Converting SL4 Xenon > LED?

[nwbrewer]

I just got my frist shippment of the R5 LEDs. WOW they are so much brighter. I took some shots of the R5, R2 and the stock SL4 lights.
1 R2 vs Stock
2 R2 vs R5
3 all 3 lights
4 R5 module
FYI the R2 has over 10 hours of dive time on it and the other 2 have new batteries
I will not be able to dive these tell next weekend.

What did you make that copper spacer out of? That looks good.

 

[Bluto]

I did something similar. I took a R2 led from dealextreme and bought a 2 pack of the 35mm reflectors, sku 14599 and cut the threads off the bottom. Then a couple dabs of JB weld to hold the led to the new reflector and the new unit has the same profile as the old one. For contact to the copper strip at the top, by the threads, I carve down the plastic ridge that holds the strip so the reflector makes contact. Very little carving required. Un-solder the springs if you want and solder on a cap contact - not required though. Pretty easy and quick.

 

[beachnik]

I did something similar. I took a R2 led from dealextreme and bought a 2 pack of the 35mm reflectors, sku 14599 and cut the threads off the bottom. Then a couple dabs of JB weld to hold the led to the new reflector and the new unit has the same profile as the old one. For contact to the copper strip at the top, by the threads, I carve down the plastic ridge that holds the strip so the reflector makes contact. Very little carving required. Un-solder the springs if you want and solder on a cap contact - not required though. Pretty easy and quick.

Sounds interesting. Got pictures?

 

[orlowskij]

Some great info in this thread. I'm looking to get a light to use as a primary in OW for now, then use as a backup when I get a can light. And do it as inexpensively as possible. Sounds like this might be the ticket. It will probably get most of its use in 10-15 ft vis, will this do the trick? R2 or R5?

 

[haibeis]

In my opinion - the XPG drop-in provides more light for the same current.

 

[HenrikBP]

In my opinion - the XPG drop-in provides more light for the same current.

As far as overall light output I agree.

I found the hotspot of the beam of the XPG to be slightly wider than the XRE drop-in and as such the hot spot of the XRE seems slightly brighter than the XPG.

Henrik

 

[Aigtbootbp]

Just modded my SL4 with a drop in module from dealextreme and the sob is bright! When I put it together I didn't have a convenient bushing available so I just took three key ring type split rings and stuck them in place of the bushing just to see how bright it would be. Well, the darn split rings worked so good I am just going to leave them in place. I figure they conduct as well as a solid piece of anything else and they show no signs of moving even after I slapped it around for awhile.
I will be testing it in another month or so in Cozumel. Of course I will be carrying a tec40 for a back up just in case.
Overall I am quite happy with my "Ghetto built" LED dive light.

 

[beachnik]

I started with the UK SL4 and Xenon bulb.

Then, purchased the 3W LED from dealextreme - sku 6090
(DealExtreme: $7.25 3V~18V Input 3W Cree Drop-in Module (supports Surefire 6P))

Then, purchased the Cree XP-G R5 from dealextreme - sku 32953
(DealExtreme: $13.59 Cree XP-G R5 320-Lumen White Light LED Drop-in Module (26.5mm*29.3mm/18V Max))

Using Alkaline 'C' cells:
-The stock xenon bulb is pretty pathetic. The beam is narrow. Color is too warm. Not bright.
-The sku 6090 is a great improvement over the xenon bulb. It's a little more of a 'spot' than what I prefer - but not as narrow as the stock xenon bulb. Much brighter than Xenon. Slightly blue cool color temp
-The sku 32953 is a great improvement over the sku 6090. While it's just slightly brighter than sku 6090, the beam angle produces more of a 'flood' light. For night diving in clear water, I'd say this is the best of all three. Color temp is like sku 6090

'AA' NiMH cells:
I put 'AA' NiMH cells into 'C' adapters and ran the SL4 for an hour - it worked fine. I switched back-and-forth between 'C' alkalines (1.5V) and 'AA' NiMH (1.2V) - I didn't see any obvious differences in brightness.
(when I travel, I try to use portable electronic gizmos that accept 'AA' so don't have to weigh myself down with extra batteries.)

 

[bevansmw]

I noticed CREE up'd their spec sheet for the XP-G LEDs to allow for a drive current of 1.5A. As a result I went ahead and bought a 4x AMC 7135 driver for $5 for my XP-G LED so I could swap it out and increase the drive current to around 1.3A. Should be a good boost in output, using their spec sheets lumen output is:

@ 1A: 347.5 - 370 lumens

@ 1.3A: 417 - 444 lumens

@ 1.5A (approx): 458.7 - 488.4

Driver I bought is supposed to be 1.4A driver, but reading around 4x AMC 7135s provide about 1.33A. Couldn't find anything that provided 1.5A as a driver in a 17mm size to fit the pill.

Will follow with some pictures once I get it

 

[Lj82]

Just modded my SL4 with a drop in module from dealextreme and the sob is bright! When I put it together I didn't have a convenient bushing available so I just took three key ring type split rings and stuck them in place of the bushing just to see how bright it would be. Well, the darn split rings worked so good I am just going to leave them in place. I figure they conduct as well as a solid piece of anything else and they show no signs of moving even after I slapped it around for awhile.
I will be testing it in another month or so in Cozumel. Of course I will be carrying a tec40 for a back up just in case.
Overall I am quite happy with my "Ghetto built" LED dive light.

Hi,
Do you have a picture of how you modified it?
I keep having trouble trying to maintain stable connection. Its frustrating the hell out of me!