Thoughts on a LuxIII in LB Micra

Hello all,

I recently purchased a Longbow Micra along with a few other flashlights (a couple of Q3, and a MMM) and I am completely happy with all of them. Recently I have been in a bit of a modding mood and wanted to see how a Lux III would be in the Micra. I am pondering the notion of purchasing ...

A UX1L emitter, a Wiz2 937 board, and of course the McCapsule/eCan.

I have a couple of questions...

1) Does the above look like a good solution or is there anything wrong? I am not an electrical engineer so there is no telling what stuff I may have wrong.

2) What kind of Lux/Lumens can I expect? How much brighter will this be than the stock LuxI?

3) Is there anything that I have not taken into consideration (i.e. Heat, Runtime, Common Sense ?

If anyone should need the current specs of my LB Micra. It has the stock LuxI with a 17mm IMS Reflector and a UCL lens.
This is my first post for help, and I appreciate any/all information and everyones time.

Thanks,

Shaman

1: nothing wrong, except a wiz2/750 may be bright enough. that's what I use and it's great.
2: No clue about lumens, but it will be much brighter
3: The light will become hot, but not hot enough to worry about it.

Adjusting the so17xa to a McCapsule can be a pain, but it works. Be sure to remember that the wiz2 is not perfect for primary cells.

Chrisse

Hi Chrisse,

Thanks for the reply. I guess I may have overestimated the current requirements for the UX1L (937 rather than the 750). Over the night I began to second think the 'X1' rating because of the yellowish tint. I am wondering if I should just put a TW0H or TY0J in instead... of course I would probably need the 750 or lower then.

I would be using the batterystation RCR123A with the low voltage protection circuit for the Micra. Since it is pushing approx. 4.1? off the charger I thought is would be ok. Am I still thinking clearly with regards to using the Wiz2?

Thanks for all the info, I have been following your posts regarding the Longbow for a while now. Matter of fact, I think it was one of your posts that got me thinking about the McCapsule.

Sincerely,

Sean

[ QUOTE ]
shaman said:
Over the night I began to second think the 'X1' rating because of the yellowish tint.


[/ QUOTE ]

I have a LuxV in 'X1' tint - driven at 1000ma.
I have always gone 'WO'in the past, but am really pleased with the X1.

To my eyes its a whiter looking beam than the 'WO' - no hint of yellow at all - Slight overdrive could be partly responsible.

Unless you get one right at one end of the bin for tint I'm sure you won't be dissappointed.

Tim

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the reassurance! I am still getting use to alot of the looks and feels of all the Luxeons. I think I would have a nice bright little flashlight with the UX1L but I had a cheap Dorcy 1W LuxI that had a QX1K in it that was a little on the yellow green side. It was only being driven by 3 AAA NiMHs so it is hard for me to compare with a 4.1? RCR123A UX1L on a Wiz2.

Let me ask everyone this, since I am quite a newbie... How can I determine the correct current to provide to a Luxeon LED? I know the Vf is given in the bin code but how much Amps/MilliAmps is beyond me.

Thanks for the help!

Sincerely,

Sean

Shaman

I think this is a fabulous combination. I have a twisty Micra with SO17XA, McCapsule, NextGen 1000mA and UCL, with AW's protected cells which are terrific. It is tiny and bloody bright. The McCapsule is easy to put together (DO NOT TOUCH THE LED SURFACE WITH THE SOLDERING IRON!!!). The only thing I would change if I were you would be to try to find a LUX III with a lower Vf (ie bin code like U..K or U..J). These are very rare and a bit expensive. To my understanding this will give you more runtime which is an issue if you run cells at near 1 amp. Try PhotonFanatics latest posts for U-bins.

Good luck

Shaman


The LEDs will have a certain voltage drop across them at rated current (Rated is 700mA for Lux IIIs I think). This is indicated for individual LEDs by the bin code (You can find all the codes at Lumileds site or at http://home.comcast.net/~theledguy/bin_codes/index.htm).

The safest way to run them is with a current-regulating device like the Sandwich Shoppe's BadBoy, NextGen, DownBoy or Wiz2 modules which will pass a given current as indicated by their name...** regardless of the LED Vf (in general)**. Different modules are used depending on the batteries used (1 or more cells). See the diagrams at the website link given above. A dropping resistor is the other option (V=I (Rres +R LED)).

Their is no correct current but overdriving shortens LED life and decreases efficiency. In general I like 1000mA to the Lux III but underdriving them is very efficient.

HTH.

