Gryloc
Enlightened
OK! I understand everyone's excitement, so I will not leave you hanging. Here we go…
-Introduction-
The Streamlight ProPoly 4AA is a great flashlight to own. It uses a single 1W RWOK (or equivalent) Luxeon Star and a deep aluminum reflector to throw a tight beam.
The review of the ProPoly 4AA from Flashlight Reviews is here:
http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews/streamlight_propolyluxeon.htm
According to the site, "Output is in the form of a tight spot with a medium sized corona and wide spill beam. The central spot is very intense and provides excellent throw". You can expect 3 hours and 30 minutes of runtime with the included Energizer batteries (Proven to be "leaky" during use) and 4 hours and 30 minutes when using Energizer 2300mAh NiMH rechargeable cells. Expect about 3000lux at one meter with this light.
Overall, this is a great flashlight. Search a little around CPF and you will find everyone praising this light and recommending it to others. However, what if you can take this light and make it better? Switching out the original Luxeon Star (with a rating of around 39.8-51.7 lumens) with a brighter and more efficient LED would be a dream to many, as it was to me. As you open up your ProPoly, you may quickly find that the entire lamp assembly cannot be opened very easily. You may become discouraged quickly…
So, that is why you are now here! I will help walk you through modifying your ProPoly flashlight to use a different LED. I will walk through this project VERY slowly for all of you noobs ands experienced modders alike. Because all of this detail, it may appear that there will be so much to read. Try not to skim through this, as you may miss important notes and cautions! I will also give some tips on how to change the original circuit to deliver more or less current to your LED. The LED that I used was a T-bin Seoul Semiconductor P4 emitter that I attached to an old Luxeon Star Hex aluminum-based circuit board. I had to add a thin spacer to the emitter to raise it up a bit, but I will get to that later.
To complete this modification, you will need a few tools. You will need a small flat-head screwdriver, some form of knife (the ex-acto style knives work well), a soldering iron, a rotary tool with some form of small cutting disk, and finally, a Sharpie marker (optional). I used a Dremel with the attached ~30mm carbide cutting disk. You may find other tools that will work for you, but the standard cutting disk works well because it can get into small places. The heavy-duty cutting disks and the re-enforced cutting disks will also work for this mod, but they are not required. Because we are cutting into aluminum, there is a good chance that the aluminum will stick to the disk, fouling up the cutting edge.
As for some raw materials, you may need some tape (Scotch or electric), some thin cardboard or paper, and a small sheet of aluminum or copper. I used a section of a sheet of copper that was 0.0325" or ~0.825mm thick and it worked fine for me. This aluminum or copper sheet will later be cut into a small circle or square and placed between the Seoul Semiconductor P4 emitter and hex board. This is used to focus the odd P4 with the reflector. I noticed that you could buy a 0.030" copper disk in the Sandwich Shoppe Seoul LEDs section for $0.50. This may work for you. You can always experiment with different thicknesses of metal to get different beam patterns; therefore, your results may vary.
Unscrew your ProPoly and set aside the flashlight body and plastic front. All we care about is the lamp assembly. You will notice that there is an aluminum module on the top, which has the reflector feature and contains the Luxeon Star, and there is a black plastic base, which has the battery contacts and contains the LED driver circuitry.
(From the Flashlight Reviews website)
NOTICE: Please remember that you can click on some of these pictures to see a larger, more clearer version. Full pictures may range from 800 X 600 to up to 1600 X 1200. Sorry dial-up users. If full size pictures are not available, try again at a later time or day!
-Step 1 – "Tear-down"-
We must remove the black plastic part first so we can get to the fun part. This part is glued to the aluminum module. With a little force and patience, it will come off with ease. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures at the moment of this process, but I will try to explain how to do this in words. This is not that difficult…
Before we begin doing anything to this module, we need to protect the delicate surface finish of the aluminum reflector. Scratches and finger prints can affect the proper reflection of the light. It also looks bad if the jewel-like surface is dirty. Take that cardboard or heavy paper stock and cut it into a circle that is a little larger than the diameter of the very front of the reflector. Hold this into place by wrapping some electrical (or Scotch) tape around the top edge of the reflector and cardboard. This will protect the reflector material from your finger and anything that may scratch the surface. This is important if you will be cutting the aluminum and there are small bits of metal on your hands.
We need to break this glue, so we need to put pressure in a certain way to do so. For this step, we need the ex-acto knife (or equivalent). Try to slide the blade down where the black plastic piece meets with the aluminum module (At "A" on the figure below). This is along the very top of the rim of the plastic. NOTE: be very careful not to press down with the knife onto where the hydrogen catalyst pellets are ("B" on the figure below). They are very brittle and they are needed to protect the sealed flashlight.
Push down on the blade until it slides in somewhat. Pull the blade out and re-insert it next to where you last inserted it. Keep doing this until you finish the entire circumference of the rim (See the dotted line on picture below). When you press down, you may feel a confirming pop noise. That is the breaking of the glue.
(figure 1)
Now you are ready to separate the parts. To do so, place the entire assembly on a flat table surface. Press down in the very center of the assembly to break up the glue even further. You can rotate the entire assembly and repeat the downward pressure to work the glue and assembly apart. If it does not budge any, you can place a narrow, solid object on the aluminum part and then push on the assembly with more force. You do not need to put this in a vice, as that may damage the parts. Once the glue is broken, wobble the two sections apart. NOTE: Do not pull on the two parts to separate them. A short wire connects the hidden LED to the circuit. You may damage the circuit (tearing off the conductive pads) and cause more trouble for later.
Do we have the two sections apart? If not, repeat the above steps. If so, great! Observe the circuit board. You will see that the wires are soldered pretty close together. The blue negative wire is soldered to the top pad with the green SMD resistor with the R10 printing. The white positive wire is soldered to the bottom pad close to the black SMD inductor. Now you need to de-solder those wires. Be careful to not de-solder or damage any of the tiny surface mount components nearby. Congratulations! You now have the two parts fully separated.
