I know this has been covered a number of times, but...
A couple years ago I added U bin P4's to both my Basic 60 and Ultimate 60 XR. They were an improvement (for the most part.) Decided to try an XPG R4 Neutral in the Basic (my 2nd favorite light of the two) to see if there was any improvement in brightness, tint, or beam shape.
The XPG's came mounted on a round 8mm board, perfect diameter for the HDS pill. The only problem was that it is very thin, and sat so low in the head that it wouldn't focus. Took it apart, and found a disc magnet (a little too thick, and a little too small in diameter) to use as a spacer. I demagnetized it by heating with a propane torch, and put it all together. Now it was able to be focused, and comparing it to the HDS with the P4 in it I decided it was definitely worth doing the upgrade to both.
Took it apart again, went over to a friend that has a nice 100 year old 11" lathe, and had him turn a couple aluminum shims for the emitter/board to sit on in the pill indent. They are .315" in diameter, and .065" in thickness. With the board sitting on top, the board is flush with the top of the pill and focuses perfectly.
Put the Basic 60 back together, then did the Ultimate 60 XR with the same shim.
The outcome is remarkable, and these are once again my favorite everyday lights (especially the Ultimate.)
They are considerably brighter than the P4's were. The beam shape is typical XPG, with a large clearly defined hot spot, but plenty of spill. How Henry designed a reflector that would work absolutely perfectly with an emitter to come out years later is beyond me.
If there is any flaw in the beam of either lights, I cannot see it. I am excited to have two 'new' lights that are better than the many more recent lights I have bought.
The tint is indeed neutral, with the one in the Ultimate just a shade on the warm side of neutral.
One thing that seems a bit odd is that the XR is now as bright as the Basic. With the P4's (and I had a few different bins in each over time) the Basic was always perceptibly brighter than the XR which I decided was due to a lower drive current.
With the XPG's, they look exactly the same in brightness - very bright indeed and quite a step up from the P4's. The lowest setting is still very low, so no problem there. I've run both on high for 20 minutes with no thermal stepdown, so that will not be a problem.
Here are a few pics of the shim, emitter, and pill with them mounted. (Please, no comments on the crappy soldering job - my pencil seems to be running a little cold out in the garage in the winter.)
For anyone with doubts as to how an XPG would work for upgrading your HDS, I'll just say that the beam shape is perfect with a larger, smoother hotspot than original, great spill, still better throw than original, and early trials show better runtime than original. I'm really excited about having 2 really nice new lights...
I could probably talk my friend into making a couple extra aluminum shims if someone really wants to do the upgrade. I'm off for a walk outside with the Ultimate 60 XR...
John F
LV, NV
A couple years ago I added U bin P4's to both my Basic 60 and Ultimate 60 XR. They were an improvement (for the most part.) Decided to try an XPG R4 Neutral in the Basic (my 2nd favorite light of the two) to see if there was any improvement in brightness, tint, or beam shape.
The XPG's came mounted on a round 8mm board, perfect diameter for the HDS pill. The only problem was that it is very thin, and sat so low in the head that it wouldn't focus. Took it apart, and found a disc magnet (a little too thick, and a little too small in diameter) to use as a spacer. I demagnetized it by heating with a propane torch, and put it all together. Now it was able to be focused, and comparing it to the HDS with the P4 in it I decided it was definitely worth doing the upgrade to both.
Took it apart again, went over to a friend that has a nice 100 year old 11" lathe, and had him turn a couple aluminum shims for the emitter/board to sit on in the pill indent. They are .315" in diameter, and .065" in thickness. With the board sitting on top, the board is flush with the top of the pill and focuses perfectly.
Put the Basic 60 back together, then did the Ultimate 60 XR with the same shim.
The outcome is remarkable, and these are once again my favorite everyday lights (especially the Ultimate.)
They are considerably brighter than the P4's were. The beam shape is typical XPG, with a large clearly defined hot spot, but plenty of spill. How Henry designed a reflector that would work absolutely perfectly with an emitter to come out years later is beyond me.
If there is any flaw in the beam of either lights, I cannot see it. I am excited to have two 'new' lights that are better than the many more recent lights I have bought.
The tint is indeed neutral, with the one in the Ultimate just a shade on the warm side of neutral.
One thing that seems a bit odd is that the XR is now as bright as the Basic. With the P4's (and I had a few different bins in each over time) the Basic was always perceptibly brighter than the XR which I decided was due to a lower drive current.
With the XPG's, they look exactly the same in brightness - very bright indeed and quite a step up from the P4's. The lowest setting is still very low, so no problem there. I've run both on high for 20 minutes with no thermal stepdown, so that will not be a problem.
Here are a few pics of the shim, emitter, and pill with them mounted. (Please, no comments on the crappy soldering job - my pencil seems to be running a little cold out in the garage in the winter.)
For anyone with doubts as to how an XPG would work for upgrading your HDS, I'll just say that the beam shape is perfect with a larger, smoother hotspot than original, great spill, still better throw than original, and early trials show better runtime than original. I'm really excited about having 2 really nice new lights...
I could probably talk my friend into making a couple extra aluminum shims if someone really wants to do the upgrade. I'm off for a walk outside with the Ultimate 60 XR...
John F
LV, NV
