LED star and driver question

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
1

I’m really keen to get into doing some custom modding, but I know I need to learn more first. So I’m hoping you guys can help me out a little?

I’ve seen this LED star on DX:

XM-LT60 1000LM LED White Light Emitter with 18mm Base(2.9~3.5V)

Linky

I’ve got a couple of questions:

1. It says 2.9-3.5v - I presume this means what the driver would put out rather than the cells in use? As 3.5v isn’t high enough for even a single ICR Li-ion? I also presume that should you want to direct drive the LED (not that I do) that you could only do so on a max of 3.5v?

2. In terms of construction, is it really as simple as mount star on a heatsink, solder positive and negative wires from the driver to the star and connect the positive/negative input of the driver to the power source? I think it’s right, but it just sounds a little too simple…

3. Is this LED star recommended/worth it? The DX reviews seem to suggest so, but I’m not sure how much faith I put in them.

4. Driver - What would be a good driver (DX or other) to go with this LED? I’ve had a look at the drivers on DX but find I’m a little perplexed by the choice. Any guidance you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

2
  1. Yes, an XM-L wants to have 3.0-3.4V, depending on current and temperature. The driver has to adapt the battery voltage to the LED voltage while regulating the desired current.
    Direct drive is possible, too, since there are some limiting factors: contact resistances and the cell's internal resistance help somewhat regulating the current down. Actual current depends on battery, contacts etc. May go from 2A to 5A usually.
  2. Yes, it is. The driver is supposed to do all the magic.
  3. I don't know that specific one. But probably yes. Actually it looks like a copper board, which is better than a typical Aluminium board.
  4. I love this one, it's well suited for driving one XM-L with one Li-ion cell (or multiple in parallel). (I especially love it because I can reprogram the MCU with cutom firmware with all the modes and UI I like).