Here is what everything looks like when it is separated. Don't mind that third part on the far left. That is just the battery contacts that can be removed if desired. Notice that I already modified this light before I took these pictures (take note of the cuts that I made, too).
(picture 1)
(picture 2)
-Step 2 – "Cutting Action"-
Now here is the fun part. You are going to separate the two halves of the aluminum module. These halves are actually press fitted together, so using a set of pliers to twist them apart will only cause you trouble. You may damage your precious lamp assembly if you use a vice or any type of clamping tools. I found this out by trial and error. You can see in the pictures all of the teeth marks from a set of pliers that I used.
This is where you will use your Dremel tool. If you did not tape the protective cover on the front end of the reflector by now, I would highly recommend doing so now! You will find aluminum powder everywhere and you do not want to risk the neatness of this mod. This aluminum powder is just like the sand after you go to the beach. It can be a real pain! Anyway, prepare your Dremel with the proper cutting disk.
Make four marks with the Sharpie marker on the bottom half of the aluminum module to indicate where you will be making your cuts. See the drawing below…
It does not matter if the lines match up with the four bottom holes. Now after you make those marks, you can begin cutting. I found that it is best if you make cuts that are approximately 1/16" or 1.5mm deep. If you cut any deeper, little harm will be done to the LED, but I worry that the fine aluminum dust might get inside and coat the reflector. I found that the wires got in my way, so I folded them up and taped them off to the side. If you would accidentally cut one or both of these wires (as I did), just replace the wires. I used some of nice Teflon coated wire from a previous project. It may be difficult to hold the module while you are cutting, so you may want to wear leather gloves and/or hold everything in a way that the disk will not cut you if the cutter would quickly push off. Consider the direction speed, also. I would highly recommend wearing some form of goggles or glasses to protect yourself from the flying bits of aluminum.
With your cuts, you may see into module, but you may not, either. If you do not see into the module throughout the entire cut, don't worry about it. There may be some burrs that obstruct the view at times. Once you have made your cuts, you will be ready to dive into the light. Here is a picture of the cut module with the Dremel cutting disk inserted into one of the cuts. The cuts are not as deep as it appears in the pictures. I wish I had a better camera to show closer views of the cuts.
(picture 4)
Is everyone with me yet? I hope my explanations are clear so far. If you don't understand what is going on yet, just try re-reading though the instructions. If you run into problems, then check with other members here on this thread. They should have the proper experience to help you out…
-Step 3 – "Clean-up and the Grand Opening"-
You are getting there. By now, it couldn't hurt to rinse off your hands. The aluminum powder is most likely spread all over your hands and forearms. See why I advised you to cover the front end of the reflector? Now we will get out the small flathead screwdriver to get these parts separated. If you look in the pictures below, you will see how it is done.
First, insert the screwdriver into one of the vertical slots that you cut. Make sure it is positioned closest to the front end of the reflector. See the picture below… Now, while gripping the screwdriver tightly, twist the handle very slightly. You may not see anything move very far, but that is okay. Move along to the next slot and repeat this process. If you do not see anything move, then try twisting the screwdriver a little more and repeat the process. If still no luck, you may have to check if your cuts were complete. Before you cut any more, try finishing this step. You may have broken the aluminum loose without noticing. Once you are finished, you are ready to pull the two sections apart. Notice in the picture below how the screwdriver is positioned.
(picture 5)
Now insert the flathead screwdriver into the large horizontal notch and twist slightly (as pictured below). Slide the screwdriver over a little in either direction and repeat the process of twisting. Notice how the base part is moving a little?
(picture 6)
Keep repeating this and you will find that the two parts are moving further apart. This is good! As you progress, you can switch your screwdriver with a slightly larger screwdriver (optional). Oooh, I am almost there…
(picture 7)
Once you get to a certain point, you can grip the bottom half and start wiggling it while pulling. Keep pulling it until it is free. If it is snug the whole way, that may be good for later. Okay, now they are apart.!
Here is the critical part. You may be excited that everything is separated, but we really need to clean all of the parts! The aluminum is in each crevice of this module. You need to use your small screwdriver or ex-acto knife to pull the black plastic spacer part out of the base section of the module. Take the Luxeon Star out as well. You should have four parts in total…
I found that running all the parts through water helps remove the aluminum dust. I scrubbed the bottom base and the plastic spacer, but that is not necessary. I was still careful not to touch the smooth reflector surface. If the reflector is dirty from accidental touching, you can clean it by dripping a tiny amount of soap into the reflector and rinsing with warm water. If you wash your hands well with soap and water first, you should be able to spread the soap around very lightly with your finger before and during rinsing. Allow the parts to dry. You can blot the parts with a paper towel. The reflector can be dried by blowing (possibly by the pressurized cans of air made for removing dust from electronics) if you worry that hard water spots will be deposited. If you would dry the reflector by a towel, make sure it is a clean, lint free cloth rag/towel. Do not rub it around, but instead, pat it lightly to soak up the droplets of water. Once you are happy with the results, continue on to the next step…
Here are the parts separated:
(picture 8)
<chorus>Ahhhh…
(picture 9)
It's free! Congratulations! You now hold the prize of the Streamlight ProPoly in your hand: the deep reflector. Now you have all the parts cleaned and dried, lets take a break!
-Take a break!-
This step requires you to relax a bit, but for a only for a short time. There is a lot more to finish! Here is the opportunity to lay out all your parts and observe what you have. Get a feel for how everything was assembled. This will help you when you have to re-assemble this mess. Here are all my parts laid out in front of me.
(picture 10)
Here is a picture of the Luxeon Star that was in my ProPoly.
(picture 11)
A "RWOK"! Not too shabby! You can put one of Lumiled's newer S-binned 1W LEDs in there, or you can try the 350mA version of the K2. For me, I will be using the awesome SSC P4! It would be nice to see people attempt to throw a Cree XR-E in here to see what the beam pattern may be like. The reflector should be deep enough for just about any LED that you choose to put in here.
