modding hs-802

would they behave in the same manner as normal xpe2 on aluminum vs copper?

Wow. That was quick service. djozz is the (mad)man.

Yes. MATCH’S graphs and data are one of my go to sources for modding hunting lights with color emitters.

@ OP the hs-802 comes in a few different forms much like the C8 you never know what your going to get. some have a nice brass pill some have an aluminum pill. There are huge differences between the brass pills also. I have measured over .070 in difference in height between several different pills measured. The final assembly requires shimming and filing to get the focus correct in the hs-802.

As delivered the hs-802 red puts out a dismal 8000Cd. My last hs-802 is putting out about 18,000Cd RED. You should be able to get close to that with a red xpe2 on a copper sinkpad at 1.4A

I tested that for a white XR-E some time ago, and there is some gain using copper, but not really worth the trouble, because the solder pad of the XR-E is so large already that the solderpad-board junction is not the bottleneck for the heat in the XR-E:

There's always new things to learn about leds, I did not know that in red, the xpe performs so much better than the xr(e or c), for white leds the gain is not that much.I'll have a look in my spare leds box if I have a red xpe somewhere, see how it tests in practice, but I fear I do not have one.

The red led that I tested was indeed bought as a XP-C, but because the die looks larger than the white XR-C die, in fact the same size as a white XR-E, I thought that they had send me the wrong led.

If I look at the fine details of the led that you mark as a counterfeit, I see no clues of that, I'd still guess it is from the same maker as the left led, so both are Cree or both are counterfeit from what I can make out.

I appreciate your input. I was questioning a red xr-e after not finding one on Cree’s site, but a google search shows others selling what they also claim is a red xr-e. Apparently, many vendors are misleading folks.

You also mentioned a red xp-e2. Do you have a source for those, preferably already mounted on a sinkpad?

Lastly, you mentioned focusing the light. Do you typically have to shim or grind on the reflector to get focus on these lights?

IOS Is generally reliable. They have a red XPE.
http://intl-outdoor.com/cree-xpe-red-led-16mm-mcpcb-p-597.html
Edit. This is not XPE-2.

mouser has xpe2’s but not on stars.

I have used the emitter that MRsDNF mentioned. They work well. They are mid bin xpe’s. In an HS-802 you could expect to get about 15,000Cd at 1.4A attached with AA epoxy, the Cd will drop to around 13,500 after a few minutes of run time.

Yes. almost always have to shim or file parts to get the the light focused for best throw/beam pattern. Manufacturing tolerances in the HS-802 are quite bad.

I just ordered this. We’ll see how it goes.

Is this what I need to mount it? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100013

Yes. also here

http://www.mtnelectronics.com/opencart/index.php?route=product/product&path=25_74&product_id=114

I have received the xpe-2’s in red(p3), and green(r2) from Mouser, along with 16mm sinkpads. Now it’s time for reflow soldering. But one question, how do I know which direction to put the LED on the sinkpad with respect to polarity?

there is a tiny little “+” symbol next to the dome or look at the data sheets.

Now I feel really dumb. I had looked at the data sheet on my phone, but never scrolled down far enough to see that part!!

Thanks to the help from y’all, I reflow soldered an XP-E2 to a sink pad, replaced circuit board with a 1400ma, and filed a little to get the LED into the reflector.

It is a huge improvement over factory!! Now I want to mod every light I have!

Congratulations, victory twice!

(you've got yourself a great light, and BLF has won a soul for the modding crowd)

Congrats Telephoneman! Sounds great.

Thanks Djozz for the emitter testing above.

I recently completed a build using an Ultracrap zoomie from Amazon with a red XP-E2 mounted on a sinkpad driven by a Qlite with (4) 7135’s. Had to do a lot of modifications to get good heatsink and to get the driver to fit and ground properly. It works and heat seems to be flowing good away from the led. Getting 1.54A at the tailcap on high so everything seems fine there. It’s bright but I still think it should be brighter. Not sure if I should move everything to a C8 host I already have or try and find a better lens since the one the light came with is junk or find a better zooming host. This is for coyote hunting by the way.

Also, has anybody tried to push the red XP-E2 higher than 1.5A? Not sure what it can handle properly heatsinked. By the way, the led is de-domed as well.

I have driven them up 2.2a with no significant increase in output past 1.4-1.5a. However every time I make improvements in thermal performance the output goes up.

I agree. Output seems to be very much related to temperature.

Most interesting. Was using red 3up Luxeon stars (ledsupply) with luxdrives but switched to Cree XRC (china sources) with mr16 drivers on my solar powered feeder lights. Typically drive them at less than 700ma and usually at 350ma for long life and solar efficiency. Been using red PT54s on my weapon lights. My crossbow has a 501 powered by a 18650 LIFEPO4 with orange peel reflector and my rifle has an aspherical 3 cell NiMH 18650 TR1200 host. Both builds use copper heat sinks and are mosfet switched, direct drive. My hand held is a 2D aspherical PT54 maglite powered by Tenergy NiMH.
Looks like Cree is improving RED light. Thanks for the report.