Quick & Dirty Elly mods UV (Update)

[AJ_Dual]

(Update below in the thread)

I've been searching CPF, but search is down right now, and I'm unsure if the Google results are giving me what I want to know.

I recieved my DX Elly 1W today, along with the high output UV LED that I want to put in it. I don't have a spare empty star hanging around for the UV LED. I thought I'd just dismount the Elly's LED, but it looks as though it's some kind of funky surface mount right onto the star with a dollop of clear epoxy over it. :thinking:

Can I just X-acto knife/scrape the LED off of the surface of the Elly's star, isolate the printed conductors out a bit further by cutting across them, and solder on the UV led with a dab of Arctic Silver underneath it for good heat transfer?

 

[Walt175]

Re: Quick & Dirty Elly mods - re-using the Elly star

I did that on my first Elly cree mod. Just cut off the dome of the old led and epoxied my cree over it. Soldered wired from the board to the contacts on the cree. Been working fine for months now.

 

[AJ_Dual]

Re: Quick & Dirty Elly mods - re-using the Elly star

Thanks!

That's what it looked like to me, and if I didn't get any feedback that is exactly what i was going to do. I wasn't so worried about ruining this chintzy star, more about waiting another 2-3 weeks for DX or Kai to get me another star.

 

[Scattergun]

Re: Quick & Dirty Elly mods - re-using the Elly star

Yup, works fins with SSC P4´s too! I´ve done several!

 

[joedm]

Re: Quick & Dirty Elly mods - re-using the Elly star

Search may be down but here's a link to the original BIG Elly thread: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/141874

Enjoy!:twothumbs

 

[AJ_Dual]

I just wanted to say thanks!

The Deal Extreme sku 4334 UV LED is now in my Elly flashlight, and it runs great! It took me all of 20 minutes, and about 10 of that was setting up and tinning the tip of the cheap Radio Shack soldering iron I bought last week.

The LED package sits quite a bit higher than the original Elly LED stuck right onto the star, so the focus is quite different. However, from the pointer to the "Big Elly Thread" I learned the trick of putting some Teflon plumbers tape on the threads to get smooth adjustments, it has a pretty decent spot and good spill for a sub-$20 DIY UV flashlight and my very first "real mod".

Everyone pointed me in the right direction, and I learned a lot more from reading the forum. I'll post pics and some details later when I have time.

 

[katsyonak]

Did that too yesterday but I used an empty Cree star glued with Arctic Alumina.
I also made an IR Elly with this:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4669
Had focus problems with both and needed to unscrew the heads to fit higher, so I inserted two 20mm O-Rings for each and now the heads aren't loose.