Are these good 1W LS?

I plan on building a McLux with one.

1W LS on ebay

q3k is a pretty good bin.

when luxeons first came out, q bins were almost impossible to get, but now the manufacturing process has improved, and they're quite common.

for $11, it's a good price /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Hotbeam is selling Q3J's which have a lower forward voltage and should yield more runtime. The only catch is that you have to order at least two. I've used a number of Q3J's that I got from another source and they have been a pleasant surprise. Very bright and white.

If you're new to modding, I would suggest getting more than one anyway. Doing my first mod, the luxeon was almost unrecognizeable by the time I was finished, but then I had zero soldering skills back then (a whole 4 weeks ago).

I was looking at the ebay site. It looks like a pretty good deal.

I did notice a little hidden something on the site interestingly enough....

Highlight the part after
"It is the 1 Watt Luxeon Star mounted on the aluminum heatsink/substrate (not just the plain emitter) and is ready to put to use in whatever project you may have."
and you will reveal some hidden text! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

hm r2 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Anyone email him about he R2, R3 or R4's? Gimme an R3G and I would be very happy... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

I just emailed him about R2's and R3's. I'd be happy with an R3H or J. I don't even know if they exist. I've never seen one.

Thanks.
I actually ordered 3 from him even before I got any CPF replies (the Impatience of it all).

The "secret" text from the ad:
It is the 1 Watt Luxeon Star mounted on the aluminum heatsink/substrate (not just the plain emitter) and is ready to put to use in whatever project you may have. Other codes that we have - Q4 Q2 Q1 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 ALSO SIDE EMITTER, RED, ROYAL BLUE, CYAN, RED/ORANGE, AMBER, GREEN, and NICHIA LED

Let see I can use one to build a McLux, one to mod a Pelican, 3rd....hmmmm maybe hold one as a spare cuz my soldering skills are pretty non-existent (thanks chop).

I am impatient to get started and the ebay guy is in Ohio and I am in Northern Calif, is hotbeam close to the west coast?

Not familar with the McLux, if these were just crap (and me being a tweaker and wanting to get every last ounce of brightness/runtime/whiteness out of it) if I came across a better bin how hard is it to change the LS after it was built?

Let me know his stock about the other bins he has please, (an R3 would be cool). I'll keep you posted on how the delivery is.

I think Hotbeam is in Australia, but the Q3J's I ordered got here PDQ. If this guy has some of the R's for sale, that's a gotta have if he has some R3's. I've never played with those before.

I emailed the guy on eBay about R3's and his response was "We have some on order - hard to get - no sale pricing as of yet - I'll let you know when the arrive. Jim"

Will have to wait and see.

I got the LEDs today, ordered on friday got here on monday that was quick.

now I need a good way to test em, my McLux package has not got here yet. Any ideas? Keep in mind I don't have any specific testing equipment. Can I do something with a battery?

Rockker,
I've been informed by a knowledgeable modded that the LED really need to be tested running at spec to get a good idea of output and color. Spec would be ~350mA. One cell won't do it and two cells might fry it. I'm assuming that you're referring to 123 cells.

You could try driving it with 3 AA's. I have a M@g that I've been running in direct drive on 3 D cells and haven't had any problems. Just watch the heat build up. I wouldn't run it for more than a few seconds if the LED is on a star and just momentarily if it isn't. Actually, I've run a star for more than a few seconds without further sinking, but just to be safe...

Rockker,

You can use 3AA's as Chop suggested. Make sure you hold the star in your hand. The moment it gets too hot to hold, disconnect power. The best way to test is to use a current regulated supply (BB400 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif) and use the same "too hot to hold" to shut the power off.

The McLux requires you epoxy the emitter into the head for proper heat transfer. You might be able to remove the emitter later on but you might destroy it.

If you're going to play around with Luxeon LED's a great deal, I'd invest in a DMM, some battery holders, a decent soldering iron, maybe some low ohm 1W resistors. If you want to do a lot of LED testing, buy a BB400 and modify it for voltage limit of 8V. Constant current switching regulators do not like to be run without a load. If you do, POOF! I can show you how to do this if you're interested. I have a modified BB400 strictly for LED testing. It gives me repeatable results for sorting out LED's.

