First Time Mod, "7 Watt" Golston

This is my first post. I've been reading the forums and I bought some stuff from DealExtreme.

I thought for my first mod, I'd try to substitute the DX SKU 1302, CREE P4 LED Emitter (WD) and the SKU 3256 3.6V~9V 800mA Regulated IC Circuit Board in a "7 watt" Golston.

I was able to do the mechanical work – soldering the regulator, using a little thermal paste on the board, but I didn't consider the size and location of the LED in the reflector. (The beam doesn't look so great). I've tried raising the sandwich(?) up higher by not threading it so far into the body but the beam still doesn't look so hot.

[FONT=&quot]Are there reflectors that would work – and be economically feasible? TIA.

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Interesting first post. Welcome to CPF. BTW, your post title says "7 Watt" Golston, I believe what it says on the side of the light is "7W." Don't confuse "7W" with seven watts. ;-)

Kaidomain has a number of optics and reflectors for the Cree LEDs. The focal point is different than Luxeon LEDs. Kai's optics and reflectors are dirt cheap! I don't know if they'll drop-in to the Golston, but you can PM me if you need help with machine work to get things to fit.

Thanks scott.cr, for pointing me in the right direction. I'm not to the point of machining anything - the last time I touched a lathe was in high school, 40 years ago, but it's something I might consider in the future. THKS again.

from my experience, using a cree in a reflector designed for lumileds is possible, but doesnt always give the best beam. usually the hole in the bottom of the reflector needs to be enlarged to get the emitter way up into it in order to focus to a spot. i've used a file or a step bit and a drill to enlarge the hole slightly until i get it where i need it to be. it has worked in all of them that i have tried so far. otherwise, as stated above you can get some nice reflectors from kaidoman.com, dealextreme.com or the sandwichshoppe.com has tons also. i'm not sure what the diameter of the head of your flashlight is, but kai just came out with the 24mm op reflectors for crees on their website.

ambientmind said:

sandwichshoppe.com has tons also.

Click to expand...

Correct link to Sandwich Shoppe: http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/index.php

sandwichshoppe.com is currently being held hostage by a cyber-squatter...

oh really? whats all that about? dont people have better things to do than mess with websites? i mean come on...

ambientmind said:

oh really? whats all that about? dont people have better things to do than mess with websites? i mean come on...

Click to expand...

It's a scam based on search engines. If you run search engine paid ads on your site, and they get clicks, you get the $.05 to $5.00 per click. So if you have a site that people might accidentally land on (misspellings of popular sites are a good one) you can make $$$$.

If you go to sandwichshoppe.com, it looks like a "real" site. Anything you click on is just a search engine link though...