COAST Focusing LED Lenser.. w/pics
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VidPro
Flashlight Enthusiast
ahhh.
your WO in this pic
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/EngrPaul2/LenserSSC/P1D_CE_Vs_LenserSSC_Throw.jpg
is yellower than the P1-CE
i am so confused. i want the most light PER WATT, with the tightest emitter size, with the most pre-focused dome on the emitter , like 50* preferable.
I thought that watt for watt , (the latest) cree was brighter than seul, not to mention cheaper.
and i though the seul was getting its extra brightness LOOK from being like a cheap china led , blasing in blue with little phosphors.
your WO in this pic
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/EngrPaul2/LenserSSC/P1D_CE_Vs_LenserSSC_Throw.jpg
is yellower than the P1-CE
i am so confused. i want the most light PER WATT, with the tightest emitter size, with the most pre-focused dome on the emitter , like 50* preferable.
I thought that watt for watt , (the latest) cree was brighter than seul, not to mention cheaper.
and i though the seul was getting its extra brightness LOOK from being like a cheap china led , blasing in blue with little phosphors.
lumenal
Enlightened
Wow, EngrPaul, most excellent pictures of the upgrade. You make it look so easy.
I've had this particular Coast/Led Lenser for about 4 or 5 months and have been very impressed with it, direct drive and all. (I just run Ni-MH). In fact, I just bought a second one a couple weeks ago. I love the power beam of this particular "frog-eye" optic, (Fraen,probably.)
And I thought this light was bright. Your creation makes it look about 3 or 4 times as bright! Unbelieveable!
I'm sure that those of us that own this light are drooling over your SSC Lenser, I know I am.
And it would be nice to mod it like shown, but I'm way down in the minor leagues compared to this professional modification !! But those pics/details don't get any better as shown, so....
:goodjob: on the SSC Lenser!!:rock:
I've had this particular Coast/Led Lenser for about 4 or 5 months and have been very impressed with it, direct drive and all. (I just run Ni-MH). In fact, I just bought a second one a couple weeks ago. I love the power beam of this particular "frog-eye" optic, (Fraen,probably.)
And I thought this light was bright. Your creation makes it look about 3 or 4 times as bright! Unbelieveable!
I'm sure that those of us that own this light are drooling over your SSC Lenser, I know I am.
And it would be nice to mod it like shown, but I'm way down in the minor leagues compared to this professional modification !! But those pics/details don't get any better as shown, so....
:goodjob: on the SSC Lenser!!:rock:
adirondackdestroyer
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2005
- Messages
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I have to say that 3AAA lights pretty much make me sick, but for some reason I really want one of these! The output looks incredible on Engrpaul's mod! It's driving the LED at 810ma, right? Pretty impressive that it is being driven less than the luxeon version but appears at least twice as bright!
What kind of runtime are you getting with three NIMH cells?
What kind of runtime are you getting with three NIMH cells?
adirondackdestroyer said:
It's direct drive, so the emitter is getting all 810 mA! It's pushing around 180 something lumens, but keep in mind that's not regulated.
There is runtime charts earlier in this thread, I have not done a test. Add about 20% due to the fact the Seoul uses less current than the Luxeon.
Yup, did the mod over a month ago. I didn't use the copper slug though and as it turns out, didn't need. Had the the power go out and had it running for over an hour without any heat problems. This is a fantastic flashlight!
whc
Enlightened
Just got me a Lux Meter today, and thanks to Quickbeam at Flashlightreviews.com (http://www.flashlightreviews.com/fe...tbox_output.htm) I was able to make a device using a milk carton and some aluminium foil (I then reinforced it using corkboard) to measure the "Overall Output".
