COAST Focusing LED Lenser.. w/pics

EngrPaul

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I measured the current at the tailcap with the supplied 3xAAA Alkalines (which were in the display package where people can turn it on and off). 0.66A

Some pictures down the hallway on locked exposure (about 1+1/2 stops underexposed)

Fenix P1D-CE (High) - 3.0V Primary CR123A (BatteryStation)
P1D_CE-High.jpg


Coast LED-Lenser - With supplied cheapie Alkalines (3AAA)
TIGHTEST BEAM FOCUS
CoastSSC_Tight.jpg


Coast LED-Lenser - With supplied cheapie Alkalines (3AAA)
HALFWAY BEAM FOCUS
CoastSSC_Halfway.jpg


Coast LED-Lenser - With supplied cheapie Alkalines (3AAA)
FULL WIDE FOCUS
CoastSSCWide.jpg
 
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FlashCrazy

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WOW!! Excellent pics, EngrPaul. Thanks for taking the time to do that! Now I can't wait for my Seoul emitters to come in. Thanks for the tip on getting the head off, I'll try it in a bit.

I do like the quality of this particular Coast, even if Coast gets belittled around here. This version is near the top of the food chain.

I just got done shining around a Glimt K2, Cree Elly, Ultrafire 601-A (2 AA), Cree Ristoft, and MTE Seoul P4-U in the back yard. I'm sure the neighbors think I'm nuts! Just wait til I slap a Seoul in the Coast...then they'll see..LOL.
 

TeaQue

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Wow thats awesome!

I wish you would have taken some before and after beamshots though :(

All these mods make me want to send one of you guys my light and pay you to do the same thing to mine!
 

EngrPaul

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TeaQue said:
Wow thats awesome!

I wish you would have taken some before and after beamshots though :(

All these mods make me want to send one of you guys my light and pay you to do the same thing to mine!

I might swing by and pick up a couple more, then I can do side-by-side pix.

Then I'll upgrade them and sell them here. Only problem is, it cost me nearly $55 once I pay sales tax each, I'd have to sell them for upwards of $90 shipped to make it worth my while. I personally think the flashlight is worth that much but most people probably won't. :(
 

qip

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i wonder how long it will take for them to go on clearance at lowes :) from $49 to $29
 

TeaQue

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Holy crap, after looking closely at your pics again, it looks like even on wide focus the Hokus Fokus is brighter than the P1D CE!
 

EngrPaul

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TeaQue said:
Holy crap, after looking closely at your pics again, it looks like even on wide focus the Hokus Fokus is brighter than the P1D CE!


Uh, oh... I made another "Holy Crap" light :laughing:

Just think if new batteries or Lithium AAA's were used. :popcorn:
 
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FlashCrazy

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qip said:
i wonder how long it will take for them to go on clearance at lowes :) from $49 to $29

That'd be great! One of the first lights that got me sucked into this expensive hobby was a Coast V2 Tac Torch. I got it at Costco for $19. I used it at work (aircraft mechanic) and many of my coworkers gave me money to get them one...everyone loved it. The fact that we got free batteries at work was a plus. Now the same light is $39-$49 wherever you can find it. I still have two of them, and they're gonna get Seouls too! That's another great Coast light though...I love the optics in the Coast lights.
 

qip

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actually as i googled you can use 20% off coupons from homedepot for lowes cause lowes will honor it for price match ..good info , and when i use to work as a cashier years back i know that you may not even need the coupon you just need the last 4-6 digits under the barcode and the cash register will will automatically ring it up but some barcodes you need the whole number as a just incase
 

soffiler

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Hey EngrPaul -

Just wondering whether you've given any thought to regulation. I've been mulling over a drop-in module with 1xCR123A and something from the Shoppe, Nexgen I think. I've also been thinking SSC myself, since someone already tried a Cree with less than acceptable results. Plus we already know the Cree emission pattern doesn't match the Lux pattern which this optic was developed for, but SSC is closer. I'm also thinking about current... something in the 750mA ballpark sounds about right...

Any thoughts?
 

EngrPaul

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Charged up 6 NiMH batteries of the same brand and lot.

Put 3 & 3 in a stock Lenser and SSC-upgraded lenser.

You will notice that the Seoul makes a bigger footprint, it's because it's a bigger LED die.

The current measurements at the tailcap with NiMH are 1.00A for the Luxeon, 0.81A for the Seoul.

About 200 lumens? Pretty darn close!

"Before and after upgrade" pictures, tight focus and wide focus, full exposure and -2:

IMG_1149.jpg

IMG_1150.jpg

IMG_1151.jpg

IMG_1152.jpg
 
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EngrPaul

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Regulation? Bah, carry extra batteries, change them when it dims... :)
 

EngrPaul

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Here's how I converted it to Seoul (PART 1).