-Step 4 – "Preparing the Replacement"-
Ready to continue? We have the parts cleaned and ready, so let's go on.
We need to prepare the new replacement LED to be placed into the aluminum module now. This 4th step can vary from one person to the next. I say this because if you have a better and brighter Luxeon Star 1W or 3W, then you are pretty much ready to toss it in the light and go. Consider the age of the Luxeon LED that you are planning to put in it. During the production of some Luxeon III emitters and stars, Lumileds decided to change the packaging of the LED, changing the height of the die a few small fraction of an inch in the process. This can change the focus of the LED in the reflector. This oddball that Lumileds produced was nicknamed the "joker" for its odd die placement. I cannot tell you when they started doing this or when they stopped, but there is a chance that your LED just may be an oddball. If you do not have anything in writing, you can do a simple side-by-side comparison between the height of the die on Streamlight's stock Luxeon Star 1W and the new one you want to replace it with. If they look the same, you should be fine. If they are different just by a little, you may cause the LED to be out of focus, OR you might get a more pleasing beam pattern. I cannot tell you. You may have to shim up the LED on the Star board to focus it. You will have to play and experiment a bit to get it to work.
If you plan on using the Seoul Semiconductor P4 LED, you are in pretty good shape because I know a way that seemed to work. The location of the die on the P4 is a little lower than the position of the die on the Luxeon Star, so we have to shim up the LED a bit. Seoul does not sell hex boards, so you may have to sacrifice an old 1W Luxeon Star for this mod to work.
Luckily, you have your existing R-binned Luxeon 1W staring at you with tears in its eyes, trying to whimper, "Please don't take me! <sob> I have family!". Being a crazed flashaholic as you are, you ignore its pleas of mercy and you swipe up the LED to tear it apart. You feel no pity for the thing!
Seriously, the existing 1W Star is an excellent donor. The star board is the original, so you know it works in the ProPoly lamp assembly. I noticed that some 3W and 5W hex boards are much too thick (with two obvious aluminum and board layers) for this project. This extra thickness will interfere with the needed black plastic centering ring, so the reflector probably will not focus at all. I also heard that the original aluminum hex board has a lower thermal resistance (in degrees C/W) than some of the cheap, imported hex boards you may get from eBay or some other stores. One example of a cheaper aluminum hex board is the one that comes with some of the XR-Es found here at CPF and other online stores, such as Cutter Electronics. I am not saying that these will not work; I am just saying that Lumiled's aluminum hex board might be better for you.
Anyway, we need to remove the emitter from the star. You can do this in a rather clean way without destroying either part. Start by de-soldering the power leads and bending them up a little so they do not contact the board. Try not to bend these too much, as they may break off. Then simply take your ex-acto knife and wedge the two pieces apart. Try to press the knife blade in the small crevice between the star board and the slightly extruded aluminum slug of the emitter. Do not pry any, as you risk tearing just the plastic off, or even worse, breaking the blade. With enough steady, angled pressure, you will pop the emitter right off of the star base. There you go! Now just scrape off the excess hardened epoxy, and you will have a nice, flat mating surface for your P4!
Now you need to cut out a small square or circle in your sheet of aluminum or copper. It should be about the same size as the slug of the P4 emitter. If it is too large, then you might risk shorting out the two power leads coming out the side. If it is too small, then you may not transfer the heat too well. You can cut this piece out with wire cutters, your cutting disk, metal shears, or even a pair of scissors (do not tell your mother, girlfriend, or wife, of course). Make sure after cutting this tiny metal disk, that it is very flat and smooth on both surfaces. File off any burrs that may interfere, also.
Since my project is only temporary, I did not epoxy any of the parts. You can get away with thermal paste. You need to sandwich the metal disk between the star board and the P4 emitter. Use a small dot of thermal paste between each part and then push them together. Move them so they look slightly centered. We do not have to be too critical, as the centering spacer will do all the work of us. There is enough room in the base for the aluminum hex board to move around. Once you get the emitter where you want it, solder each power lead down to the board. It may move a little while soldering, but do not fret. It is easily fixed. With the P4 star finished, solder on the new power wires if the original wires were accidentally cut or broken. Make sure the wires are about the same length as the originals.
As you can see in the picture below, I switched the original Luxeon Star LED out for the P4 emitter and hex board combo. I had a spare hex board, so I did not have to sacrifice the original. It was much too young to die! So, from left to right, you see the modified P4 star sitting in the bottom half of the reflector module, the unique (yet amazingly brilliant) black plastic emitter centering spacer, and then the original LS 1W…
(picture 12)
Here is a picture with the spacer on the P4 star. To the right is the same old LS.
(picture 13)
-Step 5 – "Adjustments and Re-assembly"-
Now it is time to put this back together. You may be wondering why we did not put any thermal paste behind the star hex board. Well, will do that, but lets test the position of your modified LED star first…
Place the black plastic centering spacer around the emitter and bend down the wires for them to pass through two opposite holes of the base piece. Does the LED sit flat against the module? If so, awesome, you cut and spread the base apart correctly. If it wobbles a little, you may be fine. Just make sure you use some thermal paste a little later. Now line up the base half of the aluminum module with the top reflector half of the module. Line up the slots that you cut the best you can so it will go back to the way it was before. It may help to have sharpie marks drawn on before you separate the pieces so you can line them back up for now. This is not that critical, so making a reference mark is optional. Press on the two halves together so it looked like it did originally. It may be a snug fit, or it may go on loosely. If it is loose, you can slightly bend in the four cut tabs of the bottom part with some pliers. This will put more pressure on the sides of the top half for a snug fit.
