1W Lux Mod: whats the brightest way?

I have a 2C cell mag and a 1W lux. I was wondering whats the best (brightest) way I can mod it? Would running it dd or adding a micropuck be brighter...or is there another way to make it run at it's brightest? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

something like a Magic Resistor or a Downboy and 3x123 woudl be best... You could also do a Boost and 2 NIMH...DD will not be enough...Unless it is Red or Red-Orange.

Two C cells are not enough to dd a 1 watt luxeon at full power. It would be very dim. A micropuck will boost the voltage for you and regulate the current so it stays at 350ma while it's in regulation.

As justintox says, you could use 3 123 cells in the same body with a downboy, over driving it if you have a real good heat sink.



Daniel

Okay.....now whats a downboy? And where can I get it?

A downboy is buck/boost converter board that will allow you to drive your LuxI on 2-4 1x123s. You can find them at the Shoppe here.

If you want to keep current levels around 350-500ma I think a badboy convertor will be fine to run off of 2C cells. Or you can try Elektrolumens' new Hyper Circuit that will give you about 500ma on 2C cells. No word on their performance but right now they are at an introductory low price of $9 ea.

I don't think DD'ing a LuxI off of 3x123 is a very good idea, not even 2x123, not even if a LuxIII, no matter how big the heatsink is, although some were brave enough to try 2x123 DD with a LuxIII. Nope not me though.

darky, downboy is only a buck converter (step down).
if you want board that can do buck and boost, try wizard board. the efficiency is not as high though.

[ QUOTE ]
shiftd said:
darky, downboy is only a buck converter (step down).
if you want board that can do buck and boost, try wizard board. the efficiency is not as high though.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, thats what I always thought and was sure of but look here. Wayne must have made a typo or.....? It also states "step-up". /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif
I just cut and pasted but shouldn't have. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

I'll stick my neck out here, and point out that the downboy is a down converter (also known as a buck converter) and the badboy is a boost converter.

Witha boost converter you have to be careful that the battery voltage does not exceed what the LED can handle. It will boost the voltage as necessary to reach the designed power output. You deliberately use less voltage than your LED needs.

The buck converter is the opposite. It will reduce a higher voltage to the voltage needed to reach the designed power output. So with buck converter you deliberately start with more voltage than is necessary.

There are buck/boost converters like the micropuck and the wizard. They will take a broad range of voltage (above and below the LED's operating voltage) and convert it as needed.

I found out some of this the hard way. You don't want to try two CR123A (6 volts for two) with a 20 dollar luxeon and a madmax boost converter. It lets the magic smoke out of teh LED. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Daniel

Earlier in this thread heat sinking was mentioned in passing. If you haven't yet crossed that bridge then look here for a good heat sink in the Mag C or D.

cheers,
zwf

Dark Zero it's funny you mentioned EL's Hyper Circuit...thats actually what I was planning to try out, I have 2 already. So I'm gonna try the 1W powered by 2C and Hyper Circuit. Does that sound like a "bright" and safe approach?

If you want a super bright 2C LED mod, the right way to do it is with a really good 5W Luxeon and a Hotlips heatsink, basically a Space Needle. There aren't many really attractive ways to do it with a 1 watt. If you want to use a 1 watt led, you're better off with a Minimag drop-in sandwich than using a 2C. If you want a 1 watt metal light powered by C cells, Elektrolumens makes some nice ones.

Paulr...I already have a LuxI and I just hooked it up to 2C with the Hyper Circuit and it seems just as bright as my Lux3 DD with 3C. Thanks for the suggestion on the SNII though, I got the 1W because I already have a 5W Mod.