Building a 1W red M*g and have a few questions

Hello All,
Building my buddy a M*g with a 1W red LS and have a few questions. Ordered the red LS, heatsink, Artic Alumina and four 1W 1 ohm resistors today. From what I understand, the red luxeons have a lower forward voltage than the white luxeons. Are we talking 3 volts or less so I can use a 2D M*g? If not, what resistors should I use to drive the LS at 350mA or 450mA in a 3D Mag?
The M*g reflector will be used to get a narrow beam out of the thing, will I have some sort of adjustment from spot to flood? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif If not, no big deal. Thanks for any help with my first "ground up" mod! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

direct drive with a mag 2d should be fine. use the resistors if you really want /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

be carefull to insulate the led. some people apply a thin coat of alumina to the back of the led, then let it dry. after it's dried, they epoxy it on.

what kind of heatsink are you using?

Roth,
Thank you for posting, I will go with a 2D Mag and two 1W 1 ohm resistors in parallel (1/2 ohm) that should do it. I am using the Elektrolumens heatsink that is flat, do I need to put a post on it for the Mag reflector? Good tip to put a thin coat of alumina to the back of the LED, don't want to fry it (it is not mine). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif
It will be an interesting mod, I get to play with red LS components and not pay for it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif Hope I don't screw it up too bad.

In insulating the LED, Roth means that the RED led's slug is actually positive, and well if it's touching the heatsink which makes contact with the body of the flashlight(neg) bad things can happen. Maybe when you put the heatsink in the flashlight, don't remove the anodizing. That might help further isolate the led from the negative body of the flashlight.
So if the heatsink doesn't fit without some work, grind the heatsink down a bit, not the anodizing off the body of the mag.

You might have to build a post for the led, not sure. I think you can cut the reflector down for tighest spot without a post. Do a search, maybe try "cut mag reflector" or something to that extent. Basicly you want a setup like MrBulk's SNII but with a 1 watt.

Did you get a Side Emmiter or High Dome? I'm thinking that a SE might be tighter focus in 1W form. But I do know in regards to 5W'ers, the HD is a tighter spot than the SE's. (but obviously you have to go with 1W for red).

Anyone else have any input on the SE vs HD 1W?

If you have not purchased a red Luxeon (bare) emitter, I'd recommend that you use a Star if possible.

Trust me, I have lots of experience in building reds. There is simply NO way I'd ever mount a Red Luxeon to a bare metal heatsink (that is electrically conductive). I don't think a "thin coat" of Arctic Alumina is either reliable or nearly as thermally conductive.

I am not going to comment on my preferences on (or lack of) resistance values, because inevitably, there is always someone who thinks I am full of sh*t and will want to debate me on the subject (when I really couldn't care less what they think).

What I will recommend is that you stick the red Luxeon to a CPU heatsink (w/thermal grease) and do some testing.. There is NO subsitute for testing and that way you'll know for certain how much current is running through it, plus you can select the proper resistance to suit your requirements.