Here is some results of Overall Output in Lux:
Led-Lenser Hokus Fokus:
3xAAA Ni-Mh: 4850 Lux
Now just to compare:
Amilite T5:
1xRCR123A 3.0v on high: 8340 Lux
1xRCR123A 3.7v on high: 10910 Lux
Lumapower M1:
1x18650 XR-E OP: 8140 Lux
2xRCR123A 3.7v XR-E OP: 8950 Lux
1x18650 SSC P4 OP: 5540 Lux
2xRCR123A 3.7v SSC P4 OP: 8230 Lux
Lumapower LP-Mini:
1xRCR123A 3.7v OP: 7810 Lux
Lumapower M3:
1xAA on high: 3640 Lux
2xAA on high: 4300 Lux
1x14500 on high: 5880 Lux
1xRCR123A on high: 4390 Lux
Fenix L1D-CE:
1xAA on high: 3990 Lux
1x14500 on high: 8240 Lux
Ultrafire WF-500L:
2x18650 3.7v: 4660 Lux
Nuwai X-3:
2xAA Ni-Mh: 3020 Lux
Here is some results of Overall Output in Lux:
Led-Lenser Hokus Fokus:
3xAAA Ni-Mh: 4850 Lux
Now just to compare:
Amilite T5:
1xRCR123A 3.0v on high: 8340 Lux
1xRCR123A 3.7v on high: 10910 Lux
Lumapower M1:
1x18650 XR-E OP: 8140 Lux
2xRCR123A 3.7v XR-E OP: 8950 Lux
1x18650 SSC P4 OP: 5540 Lux
2xRCR123A 3.7v SSC P4 OP: 8230 Lux
Lumapower LP-Mini:
1xRCR123A 3.7v OP: 7810 Lux
Lumapower M3:
1xAA on high: 3640 Lux
2xAA on high: 4300 Lux
1x14500 on high: 5880 Lux
1xRCR123A on high: 4390 Lux
Fenix L1D-CE:
1xAA on high: 3990 Lux
1x14500 on high: 8240 Lux
Ultrafire WF-500L:
2x18650 3.7v: 4660 Lux
Nuwai X-3:
2xAA Ni-Mh: 3020 Lux
soffiler
Enlightened
(This is actually a reply I drafted in response to EngrPaul's comments about regulation or lack thereof in post #114... been trying to post it as a response for days now, and my system locks every time. Trying this as a Quick Reply instead)
Hi EngrPaul:
Here's why I think a mod with a regulator is a good idea. The problem with alkaline AAA is that, at the relatively high drain rate the Coast imposes, the poor things have just 1/3 the energy capacity of a AA, yet they cost exactly the same. AAA cells are never a good deal financially when you look at it this way. In my humble opinion, AAA cells really belong in 1xAAA light formats where their small size is THE advantage (because operating cost never will be). 1xAAA lights aren't about the power, they're about size and weight and convenience. The problem with the Coast is that it definitely IS about the power, and AAA is simply not an economical cell.
Let's look at hard numbers (capacity numbers drawn from Energizer data sheets and cost numbers drawn from websites popular with CPF'rs).
Name-brand AA and AAA cells tend to cost around $0.40 each. Lithium AA (L91) and AAA (L92) tend to cost around $2.00 each.
The capacity of an alkaline AAA at the approximate drain rate several of us have measured on the Coast is about 0.3 W-hr, and at $0.40 each, you are paying $1.33 per W-hr.
The capacity of a lithium AAA (L92) is about 1.25 W-hr and at $2 each, you are paying even more than alkaline at $1.60 per W-hr.
Now let's assume for a moment that an appropriate adapter can be fabricated to hold a boost driver and a single CR123A. A US- or Japanese-made CR123A can be found online for around $1.75 each and driving the Coast equally as hard as the alkaline, the capacity of the CR123A will be around 3.1 W-hr less converter efficiency (assume 80%) so make that 2.5 W-hr. The cost is $0.70 per W-hr, about half the cost of alkaline AAA. And the cost is even lower still if you happen to have a favorite Chinese CR123A.
Another smart way to go, cost-wise, would be NiMH AAA. Interestingly, a rack of three good-quality NiMH AAA will have roughly 2.5 W-hr of capacity, so runtimes would be roughly comparable to the CR123A mod. (That happens to be how I am running my Coast at the moment.)
But I still like the idea of constant light output that you'll only get through regulation. At build time, you can select the relationship between light output and runtime by swapping sense resistors on the regulator board, which you can't do with direct-drive. And, you end up with the excellent shelf-life and wide temperature range performance of lithium.
Hi EngrPaul:
Here's why I think a mod with a regulator is a good idea. The problem with alkaline AAA is that, at the relatively high drain rate the Coast imposes, the poor things have just 1/3 the energy capacity of a AA, yet they cost exactly the same. AAA cells are never a good deal financially when you look at it this way. In my humble opinion, AAA cells really belong in 1xAAA light formats where their small size is THE advantage (because operating cost never will be). 1xAAA lights aren't about the power, they're about size and weight and convenience. The problem with the Coast is that it definitely IS about the power, and AAA is simply not an economical cell.
Let's look at hard numbers (capacity numbers drawn from Energizer data sheets and cost numbers drawn from websites popular with CPF'rs).
Name-brand AA and AAA cells tend to cost around $0.40 each. Lithium AA (L91) and AAA (L92) tend to cost around $2.00 each.
The capacity of an alkaline AAA at the approximate drain rate several of us have measured on the Coast is about 0.3 W-hr, and at $0.40 each, you are paying $1.33 per W-hr.