You are almost there. Now we need to check if the LED is focused. I found a way to do so without powering it up. Set the module on its side and step back a few feet. Look straight down the front end of the reflector perpendicular to the LED. Almost pretend that you are intentionally trying to blind yourself with the thing (which you will later ). If you see the entire reflector fill up with a yellow color, then that is good. If you see the yellow color fill up mostly the outer edge of the reflector area, then the LED is sitting back too far in the reflector, and you will have to raise it up by shimming the emitter a tiny amount more. If the yellow color fills up mostly a small ring in the center, then the LED is sitting too far up in the reflector, so you need to use a slightly thinner metal disk to lower it a little. You may be able to sand the tiny spacer disc down a little if needed.
Can you see the yellow color? Do not get it mixed up with the silver color that blends into the yellow very well. The yellow is from the phosphor, which emits the light, and the silver is just part of the aluminum slug that the LED die is mounted to. If you cannot see any yellow color, then the LED is way out of focus. You will have to play around with this to get it right. This may seem frustrating, but it is worth it when you have a super bright and narrow focused beam.
The reason that I tell you to "watch for the yellow" is so you know that the light from the LED die (coated in the yellow phosphor material) is being reflected out the very front in a straight line (for the most part). If you hold the reflector too close, then the image of the die will be out of focus. It will put a nice dot about a foot away from the flashlight as a result. Meanwhile, you may have a very broad beam when shining this thing any further away. When you stand back from the flashlight, you will be setting the focal point so the LED will cast a beam image much further away.
Here is an illustration I made using Pain Shop Pro (which rawks!). Notice how the yellow color is reflected differently when the LED is not at the reflector's focal point.
(focusing the LED)
Well, your results will vary, as I said before. When you slide everything together and everything looks good, then let us continue! Start by taking the LED and star back out of the module. Apply some thermal paste to the back of the star, and then reposition everything back into the module. Press everything tightly and ensure everything is very solid. Recheck the LED to ensure it is centered and focused. You are nearly finished!!!
-Step 6 – "Final Assembly and Power-up"-
Awesome! Now all there is left to do is re-solder the wires back onto the board. Remember the blue wire, or your negative wire, is soldered to the pad with the green SMD resistor with the "R10" print. The white wire, or your positive wire, is soldered to the pad with the large SMD inductor. Careful not to touch the other electronics as you are soldering. You do not want to burn or de-solder the small parts nearby. Be careful as to not chip that large cylindrical SMD inductor. The ferrite core of that inductor is very brittle and damage of this part may cause the circuit to run inefficiently.
Here is a picture of the wires soldered. The module is ready for assembly. Note the several mistakes I made during my first rough experiments with the circuit. I chipped the big SMD inductor, so that may hurt my overall efficiency. I replaced the diode in the far bottom left due to an accident with reverse polarity
. Finally, ignore the extra wiring. I hooked up a trimmer potentiometer to change the current going to the LED.
(picture 17)
After everything is wired up, lets snap the aluminum reflector module onto the top of the black plastic part. Before you do so, make sure both of those small, grey hydrogen catalyst pellets are in their designated holes. Those are needed for this sealed flashlight. Notice the little plastic pegs coming off of the circuit module. Those will fit into the two opposite holes (hopefully not occupied by wires) of the reflector module. Set the whole assembly face down onto a smooth, clean table-top or counter-top and press down onto the black plastic part until the aluminum module is fully seated the same way (or extremely close) to how you first found it.
Here are pictures of the final assembly after the mod. Please ignore for now the blue trimmer potentiometer that is shown on the side. That is a mod to the electronics we did not cover yet, but will later…
Top view. Look at it sparkle! See the Seoul Semiconductor sitting in there proudly?
(picture 14)
Here is one of the side views. See how everything looks almost original. Ignore the cut marks, the blue trimmer, and all the ugly teeth marks from a failed attempt to open the module with pliers.
(picture 15)
Here is the other side view picture (same side, of course). This picture clearly shows the scratches of my past experiments.
(picture 16)
Time to power it up!!!
All there is left to do is start this up. You can put it back together all the way, or you can just set the module in on top of the batteries and turn on the switch. Be careful of the reflector.
If it lights up, great, but if not, turn it off immediately. Ensure that the LED power wires are soldered in the correct polarity. Now check the beam pattern. If it is tight with a medium corona, just as if it was stock, then you are in perfect shape! If it looks a bit disappointing, then you might have to dive back into the light to adjust the LED.
-Conclusion-
Ok, for those who are waiting for my beam shots, here they are. To the left is my prized Quad TWOH Luxeon III Maglite using a Fatman boost driver to send 1000mA to each LED. I used 4 IMS SO20XA reflectors with this light. The light is powered by 6 NiMH AA's. The batteries were not "fresh" off the charger, but they only had several minutes of use so far before the pictures were taken. I would estimate that this light puts out ~280-300 lumens. On the right is THIS mod. NOTE: I am using fresh NiMH AA's in this light. I also have the circuit set to deliver ~800mA to my SSC P4 LED. The LED is a T-binned part from Mouser electronics. YOUR RESULTS WILL VARY!
(beam shot 1)
(beam shot 2)
Impressive, eh? I found that the Streamlight ProPoly 4AA flashlights, when powered from 4 NiMH AA batteries, may deliver anywhere from 450mA to 600mA STOCK. The LED should heat up at the same rate as stock. In a later addition, I will add on another section of this post to include how to modify the stock circuit to squeeze a little more power to your new high brightness LED. Even when stock and using a U-bin P4 emitter, the results will be impressive.
Anyone with a lux meter, please help me and post the readings that you got. Also, please help me out and pick out any grammar and spelling errors that you may have found in this report. If something sounds incredibly vague in this report, or if something does not make any sense, please inform me about those problems too. If you would like to add something, or recommend a better way of doing so, I am all ears! I greatly appreciate it!
So, good luck and have fun! Too be continued…
-"Modification of the Stock Circuit"-
This area will be added as soon as I have more time. I have so much more information to add! Here is a picture of the circuit removed from the assembly (a little teaser). Sorry that it is blurred…
(picture 3)
-Introduction-
The Streamlight ProPoly 4AA is a great flashlight to own. It uses a single 1W RWOK (or equivalent) Luxeon Star and a deep aluminum reflector to throw a tight beam.
