Do you think 3.8A to 4.1A will make a difference in brightness? I'm wondering how Match's results (https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/2346
) work in the real world myself. He shows a peak starting at 4.1A, but very little gain above 3.8A or so. Haven't come across any corraborating evidence in real flashlight tests.
Seriously I would try one at a time and check for heat build up. I have no idea what the heat sinking is like on this flashlight. The hotter the LED the less efficient. Before and after shots with the same camera settings will give a good idea whether the light is working better or not. 3 amps is the sweet spot for output and battery life. Good luck on your mission.
Those 38M 7315 are of course 380mA chips. The 350mA ones are 35"x", so the first two digits are that tell you the rating.
There are empty pads, look at that board, no need for staking.
Looks like there is room for a 4th chip, the ground wire is soldered to the pad where one of the pins should be. I don't know about the clearance.
Those stars don't look like any connections to anything, just unmasked copper (gold plated), esthetics only.
Here’s the driver of my Shadow SL3
That's 4560mA. You have exactly 50% more current, but I doubt you have 50% more brightness compared to 3040mA.
I initially thought you soldered those extra 4 chips yourself, but did you?
No, this is how the SL3 comes. It is 4.5A as standard.
Do you think it’s possible to stack chips to increase the current?
Yes, it definitely is. So all you would have to do is stack a chip on top of every current chip and you will get a 9 amp one. :)
Yes it's possible to stack some more chips.
Sorry I looked only at the driver and I didn't realize you have written "Shadow SL3", I thought it was the JM26 driver.
Anyway, as I was suspecting there are 4 empty places on the JM26's driver, not 3.
oh man
i might have to buy an sl3
that’s the best news i’ve heard in awhile
Great news, thanks 
So can I stack any number of chips in any position? Like just one chip anywhere, or an extra chip on each chip?
Cheers
Matt
Any number on any position (of the 12).
Great, thanks :bigsmile:
Wow, maybe making a 9 amp SL3 is easier than we thought. >)
It is, but it’d be rough on the cell, can king Kong inr’s dole out 10a?
Edit, its my birthday in February, I think I’ll be ordering an sl3 and ten 380 chips or so….
I think that’s more than recommended (2C?), and I wouldn’t make a habit of it w/ anything but IMR, or similar…
edit: so where’s the best price on SL3?
Yeah, hopefully
Only thing is the heat sinking. The 3 leds are bonded on a single aluminium star that is glued into the head of the light, so the only area of contact with the head is around the edge of the star.
+1 - they are all in parallel so doesn't matter where. That's why you can even remove some, or double stack (3 high) them. But, oh boy, pushing a single 26650 over 5 amps? Not sure what the limit is on high qual batteries... I know there's been things published here on BLF about that. 6 amps would be nice, 2 amps per LED, but 6 amps on 1 battery? - only the best batteries, maybe...
Not sure, but 9-10A even on an IMR may be unrealistic -- should check this.
how thick/deep is the hollow space under the star?
I just ordered a couple of these Samsung INR18650-20R They can do 20A
I have a couple of mnke 26650’s that should do the trick too