The capacity of a lithium AAA (L92) is about 1.25 W-hr and at $2 each, you are paying even more than alkaline at $1.60 per W-hr.
Now let's assume for a moment that an appropriate adapter can be fabricated to hold a boost driver and a single CR123A. A US- or Japanese-made CR123A can be found online for around $1.75 each and driving the Coast equally as hard as the alkaline, the capacity of the CR123A will be around 3.1 W-hr less converter efficiency (assume 80%) so make that 2.5 W-hr. The cost is $0.70 per W-hr, about half the cost of alkaline AAA. And the cost is even lower still if you happen to have a favorite Chinese CR123A.
Another smart way to go, cost-wise, would be NiMH AAA. Interestingly, a rack of three good-quality NiMH AAA will have roughly 2.5 W-hr of capacity, so runtimes would be roughly comparable to the CR123A mod. (That happens to be how I am running my Coast at the moment.)
But I still like the idea of constant light output that you'll only get through regulation. At build time, you can select the relationship between light output and runtime by swapping sense resistors on the regulator board, which you can't do with direct-drive. And, you end up with the excellent shelf-life and wide temperature range performance of lithium.
I agree it would be nice if this flashlight was a different battery format. I don't like fiddling with those 3-AAA cartridges. I use NiMH AAA's, so the cost doesn't bother me. However, they are direct drive, so I get 100% of the battery power going to the emitter.
What other flashlight is the same as the Coast but takes other cells?
What other flashlight is the same as the Coast but takes other cells?
soffiler
Enlightened
Not sure I understand the question, unless of course it's rhetorical. As far as I know there IS nothing else like the Coast 7438.
I've got a Nexgen coming from the Shoppe and I hope to fabricate a cartridge for it plus a 1xCR123A that will completely replace the 3xAAA cartridge. I'm going for 650mA output which I think is going to be about as hard as I can hope to pull on a 1xCR123A, and even then I might be pushing it. Looking for about 30-40 minutes in regulation and another 20-30 on top of that. Oh, of course, a SSC P4 U-bin is part of the deal. With losses accounted (elevated junction temperature, optics inefficiency) I'm projecting 130 lumens; these are real-world lumens like Surefire talks about, directly measurable in an IS. It'll be more like 155 with a fresh battery and a cold junction.
infoseeker
Newly Enlightened
EngrPaul
my time is so tight in my work so i have no time to study all what you have done with "funky-lucky" hokus focus
i read a little bit here
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1911862
My question is:
is it still the same LED you use or you get from other brand?
is the copper you put below the LED dont need to contact to any metal inside?
thanks in advance
my time is so tight in my work so i have no time to study all what you have done with "funky-lucky" hokus focus
i read a little bit here
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1911862
My question is:
is it still the same LED you use or you get from other brand?
is the copper you put below the LED dont need to contact to any metal inside?
thanks in advance
VidPro
Flashlight Enthusiast
ENgPaul, can you get the Tailcap apart?
most of the coasts that i modded, the tailcap is pure heck to remove. mabey a better way to say it is, I CANT get the dang things off without ruining stuff.
i have a 2way switch that i THINK might wedge in there.
the cree has a smaller emitter, and more importantally with aspehrical/optical mods, i find that if the led has some direction already, that can be important, you dont want the light going into side of the flashlight tube, it needs to head to the lens in this situation.
so i was thinking (again) about stuffing a cree in.
While the coast models have a normal clickee that can do momentary, they have not done much in the way of levels.
EVERY light should:
Focus (wide or spot)
have levels
Have some sorta battery juice, relative to the container.
should knock your sox off in power
yet still be able to run for an entier night. or day as needed without more stuff.
because this has the focus aspect, that leaves stuffing some way to have easy user controlled levels, and something to replace the little aaa battery.
I dont have one of these yet, mostly because i have enough dang lights, and not enough money. but if i could do EVERYTHING a light should have, i would take a crack at it. I have modded too many 3xAAAs, they all have everything BUT focus.
most of the coasts that i modded, the tailcap is pure heck to remove. mabey a better way to say it is, I CANT get the dang things off without ruining stuff.
i have a 2way switch that i THINK might wedge in there.
the cree has a smaller emitter, and more importantally with aspehrical/optical mods, i find that if the led has some direction already, that can be important, you dont want the light going into side of the flashlight tube, it needs to head to the lens in this situation.
so i was thinking (again) about stuffing a cree in.
While the coast models have a normal clickee that can do momentary, they have not done much in the way of levels.