The review of the ProPoly 4AA from Flashlight Reviews is here:
http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews/streamlight_propolyluxeon.htm
According to the site, "Output is in the form of a tight spot with a medium sized corona and wide spill beam. The central spot is very intense and provides excellent throw". You can expect 3 hours and 30 minutes of runtime with the included Energizer batteries (Proven to be "leaky" during use) and 4 hours and 30 minutes when using Energizer 2300mAh NiMH rechargeable cells. Expect about 3000lux at one meter with this light.
Overall, this is a great flashlight. Search a little around CPF and you will find everyone praising this light and recommending it to others. However, what if you can take this light and make it better? Switching out the original Luxeon Star (with a rating of around 39.8-51.7 lumens) with a brighter and more efficient LED would be a dream to many, as it was to me. As you open up your ProPoly, you may quickly find that the entire lamp assembly cannot be opened very easily. You may become discouraged quickly…
So, that is why you are now here! I will help walk you through modifying your ProPoly flashlight to use a different LED. I will walk through this project VERY slowly for all of you noobs ands experienced modders alike. Because all of this detail, it may appear that there will be so much to read. Try not to skim through this, as you may miss important notes and cautions! I will also give some tips on how to change the original circuit to deliver more or less current to your LED. The LED that I used was a T-bin Seoul Semiconductor P4 emitter that I attached to an old Luxeon Star Hex aluminum-based circuit board. I had to add a thin spacer to the emitter to raise it up a bit, but I will get to that later.
To complete this modification, you will need a few tools. You will need a small flat-head screwdriver, some form of knife (the ex-acto style knives work well), a soldering iron, a rotary tool with some form of small cutting disk, and finally, a Sharpie marker (optional). I used a Dremel with the attached ~30mm carbide cutting disk. You may find other tools that will work for you, but the standard cutting disk works well because it can get into small places. The heavy-duty cutting disks and the re-enforced cutting disks will also work for this mod, but they are not required. Because we are cutting into aluminum, there is a good chance that the aluminum will stick to the disk, fouling up the cutting edge.
As for some raw materials, you may need some tape (Scotch or electric), some thin cardboard or paper, and a small sheet of aluminum or copper. I used a section of a sheet of copper that was 0.0325" or ~0.825mm thick and it worked fine for me. This aluminum or copper sheet will later be cut into a small circle or square and placed between the Seoul Semiconductor P4 emitter and hex board. This is used to focus the odd P4 with the reflector. I noticed that you could buy a 0.030" copper disk in the Sandwich Shoppe Seoul LEDs section for $0.50. This may work for you. You can always experiment with different thicknesses of metal to get different beam patterns; therefore, your results may vary.
Unscrew your ProPoly and set aside the flashlight body and plastic front. All we care about is the lamp assembly. You will notice that there is an aluminum module on the top, which has the reflector feature and contains the Luxeon Star, and there is a black plastic base, which has the battery contacts and contains the LED driver circuitry.
(From the Flashlight Reviews website)
NOTICE: Please remember that you can click on some of these pictures to see a larger, more clearer version. Full pictures may range from 800 X 600 to up to 1600 X 1200. Sorry dial-up users. If full size pictures are not available, try again at a later time or day!
-Step 1 – "Tear-down"-
We must remove the black plastic part first so we can get to the fun part. This part is glued to the aluminum module. With a little force and patience, it will come off with ease. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures at the moment of this process, but I will try to explain how to do this in words. This is not that difficult…
Before we begin doing anything to this module, we need to protect the delicate surface finish of the aluminum reflector. Scratches and finger prints can affect the proper reflection of the light. It also looks bad if the jewel-like surface is dirty. Take that cardboard or heavy paper stock and cut it into a circle that is a little larger than the diameter of the very front of the reflector. Hold this into place by wrapping some electrical (or Scotch) tape around the top edge of the reflector and cardboard. This will protect the reflector material from your finger and anything that may scratch the surface. This is important if you will be cutting the aluminum and there are small bits of metal on your hands.
We need to break this glue, so we need to put pressure in a certain way to do so. For this step, we need the ex-acto knife (or equivalent). Try to slide the blade down where the black plastic piece meets with the aluminum module (At "A" on the figure below). This is along the very top of the rim of the plastic. NOTE: be very careful not to press down with the knife onto where the hydrogen catalyst pellets are ("B" on the figure below). They are very brittle and they are needed to protect the sealed flashlight.
Push down on the blade until it slides in somewhat. Pull the blade out and re-insert it next to where you last inserted it. Keep doing this until you finish the entire circumference of the rim (See the dotted line on picture below). When you press down, you may feel a confirming pop noise. That is the breaking of the glue.
(figure 1)
Now you are ready to separate the parts. To do so, place the entire assembly on a flat table surface. Press down in the very center of the assembly to break up the glue even further. You can rotate the entire assembly and repeat the downward pressure to work the glue and assembly apart. If it does not budge any, you can place a narrow, solid object on the aluminum part and then push on the assembly with more force. You do not need to put this in a vice, as that may damage the parts. Once the glue is broken, wobble the two sections apart. NOTE: Do not pull on the two parts to separate them. A short wire connects the hidden LED to the circuit. You may damage the circuit (tearing off the conductive pads) and cause more trouble for later.
Do we have the two sections apart? If not, repeat the above steps. If so, great! Observe the circuit board. You will see that the wires are soldered pretty close together. The blue negative wire is soldered to the top pad with the green SMD resistor with the R10 printing. The white positive wire is soldered to the bottom pad close to the black SMD inductor. Now you need to de-solder those wires. Be careful to not de-solder or damage any of the tiny surface mount components nearby. Congratulations! You now have the two parts fully separated.
