Triple XP-G in Surefire KL4

[DaFABRICATA]

I had a nice big write up and lost it all!!....F-it! :scowl:
The last few days have tested my temper...time for bed for the next 76 hours...:shakehead

I'll update this thread tomorrow with details.:scowl:


UPDATE:

A 20mm triple XP-G board was used with the 6 degree optics that I was able to get from R@ndom (Thanks!)
A heatsink was turned down to size that I bought a while back from Mirage Man (Thanks!)
Since I don't have a lathe, I used my drill press with some files and sandpaper to get it to the right size..
A Blue Shark running at full was used to drive the emitters.
The KL4 was already bored out to fit a different reflector for use with an MC-E that I had in there for a while.
I figured it would be a perfect host for this mod since most of the hard work was already done.
The beam is a lot more concentrated than the Quad XP-G using the 4 x McR10 reflectors..as expected.
Overall I'm happy with the results and like how much light this tiny head puts out.

Triple XP-G KL4

Quad XP-G / McR10 Pr-T

 

[ANDREAS FERRARI]

Don't you hate it when you take the time to right up a review and you make one mistake and it all disappears!

This looks interesting DaFABRICATA-can't wait for more.:twothumbs

 

[Hill]

I fell your pain. Sometimes computers really suck!!

But at least you got the most important posted - PICS and BEAMSHOTS :thumbsup:

I really like the small form factor of the XPG triple.



Hill

 

[kz1000s1]

I've lost a long write-up too. And it takes me forever
to write anything.
Now I always type it in Notepad or another program
off of the forum. Save frequently, then just copy and paste
into your post. Even a short post like this I'll copy it to the clipboard in case it gets messed up.
Like just now I tried to post this reply and my wireless connection quit. This post is a re-paste.

 

[Moddoo]

sweet build man.

I have things ready to fit a triple into my M1...
:devil:


when I have a bit of time.

 

[TDK-R]

Great mod Tim :twothumbs

 

[Gunner12]

Nice mod!

I'm also thinking of doing a tri XP-G with the tri optic when I get some money. Sorry for hijacking the thread, but what and how would you recommend driving the LEDs? 3 parallel or 3 series?

Thanks!

And

:goodjob:

 

[DaFABRICATA]

Thanks for the nice comments guys!:wave:


Gunner12, The board they were mounted on only give the option of series which works well with the Shark.

 

[Icarus]

Nice and interesting mod! :twothumbs
It's a pity only cutter sells these parts.

 

[Justin Case]

Nice mod!

I'm also thinking of doing a tri XP-G with the tri optic when I get some money. Sorry for hijacking the thread, but what and how would you recommend driving the LEDs? 3 parallel or 3 series?

First, if you want to wire the LEDs in parallel, you have to get the individually addressable triple star (I assume that Defab used a 20mm triple star from Cutter, so that's where you would also order the individually addressable triple). Then, you have to solder the appropriate jumper wires for your parallel connections. If you want the LEDs in series, then you just order the series triple star that has the MCPCB already connected for series operation.

Series in principle is best, in terms of avoiding any issues of unbalanced LEDs that might cause thermal runaway problems. In practice? Moddoo has sold a lot of parallel triple XP-E P60 drop-ins with no reported problems. I have three of them I built using his version 1 heat sink and they all work fine using parallel XP-Es and XP-Gs.

The challenge for a series connection is that you need a driver that can either boost or buck to a load of approximately 10V. Boost is probably a better choice for a compact flashlight. 2xLi-ion should work well. For a buck driver, you'd need a lot of batteries to get above the driver's voltage threshold for running in regulation and buck the voltage down to ~10V, e.g., at least 3xLi-ion or 4xLi-ion. If you have a Mag mod in mind and have a battery adapter that allows you to load up on a lot of cells, then series LEDs driven by a buck driver might be the way to go. An SF M6 also could be good. It all depends on your specific mod and specific driver.

For my triple P60, I wanted to go with a series LED configuration, but I just couldn't figure out a workable driver and battery configuration in a convenient SureFire 6P flashlight size. The P60 drop-in needed something that would fit in a 17mm diam driver cavity. I didn't like any of the DX or KD 2.8A P7 drivers. I also didn't see a convenient way to make a sandwich out of the KD1640 1A buck driver. I could have built a 2xSOB1000 (or higher) sandwich, for example, but that would have been rather expensive. Then the voltage overhead for the SOBs to run in regulation in my experience is relatively high. I estimated that I would need at least about 12V input to reach regulation, and thus require 4xLi-ion as a minimum. I wasn't interested in carrying something the length of a 12ZM around.

Parallel is certainly easy and cheap wrt the driver. I used a 2-board, single mode, 6xAMC7135 sandwich (one, of course, could go with a multimode AMC sandwich driver, or perhaps an 8xAMC when driving the triple XP-Gs). These AMC drivers work great with 1xIMR Li-ion for example. Also works great with 3xNiMH.

The AMC sandwich driver seemed like the best solution for my requirements. IMO, they really shine when you want to run with 1xLi-ion. For example, one configuration uses a FiveMega 6P clone body with 1x18650. Combined with a McC2S, it's a really flexible light. On low (60 ohm resistor), I ran the light continuously for over 24 hours before getting bored. The 18650 OCV was still above 3.8V IIRC, so there was plenty of capacity left. I think I eventually estimated around 50 hrs run time in low.

 

[R@ndom]

Posted too fast, read Justin Case's post

 

[Gunner12]

Forgot to add, the battery would perferrabably be a 18650, but will use 2 RCR123s if the higher voltage would be more useful.

Maybe 3 thin drivers, one for each LED, could work, since the drivers should cancel out the voltage difference. If the LED Vfs are close enough, then I might just use a 8 or 6 AMC chips driver.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[wquiles]

Nice build :thumbsup: