Clickys, alloy/copper to mod?

Hello guys,

I've been hanging around here for quite a time now and so far I managed to help myself with just clicking, and reading.. and more clicking and more reading.. but now I do have some questions.

I want to mod an old flashlight. Its from my grandfather and its so old, he paid only few DM (Deutsche Mark) instead of euros for it. It even is "made in germany". I know that it doesnt really have any value and that I could get some nice CREE "Q5" flashlight from ebay for a few euros, but I want to mod this thing.

I've got a CREE Q5 and a CREE XM-L on star from MF, I think I'll use the Q5, but thats not final. What I'm missing is something to heatsink. Copper, alloy.. something like that. Does anyone know a place that sells alloy/copper in pieces just big enough to mod a flashlight?

And, if I'm gonna use the XM-L (maybe I'll make them switchable, dont know yet..) I should have a good clicky. The normal stuff (5pcs for 6$) seem to have way too high resistance, or maybe I got the wrong ones.. but there got to be good switches out there that dont cost more than a genuine XM-L star, or am I wrong?

Well, I hope someone can help me push my mod forward..

Thanks

Hello Jimmy, welcome to CPF. :wave:

This subforum isn't one of my usual hangouts so I can't contribute much help, but I thought at least I could ascertain if you're in the US?
(Naturally this pertains to domestic vs. international vendor shipping considerations or even possible local item availablity.)

Best of luck,

Hello Kestrel, thanks for the friendly welcome.

I'm from germany, thats not really US.

Hello from Germany,

You can either look for a local workshop or material supplier (Metallbauer, Eisenwarenhändler oder Baumarkt) and ask them, if they have some leftover material for takeaway, because You don't need very much. If You find something this way, it will possibly be for free. The other alternative is to search at google or ebay for "Aluminium Rundmaterial" or "Kupfer Rundmaterial" (aluminum or copper rods). This way You will find something useful.
Regarding switches the McClicky is the "gold standard", but it will be rather expensive to order a single McClicky because I don't know any offers outside the US. There is also the "Solarforce Reverse Clicky Inner switch set" available at solarforce-sales for 2$.
If this doesn't help, You should ask the same questions at German messerforum.net or taschenlampen-forum.de, because some guys over there will know more German sources than I do.

One likely option for copper bits is plumbing. A 3/4 inch (in the US), or about 19mm copper pipe endcap is just about the same size as that likely-to-be 20mm Cree Star. If you flatten out the inside of the endcap, it makes a good holder for the LED and a 20mm optic. Cleverly drilled holes for power wires from the driver allow a tidy appearance and reasonably easy rebuild.

Building a high-power LED light into a flashlight body is tricky due to thermal management. If you stay below 1W you're certain to be safe. If you snug up the heatsink to a metal flashlight body, you can do more. When you power-on the LED for testing, check the heat of the star it sits on. It should not build up heat without warming the flashlight body.

@Erzengel: Problem is, I already asked the few I know. The only thing I could get with ease would be brass which doesnt really have a good thermal conductivity. I got a piece of alloy from my grandfather now, maybe that works. Thanks for the tip with the keywords to search for, I only searched for "stange" (=bar) which didnt really give satisfying results. The flashlight is basically a tube made of thin metal with a diameter of 40mm, and alloy rods in that size are pretty expensive.
Do the solarforce clickys increase the amps? I've got an UF980L pulling about 2.8A with tailcap and 3.5A without..

@AnAppleSnail: I've got one cheap flashlight from ebay, 8$ I think, delivery included. Takes about 1.3A through tailcap. Heat transfer from pill to host isnt really good, but all gets warm and temperature stays in acceptable areas. I ordered a 1.2A driver, so if I manage to put something together, I guess it'll work just fine.


Thanks for the input to both of you!

A good place to get the heatsinking materials you are looking for is at www.onlinemetals.com It's one of the few suppliers that sells in smaller quantities.