Is anyone else modding with the Boost HX? I've been pretty happy with it, planning on ordering more.
2 lights modded:
In the SD Mini:
In the GT Mini, extra long 26 AWG wires:
For the GT Mini, Simon's 4040 centering ring with a 6.85 mm opening fits absolutely perfect!
It’s definitely a great choice, not too narrow either.
What other leds would fit the 4040 footprint? I’m trying to track down an mcpcb for the FT03.
I wonder why Convoy is only using 20mm size for the SBT90.2, wouldn’t it be better to use a larger size?
Yep, much better. Hank uses 30 mm's. For 4040, Boost HL and HX, Luxeon V. Not sure if any others.
Hi Tom!
You take these longer awg26 wires to limit the amps?
So it would be a risk for the LED cause of the FET driver?
It should be an easy mod otherwise, or?
Yes - longer smaller gauge wires to reduce amps with the stock FET+1 driver. With the GT Mini I used a 35E and an older 30Q. 30Q did a little better, about 9 amps, while the 35E did about 8.6 amps. I've found max output is about 9 amps, but of course, output and amps will drop as the battery drains.
My GT Mini already has spring bypasses so I left them in. I specially like to leave the tail spring bypass in because my amp readings on the clamp meter with the tail cap off better reflect true running amps. If there was a poor tail spring, running amps will typically be lower then what I measure.
I've found the Boost HX performance to be quite good. Lumens at 30 secs is in the 1300's, at start lumens in the 1400's. Seems lower than what the tests indicated but still, good output for this type of LED, comparable to a XPL HI in a FET+1, but the XPL HI is at lower amps. The stock XPL HI did around 145 kcd.
Great results Tom! Did you try the GT mini with CSLPM1? Performance compared to CULPM1 (Boost HX)? IIRC the CSLPM1 didn’t perform well in the GT mini.
I’ve only recently discovered these awesome emitters and thinking about potential mods!
The CULPM1 is ideal because it can handle the fet driver, using the CSLPM1 wouldn’t be wise
Yeah - I went straight to the Boost HX. It matches well to FET based drivers, as Funtastic said. You still have to be careful though with measuring the amps and adding some resistance. Seems like the Boost HX's Vf is a little lower than the SST-40, though I believe 9 amps is about the max ideal for both.
Yeah understood about the FET drivers, I was thinking in terms of the reflector and suitability to the Osrams. Can’t find the post now but I think Zozz tested the CSLPM1 and only got a negligible increase in throw.
Edit: my D80v2 with SST40 just starts turning blue on turbo, don’t think it’s pulling that many amps though 
I had a D80v2 with SST40 that did that. It was due to a bad reflow of the LED from the factory.
This is extremely low considering that SST-40 has twice the die size and already has a low Vf.
Anyone here independently test a GT MICRO with the HL yet? Still can’t believe the numbers Neal claims…
Gotta say I’m kinda tempted by the Lumintop X1L . CSLPM1 / CULPM1 would be better though IMO.
Yeah I saw that at the time. I always planned on swapping the emitter so didn’t raise it. I still haven’t touched it yet though 
I’ve put one into a Nitecore NEW P30 today. I’m getting a good 20% less lux than it had with the stock LED. Granted I didn’t change the driver and the LED may get driven too hard, but honestly I don’t think so. The NEW P30 claims to produce some 1000 lumens from its XP-L HI. Also it doesn’t even get warm on turbo with the Boost HX.
Also, the two Boost HX I got from Convoy were quite a surprise. I ordered them mounted on an MCPCB, and they arrived with solder and residue all over it, including on the LED and the back of the MCPCB. If I hadn’t ordered from the official Convoy store I would be 100% sure I’d received a fake.
So yeah, not a great start for me. I think I’ll stick with the 3030 Osrams.
Did you play around with the focus? Might need to sand down the centering gasket. The Boost HX needs around 8-9A to be decent, otherwise the CSLNM1 beats it. Although there’s quite a variance with the HX. At 6A I get 1300 lumens while with another I need 8A to get the same.
I did, the reflector now sits directly on the MCPCB (just like it does with the stock LED). The beam looks okay but not ultra-focused.
I doubt the NEW P30 delivers 8A but can’t measure due to my crappy DMM. But shouldn’t the Boost HX be able to keep up with an XP-L HI in throw for low currents, all other things being equal?
Not really sure. 1000 lumens from a XPL-HI, assuming V2 or V3 bin is maybe 3-4 amps or so (??). Could be dependent on the driver - might not get the same 3-4 amps on a LED with a much lower Vf, like the HX. So the amps could be a problem, plus the condition of the LED/reflow/variations, etc. Not to mention focus/optics issues.
A high amp OSRAM is probably not the best choice for this light with no driver changes.
I was outside for a bit now that it’s dark, and I’m a bit confused. I compared the NEW P30 against my modded Manker U22 V2 which I’ve measured at something above 200k lux (my lux meter doesn’t go any higher). I have to admit that the throw distance of both lights seems about equal to me, the NEW P30’s beam is significantly wider though. Both provide about equally bright illumination at about 500 meters, past which I can’t really see anything anymore anyway. I don’t have any points of reference farther than 500 meters so I’m not really sure how the comparison plays out for longer distances, the Manker sure had more reach but not in a terribly useful way.
So now I’m considering whether I just suck at measuring throw. I’ll redo it at different distances to the lux meter sometime.
Anyway, numbers aside, I’m quite happy with how the NEW P30 turned out. I hated the original beam and if nothing else, that has drastically changed for the better. So that’s ten bucks well spent.
Old school modder :sunglasses: :+1:
If Barkuti will see this he will know I am not the only one on the FET side of the world… I also have problems that certain drivers does not deliver declared amperage output… I know regulated light should be better but for my needs FET would be sufficient plus it generates zero heat on the driver board.
Yes I know it looses a lot of performance as battery drains… Especially those 8A emitters… But performance drop when used with certain types of emitters (4-5A emitters) is certainly not that noticeable with naked eye giving up decent performance “on turbo” up to 15 minutes of runtime, after that it is noticeable…
So Guys who use FET knows that they got to use turbo mode sparingly and that is it…
Ol' school for sure.... 
In this field, 5-10 years is like ancient history 