with rechargeables only and also taken advantage of a more efficient low. However, this approach would only work with a Vf on the low side for the bin of available LEDs, so you would have to measure Vf before choosing this option. I decided to go with a GD because I like battery flexibility, and the 0.37A draw on high is gentle enough on the ol' batteries anyhow. :nana: The main reason to include the low with this converter choice, despite modest efficiency gain, is for dark-adjusted situations when you don't want too much light.And now on to the build section.
To open the Q3 you need to heat it enough to weaken the adhesive securing both the bezel and the reflector. Sometimes I have luck with the boil-in-bag method, but I have better luck using a blow drier or a heat gun. First get the bezel off and then reheat for the reflector. Once the reflector is removed you need to file or otherwise remove material from the bottom of the reflector until you have about taken it down to the step as shown in the picture.
EDIT: I had already filed down the reflector prior to this mod in order to make it work with Seoul LEDs, but have since found that the reflector works fine for this mod if left stock. Note that if the reflector is left original length, a shorter spacer will be needed to raise the LED height for proper focal setting.
The washer in the photo is what I started with to make a spacer to raise the LED into focus. More on that later.
The converter board was soldered to a 0.165" thick washer I cut out of brass. This washer is necessary to make the 0.55" board fit where a 0.75" board goes. To make the washer, the inside was drilled (between clamped aluminum slabs - to keep it flat) out to 1/2" and then the outside was cut down to fit in the Q3 using tin snips. The soldering is tricky because the washer has to get uniformly hot before attempting to solder it to the whole board at once. I heated the washer on a masonry surface to help it hold heat better. It still took a while even with a 40W iron. Here is what it looks like after soldering.
Edit: Note that this does not apply to Downboy rev 4 boards. On those, the physical attachment to the washer is made with epoxy from each side while the electrical connection to the negative terminal of the battery is made by a wire from the appropriate place on the converter board to the brass washer. The wire needs to be soldered in the center of the ring so that it does not interfere with placement of the board or heat sink.
To reinforce the solder joint, I added a small bead of epoxy at the bottom and at the top.
Of course, I waited for the epoxy on the bottom to cure before I set it on my pool table. Can't get too :tinfoil:.
Next, I decided to go one step further and make a support ring for the circuit board out of a *short* piece of 1/2" CPVC pipe. The final length after sanding was about 0.200". I then wrapped the perimeter with a bit of masking tape to increase the O.D. so it would be easier to get it to line up in assembly. Now, this ring is not really necessary, but I wanted to make every effort to avoid straining the solder joint that connects the outside ring (- battery contact) of the board to the brass washer. The photo below shows how the ring fits around the electronics on the board.
Edit: Here again, there is a difference if you use a Downboy rev 4 board. The components are too close to the edge of these boards for a support ring to rest directly on the board without pressing on components. Pressing on circuit components would be a no no. :tsk:
So, here are the parts again, this time showing the stock heat sink along with the converter+washer assembly and the board support ring.
And here they are assembled.
The LED star was then added and the LED was wired up (after trimming the wires a bit). Then I dry fit everything and realized that the LED was below the focal point of the reflector, so I found a 1mm thick (0.025") washer with the right O.D. to begin with (0.796") and used a Dremel tool to enlarge the I.D. to fit around a CR123. In other words, it is now roughly the same I.D. and O.D. as the stock wave washer. Here is the spacer washer along with the stock wave washer and the light engine.
Edit: I have since found an easier way to raise the LED closer to the focal point of the reflector than machining the ID of a washer :green:. I just bent a piece of 14 gauge solid copper house wiring around an appropriate mandrel to form a ring that fits nicely in the host, but easily allows a CR123 battery to slide through it. Here is a pic of the copper spacer inside the body of the light where it will reside. Notice that a RCR123 fits easily inside. This also serves to extend the length of the battery tube enough to allow the use of the longer RCR123 cells out there. In this pic is one of the Trustfire high capacity cells.
These were then dropped into the light in order of wave washer, spacer, then L.E. Of course, I added Arctic Silver heat transfer compound between the stock heat sink and the star.
Edit: Remember, I shortened my reflector - if the reflector is left stock length, a 14 gauge wire spacer would raise the LED into the bottom of the reflector. You wouldn't be able to tighten the bezel down all the way. In this case, instead use either a sanded down 16 gauge solid copper wire or a piece of 18 gauge solid copper wire as found as the center conductor in coax cable. You will need about 0.40" for this spacer, which just happens to be the diameter of 18 gauge wire. Make sure that the spacer sits slightly loose in the light rather than tight against the walls.
I forgot to mention that my light already had the lens replaced with a UCL from flashlightlens dot com, so if you were to try to use the stock lens or a lens of different thickness, then that will affect the focal point location! The stock lens is 0.020" thinner than the one I used, so that means the spacer needs to be that much thicker. In this case, you don't want to use an 18 gauge wire, you need to use 16 gauge. Anyway, with the UCL installed and the modded reflector tightened back into place everything lines up. Some fiddling with LED star centering was necessary, but it turned out OK.
Edit: A trick I figured out to center the Nichia 083 star (which is smaller than a Luxeon star that fits snug) in the Q3 body is to use a piece of 28 gauge insulated wire around the perimeter of the star to evenly center it. The black plastic ring that holds the star down will serve to push the wire into place and hold it there.
And by request, here is a view of the entire light. It's an old pic, but the look hasn't changed.
Now for some beam shots. First I want to show the beam pattern. These were taken with the lights about 5' away form the wall. Color balance was set to sunlight. An Extreme III (similar to Lightflux LF2X only with a Rebel 100) at 100% on Nimh is on the left. The modded Q3 is on the right.
Same setup, but -2 eV):
And now the modded Q3 is on low. The Extreme III is still on 100%.
And again, this time with the exposure set to -2 eV:
And here is a comparison of color rendering, again with color balance set to sunlight. First is the Rebel 100. Keep in mind that this is a nice and warm Rebel.
And now the same shot with the modded Q3:
Ah, that's more like it!
And I know this next one will create some controversy, but even though it makes incandescent look 'bad', keep in mind the point as I see it for this light is to simulate sunlight. So, what better setting on the camera for white balance than 'sunlight'? Even though CRI is based upon incandescent light sources (they score 100%), I personally do not think they are ideal for color rendering. Our eyes evolved to sense light created by the sun after all. IMO the CRI of the Nichia 083 does not tell the whole story. This next shot shows the painting lit with a Wolf Eyes Sniper with the 3.7V lamp assembly. It's a very white incandescent light.
All in all, I am very happy with the way this light turned out. I am even considering making a very limited number of these for interested folks, but when and if I decide to do so, information regarding this service will be posted in a different thread and in the appropriate forum. These are a lot of work, but PM me with interest to twist my arm.
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