There are no plans for other emitters at this time but the design is such that DIY mods should not be hard. You could use 3v, 6v, or 12v LEDâs without much trouble. You would just need large ~26mm+ mcpcbâs for them.
An XHP35 version was considered but honestly you might as well just get the GT70 as I expect that the throw and output would be similar. The only benefit would be better tint options but that is not enough for most people.
A boost HX version would be interesting to consider once the LED is released but till then it is impossible to say if it would be worth it.
If Lumintop contact me to make dedomed leds for them I can do it just we need to agree in labour cost and they need to send me the leds on the final MCPCB-s. You can undesrstand that the shipping costs and labour will rise the final flashlightâs price by a margin. 4 leds dedoming take at least 2-3 hours continuous work on microscope making very precise moves so I think I only can make for one or max two flashlights a day to not make my eyes tired as hell⌠To translate that around 7-10 flashlights per month.
Maxtoch has unless Iâm remembering it wrong. Theyâve also done a clean de-dome on the SST-40.
And slicing/dicing doesnât take all that long once you get used to doing it. I cover the MCPCB with a copper plate that has the square cut out for the substrate, slice with a silicone greased scalpel, then dice the sides. Takes a few minutes at most. No microscope, no helping hands, no real set-up⌠just a couple of bare MCPCBâs under the outer edges of the copper plate to keep it sitting level on the board that has the die.
Yes the 70/70.2 and the XHP35 can be de-domed cleanlyâŚ. I have done it a few timesâŚ
Here is a too closely shaved XHP70.2 that started to burnâŚ.I soaked it in a strong thinner to remove the silicone. If you right click to view/enlarge + you can see the silicone and black specs of char.
Right click to view/enlarge+
Dome on the left, clean silicone free de-dome on the right.
Yeah it can, I did about 15 successful dedomes, but about 8 failed, so make sure you got real sharp tools a steady hand and few extra leds on hand wonât hurt as well.
Good advise extra emitters are a must!
Slicing and Dicing isnât de-doming itâs slicing the dome off, the 70.2 dosenât have bond wires, pretty hard to screw that up.
Now slicing too close can cause the LED to burn, or if you polish it/sand the silicone down, sometimes causes fishers in the silicone, and it could burn, only issue I have ever seen, but if caught in time can be saved, by chemical de-doming, where patience is a virtueâŚ.that is where I screw up, pulling phosphorous off the pad, removing the silicone before itâs ready to be removed, sometimes the silicone can never be removed with out ruining the phosphorous.
The old 70âs and the XHP35âs are the toughest, they have bond wires. The SST40âs even worse.
Not to mention that some dedomed emitters fail after an unpredictably long period of time. In my experience, the harder you drive the LED, the greater chance it has to burn. It does not necessarily have to be the phosphorus or the chip itself, but even remnants of the silicone that have been fine for a year or even two might suddenly burn without any warning.
Ya man, it really sucks, out of no whereâŚlight starts to go dimmer, then you lookâŚ.SMOKE! :person_facepalming:
I have learned to use a UV light and check for silicone and missing phosphorous with a 10X glass then burn them in, on the rock and then with my test light, a SD75 Lexel Narsil/Infineon FET 6 volt driver with 4 VTC5Aâs everything bypassed with 18awg, at 22-23 amps, if there is any remnants of silicone, this light will seek and destroy it.
I could give a crap about the LED, itâs the Reflector getting smoked Iâm pissed about! (I usually purchase extra reflectors just in case) but now itâs really not worth it anymore, been there, done that, bought a shirt, burned itâŚâŚâŚ.