KL1/KL4 hybrid

grnamin

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Well, I did it! I was able to secure a 4th gen KL1. I extracted the converter board and transplanted it into a KL4 and added a Luxeon III UW0J. Good spot and good sidespill. I would imagine that runtime would be pretty much the same as when the board was in the KL1. I can now operate the KL4 with 1, 2 or 3 123 batteries, 1 Pila 168S, 1xR123 or 2xR123. I recommend this mod for anyone who has horrible modding skills like I do. :)
 

Luna

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Dec 27, 2004
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grnamin said:
Well, I did it! I was able to secure a 4th gen KL1. I extracted the converter board and transplanted it into a KL4 and added a Luxeon III UW0J. Good spot and good sidespill. I would imagine that runtime would be pretty much the same as when the board was in the KL1. I can now operate the KL4 with 1, 2 or 3 123 batteries, 1 Pila 168S, 1xR123 or 2xR123. I recommend this mod for anyone who has horrible modding skills like I do. :)


I wanted to see this the other direction :) KL1 tir on the KL4

So if you wanna sell the tir :D
 

Kiessling

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This is a LuxIII in the KL4 then? Just like in the old days with the McL4 ... a very pleasant beam indeed.

So ... and were you able to put the LuxV in the KL1 shell and have a look what the LuxV would do with the KL1 TIR optic?

bernie
 

xpitxbullx

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I thought the 4th gen KL1's were already Lux-III. Why did you switch the heads if all you did was basically change the LED and remove the TIR?

Jeff
 

jar3ds

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xpitxbullx said:
I thought the 4th gen KL1's were already Lux-III. Why did you switch the heads if all you did was basically change the LED and remove the TIR?

Jeff

well... because he wanted to use the board from the KL1, but wanted the package of the KL4 (reflector and such)
 

jar3ds

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how did you open the KL1 head? how well did the KL1 stuff fit into the KL4?
 

grnamin

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Luna said:
I wanted to see this the other direction :) KL1 tir on the KL4

So if you wanna sell the tir :D

Kiessling said:
This is a LuxIII in the KL4 then? Just like in the old days with the McL4 ... a very pleasant beam indeed.

So ... and were you able to put the LuxV in the KL1 shell and have a look what the LuxV would do with the KL1 TIR optic?

bernie

Yes, LuxIII in a KL4. Alas, right after the mod, I put the whole E1L minus driver board up for sale and someone snagged it quickly. :D I wasn't able to test any other configuration. Oh well, I'll reseve the above ideas for the next KL1 coming in. :D

xpitxbullx said:
I thought the 4th gen KL1's were already Lux-III. Why did you switch the heads if all you did was basically change the LED and remove the TIR?

Jeff

Yep, you're right, Jeff. The KL1 comes with a LuxIII. I like the shorter length of the KL4 and I don't have a reflector to fit inside the KL1 at this time so I opted to just move the KL1 driver into the KL4. I also wasn't able to budge the heat sink/LED platform from the bezel. I didn't want to experiment further because I wanted to sell the whole kit to recoup modding expenses. :)

jar3ds said:
how did you open the KL1 head? how well did the KL1 stuff fit into the KL4?

I wrapped the KL1 head in shrink wrap and immersed it in boiling water for 5 minutes to loosen up the thread lock. I then wrapped strips of old inner tube around the two bezel sections and twisted the parts loose. The KL1 driver board is pretty much the same size and configuration as the KL4's, including the positive and negative terminals it is secured to. All I did was pull out the board, insert the wires through the holes in the KL4's heat sink and solder the leads to the LuxIII.
 
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IsaacHayes

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Put the luxV and KL4 driver board into the KL1 head, and see what the beam looks like with a LuxV TIR!!! :rock:
 

grnamin

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IsaacHayes said:
Put the luxV and KL4 driver board into the KL1 head, and see what the beam looks like with a LuxV TIR!!! :rock:

Sounds like a good plan. :) That's definitely a future project. I'm sure someone will beat me to it or maybe it's already been done.
 

IsaacHayes

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Hehe, the KL1 and KL4 swapped clothes!! haha. At least fire up the luxV with low power and put the optic on top and see what the beam looks like. That way you won't have to take it back apart if the beam isn't good.
 

CM

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You can put a reflector into the KL1. You just need to replace the lens (22.8mm IIRC) and use the IMS 20mm reflector. There's nothing special about the KL4 reflector. In fact I prefer the smooth ones like the IMS over the textured KL4 reflector for more efficiency. If you want textured, the McRxx will fit well also. I think this is an easier mod than swapping out the circuit boards. There's very little waste also. You end up with a TIR optic and an unuseable emitter from the KL1 if you decide to swap out the lux.
 
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chesterqw

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yah man! go try a luxV with a tir lens... it must rock if the beam is perfect!

post some picture of beam if you ever try...

or you can like use a new driver and drive the luxIII in the KL1 to 1000ma or more, must be a thrower demon!
 

jar3ds

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you must try a luxV through the TIR! show us pics! :D
 

BBL

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considering the KL1 TIR projects a die-shaped beam, a Lux5 wouldnt look very pretty in a KL1 head.
 

jar3ds

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a hexagon wouldn't be too bad... :)

but your right... i doubt that TIR is made for a luxV
 

IsaacHayes

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I thought you already had the spare parts since you swapped them???

Or was the KL1 the one that was broke in half? in that case you should still have the luxV and KL4 board right?
 

grnamin

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IsaacHayes said:
I thought you already had the spare parts since you swapped them???

Or was the KL1 the one that was broke in half? in that case you should still have the luxV and KL4 board right?

The KL1 I broke in half is gone. I threw out most of the parts and gave away the others. I got another KL1 day before yesterday and harvested the board from it. I also killed the board on the KL4 in order to use it as a platform for a Wiz2 (more like a washer to bridge the gap between the contacts and the inside of the KL4 bezel). Me and my crazy mods. :D
 
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