CM

Thanks for the latest replies chop and cm.

Got it about the heat! I am familiar with that high tech method! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I was thinking I would just test the three LEDs to see if they work, the more I think about it though, cuz of the bin differences it might be prudent to have more of an in depth test (color and Vf).

cm, DMM....Digital Multi Meter?

If I do the 3AA test, as I don't have my Mclux PR head yet, are optics required to get a good test of the color?

If I want to get to get the vf of each led, I use the DMM, and connect it...where? DMM pos lead to pos battery wire and the neg lead to the pos pad on the star? (and battery neg wire to neg pad on star). That would measure the milliamps that the led draws - where less is better?


Sorry for the newbie questions.

For right now I think I will use the battery option, not quite ready for the BB400 option yet. Thanks cm!

Actually optics man make quite a difference on the colour, probably because the led's color is not uniform over the various emitting angles.

A high amperage in direct drive indicates a low Vf, which is good.

Thanks, I tried to test my shiny new Q3K's with optics (NX05 in mmag).

I have 3 LEDs to test.

I destroyed one trying to get it off the star, the black plastic ring of the LS came off while trying to pry, oops won't do that again. 1 down 2 to go.

On the second one, I bent the star with a couple pair of pliers, the LS adhesive broke and the LED was only held by the power leads, hit em with the hot iron and the LED fell off.

To test, I unsoldered the pee green LED from a brand new Q3 mm+ plus trimmed up the power leads on the LS and tried to solder it. My soldering skills leave much to be desired. I soldered and resoldered but couldn't get the leads to stick in the mm+. I was afraid of getting things to hot. During this process I musta bent and rebent the LED contacts so much trying to fit it and get it just right, one metal fatigued off. Before breaking it off I did get it to light (musta been a press fit), it looked quite good. I played with the focus on the mmag a bit and there was a square light superimposed over the round hot spot (from the diode shape I guess??), it was much dimmer than the hotspot. All in all was pretty white with a slight blue corona around the outermost edge of the side spill. Anyway 2 down one to go.


I gonna be real careful with the last one. I think one of my problems is the tip on the weller 40w soldering iron I used seems about as big as a broad tip magic marker! I ordered a soldering station like the one that chop refered to in this thread here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=360693&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&vc=1

I do want to test it before placing into the McLux.

BTW the one I tested was very white, if I compared it to an older bb400 I had, I found the old one was somewhat green. I never knew it till I compared the Q3 to it, don't know what bin the old bb400 is.

Rockker,
You got one too. I love mine. It heats up quick and it comes with the needle point tip. On the emitter that you broke the lead on. You could CAREFULLY scrape away plastic until enough of the lead is exposed to solder to. You should only need to hit it for a second with the iron before the solder melts. Good luck.

BTW, I love these Q3J's too. The Q3's have really been a pleasant surprise. I thought the well was dry, but I managed to grab two from a guy on eBay and another five from Nascar. My next few 1W mods are covered. I also came across an R2K. I like these for their warm color. They really perform well outdoors and cut through the night with a little beam of sunshine.

Well at least you solved the question about which ls to use.

I think you should be sure that the ls is connected to the board before you apply power to it, because at least the badboys will smoke when driven with no load.

I think you could solder to the tab beside the broken lead.

When I remove the stars I first unsolder the leads, then bend the star. I'm sure a smaller tip will do the work a bit easier.

rockker,
get the leads off the star first! I had "fun" the first time too. get a pencil type razor the kind you use for arts and crafts), wedge the tip
in the tiny gap right behind the lead pad, when the iron
is nice and hot you just have to touch the lead and slide
the razor out

I can't wait for the my Solder Station to show up chop, I just ordered it tonight and am slightly impatient especially with the Mclux parts here!I think I will wait for the new solder station before any more soldering.

I do like those Q3 (mine are K's) LS mine are the HD's. I guess the only downside is the artifacts, the square and wire lines (didn't mention those before).

I broke the anode lead, I scraped away some of the plastic around the anode tab, if I can solder some wire to that. I might be able to save it.

Thanks for the "no load" warning ailsnail, I will be more careful in the future.

red robby - I have an Xacto knife I will use next time.

How do u guys see and work on such small things? Do those third hands thingys with the magnifying glass work?