Help me mod this Chinese "Luxeon" light!

HenryE

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 8, 2005
Messages
157
This is purportedly a "3W Luxeon", but it's not.

It's a two-cell CR123 body, very well-made with a nice clicky. The star is not marked at all, but the emitter is very bright. The reflector looks parabolic, and throw is excellent. The emitter is fed through a 3.4 ohm resistor via an unpopulated and unmarked circuit board.

I would like to install a WYOS in there, but don't know if it will operate direct drive without some sort of current limiting, and if so, what value resistor should replace the existing one.

Even better, is there any sort of "intelligence" I can buy to replace the existing circuit board between the star and the cells? I'd like some combination of regulation, variable intensity, etc.

Thanks,

Henry
 

LEDcandle

Flashlight Enthusiast
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Aug 15, 2005
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1,943
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Mushroom S'pore
Just to chip in, I am running a WWAS Direct drive on 2 x 3v Li-ons... getting about 540ma batt draw when the batts are 'fresh' (5.95v under load). Then the output gradually drops; strange thing is, they drop almost like an alkaline and not maintain a flat output.

Batts are rated at 600mah, output drops to about 50% in 40mins.

The mod originally had a Downboy500 (using R123as) incorporated which worked fine and dandy but suddenly the convertor died for some reason, so now its in DD (3v R123as).
 

HenryE

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 8, 2005
Messages
157
Good news - thanks. I didn't want to fry that expensive new emitter, and wanted a green (white?) light to do some experimenting.

So I replaced the original star, which was on a sink that was slightly thinner than the genuine Lumiled. And, the LED itself seemed to sit slightly higher on the genuine article. When assembled, that put the emitted slightly "out" in comparison to the original, producing less throw and more flood. MUCH more light, though, and whiter. Very good. Direct drive.

I don't have the courage to put rechargeable cells behind this S emitter without a current-limiting resistor.

Overall, this light is far superior to the original. It looks great because the original build quality was excellent, but it is much brighter with a far wider beam. I don't know about runtime yet but so far the experiment is a success.

What can I do to maintain flat output over time, and gain functionality (different output modes)?
 
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