Original L1P emitter???

[Robocop]

Now that the 1 watt L1P has been discontinued I can not find any information on it as far as specs go.....For the life of me I can not remember what the bin was on the emitter. I remember thinking they all came standard with a R bin emitter however can not remember.....does anyone know what came with the original 1 watt L1Ps

I have an SXOH emitter that I have nothing to use on and am thinking of modding the least bright of my two L1Ps however if it already has an S bin I may just leave it alone. If it has an R bin I think this SXOH will be a huge improvement.

 

[Long John]

Hello Robocop

They came with a R-bin, so your S-bin could be an improvement. But for the hard work (open the head) I would prefer an upgrade with a SSC-P4.

Best regards

_____
Tom

 

[shiftd]

I think the original L1Ps used R bin lux I, either that or T bin Lux III. At the time they were launched, S bin Lux I were still scarce and hard to get, so I doubt they used S bin, let alone such a nice SXOH bin.

If you decide to upgrade your led to SXOH, I would predict the difference in output would be marginal. Depending on the color tint of the original led used, you might notice the difference in color tint more than the difference in output. Most of L1P that I have tried have a bit yellowish/greenish tint when they are underdriven, so if you dont like the color of your L1P now, it might be an incentive to upgrade.
Else, dont bother replacing the led to SXOH.

You should, however, consider replacing the led to a cree. It is a simple mod, requiring only metal padding on the back of the emitter to raise it up to original luxeon focal point, and some sanding/boring on the reflector side.
I modded my L2P to Cree and the result is very pleasing to the eyes. P4 WC used, tint is as white as the snow. It is now as bright, if not brighter, as my RX1H at 800 mA.

 

[Robocop]

Thanks for the help and I have always liked the tint of the XO bin as it is very cool bluish white and usually just "looks" more crisp to me. The emitter was a freebie from fellow member Owen so I really have nothing to lose. Of my two L1Ps one is more of a creamy color and my personal taste does not lead to the warmer look so I really think the XO would do me wonders.

shiftd I very much would like to attempt the Cree mod with this light and I already have the head assembly where it will unscrew easily. I have taken it apart several times experimenting with reflectors however the stock reflector actually does very well on mine.....My biggest fear is the actual Cree emitter itself. I am pretty good with improvising and modding smaller stuff however I have heard so many complaints about soldering the new Crees and also having to work on the emitter so much before mounting I may not want to fool with the whole mess.....dont you have to clip all the corners to break the pathways so it will not short and find some way to solder to the top as well....then you have to worry about the reflector resting down to far and shorting as well......why did they make it so hard to work with these anyways?

If it is as easy as you say I may just be tempted to mod one of my L1Ps with the SXOH and then use a Cree on the 2nd one.

 

[aljsk8]

go with the seoul p4 mod - will be as bright as cree - mabee not perfect tint etc but a lot easire to mod IMHO

alex

 

[abvidledUK]

I'd be interested to see the resulting L1P with either Cree or Seoul P4.

 

[shiftd]

Robocop,

The mod itself is not really all that hard. I would scale it 4/10. The hardest part would be to remove the whole thing from the head, but since you got it covered, we can skip that part.

What I did on mine is that I put a round disk below the emitter about 0.15 - 0.2 mm high. Since the whole emitter got separated from the module, you dont need to clip any corners.
Then I enlarged the hole of the L2P reflector so that the cree ring can go all the way inside. (at this point, we dont really care whether there will be contact issues etc).
Then, to really bring the cree up to a right focal point on the reflector, I shave some of the reflector thread part (about 1 mm). I guess the whole point of shaving is to make sure your L1P head can screw all the way into the body just like it originally was.
Well, at this point, you should see your cree emitter phospor got reflected and filled the reflector nicely.
Now, you need to shave some of the excess aluminum right around the reflector opening. This is to make sure you dont short your cree with the reflector. You can use a wide drill bits, just be careful not to enlarge the hole more than it needs to be. The whole point of this drilling part is not to enlarge the hole, but to make some clearance for the wire + solder to sit. After this is done, you can epoxy your cree, wire the led, put some more insulation on top of the pad (never hurt to be cautious) and screw them in

Thats it, all done. easy enough huh.

 

[Robocop]

Well I have completed the SXOH swap and it is a huge improvement....the hardest part was actually getting the old emitter out of that recessed hole on the heatsink....I used a small needle to pry from the bottom as I did want to salvage the old emitter for something else.

shiftd I think you may have convinced me to try the CREE swap however I need to find a few CREE emitters first. I only need a few so I am trying to find a few places to buy them where I can add some other stuff to my order to make it worth the shipping. I was going to go with DealExtreem however the few lights I wanted from there are sold out so I will wait until I can find a few elsewhere.

If I were to go with the CREE mod in my other L1P would it be safe to use Li-Ion rechargeables? I know nothing of the L1P circuit and assume it would most likely be direct drive using those cells. I like the SXOH so much more I will most likely use my other L1P as a CREE host....I really like this XO bin as the cool color makes it "look" more crisp and bright to me.....thanks for the help

 

[shiftd]

yeah, the XO is what ppl say true white, though I also like WO color bin. Glad you like your modded L1P
i would not recommend using Liion on the L1P, both on luxeon or Cree. First, the circuit may blow up (i need confirmation). Secondly, the luxeon/cree might get more current than it can handle (though this is purely speculation, since liion AA cannot supply that much current for continous period of time).

If you only need the cree emitter, several other CPFers also sell them for about $9 shipped.
I am usually very wary to buy emitter from ppl since you cannot be very sure that you are getting what you pay for (you pay for P4, you wont know if I replace that with P3 ) but not much choice for cree emitter =/

 

[c0t0d0s0]

I upgraded my L2P with a SSC P4 U-bin from teh Shoppe and it's a huge improvement. The mod is easy. I didn't have any problems removing the light engine from the body, there was just a little bit of threadlock and it broke easily. The important part is to raise the emitter (using .030" copper disk - also available from teh Shoppe) and to ensure sufficient insulation between the base of the LED and the body of the flashlight (Arctic Alumina epoxy works well).

The light is now at least twice as bright and the beam is *perfect*!!! The P4 works with the reflector really well without the need for modification. No rings or holes that you would expect from a Cree LED. A little bit of blue tint in the hotspot, but only noticeable while white wall hunting. This is my favorite light once again

 

[shiftd]

A picture of the bezel end

please pay no attention to the reflection of the camera led



Then the beamshot

L2P P4 Cree Vs RX1H IMS17XA @ ~800 mA

on the picture, the RX1H hotspot appears to be brighter, which is true. However, the while the side spill of the two is of the same size, the intensity of the L2P sidespill is about twice of the RX1H. Of course, the RX1H sidespill already provide enough illumination, so I kinda wished more of the sidespill of the cree goes into the hotspot.
Anyway, ceiling bounce test seems to tell me that both of them have the same amount of intensity. RX1H appears a hair bit brighter overall, but remember, it is driven at 800 mA. (I believe the L2P is driven at 350 ~ 400 mA, someone pls confirm)