You’d have to slice the dome and solder the LED power leads onto the MCPCB.
You can get an LH351D 5000K 90+ CRI from Simon already reflowed onto an MCPCB.
Parts are inexpensive for S2/S2+ so it’s a great light to try your hand at modding!
I reckon I could probably manage that, those terminals look like they could be soldered with a regular iron. What does slice the dome mean? Literally slice it with a razor? If so how deep?
Yup, just need a soldering iron. It’s a little tricky because the MCPCB will wick the heat away from the pads and into the head of the light. Just use lots of flux, a generously tinned tip and moderately high heat (370-400c should do it). Don’t forget to put a little thermal paste under the MCPCB.
Slicing the dome is exactly as you described; you literally slice the dome off with a razor. Here’s a great video showing the process using a washer as a guide. Typically you will want about 1mm above the MCPCB surface. Once you do it once or twice it’s not so bad. Just grab an extra emitter or two in case you mess one up.
I have a modified Zebralight SC64w HI with 90+ CRI. Basically a better bin compared to stock from Bob_McBob.
Another thrower with good CRI is KR1 with SST20 4000k 95 CRI or 219b sw45k 90 CRI.
Youre right, with no 70% or 80% mode the light gets too hot and drains batteries too fast with higher amps, that usually the reason why some wont go for the most powerful driver. pus there is no distinguishable difference to our eyes between 70%-ish and 100%, just heat and battery drain.
Well I got the “S2” with the XPL-HI, but it’s actually an S2+. As expected though it’s good enough for what I want, pretty decent alternative to the PD35 v2, essentially the same thing but with a nicer tint.
My C8+ with smooth reflector and 3000k XPL-HI is quite throwy. Not sure if its an 80+ or 90+ LED but its better than some. Although I do agree with the above sentiments that high CRI isn’t terribly useful in a thrower. I actually ended up getting another C8+ just to put a 3500k LH351D and OP reflector. Wonderful, multipurpose light that still throws respectably.
I’ll say it again, my FW1A with SST20 and Ledil spot optic is producing a wide 21kcd beam and I love it. It’s as throwy an edc needs to be imo yet has a wide enough spot for typical tasks. I carry my FWAA as a secondary edc as a flooder. Great combo.
Glad you found something you like. I might have suggested to consider his M1...basically the S2 body with a slightly wider head and cooling fins but it's still quite compact and pocketable. That extra reflector width and depth generally will give more throw and then if you want to make it particularly throwy you can pick the best emitter for that. The S21 gets you to a similar place and you can use 21700 or 18650 cells.
Picking temp or CRI really depends on what you use the light for. Personally for myself I cannot see high CRI being of any benefit in any of the situations I use throwers in (generally nature/animals outdoors). Where more vibrant colors exist at night, warmer or neutral temps seem to bring that out just fine and what minimal loss there is with "low" CRI just doesn't seem to matter to me. Now temperature, however, can make a huge difference, depending. This depends on the distance, too. I don't like cold 6000K+ but in urban settings or when nature is particularly Green, it works fine and sometimes gives a little advantage in contrast depending on surroundings. In general I really like around 5000K (and would love 4500K if I could find it) for throwers because that's white enough to still give good throw and contrast while letting the colors of animal fur stand out a bit from plants and grasses that may be lighter green or tan, etc. I don't own a thrower with lower temps of 4000K or less but got to play with a C8 that had I think a 3500K-ish something in it.....kind of nice to have the warmer light but frankly at a distance it seemed far less useful and deer were more difficult to pick out quickly unless they were moving or twitching (but there's always the eye-shine). Owls and possums also didn't quite stand out so nicely with the warm temp and back in the forest where there were more tree trunks and lots of leaves down, the overall contrast seemed low and a bit washed out....but there's a situation where higher CRI might be useful, depending.
Also, keep in mind the temp/tint shift depending on current to the emitter. If you aren't running on high/turbo with your thrower then you may end up with something less pleasing or useful depending on what you pick. I wish more flat emitters would come out with neutral temps but the market doesn't seem to be there. One of these days I'll get around to slicing a 5000K LH351D and see what that looks like...one of my favorite emitters overall. SSTs are pretty great, too, but the color shift at lower currents is a bit annoying and I think that's accentuated in a tight thrower beam at near-ish distances. I think generally past 50-75 meters a lot of that doesn't make much difference but it sure does up closer if you need your thrower to serve double duty in the absence of a spare light.
Couldn’t agree more. If we could get a ~4700K 80ish CRI thrower with at least a positive R9 value (is +15 asking too much?), I think that’s ideal. I’d easily give up 10-15% for a neutral spectrum that gives maximal contrast across all colors. 5000K XP-P might be our best shot at this in the near term. 80CRI 4A binned XPL HI is another. I’m going to pick up an 80cri SFS80 from KD to see how that fares. Fingers crossed.
I'm quietly hoping that the SFT models get some more attention and development. So much love and manufacturers' $$$ for 6500K in the world, still...such a sad state of affairs. :) Glad to see Cree getting back in motion, too.
Might be too late for negev, but I just noticed the Acebeam W30 claims 90+ CRI, and has a 4000K option.
A bit pricey, but it’s definitely a thrower.
Unfortunately, the W30 has been out of production for quite a while.