Guess, what, Boys and Girls, Fasttech does it again:
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1611/10004183/1315314
$1.25/$1.22
Better than standard Al stars, but it does not look like the center thermal pad is in direct contact with the copper. That is what makes sinkpads work so well.
It aint breaking news unfortunately, fasttech’s answer to what we all want to know
on the plus side they gave a direct answer instead of saying we don’t know like many companies would
Old news… Not worth it…
Not worth it? Really?
I’m not saying your wrong, but it seems like a good product for a decent price for a situation where you don’t need a full blown Sinkpad.
What it really means is a company in china is trying to give you exactly what you want ,,and aren't perfect . i wonder how well i would be listening to what people asked me for if i were in their shoes .
I only know that almost every conpany i've ever communicated with in china about something has 100% blown me off ..Mostly with a .. We are looking for becomeing your friend and we can do better in future for well wishing good fortune pleased .
fasttech ...I can show you 5 products that they got that I offhandedly suggested ... copper based stars of any kind ?? and cheap ..?? I'm impressed
Hi,
May be a dumb question, but couldn’t you carefully scrape* (or grind) off the dielectric off of that middle part, the part that’d be under the emitter, down to the copper base? Is the dielectric (or whatever) layer so thick?
Not a dumb question at all. I think someone may have done it, but not sure. It should improve the heat transfer. Not to the level of a Sinkpad, but should be better than stock.
if you look at a sinkpad, the centre pad is pressed up to meet the emitter thermal pad, yes you could scrape down, but you’d have to fill the gap with solder which is not ideal.
I’d stick to sinkpads if thats what you need, for a day to day light, if we’re totally honest an xm-l on an alu star at 2.5a gives much more light than necessary, sink pads are really for when you want to heavily over drive an emitter
I am not saying you are wrong either, but hear me out! 
On the ones FT sells insulation layer have been confirmed…
LCK-LED have sold similar (same?) product for some time. You can also get various XM-Ls they sell mounted on them. Up towards to 20mm copper MCPCB. Its only 1$ for the upgrade to copper.
LEDDNA also seem to have them or similar product.
DX offer one LED copper mounted. Similar product?
FT does have the best price on the bare copper MCPCBs though.
Im guessing all of them are the same or in the same league. But i do hope people shop around and confirm that, just in case some sell the good stuff at bargain price.
The ones FT sell we know are “mediocre” for being a copper product.
The ones sold from intl-outdoor cost like 0,6$ more and are in direct contact… Soon available… I will put my money there if not using Sinkpads.
When taking the time to re flow I would just wait and pay another 0,6$ (?) extra and get the good stuff from intl-outdoor. But that’s me. Otherwise I would consider emitters that already have been mounted. For others, it may be worth the time/money on buying the ones from FT.
Most/all of these product are added in the LED database btw (in my signature) … I updated some prices yesterday from LCK-LED.
Good points RaceR86
Right on the button my friend!
They are already my favorite supplier and still growing daily. Hope they can keep it up.
Thanks for the hint I am ordering a pair…can’t explain how I missed this I study the new arrivals three times a day…
The question should be is that copper star better than an Alu sinkpad or worse…?
How the the ranking? And how much differents…?
My guess:
Copper sinkpad
Alu sinkpad
Copper star dielectric
Alu star dielectric
TrakTuned and Boaz, you two do realize I was making the same point you two have now made, right? Not sure why you are quoting me like I’m the enemy or something.
Those copper stars have been at FastTech for two weeks. I put some in my shopping cart, and was wondering why no one here was bothering to talk about them. I figured everybody already had all there own custom sinkpads ordered.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re identical to the ones at DX:
http://dx.com/p/cree-xm-l-18mm-aluminum-base-5-piece-pack-126699
The quality is questionable of course.
At that price it would be reasonable to do a DIY sink pad mod to the mcpcb. Not quite as good as the Nitro/PilotPtk boards but very inexpensive.
umm, you want the backs of these pads seriously flat to meet the pill. The picture looks like the stamping has a bit of draw at the edges. You can lap this surface but you don’t want to be taking 0.5mm of material out.
I bought a couple of these a week or so ago and plan to cut the plastic out of the center and mount a U3 when they arrive. It’ll have a thicker solder layer but I got tired of waiting for Int-Outdoor.