ICUDoc,

I appreciate the info! I am still letting all the electrical knowledge sink in from the last few months... Not really a new world, just a new way to look at the world.

I went ahead and ordered the UX1L and the Wizard2. I did drop the milliamps to 750 just to play it safe . I would rather have a longer runtime with less heat, plus the way I see it I could always change the resistor at a later date if I had to. In any event I feel confident that I will see a good increase from, what looks to be, a 'Y1' or 'Y0' Lux I to a U 'X1' Lux III. I am also loving the fact the Wizard2 has the cutoff at about 2.5v so I can use my unprotected rcr123a once again (somewhat carefree). As soon as I get it all in and assembled I'll post an update for everyone (of course that is if I can see to type). I also ordered a TY0J for that Dorcy 3AAA... I'll use the QX1K and mod a 1AAA dorcy with it .

chrisse242, Timson, and ICUDoc:
Thanks again for all the input & advice, I really do appreciate the help. It is refreshing to find a forum such as CPF where the seasoned veterans graciously provide their knowledge.

Sincerely,

Shaman

Good luck Shaman and have fun.

Well I got all the parts in over the last week...

Wizard2 750
UX1L LuxIII
McCapsule
Artic Alumina Adhesive

I assembled all of the parts, soldered, and clamped. After a settle/sit-up time I cranked it on and...

It was just as I had hoped, BRIGHT! It is my brightest pocketable LED light; of course my comparison lights are quite modest (2 Q3s, Minimag MMLite TY0J, Dorcy 3AAA DD TYOJ, Dorcy AAA MJLED, Inova T1, and Nuwai AAA .5 Watt). It is not the brightest pocket flashlight as my surefire 6P is still quite bright. Everyone was also correct by saying the 'X1' is a good color of white, I like it a lot myself

I will tell a bit of a oops I made when wiring the wire leads to the emitter. The insulation must have been thin, bad wire, or just inexperienced soldering person (this is the one I think)... but the wire heated up and went straight through the insulation. Luckily it didn't go very far through the insulation, pluse the McCapsule led board is non conductive to that helps as a safety net. To be extra safe I applied some glow paint to seal up all the the wires and what not on the top of the McCapsule.

Thanks again to all...for all the help and information.

Sincerely,

Shaman (Sean)

I also have a Longbow Micra that my friend gave me a while back and I love this flashlight. I bought a UCL/Reflector combo from flashlightlens and I love how it makes the beam look. Sort of like a dimmer L4 beam pattern. Since we are on the subject on Longbows, I was wondering if there was an already assembled LED assembly that I can just simply screw into the original body.

Hi DOT,

The simplest answer is yes. Longbow has LED Capsules that you can purchase which you can see in the accessories section @ this website... http://www.longbowonline.com

Also a well known CPF veteran, McGizmo, once sold his McCapsule completely assembled (but it does look like the assembled McCapsule has been omitted from his Custom Pricing thread).

As far as other assembled capsules I don't know of any... Now if you are a modder yourself, you can always purchase the items as I did and assemble them yourself. I will give a quick tip, if you haven't soldered a little bit then I would not suggest that this be your first attempt. I was very surprised at how small the Wiz2 board was (approx. size of a dime) and knowing that I had to solder 4 wires to the board itself was a bit of a task for me (I have only soldered about 4-5 mods in the past and am not experienced . Not to say you cannot do it, only to provide a bit of insight to the road ahead. In the event that you do not want to attempt to assemble the items yourself, I am sure that the helpful members here at CPF will be glad to direct, assist, or possibly assemble the kit for you for a small fee if not for less.

I will say that the McCapsule thus far is worth every penny as is the UX1L LuxIII and the Wiz2 board.

Sincerely,

Shaman

DOT,

Also, be very careful when purchasing one of the led capsules from longbow directly. Some of the capsules will only work in certain models (I don't think they are very clear about that). I have a contact I have dealt with at Longbow if you need it. He is very helpful as is Longbow and both will stand behind their product/warranty. This is one of the main reasons I like Longbow flashlights

Sincerely,

Shaman

shaman said:

chrisse242, Timson, and ICUDoc:
Thanks again for all the input & advice, I really do appreciate the help. It is refreshing to find a forum such as CPF where the seasoned veterans graciously provide their knowledge.

Sincerely,

Shaman

Click to expand...

I didn't keep up with this thread for some reason. Shaman, glad you like waht you got. By the way, I don't consider myself to be a veteran, not even close... ;-)

Chrisse