Help with LS conversion

Hi, I have been hearing about this forum from a friend (Rich Scherer) for a while, and when the LS came out I got bitten. So I am going to try a conversion.

I have several questions I was hoping to get help with.

First, about the LED. I would like to get the lambertian Amber with optics. Future electronics only has them in quantity. Can we get them from Peter G.? I did not see where/how to specify which LS we wanted at his web site.

I am also curious as to the connector in the star /C It looks big enough to get in the way. Future Elec. has the plain LS (no /c or /o) available now in small quantities. If I like the amber enough I may convert a 6v lantern using 4 amber high domes w/out the optics and I don't know whether to get the plan LS or the LS /c.

Finally, I would really like to go for long battery life. I was thinking about using a switching regulator. Has anyone used them with the LS? I was trying to figure out how to tell if it is worth the cost and effort. Well, I'm not really worrried about the effort since it would be fun to try. Are there any examples out there? I found one here:

"The Perfect Cave Light"

but the regulator requires a minimum input of 4V so it won't work well for a 3 or even 4 battery light. I want to go for a D cell light which is not too large. I was hoping to do it with 3 Ds and a switching regulator if that makes sense. I know several people have converted 3 D cell lights using resistors.

Rob - Welcome Aboard!

I can help a bit on the power regulator part of the question: There is a big thread somewhere around regarding the "Ulitmate caving light" and using the LM2621 for regulating power. The LM2621 will actually take much less than 4v as a minimum supply (I don't have the specs handy but I think it's 1.2 minimum). I have one and use it in a dummy cell in a 3 cell light to drive a Luxeon Star on regulated voltage from the other 2 cells. Works without a hitch. Check the pics on my website. The Wal-mart flashlight with the LS mod is now powered with the LM2621 in the dummy battery. I just removed the resistors from the original LS mod I did. The LS really likes to draw a lot of current and overheats the 2621 unless I feed it no more than 3 volts. Hope this helps.

Peter G should be able to get you the amber LS you're looking for.

Ahhhh, There it is: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=000709

Thanks. I checked out the thread and posted something there.

I should have been more specific in my first post. I am interested in a really long running light and I was looking at a 3 battery configuration, so I was talking about the other regulator in the link, the LM2653. I also think I would prefer a current regulator. At least that is what a friend of mine says is probably more critical. I won't know for sure until I get an LS and play with voltage and current. I am really exicited about the LM3477 Silveron mentioned in the thread since it takes input down to 2.95v.