5W RED Luxeon Kix Butt !

OK, so it ain't really a 5W, but the three 1W red/orange LS/o's are over-driven more than enough to cover the claim.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif After building several of my red/orange "Holy Sh*t" mods, one day during final assembly, I shined three of them at the wall in the same spot. I knew then I had to have a triple red/orange. I chose the triple Luxeon configuration because it's so easy to build and it all fit in a Mag head nice and easy, + it makes maintaining electrical isolation of the emitters easy.



(and yes, the solder isn't on the resistor lead yet)

I built it to run on 3 cells, and the head can be swapped from a 3D body to a 2D/3C body for a more compact package. Collimators are the "dreaded" NX05's with a piece of write-right directly applied to each. Lens is UCL.



I've never been much of a red light fan because I don't think they light up as good as other colors or white does. However, the shear volume of light this thing makes overcomes any weakness the red spectrum lights might suffer from. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif



This crazy thing puts out a serious bath of red light that pushed the LM 631 to 1326 lux at one meter. The three Luxeons produce what appears to be a single hotspot out past few inches.



This was a fun project. I had been doing some extensive "torture-testing" of red/orange luxeons lately, and I'm impressed with what they are able to handle. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

This is a fine piece indeed.

What a nice example of clean and tidy workmanship it is. I just don't see how a person can accomplish this type of work.

The WriteRite looks like it is on the outer lens of the NX05s. Did you determine that using McGizmo's suggestion that beams can be smoothed by using a hole punch to cut the medium and install it in the shaft of the optic was not the best way to handle artifacts for this application?

1326 lux of red/orange solid state light must be a very unusual experience for the eyes. The pics of the beam are gorgeous but I have a feeling that this may be one of those "you had to see it" lights.

Very nice, Slick.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

keen. Looks neato. I always liked the "surgeon" light look of the triple mag mods. Got any pics of it shining on objects inside or out?

Wow!.. Impressive!
I have a single overdriven red that continues to amaze me, but noting like that! ... I'm jealous.

I would call it.... "RED Dawn!"

Slick,

As flash has stated, one over driven red is impressive! What you have there is definitly a "WOW" light!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Cool! or in this case should I say Hot?

- Don

Great job /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Very nice, Slick.

I recently placed an amber 1W into a McLux head and found it to be a REALLY nice light which does not affect my night vision and puts out quite a bit of light. It is quite odd to turn a light that bright and not go *BLOOM* until the eyes adjust. Just turn it on to find what you want, turn it off and see the night like it was before. Great astronomy/map light and that color does not wake up people like the white/green either.

Why not red? Well red never suited my taste, but the amber is quite nice with a McFlood optic.

very nice! i think i'll have to get some r/o mods done...

but saying 5w red in the title was darn mean /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif

Did you use a single resistor or one for each star?

Very nice, it seems like this sort of light would make a great emergency roadside light - the cautionary/warning color should definitely get motorists' attention as you risk your neck changin a tire on the side of a road at night. I say this only because I find myself changing tires all too often... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif

Jon

Thanks guys..

Icebreak - I just used one of my AA size heatsinks as a template to cut out the write-right since the size is a near perfect match. Then I applied it to the flat surface of each optic. I haven't tried using anything in the optic's cavity.

Stonedog - Yes, each LS/o has it's own 1W resistor (.5 ohm). In my torture tests, I've found the red/oranges held up to 3 cells without any problems. I just used the .5 ohm as an extra measure of protection since this mod required a fair investment in parts.. The difference in brightness using the .5 ohm resistor was not perceptable to my eye, but the current flow meter said they were happier..
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I may have to post a comparison photo of this thing up against a 5W cyan and 5W white SE for a comparison. The red should easily blow them away..

Picts! More Picts!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Wow, over power a 5W cyan!! This must really be bright!!

Makes me want to put 3 1W Cyan S/O's in my 2D /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Would I DD them then to over-drive them as red's have lower Vi anyways right?

How long do you expect batteries to last in this beast?

Hey Slick - what kind of run time are you getting off of this monster ? Have you tried the 'continuous burn' test on fresh batteries to see how long it would last ? I'm mainly a 'micro flashlight' afficionado ( ie - LS2's or smaller ), but I'd be very interested in making on of the biggies if the run time was decent.

I haven't done a "continueous run" test.. I expect run times to be decent as current consumption cruises at a comfortable 1150mA.

The (swapable) head is currently mounted on a 3D body using 3 9000mAh NiMh cells. Using the 2D/3C body, I'd expect run time to be half since the C size NiHm's I have are 4500mA.

From my experiences and the measured current drain, I'd have to make a guess 6 or more hours at full brightness?

I all ready have a red LS Oracle based light or I'd be saying :

PAYPAL SENT /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif