Got KX1 head apart to replace green emitter...now what?

I've got two E1Ls that have very green tints.
With some heat, the bezels came apart just nice...now I need guidance to avoid a disaster.
I can solder well enough, but I do it with 12 guage wires, a different scale to be sure.

Anyway, how do I proceed, where do I get good emitters and what spiffy small scale soldering gear should be collected?

I will support your query with one from me. I have not found a ttorial yet for my old style head too.

Kostas

You could try my video tutorial of doing an emitter swap in an Argo HP. I would imagine that some of it is relevant to this situation.

http://tigerhawkt3.com/seoul_argo_1.htm

I get my emitters from DX or KD. Try RadioShack or a similar electronics/hobby shop for soldering and supplies.

If you watch the video and have questions, please post them. If you feel that there are significant differences between it and your light(s) and are still stuck, see if you can take some close-up pictures inside the head, and I'll try to help out.

Aaron,

I assume you want to keep the circuit board?

If so the easiest thing to do would be to replace the emitter and board. I have ~20 emitters that have been removed from KX1 heads. If you want to sort thru them let me know. This would be the minimum work and you would solder to a board rather than directly to the emitter.

Actually I have been wondering if someone would power up all 20 emitters and take a picture of them to illustrate how much the tints vary in KX1 heads.

Bob

I would like to say that what is most needed, and it is unique in this cituation, is to see how the head dissasembles and its internal structure.

That is what is keeping me from modding mine...

Bob,
Do you have emitters on boards that just might have reasonable tints?
I'd love to get two or three so please tell me what you have in mind.

TigerhawkT3,
While your vid wasn't specific to my case, it was still good to see an emitter change in general. Thank you.

Aaron,

If you want to sort thru them send me your address by PM and I'll send you the lot for free. I was going to wire serially 4 per group, and the groups in parallel to a 12v automotive battery to be able to take a picture of them all powered up at the same time. The post the picture here at CPF so we can all see the variation in tint that Surefire leds have. But time has gotten away from me. I would still like to see that done before the emitters are sorted.

Thanks,
Bob

AaronM said:

Bob,
Do you have emitters on boards that just might have reasonable tints?
I'd love to get two or three so please tell me what you have in mind.

TigerhawkT3,
While your vid wasn't specific to my case, it was still good to see an emitter change in general. Thank you.

Click to expand...

I too have a new style KX1 head that need some brightening up. Can it be as simple as an emitter swap to a Q5?

houtex said:

I too have a new style KX1 head that need some brightening up. Can it be as simple as an emitter swap to a Q5?

Click to expand...

That's what most people are doing...from what I've read Surefire is not very picky about tints.

What kind of increase in output (lumens) can I expect? If I do this this will be my FIRST REAL MOD. Also is there a place I should order it from ? How about an R2?

You will get double the output at least.

Here is mine with a Seoul LED and the optic changed to an IMS20.

houtex said:

I too have a new style KX1 head that need some brightening up. Can it be as simple as an emitter swap to a Q5?

Click to expand...

Does the new kx1 have a Cree in it already?

Nitroz said:

Does the new kx1 have a Cree in it already?

Click to expand...

yep

Originally Posted by Nitroz
Does the new kx1 have a Cree in it already?

houtex said:

yep

Click to expand...

In that case, a Q5 or an R2 upgrade will not be a huge difference. If you change the board and the LED, sacrificing some run time, then you should have a pocket rocket.

Doh! I was afraid you'd say that. The form factor of the light is so neat to me but the greeny low power of it is a turn off. I like that it has an optic I just wish it had more POW.