Grab the head and tail. Turn the bezel counterclockwise relative to the body. It stops. Now turn harder. For me, the first one I could do by hand, this one required rubber strap wrenches:
IMG_1155.jpg


Clean the locktite crap out of the threads:
IMG_1157.jpg


Determine which lead is (+) and (-), mark them as such:
IMG_1156.jpg


Unsolder the two little wires from the emitter:
IMG_1158.jpg


Carefully pry the emitter from the base:
IMG_1159.jpg


Clean the base by lightly scraping the old epoxy off (don't throw up burrs of metal which will short later) and then isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab to get the little pieces:
IMG_1160.jpg


Mix-up some two-part Arctic Silver epoxy, and smash flat a copper disc. I used 1/4" diameter and .015" thick disc of CU110. Important: smash the disc FLAT using smooth jawed vice or similar. Do not use a hammer.
IMG_1161.jpg


Evenly apply a thin layer of this mixed epoxy:
IMG_1162.jpg


Sit the copper disc on the epoxy and lightly tap it into the epoxy. Important: Do not push it the whole way down to the metal base. Try to keep it flat so the emitter isn't tilted later.
IMG_1163.jpg


Let the epoxy cure for about 15 minutes. Check to make sure you do NOT have continuity between the copper and the base. If you do measure continuity, then remove the copper disc immediately and start over at the step where you clean the base.
IMG_1165.jpg


Now go do something else for a while. Let the epoxy continue to cure for a couple hours at least. Then check that there is no continuity one more time.

(to be continued...)
 
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EngrPaul

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Now that you've patiently waited for the epoxy to become very rigid, you can now install the emitter.

For this application, you'll need to trim the leads shorter like the Luxeon you took off. Note the unique terminal with the fork "U", this is the (-) terminal (cathode):
IMG_1166.jpg


Mix up a fresh spot of epoxy, and apply a thin coat to the top of the copper disc:
IMG_1167.jpg


Install the emitter on top of the epoxy with the correct polarity. On the P4, the side with the short "U" terminal is (-).
IMG_1168.jpg


If you have Kapton Tape with silicone backing, you can apply it as shown (not too tight!) to help make sure the epoxy under the emitter displaces as much as possible. You WANT the emitter to have good contact with the copper this time, remember: you already took care of isolation UNDER the copper disc. This way, the heat from the emitter will readily travel into the copper disc, and then travel across the copper to be evenly distributed through the lower epoxy layer.
IMG_1169.jpg

Wait a couple more hours. This time you want the epoxy to fully harden before turning on the emitter, creating heat and possibly making the epoxy bubble or interrupting the cure process.

After waiting, remove the tape, re-solder the wires, put the bezel back on. Turn the bezel real hard so that the head goes back into the range of focusing.

Enjoy, and DO NOT look into the lens at any time! :grin2:
 
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VidPro

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ENGRPAUL
great stuff. one question, cant we just hack the top off that heat sync , so wiring it up isnt done through the little thread a needle slits?
and/or so a cree would sit on there without hacking the square cree base to shreds?

is there any real purpose to the WELL they put on the top there, other than an easy way for some machine or human to align it? if it was just a flat top, would anything then work incorrectaly?

in fact if you hacked the top off the heat sync, couldnt you plop a STAR there even?

Question #2
you electrically isolated the emitter base, for a good reason probably, what does the emmitter base connect to? the + or the - or something in between?
 

EngrPaul

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VidPro,

One question? :laughing:

Why would you want to put a Cree in there? I bet it won't focus. Do you have any candle-mode crees to try inside the optic?

The crest of the heat sink is to align the emitter. I suppose you can hack them off.:)

The emitter base connects to (+). The base potentially connects to the (-) of the battery, which can short things out!
 

VidPro

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EngrPaul said:
VidPro,

One question? :laughing:

Why would you want to put a Cree in there? I bet it won't focus. Do you have any candle-mode crees to try inside the optic?

The crest of the heat sink is to align the emitter. I suppose you can hack them off.:)

The emitter base connects to (+). The base potentially connects to the (-) of the battery, which can short things out!

because a Seul is more blue than a cree, and blue is not as usefull outdoors.

i have had good luck with OPTICS and crees, 80% of the optics work with cree, wheras only 50% of the reflectors did. they were reflectors lying about because i did NOT use them, so i cant be sure if they would work good for anything :)

if i have to MOD something AGAIN, having a raw blank top on there, that takes no additional effort, is thinking ahead, that is kinda why i just wanna stuff some star on/in stuff. then you just peel it of with a screwdriver and plers and put in this week new tech junk. :)
 
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