Here is what everything looks like when it is separated. Don't mind that third part on the far left. That is just the battery contacts that can be removed if desired. Notice that I already modified this light before I took these pictures (take note of the cuts that I made, too).
(picture 1)
(picture 2)
-Step 2 – "Cutting Action"-
Now here is the fun part. You are going to separate the two halves of the aluminum module. These halves are actually press fitted together, so using a set of pliers to twist them apart will only cause you trouble. You may damage your precious lamp assembly if you use a vice or any type of clamping tools. I found this out by trial and error. You can see in the pictures all of the teeth marks from a set of pliers that I used.
This is where you will use your Dremel tool. If you did not tape the protective cover on the front end of the reflector by now, I would highly recommend doing so now! You will find aluminum powder everywhere and you do not want to risk the neatness of this mod. This aluminum powder is just like the sand after you go to the beach. It can be a real pain! Anyway, prepare your Dremel with the proper cutting disk.
Make four marks with the Sharpie marker on the bottom half of the aluminum module to indicate where you will be making your cuts. See the drawing below…
It does not matter if the lines match up with the four bottom holes. Now after you make those marks, you can begin cutting. I found that it is best if you make cuts that are approximately 1/16" or 1.5mm deep. If you cut any deeper, little harm will be done to the LED, but I worry that the fine aluminum dust might get inside and coat the reflector. I found that the wires got in my way, so I folded them up and taped them off to the side. If you would accidentally cut one or both of these wires (as I did), just replace the wires. I used some of nice Teflon coated wire from a previous project. It may be difficult to hold the module while you are cutting, so you may want to wear leather gloves and/or hold everything in a way that the disk will not cut you if the cutter would quickly push off. Consider the direction speed, also. I would highly recommend wearing some form of goggles or glasses to protect yourself from the flying bits of aluminum.
With your cuts, you may see into module, but you may not, either. If you do not see into the module throughout the entire cut, don't worry about it. There may be some burrs that obstruct the view at times. Once you have made your cuts, you will be ready to dive into the light. Here is a picture of the cut module with the Dremel cutting disk inserted into one of the cuts. The cuts are not as deep as it appears in the pictures. I wish I had a better camera to show closer views of the cuts.
(picture 4)
Is everyone with me yet? I hope my explanations are clear so far. If you don't understand what is going on yet, just try re-reading though the instructions. If you run into problems, then check with other members here on this thread. They should have the proper experience to help you out…
-Step 3 – "Clean-up and the Grand Opening"-
You are getting there. By now, it couldn't hurt to rinse off your hands. The aluminum powder is most likely spread all over your hands and forearms. See why I advised you to cover the front end of the reflector? Now we will get out the small flathead screwdriver to get these parts separated. If you look in the pictures below, you will see how it is done.
First, insert the screwdriver into one of the vertical slots that you cut. Make sure it is positioned closest to the front end of the reflector. See the picture below… Now, while gripping the screwdriver tightly, twist the handle very slightly. You may not see anything move very far, but that is okay. Move along to the next slot and repeat this process. If you do not see anything move, then try twisting the screwdriver a little more and repeat the process. If still no luck, you may have to check if your cuts were complete. Before you cut any more, try finishing this step. You may have broken the aluminum loose without noticing. Once you are finished, you are ready to pull the two sections apart. Notice in the picture below how the screwdriver is positioned.
(picture 5)
Now insert the flathead screwdriver into the large horizontal notch and twist slightly (as pictured below). Slide the screwdriver over a little in either direction and repeat the process of twisting. Notice how the base part is moving a little?
(picture 6)
Keep repeating this and you will find that the two parts are moving further apart. This is good! As you progress, you can switch your screwdriver with a slightly larger screwdriver (optional). Oooh, I am almost there…
(picture 7)
Once you get to a certain point, you can grip the bottom half and start wiggling it while pulling. Keep pulling it until it is free. If it is snug the whole way, that may be good for later. Okay, now they are apart.!
Here is the critical part. You may be excited that everything is separated, but we really need to clean all of the parts! The aluminum is in each crevice of this module. You need to use your small screwdriver or ex-acto knife to pull the black plastic spacer part out of the base section of the module. Take the Luxeon Star out as well. You should have four parts in total…
I found that running all the parts through water helps remove the aluminum dust. I scrubbed the bottom base and the plastic spacer, but that is not necessary. I was still careful not to touch the smooth reflector surface. If the reflector is dirty from accidental touching, you can clean it by dripping a tiny amount of soap into the reflector and rinsing with warm water. If you wash your hands well with soap and water first, you should be able to spread the soap around very lightly with your finger before and during rinsing. Allow the parts to dry. You can blot the parts with a paper towel. The reflector can be dried by blowing (possibly by the pressurized cans of air made for removing dust from electronics) if you worry that hard water spots will be deposited. If you would dry the reflector by a towel, make sure it is a clean, lint free cloth rag/towel. Do not rub it around, but instead, pat it lightly to soak up the droplets of water. Once you are happy with the results, continue on to the next step…
Here are the parts separated:
(picture 8)
<chorus>Ahhhh…
(picture 9)
It's free! Congratulations! You now hold the prize of the Streamlight ProPoly in your hand: the deep reflector. Now you have all the parts cleaned and dried, lets take a break!
-Take a break!-
This step requires you to relax a bit, but for a only for a short time. There is a lot more to finish! Here is the opportunity to lay out all your parts and observe what you have. Get a feel for how everything was assembled. This will help you when you have to re-assemble this mess. Here are all my parts laid out in front of me.
(picture 10)
Here is a picture of the Luxeon Star that was in my ProPoly.
(picture 11)
A "RWOK"! Not too shabby! You can put one of Lumiled's newer S-binned 1W LEDs in there, or you can try the 350mA version of the K2. For me, I will be using the awesome SSC P4! It would be nice to see people attempt to throw a Cree XR-E in here to see what the beam pattern may be like. The reflector should be deep enough for just about any LED that you choose to put in here.
