I really don't think it was a heat related issue, though it may have helped. I've never seen an LED do what that one has done. It's a complete meltdown. The other 3 in the array are showing no signs of problems either.
Fantastic. tterev3 + Mattaus = Cyborg like self replicating madness. The influence of these 2 evil geniuses is about to take BLF to a whole new level. I all of a sudden feel very old school and likely not be able to catch up or keep up. Regardless, this new level of creativity will be a joy to watch.
I was going to suggest this exact way to get a 3535 sized UV emitter.
Did you consider making large holes in the board for Noctigon’s to be used instead of solder filled via’s?
I even did some testing of that uv-emitter on a Noctigon last year:
That is a real pain, blowing the Nichia (and TIR), I hope it was a bad emitter.
Is it just me or is anyone else reminded by this threads title of the old song “My Sharona” by The Knack?
what a cool project!
Outstanding work Matthaus! As soon as I saw your finished light I was reminded of the penulitmate multi-emitter light the
Cool Fall Spy Tri-V.
http://www.gearjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36
scroll down to post #6 for the Tri-V
Really nice build, reminds me of that nitefighter flashlight the CL200.
It has 3 “eyes” as well, one flood one throw but the third is a camera.
The thought crossed my mind, and it would definitely be better, but I just never got around to doing it mainly because quad copper boards were not available at the time and I really want 4 white emitters lol. The solder filled vias should work regardless; and they do. I'm convinced that nichia was a one off issue :)
Oh sweet. Based on your review it looks like I can direct drive that emitter without worrying about a current limiting resistor. Even better!!!
I won't lie - the Tri-V served as inspiration. If you want to go further back then the McGizmo Lunasol lights (more way-too-expensive lights) are the granddaddy's of multi-purpose lights. Mine is just a bit more multipurpose, and a hell of a lot cheaper lol.
- Matt
cool project well done, nice job 
Sleeping with elephants sounds painful though, I don’t think I’d be able to walk right for weeks…
har har.
I couldn't walk right for a few days (stop sniggering in the back) but only because there was no saddle. It was as basic as it could be. Beautiful creatures :)
Finally found the 3 up reflector for my old busted SRK…I reaaaly want to build this one, but I also want to build the 3 x XP-G2 as well…arrrgh
Too bad we can’t find a seller of SRK hosts
Yeah empty SRK hosts would be popular around these parts...
Messaged Securitying, maybe they have a huge pile of scratch and dent or whatever’s laying around
Looks like I'm going to have to strip this version and somehow get the PCB out. Whatever happened to that Nichia was so catastrophic it burnt right through to the fiberglass, stripping the copper off on its way through:
Mega sad. It's tough getting everything off as it is (the heatsink works REALLY well).
- Matt
Are those via’s empty of solder or did it all come out when you removed the Nichia?
All came out. I'm going to take this opportunity to update the board. My list of improvements include:
- Fixing layout issues with V1 (XQ shorts, moving Cin)
- Beefing up the Nichia LED- traces
- Removing optic for the XPE (as it's now a UV emitter)
- Adding more thermal vias where possible.
Would more (but smaller) vias be better than a few bigger ones?
Still cool…very very cool…too bad that Nichia super nova’d on you
A plastic optic for the uv emitter gives light-loss, but you could consider a small reflector, it helps a lot for the brightness of illumination (and usefulness) of the uv light compared to no optic. (actually I think at 400nm even the TIR has sufficient transmission).
Sounds sloppy but every cloud has a silver lining. The new board will be better in almost every aspect.
[quote=djozz] A plastic optic for the uv emitter gives light-loss, but you could consider a small reflector, it helps a lot for the brightness of illumination (and usefulness) of the uv light compared to no optic. (actually I think at 400nm even the TIR has sufficient transmission). [/quote]
I have a 13mm reflector here that may have just found a new home :)