Wayne Yamaguchi's new 5Watt Luxeon Flashlight:
The Led module consists of one of Wayne's constant current (660 mA) drivers and a 5 Watt
green Luxeon Star LED. To aid in an acceptable beam pattern, an aluminum reflector/ shim was
placed around the LED (see photo). Without this shim which stands the collimator lens slightly
away from the LED, the beam pattern is too focused and the result is a square grid of alternating
bright and dark bands from the dies. This LED emits a significant amount of side light and the
reflector to some extent, redirects this side light back into the collimator. This is inefficient but
better than nothing.
The LED module was built around a stock SureFire lamp assembly. A significant amount
of aluminum was added in building the module. This aluminum adds mass for heat sinking
as well as significant surface area which covered with Arctic Silver grease, aids in transferring
the heat to the M2 bezel and body. The LED module components are bonded together with
Arctic Silver epoxy which also insures that the heat generated from circuit board and LED
is passed on.
After 10 minutes of constant on, the entire flashlight has stabilized with a surface temperature
of 1060 F (410 C) with an ambient temperature of 650 F (180 C). This temperature is within
specs for the LED but more mass as well as surface area would be required to reduce the
temperature. As it is, the light would be a welcome companion on a cold night.
For a beam comparison, an Arc LS Cyan HD is on the left and the 5 Watt M2 is on the right.
A relative comparison of beam intensity was determined by reading 1960 Lux for the Cyan HD
whereas the 5 Watt measured 5800 from the same distance with the same level of ambient light.
Various combinations of reflectors and lenses were tested with this LED and the new style
Luxeon collimator stood off by a reflector base provided the most even and concentrated beam.
This beam is more of a flood than spot beam. New optics and or reflectors will need to be developed
to redirect the light into a focussed, long distance beam.