-Step 4 – "Preparing the Replacement"-
Ready to continue? We have the parts cleaned and ready, so let's go on.
We need to prepare the new replacement LED to be placed into the aluminum module now. This 4th step can vary from one person to the next. I say this because if you have a better and brighter Luxeon Star 1W or 3W, then you are pretty much ready to toss it in the light and go. Consider the age of the Luxeon LED that you are planning to put in it. During the production of some Luxeon III emitters and stars, Lumileds decided to change the packaging of the LED, changing the height of the die a few small fraction of an inch in the process. This can change the focus of the LED in the reflector. This oddball that Lumileds produced was nicknamed the "joker" for its odd die placement. I cannot tell you when they started doing this or when they stopped, but there is a chance that your LED just may be an oddball. If you do not have anything in writing, you can do a simple side-by-side comparison between the height of the die on Streamlight's stock Luxeon Star 1W and the new one you want to replace it with. If they look the same, you should be fine. If they are different just by a little, you may cause the LED to be out of focus, OR you might get a more pleasing beam pattern. I cannot tell you. You may have to shim up the LED on the Star board to focus it. You will have to play and experiment a bit to get it to work.
If you plan on using the Seoul Semiconductor P4 LED, you are in pretty good shape because I know a way that seemed to work. The location of the die on the P4 is a little lower than the position of the die on the Luxeon Star, so we have to shim up the LED a bit. Seoul does not sell hex boards, so you may have to sacrifice an old 1W Luxeon Star for this mod to work.
Luckily, you have your existing R-binned Luxeon 1W staring at you with tears in its eyes, trying to whimper, "Please don't take me! <sob> I have family!". Being a crazed flashaholic as you are, you ignore its pleas of mercy and you swipe up the LED to tear it apart. You feel no pity for the thing!
Seriously, the existing 1W Star is an excellent donor. The star board is the original, so you know it works in the ProPoly lamp assembly. I noticed that some 3W and 5W hex boards are much too thick (with two obvious aluminum and board layers) for this project. This extra thickness will interfere with the needed black plastic centering ring, so the reflector probably will not focus at all. I also heard that the original aluminum hex board has a lower thermal resistance (in degrees C/W) than some of the cheap, imported hex boards you may get from eBay or some other stores. One example of a cheaper aluminum hex board is the one that comes with some of the XR-Es found here at CPF and other online stores, such as Cutter Electronics. I am not saying that these will not work; I am just saying that Lumiled's aluminum hex board might be better for you.
Anyway, we need to remove the emitter from the star. You can do this in a rather clean way without destroying either part. Start by de-soldering the power leads and bending them up a little so they do not contact the board. Try not to bend these too much, as they may break off. Then simply take your ex-acto knife and wedge the two pieces apart. Try to press the knife blade in the small crevice between the star board and the slightly extruded aluminum slug of the emitter. Do not pry any, as you risk tearing just the plastic off, or even worse, breaking the blade. With enough steady, angled pressure, you will pop the emitter right off of the star base. There you go! Now just scrape off the excess hardened epoxy, and you will have a nice, flat mating surface for your P4!
Now you need to cut out a small square or circle in your sheet of aluminum or copper. It should be about the same size as the slug of the P4 emitter. If it is too large, then you might risk shorting out the two power leads coming out the side. If it is too small, then you may not transfer the heat too well. You can cut this piece out with wire cutters, your cutting disk, metal shears, or even a pair of scissors (do not tell your mother, girlfriend, or wife, of course). Make sure after cutting this tiny metal disk, that it is very flat and smooth on both surfaces. File off any burrs that may interfere, also.
Since my project is only temporary, I did not epoxy any of the parts. You can get away with thermal paste. You need to sandwich the metal disk between the star board and the P4 emitter. Use a small dot of thermal paste between each part and then push them together. Move them so they look slightly centered. We do not have to be too critical, as the centering spacer will do all the work of us. There is enough room in the base for the aluminum hex board to move around. Once you get the emitter where you want it, solder each power lead down to the board. It may move a little while soldering, but do not fret. It is easily fixed. With the P4 star finished, solder on the new power wires if the original wires were accidentally cut or broken. Make sure the wires are about the same length as the originals.
As you can see in the picture below, I switched the original Luxeon Star LED out for the P4 emitter and hex board combo. I had a spare hex board, so I did not have to sacrifice the original. It was much too young to die! So, from left to right, you see the modified P4 star sitting in the bottom half of the reflector module, the unique (yet amazingly brilliant) black plastic emitter centering spacer, and then the original LS 1W…
(picture 12)
Here is a picture with the spacer on the P4 star. To the right is the same old LS.
(picture 13)
-Step 5 – "Adjustments and Re-assembly"-
Now it is time to put this back together. You may be wondering why we did not put any thermal paste behind the star hex board. Well, will do that, but lets test the position of your modified LED star first…
Place the black plastic centering spacer around the emitter and bend down the wires for them to pass through two opposite holes of the base piece. Does the LED sit flat against the module? If so, awesome, you cut and spread the base apart correctly. If it wobbles a little, you may be fine. Just make sure you use some thermal paste a little later. Now line up the base half of the aluminum module with the top reflector half of the module. Line up the slots that you cut the best you can so it will go back to the way it was before. It may help to have sharpie marks drawn on before you separate the pieces so you can line them back up for now. This is not that critical, so making a reference mark is optional. Press on the two halves together so it looked like it did originally. It may be a snug fit, or it may go on loosely. If it is loose, you can slightly bend in the four cut tabs of the bottom part with some pliers. This will put more pressure on the sides of the top half for a snug fit.