EVERY light should:
Focus (wide or spot)
have levels
Have some sorta battery juice, relative to the container.
should knock your sox off in power
yet still be able to run for an entier night. or day as needed without more stuff.
because this has the focus aspect, that leaves stuffing some way to have easy user controlled levels, and something to replace the little aaa battery.
I dont have one of these yet, mostly because i have enough dang lights, and not enough money. but if i could do EVERYTHING a light should have, i would take a crack at it. I have modded too many 3xAAAs, they all have everything BUT focus.
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@jhempelayo,
I think the answer to your question is in that post.
@VidPro,
I never tried getting into the switch area. I am curious whether or not it's waterproofed in there. If it is, then it might put an o-ring between the optic and the bezel for a fully water resistant flashlight. As for the 2 level switch, that would be a good idea. I don't know what will fit. I might try looking in the tailcap later today.
I think the answer to your question is in that post.
@VidPro,
I never tried getting into the switch area. I am curious whether or not it's waterproofed in there. If it is, then it might put an o-ring between the optic and the bezel for a fully water resistant flashlight. As for the 2 level switch, that would be a good idea. I don't know what will fit. I might try looking in the tailcap later today.
VidPro
Flashlight Enthusiast
http://www.judcomfg.com/PButton.htm
see the ones in the center, they are PCB mount type on1-off-on2, they come in 1/2 Square sized, and are only rated for .5a but they work good for the led things.
i know of that one, and i am sure it would wedge in there, its a bit of "ART" to get things all aligned and all, take off the rounded top, align the length, add or subtract from button length. but its a pastability.
or better here, http://www.judcomfg.com/FlatPacCat.htm
is the one i have used often (scroll down to the bottom, its the second to the last item)
j-977-5
mabey there exists one that does momentary too,these do not, although most coast switches DO. one would lose one thing to gain another.
see the ones in the center, they are PCB mount type on1-off-on2, they come in 1/2 Square sized, and are only rated for .5a but they work good for the led things.
i know of that one, and i am sure it would wedge in there, its a bit of "ART" to get things all aligned and all, take off the rounded top, align the length, add or subtract from button length. but its a pastability.
or better here, http://www.judcomfg.com/FlatPacCat.htm
is the one i have used often (scroll down to the bottom, its the second to the last item)
j-977-5
mabey there exists one that does momentary too,these do not, although most coast switches DO. one would lose one thing to gain another.
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Picked one up today while at Lowes(I shouldn't keep spare seoul emitters around and won't be so tempted). did the seoul mod and am VERY impressed. There are some minor flaws with this light IMO (3xAAA, single stage, direct drive, type II anodizing). but there is something to be said for focusing optics. really projects an interesting beam, and can't wait to walk around tonight seeing how it compares. will add it to the beamshot thread after dark hopefully as well.
now I imagine small high quality optics to collminate light from small new LEDs(rebel?) adding a whole new level of throw and effective illumination from tiny lights?
The future Conan?
now I imagine small high quality optics to collminate light from small new LEDs(rebel?) adding a whole new level of throw and effective illumination from tiny lights?
The future Conan?
chrome-addict
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2006
- Messages
- 111
Has there been any beamshot comparisons between this light and the D-Mini? I did some extensive searching and couldn't find anything.
FlashCrazy
Flashlight Enthusiast
There will be as soon as I get my replacement module from Lumapower for my D-Mini! The original one worked for about a minute then died. 
Hopefully it'll be here any day now.
Hopefully it'll be here any day now.soffiler
Enlightened
Hey FlashCrazy:
Just wondering... earlier in this thread you were talking about getting a SSC P4 into your Coast. Did that ever happen? That will make a real difference when you put it up against the D-Mini.
I just recently put a Seoul in my Coast. Actually I haven't experienced the full effect yet, because my Coast is still running on NiMH at the moment and they're due for a charge (which is a hassle because my cheap charger needs pairs so I've gotta discharge a fourth AAA before I can recharge them all). I'm not too motivated to do the recharge song-and-dance because I've got a Nexgen 650mA waiting, and I am looking forward to building a 1xCR123A module with it.
Just wondering... earlier in this thread you were talking about getting a SSC P4 into your Coast. Did that ever happen? That will make a real difference when you put it up against the D-Mini.
I just recently put a Seoul in my Coast. Actually I haven't experienced the full effect yet, because my Coast is still running on NiMH at the moment and they're due for a charge (which is a hassle because my cheap charger needs pairs so I've gotta discharge a fourth AAA before I can recharge them all). I'm not too motivated to do the recharge song-and-dance because I've got a Nexgen 650mA waiting, and I am looking forward to building a 1xCR123A module with it.
