I just signed up with budgetlightforums.com because there seems to be a lot of knowledgeable people on modding/updating pills with different drivers and cree LEDs. I have an HS-802 RED torch I use for coyote hunting. Below is a description of the problem and what I’d like to do.
The current pill is TERRIBLE. It dims within the first 5-10 minutes of use and continues to dim. The cree is an XR-C (from 2006? …old). I’m assuming its being driven by a cheap board?…or over driven? I don’t know.
I would like to modifiy the pill to put the latest RED Cree technology on it which I believe is a XR-E2. With a quality driver…as well as any other important info that i didn’t mention.
I tried to post pics of the light and pill I have…but the forum only allows a URL to a pic?
I’m also willing to pay someone to “MOD” the pill for me if I don’t feel comfortable to do it myself.
Shouldn't be a difficult mod. I've taken one apart several times. IIRC, it's just a 17mm driver, but the symptom makes me think that maybe it's not properly heat sinked? Some thermal compound might help. Take the pill apart, makes sure the emitter PCB is properly seated in the pill and has thermal compound or Fujik or something like that...
I'd swap the emitter out with either this on a 16mm board:
thanks for the quick reply KelTex… I’m assuming I need to measure the board on the pill to see if I need a 16 or 17mm?
As for your comments about a possible heat sink problem, I have no idea what the emitter PCB is…. does that stand for *P*ill *C*ircuit *B*oard? As for thermal compound I’m sure you’re referring to white paste/rubberized that is between the brass pill and board?
The links you provided are for XP-E boards…. I’m looking for the XP-E2 or XP-E gen 2 Cree… are they out there yet?
The driver should be 17mm diameter. The emitter PCB is the board the LED emitter is mounted on. The LED boards are commonly either 16mm or 20mm in diameter.
The thermal compound is the material between the emitter board and the pill, which helps fill the micro-crevices and improve heat transfer. Use sparingly.
Mountain Electronics is a good source (RMM, who is a member here) and he has the XP-E2 available in both 16mm and 20mm PCBs:
Not sure what damage you are trying to minimize; just use a soldering iron with a smallish tip and you should be okay. I use a $3 soldering iron from Harbor Freight and it works well enough for things like this. The soldering paste you can get from DX/FT and others does help a lot though...
Is the emitter PCB the LED is mounted on the “driver”? ….and if I picked up a 16mm PCB from Mountain Electronics link you provided, I would put thermal compound between the pill and PCB and then solder?
one more thing about the Mountain Elec link…. how do I know what the the XP-E2 is being driven at? From what I’ve been reading…for max lumens the XP-E2 should be driven at 1.4a or 1.5a…
sorry about all the questions…. one more thing ( I think)….does the soldering paste take the place of actually “heat” soldering?…. meaning after taking off the old board…I put the new one on with soldering paste?….
The driver is the circuit on the back side of the pill; it is where the battery makes contact. There are two wires from the driver which pass through the pill, and are then soldered onto the emitter PCB.
The amount of current fed to the emitter is determined by the driver you choose.
...is a 1.4A driver and should be a good option for this application. As this is a dedicated thrower, you may not want multiple modes; in that case, this second driver is a very simple 1.4A driver that would work:
Soldering paste is basically powdered solder mixed into a flux. It's very easy to apply small amounts with a toothpick, and it melts and bonds easily. You heat it with a soldering iron as you would with regular solder. I find it simple to tin wires or prep soldering pads on PC boards by adding a tiny dot of this and then heating with the soldering iron.
Yeah the Metal Core Printed Circuit Board is the poker chip looking thing the actual LED is mounted to. And you are correct, that is thermal compound/material.
Take a look at member RMM’s shop. He can hook you up with everything you need.
I would use a “linear” driver, such as a Nanjg 105e, with 7135 chips regulating the current. I had an SK-58 with its original boost driver and a red XP-E. It worked fine on a 14500 lithium ion cell but drew very little current and drove the LED very dimly with an AA cell. The same driver worked fine with a white XP-E with either lithium ion or 1.5 V cell. So it appears to me that boost, and maybe also buck drivers can behave unpredictably when you change their load forward voltage.
Maybe a year ago, I upgraded a similar HS-802. I believe it had a red XR-C.
The Cree red XP-E did not seem to offer much improvement, so I waited for red XP-E2.
The brass pill was sized for 16mm MCPCB and 17mm driver.
Using 22awg silicone wire, I swapped in this red XP-E2 mounted on 16mm Noctigon MCPCB,
and this 1-mode 1.4A 17mm driver, which needs a spring.
Subjectively, we argue between 30-50% improvement
(choose your pick - apparent luminance or usable distance).
Along with a remote predator call, it helps for coyotes and foxes.