Quad Nichia 119 (2 x 18650 host)



I’ve had a Hugsby C8 2x18650 P60 host sitting on my shelf for quite a while. I originally purchased it for the small form factor, but finding a 8.4V 17mm driver was an issue. Recently, I decided to create my own quad LED using a 2.8A AMC7135 driver wired 2s2p that I’ve done successfully in the past for a 2C mag.


Components of the light engine:

  • 4 x Nichia 119’s

  • 3 x Quarters and copper coupling for the heatsink

  • 4 x 14mm XPE/XPG PCB’s

  • 14G copper wire for B-

  • copper nails for B+

  • Delrin washers

  • AA adhesive

  • Carclo quad optic, narrow (not shown)



The heatsink with predrilled holes. The copper couple was filled with small bits of 14G copper wire and fused with solder on a hot plate. The quarters were soldered together on a hot plate, ground/sanded, and glued to the copper couple with AA adhesive. The edges of the quarters are beveled to fit the host.


Bottom side showing B+ contact using two copper nails soldered together and secured/insulated to the delrin washers with AA adhesive. The delrin washers and copper ring are not yet attached to the heatsink.


The 14mm XPE/XPG boards had to be filed down to ~8mm so 4 could be fit to the Carclo quad optic. Because the Nichia 119’s have only 2 solder pads on the underside, thin piece of Kapton tape was used to insulate the middle pad to prevent a short. Finally, a small portion of the top coating on either side of the LED had to be removed to expose the underlying copper creating +/- solder pads.


The LED’s were aligned on the heatsink using the quad optic as a reference. Thermal paste was used for heat transfer and temporarily secure the boards prior to securing them permanently with AA adhesive that was applied around the edges.


After attaching with AA adhesive, emitters were soldered 2s2p using 24g silicone wire. Solder pads were very small, making this a challenge, especially when two wires had to be soldered to the same pad. Plus, I had to be sure the wires would not interfere with placement of the optic. It’s not the cleanest job ever, but all connections worked fine and there were no shorts.


Underside showing connections between B+, B-, and driver. Two holes had to be drilled along the inner edge of the heat sink to allow the B+ and driver- wires (red wires at 12 and 6 o’clock positions) to pass around the driver. B- contact (black wire) is in the groove. I tried to solder this, but the heat sink was so massive I could not get it hot enough without risking damage to the driver. Once the pill is install, pressure between the copper ring attached to the delrin washer and bottom of the heat sink forms a secure electrical connection.


A few shots of the optic in place.





To test how well I aligned the optic, I placed a manilla folder in front of the light and took a picture. As you can see, only the top left emitter is close to center, the other three are a bit off. I was hoping to get them more centered, but will have to settle for this. Nothing I can do about it now, but using a quad board would have solved this. Cutter was the only source for these but shipping to US is ridiculously high.


My one outdoor shot while walking the dogs. The output is pretty good with a nice neutral tint. On high it should be pulling ~700mA/emitter, and measures a little dimmer than my XML T5 by ceiling bounce using a DX Lux meter.



The stock host was a bit dull for my taste, so I dressed it up a bit with some sanding and polishing O-L style :-).




Sweet !

Very nice Hill. Your soldering looks superb and the light works. :slight_smile:

Nice build. Clever on the quarters. Until now, I did not know they where a little over 91% copper after 1964.

Cool looking host! Great job!

-Garry

Thanks everyone! What used to be the ugly duckling of my collection is now one of my favorites! It's nice and heavy thanks to the massive copper heatsink and the polished sections add some nice bling to it. I've got another in the works which will be a triple XPE (warm tint) driven by 3 x NiMh.