Cheap ebay aspheric + Golston = great throw !

I recently got this aspheric http://cgi.ebay.com.au/30mmdia-15mmFL-Aspheric-condenser-glass-lens_W0QQitemZ280048153651QQihZ018QQcategoryZ30077QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
and found out it fits nearly perfectly into a Golston (the lens retainer cap only just screws on with the reflector. Without the reflector, it maybe just needs a few o-rings under or epoxy around the aspheric to hold it securely in place, the diameter of the lens is nearly the exact diameter of the reflector housing).

When it was switched on (w/out reflector), the individual dies (I've got a Lux V in mine) were very easily distinguishable in the spot and the throw astonishing for a Lux V. Can't wait to get a Cree XR-E star to try out in it.

Sounds nice, some pics of the setup and beamshots would be ideal

Just got the same lens. :naughty:
Will mod with Cree XR-E when my AMC7135 arrives.

Here's it with LuxV:



Beam to the ceiling
E.V. -1.5


E.V. +0.0


E.V. +1.5

that a nice one! now if only there was a way of protecting the lense instead of leaving it protruded like that. gotta be real careful carrying that around, i would guess that scratches/marks on that would really affect beam pattern...

Thanks for taking and posting those photo's NetKidz. :goodjob: Since my wife is away travelling with our camera, it would have taken me a few weeks to take any.

I got exactly the same result as you did . One good thing with the Golston (with no reflector) is that the aspheric can easily be moved further back into the reflector cavity to smooth out the spot (get rid of the blank "cross" between the dies and increase its size). This should allow us to find the optimum distance between the lens and the XR-E.

The protruding lens is a bit of a problem, hopefully there may be an easy solution. It all depends on how compatible the Cree XR-E is with the focal length of the aspheric (ie, the distance from emitter to aspheric for optimal beam/spot). Within the reflector housing, there is still lots of space (with some minimal removal of metal by dremel or file inside the housing) for the aspheric to slide back into the housing towards the emitter. That way the normal flat glass lens could fit over the front of the aspheric within the housing, protecting the aspheric. I have a XR-E emitter in another torch, hopefully tonight I will pull it apart and try to find the optimal distance to see if this can be done.

One other thing I noticed is that one of the other aspheric lenses the same ebay trader has for sale: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Jaegers-47mmdia-50mmFL-Aspheric-Condenser-Glass-Lens_W0QQitemZ280048153705QQihZ018QQcategoryZ30077QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
is very very close to the diameter of a cheap "mag-clone" reflector I have. I have that lens as well, so can hopefully try that out during the week................