My TCR-01 is currently sporting a Noctigon triple star and a Carclo 10507 optic.
The reflector compartment in the TCR-01 has a handy ledge in it just big enough for a slightly filed down 20mm triple Noctigon. And it’s just at the right height for a standard Carclo star without lens. Slather on some Arctic Silver 5 on the sides of the compartment around the ledge, insert star and you’re good too go as a triple. Might need to lengthen the driver wires slightly I think.
That said, I’m thinking of converting this back to a single-emitter light. It was really cool when I made this light a triple several years ago. But now that I’ve experienced high-power FET driven triples and quads, the low-power driver in the Jetbeam just isn’t ideal for a triple.
Based on what I saw with my triple TCR-01 I suspect 7 White Flats in an E07 won’t produce a very attractive beam. In my TCR-01, I get a narrow hotspot as expected, but it also has less throw and spill than a single-emitter XPL HI in the same light. And the beam with the White Flats is cool tint and very ringy.
Also, I tried a white flat in a 1x14500 zoomie with FET driver and the beam turned blue and dimmed almost instantly. Granted this was with an unusual star where I have the LED mounted on a narrow pillar the same width as the LED made of 4 strips of copper and arctic alumina. The LED sits on the pillar and the pillar sits on the Noctigon.
This setup isn’t as good at removing heat as sitting the emitter directly on the Noctigon, but I wasn’t encouraged by seeing the beam turn blue in a fairly low-powered setup, especially when other LEDS like XPL HI and SST20 worked fine in the same setup. I’m not sure 7 white flats in an E07 will even work at full FET.
Best use for the White Flat seems to be when you want max throw and are willing to sacrifice beam pattern, tint, lumens and CRI to get it. It actually worked pretty well in the new 2019 RRT-01. The low-powered driver wasn’t enough to damage the emitter, and it produced good throw with the small smooth reflector (Vinh measured a similar RRT-01 at 400 lumens and 30k lux).
One tip for anyone working with White Flat: the pads at the bottom don’t quite line up exactly right with a Noctigon XP star. You may have to move the emitters back and forth a few times during reflow to confirm that neither positive or negative is accidentally connected to the central heatsink bondpad. With White Flat, I recommend using a multimeter to check your star prior after reflow prior to installing it in your light.
Agreed. The old RRT-01 and TCR-01 look better than the new 2019 RRT-01 in my opinion.
The older models also feature better feeling rings, are lighter weight which is better for pocket EDC, and have a more cylindrical shape which feels better in the pocket.
I think the new version’s driver may be slightly higher powered though. I wonder if the drivers are identical in shape. Maybe I should pull the driver out of my 2019 RRT-01 and install it in my TCR01.