Super-Bright Luxeon Mod

[Rothrandir]

yep bart, it's under construction :{

 

[B@rt]

I have the page on my computer as I am posting this... Maybe it's your cache?

Here is a link to the Future Active Catalog . Maybe that will work for you...

 

[MrAl]

Hello,

A while back i emailed future and said their
web site was too hard to find stuff on.
Hopefully, they will upgrade their search
software.

--Al

 

[Lux Luthor]

Try the red/orange in the woods too. It blasts right through green leaves to illuminate tree trunks and the ground. I can see further through the woods with these little puppies than with any other color.

Although I don't like the color for most other purposes, I love it's woods penetrating capability. Just this alone makes it worth having a red/orange flashlight.

I once compared a red/orange on 2AA NiMH to a Surge on 8AA NiMH. My initial impression was that I could see more clearly through thick woods with the red/orange than with the Surge. I plan on repeating this comparison in the future.

 

[Slick]

Just as an update, the Red/Orange HD emitter DOES have beam defects. To soften the defects, I used write-wright on the inside of the lens.

Also, I wound up switching over to the old style optic. The old optic will not "lux" as high as the new optic, but the beam is much more even and the hotspot is larger and smoother too. The older optic is more suited to use in the 5 to 20 foot range. I have another Red/Orange that I will build using the new optic or an acrylic sphere for some longer-distance light.

I've shown this light to some people who have seen the whites I build and they are completely blown away by how bright this thing is - even in a brightly lit room during daytime.

 

[McGizmo]

Doug S and others,

I received an e-mail from Future today. Oops, my bad! Even though their printed catalog identifies the LXHL-PR02 as a red 5W emitter, in fact this is the part number for the Royal Blue and Lumiled hasn't come out with a red 5W yet. Oh well, at least I had the weekend to fantasize! It is really unfortunate that Future's web site doesn't give some descriptions along with their part numbers. Of course if they did provide descriptions, it would be even more helpful if the descriptions were correct.

I guess my mod will just have to wait for the short timer 5W white that I will have to keep secret ??!?!

- Don

 

[Brotherscrim]

I'll second the obscene brightness of a 1w r/o lambertain luxeon. I bought a 2aa mod from Silviron with one of those puppies in there. Thing'a beauty, I tells ya

 

[Rothrandir]

what does the -br stand for at the end of the part number? it is on the red/orange, the price differences is about 5 dollars.

 

[Slick]

Originally posted by Rothrandir:
what does the -br stand for at the end of the part number? it is on the red/orange, the price differences is about 5 dollars.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I have no idea... I ordered the LXHL-PH01 without the "br". The web page shows it for $8.85 but when I called, they told me it was only $7.70 (I only bought 2 of this part number)

 

[Rothrandir]

do they offer a cpf discount? the prices are already cheap enough i suppose.

 

[Ben H]

Can somebody post some pics of this fabulous Red/Orange 1W HD? Please. I ordered one to make a mod with and wanted to get a sneak-peak at what is awaiting me.

 

[Slick]

Roth - Future offers their discounts based on quantity of components (same) ordered.

Ben - Sorry, I don't have a digicam... But picture this. Standing back from a white wall about 8 feet and shining the R/O makes the wall look like a "giant Japanese flag". I'm using the old style optic to get this kind of dispersion. Old style optics make a larger more even spot of light than the new optic. The new optic makes the center of the hotspot much brighter and the overall spot of light is smaller diameter which makes it throw better.
********************************************
On the Cyan emitters:

I just did a lux reading on a 1W cyan mod (3AA w/new optic) that I finished up last night and it put out 818 lux on NiMh cells!!

 

[Ben H]

Slick, Lamba, ?

How did you heatsink the R/O emitter? I haven't worked with the emitters before just the stars and the star/O's. I plan on putting the emitter in a brinkmann 2AA light.

 

[Slick]

Originally posted by Ben H:
Slick, Lamba, ?

How did you heatsink the R/O emitter? I haven't worked with the emitters before just the stars and the star/O's. I plan on putting the emitter in a brinkmann 2AA light.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I used a somewhat complex heatsink on my R/O emitter because I initially attempted to test if the R/O die slug was electrically isolated. BEWARE the R/O die slug is NOT isolated, it is POSITIVE!!! What this means is that you will have to mount the emitter on a heatsink that does NOT route negative current.

I made this mistake because my normal mods use white emitters and I mount them directly onto a copper heatsink that also acts as the negative power pickup from the battery tube. White emitters can be mounted directly to an eletrically conductive heatsink whereas R/O's cannot..

Here are a couple of links to photos of the way I build my "pill" to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

front pill view
bottom view of pill

These photos are of a white LS. I used an old piece of the metal core PCB board from a LS/o that I took apart for another mod. You could just as easily use a piece of aliminum heatsink material that is anodized. Just be sure to verify that the anodize blocks any current passage.

Thew reason my R/O heatsink had to be complex is that I burned out the positive emitter lead in my "isolation" test and had to use CW2400 "conductive epoxy" to route power through the bottom of the emitter slug to make it work - so I won't go into details about it...

The truth is, if you're uncomfortable with any of this, you might be further ahead buying a R/O LS/o and trimming down the MCPCB to fit into the flashlight. If you go this route, be sure to use care in making your electrical connections so you don't short-circuit across to the copper traces that run under the emitter. When I build using a cut-down LS/o, I remove the small copper traces (using a razor blade) that run adjacent to the pads where the emitter leads connect to the board. I do this only as a precaution.

 

[Rothrandir]

the bottom slug is positive?!??!?! why on earth would they do that? if anything, it should be negative...does anyone know?

 

[Slick]

Originally posted by Rothrandir:
the bottom slug is positive?!??!?! why on earth would they do that? if anything, it should be negative...does anyone know?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Lumiled's application briefs merely mention that the die slug "IS NOT ELECTRICALLY ISOLATED" for ALL Luxeon emitters.. They don't give any other details. My mention that whites and cyans work OK with the slug touching negative is for clarification and to highlight the fact that this WILL NOT work with the Red/Orange.

There are others here who know far more than me what internal construction "facts" of various LED's make this a reality, so I will them address what causes this..

 

[Ben H]

Slick, Thanks for the reply. Anybody got a simple heatsink for a ls Red/Orange emitter and a brinkmann 2AA light?

 

[Rothrandir]

also, is red/orange the only one with the positive slug? also, anyone figured out about that br yet?

all luxeon emitters are 7.70, if i order the emitters online, will future charge the 8.85 as stated on their web page, or the 7.70?

 

[Slick]

Originally posted by Ben H:
Slick, Thanks for the reply. Anybody got a simple heatsink for a ls Red/Orange emitter and a brinkmann 2AA light?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Ben - I'm looking into having a run of heatsinks made. They will be copper, 1/8 in thick and fit perfectly into a Brinkmann 3AA or 2AA flashlight. I will post details in a new thread.

Roth - I just call Future on their toll free line and get price quotes that way. I have found that prices advertized on their website run higher than what they tell me over the phone.

 

[Ben H]

Slick - Would Artic Alumina Epoxy insulate the slug from the heatsink and still provide good heat transfer?

Also can the plastic part that holds the light bulb in the Brinkmann AA be left in the battery tube and then the heat sink epoxied on top of that?

I would be interested in the heatsinks if the answer to the above questions is yes.