Fenix P1 SSC P4 (Last Luxeon Standing)

My last Luxeon light gets a new brain.

To get the pill out of the head I used needlenose pliers. Put the outermost tips of the pliers in the depressions on the pills outer edge, then turn counterclockwise slowly with steady pressure, so you don't slip. Depending on the amount of epoxy this is either very easy or very difficult. Mine was easy.

The start. Must remove evil emitter from pill. Which soon proves to be almost impossible as Fenix have used some really tough epoxy to fix the emitter. Strangely they neglected the threads on the pill in their epoxy mania. Contacts have been desoldered. Violence is about to start.


This is how a Luxeon III looks after you have used a small wood chisel on it. Sadly this was the only way to get it off. Had plans for it.


The Lux is off and the SSC P4 have had the connections clipped to fit the pill. Also the copper disc, 0.5 mm (0.020") is seen. This pill is somewhat different from LxT. The emitter goes down deeper into the pill. Apply thin layers of Arctic Alu. epoxy on the disc and in the heatsink depression on the pill, put the spacer in place. Make sure there are some epoxy around the edges of the spacer when you have placed it in the heatsink depression. Also check that the copper spacer don't touch the "walls" of the heatsink depression before you put the emitter on top of the spacer. Apply a thin layer of epoxy to the emitter and press lightly on it to get it horizontal on the spacer.

(The slug/underside of SSC P4 is not isolated, and could cause a short if attached incorrectly. I use a copper spacer that is slightly smaller in diameter than the heatsink depression in the led pill. If you use a spacer you get two thin layers of Arctic Alumina epoxy for isolation. The keyword is thin layers for best thermal transfer. Don't press the emitter down too hard, that could press out all the epoxy. Wait until the epoxy has set before you solder the leads, best is to leave it to cure over night.)

Before the epoxy sets, start screwing the pill into the head to check centering in the reflector, don't screw it in to far so the emitter turns on the reflector, that could mean isolation have been lost because the AA epoxy layer have been compromised. It takes a few times to get it centered.


Yet to be soldered emitter and reflector backside in the head.


Emitter soldered to the pill. Use flux, pretinning and a 30 Watt soldering iron. Adequate heat shortens the heat exposure of the material because hotter is quicker. Before soldering wait for the epoxy to set (several hours/overnight).


The good looking result. Centering was successful and the reflector isn't ruined!


Beamshot @ 1 meter. Complete beam distribution. Hotspot size as before, spill is much brighter. Output is more than double compared to the Lux III. Energizer primary lithium cell. Exposure 1/60, f 2.8.


Hotspot and corona @ 3 meters. Exposure 1/60, f. 2.8. Spill not in photo.


Stefan

Edit.
The emitter used is an SSC P4 USVOI, good stuff. From the five bought from PhotonFanatic all five have now proven themselves. Very white and no tint variations.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Edit 2007-02-08.

Luxreadings added. Total output is measured the Flashlightreview way. I made a lightbox for my lightmeter the way it is described there. The led doesn't blow up using a 3.7 Volt LiIon cell and the light doesn't get quite as hot as as it did before, with the Lux III in combination with a LiIon cell.

Total / throw output with:

• Batterystation 3.7 Volt LiIon: 7200 / 1800 Lux.
• Energizer 3.0 Volt Lithium: 5080 / 1400 Lux.

In the review made by Flashlightreviews in July 2006 the readings with the stock Lux III emitter were: Total: ~ 2800. Throw ~ 950 using lithium primary cells, 3.0 Volt. Before I modded my P1 I measured throw to be ~ 940 with my other lightmeter, which is integrated into my multimeter.

The total output figures are spectacular, even better than I hoped. Throw doesn't improve so dramatically, but keep in mind that the reflector is rather small. Incidentally, the throw numbers doesn't improve if I screw the light engine further in against the reflector.

Thanks for the write-up. I have my P1 open and just waiting on emitters. can anyone else confirm that a rcr123 might fry the seoul??

A few of my P4 lights run DD with freshly charged 3.6V RCR-123 just fine.

If you have a very thin screwdriver, you can pry up the LED without killing it. But I've had my share of dome twisters too.

EngrPaul,
This one had epoxy that could be mistaken for welding, I have never seen stuff so hard and mean. I had to use my dremel clone with a diamond bit to get the residue out of the heatsink depression. It's 'probably' ok to feed it with an RCR123 cell, but I recall warnings of the kind from 4-7. Could be wrong. The Lux III was probably an TWOJ - TWOK which are binned between 3.27-3.75 Volts, which is somewhat similar to the SSC P4 USVOI which is binned @ 3.25-3.50 Volts.
Stefan

Excellent job!

I am considering this mod myself.

Thanks

Added total and throw output in Lux to post #1.
Stefan

Thanks for the update, I think I'll perform this mod next week.

Cheers

Did you sand the reflector from the bottom or is/was this not needed ?

EngrPaul, nice sigline...!

I didn't sand it. On other lights I have tried that approach it hasn't improved throw in any significant way. On this P1 I found that the reflector had a small gap to the Lux III emitter, I used this to raise the SSC up a bit, just screwed it in a bit more. The SSC produces a somewhat different hotspot, but thats ok with me. I guess the position could be more of an issue with bigger reflectors. The emitter needs to be raised though.
Stefan

did mine yesterday and it turned out great. thanks for the inspiration stefanFS!

Pumaman,
I'm wondering about the thickness of the copper disc you used and if you had to sand your reflector?
Stefan

Why you are using 0.02" spacer instead of 0.03" spacer ? May be it stand a bit too low for optimum focus point ?

cm048,
because I found that in smaller lights with smaller reflectors I cannot see much of a difference at all between using 0.020" or 0.030". Using 0.020" then simplifies things since you don't have to mod most smaller reflectors. The only small reflector I have had to sand down was the Litelux LF1 stock plastic one, though the new Liteflux reflectors in aluminium don't need sanding.
Stefan

I have been using my SSC P4 Fenix P1 for a month now with LiIon 3.7 Volt cells, no ill effects so far. No loss in flux and it doesn't get hot as it did with the stock Luxeon III on LiIon, rather it gets mildly warm. No shorts, the Arctic Alumina is now hard as glass. So I think it's safe to use LiIon daily in this light.
Stefan

So then... How long before you start a P1 upgrade service??? Please PM me if you might be willing to mod mine!

I have changed the emitter today. Quite easy, no epoxy in the threads and no epoxy under the emitter (!).

Thanks StefanFS

Energie,
Thanks. I recommend using threadlock to fix the led pill in the head. Don't use too much, just a half drop.

Thujone,
Postage would be a killer. Also there are many ways where it could go wrong. Parcel lost in transit-I kill your light-disappointment with result-I draw the revenue services attention to me-wife leaves me because I spend too much time with flashlights, and so on.
Stefan

StefanLS,
the emitter was easy to change because there was no epoxy, neither in the theads nor under the emitter. Now there ist arctic alumia to isolate the SSC P4 and of course a drop of threadlock to fix the led-pill.

Energie,
What do you think about output now with the SSC compared to the stock Lux III?

StefanFS,
it is visible brighter now, more spill, throw as before.
New Surefire battery 3V, 1 meter distance, brightest part of the beam:

P1 with Lux III: 1190 lx, 680 mA
P1 with SSC P4: 1750 lx, 620 mA
(P1D CE: high 2750 lx, 1190 mA)
(P1D CE medium 1650 lx 390 mA)