You are almost there. Now we need to check if the LED is focused. I found a way to do so without powering it up. Set the module on its side and step back a few feet. Look straight down the front end of the reflector perpendicular to the LED. Almost pretend that you are intentionally trying to blind yourself with the thing (which you will later
). If you see the entire reflector fill up with a yellow color, then that is good. If you see the yellow color fill up mostly the outer edge of the reflector area, then the LED is sitting back too far in the reflector, and you will have to raise it up by shimming the emitter a tiny amount more. If the yellow color fills up mostly a small ring in the center, then the LED is sitting too far up in the reflector, so you need to use a slightly thinner metal disk to lower it a little. You may be able to sand the tiny spacer disc down a little if needed. Can you see the yellow color? Do not get it mixed up with the silver color that blends into the yellow very well. The yellow is from the phosphor, which emits the light, and the silver is just part of the aluminum slug that the LED die is mounted to. If you cannot see any yellow color, then the LED is way out of focus. You will have to play around with this to get it right. This may seem frustrating, but it is worth it when you have a super bright and narrow focused beam.
The reason that I tell you to "watch for the yellow" is so you know that the light from the LED die (coated in the yellow phosphor material) is being reflected out the very front in a straight line (for the most part). If you hold the reflector too close, then the image of the die will be out of focus. It will put a nice dot about a foot away from the flashlight as a result. Meanwhile, you may have a very broad beam when shining this thing any further away. When you stand back from the flashlight, you will be setting the focal point so the LED will cast a beam image much further away.
Here is an illustration I made using Pain Shop Pro (which rawks!). Notice how the yellow color is reflected differently when the LED is not at the reflector's focal point.
(focusing the LED)
Well, your results will vary, as I said before. When you slide everything together and everything looks good, then let us continue! Start by taking the LED and star back out of the module. Apply some thermal paste to the back of the star, and then reposition everything back into the module. Press everything tightly and ensure everything is very solid. Recheck the LED to ensure it is centered and focused. You are nearly finished!!!
-Step 6 – "Final Assembly and Power-up"-
Awesome! Now all there is left to do is re-solder the wires back onto the board. Remember the blue wire, or your negative wire, is soldered to the pad with the green SMD resistor with the "R10" print. The white wire, or your positive wire, is soldered to the pad with the large SMD inductor. Careful not to touch the other electronics as you are soldering. You do not want to burn or de-solder the small parts nearby. Be careful as to not chip that large cylindrical SMD inductor. The ferrite core of that inductor is very brittle and damage of this part may cause the circuit to run inefficiently.
Here is a picture of the wires soldered. The module is ready for assembly. Note the several mistakes I made during my first rough experiments with the circuit. I chipped the big SMD inductor, so that may hurt my overall efficiency. I replaced the diode in the far bottom left due to an accident with reverse polarity
. Finally, ignore the extra wiring. I hooked up a trimmer potentiometer to change the current going to the LED.
(picture 17)
After everything is wired up, lets snap the aluminum reflector module onto the top of the black plastic part. Before you do so, make sure both of those small, grey hydrogen catalyst pellets are in their designated holes. Those are needed for this sealed flashlight. Notice the little plastic pegs coming off of the circuit module. Those will fit into the two opposite holes (hopefully not occupied by wires) of the reflector module. Set the whole assembly face down onto a smooth, clean table-top or counter-top and press down onto the black plastic part until the aluminum module is fully seated the same way (or extremely close) to how you first found it.
Here are pictures of the final assembly after the mod. Please ignore for now the blue trimmer potentiometer that is shown on the side. That is a mod to the electronics we did not cover yet, but will later…
Top view. Look at it sparkle! See the Seoul Semiconductor sitting in there proudly?
(picture 14)
Here is one of the side views. See how everything looks almost original. Ignore the cut marks, the blue trimmer, and all the ugly teeth marks from a failed attempt to open the module with pliers.
(picture 15)
Here is the other side view picture (same side, of course). This picture clearly shows the scratches of my past experiments.
(picture 16)
Time to power it up!!!
All there is left to do is start this up. You can put it back together all the way, or you can just set the module in on top of the batteries and turn on the switch. Be careful of the reflector.
If it lights up, great, but if not, turn it off immediately. Ensure that the LED power wires are soldered in the correct polarity. Now check the beam pattern. If it is tight with a medium corona, just as if it was stock, then you are in perfect shape! If it looks a bit disappointing, then you might have to dive back into the light to adjust the LED.
-Conclusion-
Ok, for those who are waiting for my beam shots, here they are. To the left is my prized Quad TWOH Luxeon III Maglite using a Fatman boost driver to send 1000mA to each LED. I used 4 IMS SO20XA reflectors with this light. The light is powered by 6 NiMH AA's. The batteries were not "fresh" off the charger, but they only had several minutes of use so far before the pictures were taken. I would estimate that this light puts out ~280-300 lumens. On the right is THIS mod. NOTE: I am using fresh NiMH AA's in this light. I also have the circuit set to deliver ~800mA to my SSC P4 LED. The LED is a T-binned part from Mouser electronics. YOUR RESULTS WILL VARY!
(beam shot 1)
(beam shot 2)
Impressive, eh? I found that the Streamlight ProPoly 4AA flashlights, when powered from 4 NiMH AA batteries, may deliver anywhere from 450mA to 600mA STOCK. The LED should heat up at the same rate as stock. In a later addition, I will add on another section of this post to include how to modify the stock circuit to squeeze a little more power to your new high brightness LED. Even when stock and using a U-bin P4 emitter, the results will be impressive.
Anyone with a lux meter, please help me and post the readings that you got. Also, please help me out and pick out any grammar and spelling errors that you may have found in this report. If something sounds incredibly vague in this report, or if something does not make any sense, please inform me about those problems too. If you would like to add something, or recommend a better way of doing so, I am all ears! I greatly appreciate it!
So, good luck and have fun! Too be continued…
-"Modification of the Stock Circuit"-
This area will be added as soon as I have more time. I have so much more information to add! Here is a picture of the circuit removed from the assembly (a little teaser). Sorry that it is blurred…
(picture 3)
Last edited:
, or match the 40lm of the old LuxI and have super runtime! Hmmm...
