Swap LED vs New Light

[jayflash]

Swapping new types for the "obsolete" LEDs, found in our older lights, is often mentioned as an alternative to buying a new, brighter, model when more light is requested by the owner. In many cases might it be better just to get a new light?

The time required to acquire and install a new LED will be several hours for those who don't frequently do this and have an "assembly line" or "set-up" ready to go. Plus, the shipping and purchase expense for the LED and other supplies must be considered.

In the case of more typical and ordinary lights, might it be better off to keep the old light and, thus, have another to add to your collection or give away?

There may be some value to keeping a light stock, but I'm unsure whether that affects resale value. While I'm tempted to install new LEDs in some of my lights, I've gotten new ones with more features instead...so far. My old Arc LS & HDS U60 could benefit from new and brighter LEDs, but I'm wondering what's around the corner that might work in those lights.

If you are into modding as a hobby, then swapping isn't the big deal like it might be for someone who isn't familiar with electronics. Besides, the enjoyment of the hobby makes it worthwhile. For others, I'm thinking it may be better to save your time and put the money into a new light and grow your collection. What are your thoughts?

 

[electric sheep]

I knew nothing about soldering(even consider attempting a Mod with a hot screwdriver) but have learnt so much and find it addictive fun. Shipping and LED costs are negligible compared with a new light like my XP but with something like a Mag it becomes a sky is the limit endeavor. i know so little but love the process of learning(and i do tin my components and use a proper iron now).

 

[Kiessling]

I tend to think upgrading is not worth it ... except when you're an expert and know exactly what you're doing and are able to do it in perfect quality and a reasonable time frame. Since this is not the case for 99% of the membership ... I tend to say no, not worth upgrading.

Swapping a LED module, drop-in or Aleph LE is a different story and well worht it, of course.

Usually, just a LED swap won't be enough. The new LED of choice has either a different beam pattern, die height or what not to require more modifications or a compromise in beam quality. Then there's the electronic side ... different Vin, drivers reacting not as they shoudl ... whatnot.

bernie

 

[yellow]

depends on the time scale for the swap, imho
It makes no sense to get a new (or mod an existing) light every few weeks.

f.e., my main light - a SF6P I modded in april 2007 with Flupic and Cree XR-E P4 - is still the nicest one I own.
No other light purchased later comes close, except for the Jet III Pro ST Q5 but that one only if run on full power of 1.3 A from the cell. And its beam quality is not this nice.
Seems the 19mm sandwich shoppe reflector makes a very good job

there has not been so much improvement of the single die's in the last year to be forced to change just because of that, its other reasons to switch to a new light
(beam quality, light levels, UI, switch action, programmable levels, led tint, machining, optical appearance, ...)

 

[Fallingwater]

The time required to acquire and install a new LED will be several hours for those who don't frequently do this and have an "assembly line" or "set-up" ready to go. Plus, the shipping and purchase expense for the LED and other supplies must be considered.

If you're just modding for the result, then yes, it is sometimes better to order new lights.
For example, I have this project (which I'll do as soon as I get the parts) of fitting a two-mode 1xAMC buck driver circuit in one of these. I also want to swap all the LEDs with Jeled 55cd ones (I'd use Nichia GS if they weren't so horribly expensive, relatively speaking). The result will be driven with a 18500 LiIon cell.
The cell I already have (from dismantled surplus battery packs), but the price of the driver and the LEDs is about twice that of the light. The whole thing will also take me, I imagine, the best part of an afternoon. Once the project is over, however, I will unquestionably end up with a much better light than the one I started with... which will most likely still be outperformed by a number of only slightly more expensive lights.

In other words, for some the process itself gives satisfaction (and fun). Being a compulsive modder (so far the only things that have escaped my modding mania are my motorbike and car, because the bang-per-buck ratio of most automotive modifications is very low, plus I want to keep them road-legal) I can very much relate to this mentality.

Personally I take little pleasure in modifying great products in order to make them just that tiny bit greater (though I've occasionally done it out of need). What I love doing is modifying cheap, or just ordinary items, solve their problems and make them if not good then at least actually useful, and in any case a lot better than they were before.
This is part of the reason why I'm so crazy about dealextreme, and it's also why I've never bought, and most likely never will, a Surefire (not to mention any of the custom work-of-art lights that many around here are so crazy about). I don't particularly like getting things that 1) I don't need to modify, and 2) I won't want to modify anyway, for fear of breaking something so expensive.

It's also why I have much more affection for my extensively modified L-Mini than for my great-from-day-one NDI. I still use the NDI because it's handy, but if someone pointed a gun at my head and asked me to choose just one light it'd be the L-Mini.

This, of course, applies to everything I'm involved in, not just flashlights.

And then there's the matter of affection due to use. Some of us are childishly in love with appliances that we've used for a long time and that have withstood the test of time; replacing them with one that works better is therefore a sad, though often necessary, experience for us. But if we can mod them instead and keep them working and useful, we're much happier.

To give you another example, I'm still using this old clunker of an mp3 player. I've had it for, I think, six years. I got other players during this time in an attempt to find one that was at least a bit more comfortable to carry around, but for one or another reason I still always found myself listening to music using the old one (I did upgrade the hard drive though). In the end it developed a defect where it'd suck the battery dry in a few hours even if turned off, and then the original LiIon cell died; I modded it with a 18650 and a switch, and it's been running great ever since.

I'm currently in the process of choosing a flash-based player to replace it, because a) it's way, way too bulky, and b) I'm tired of having to be paranoid about not smacking it around for fear of wrecking the hard disk. This is proving an incredibly hard thing to do.

I hope this unnecessarily long-winded post answered your questions.

Edit: forgot to mention that I never, ever take aesthetics into consideration when modding electronics. This is why I can easily understand those who add watercooling to a computer to make it 15% faster, but I'll never understand those who modify their cases with coloured lights, fancy grilles and whatnot. It's also why many of my creations look like they came out of a mad scientist's laboratory.

My old Arc LS & HDS U60 could benefit from new and brighter LEDs, but I'm wondering what's around the corner that might work in those lights.

The Arc LS is one of the best lights ever made (I don't speak from experience, but when everyone who's tried one has only good things to say about it the conclusion is obvious). Considering that getting another light like it would cost you at least a hundred bucks (and probably rather more), and that a LED swap would turn it from very good to excellent, I can see no reason whatsoever not to replace its LED with a $5 SSC P4.

 

[electric sheep]

I started modding airguns and really got into it but it was never economically viable. I do things i enjoy and i enjoy learning how things work then making the most elegant solution(if i can).