blackburn x8 mod (cree q5) - 2 x 228 lumen setup

[faded1004]

okay... now that i found a working kit... i can now start my modding! let the fun begin...

the base kit i purchased was a blackburn x8 kit. it uses 2 luxeon 75 lumen leds? very good light out of the box. worthy for new riders on the trail, but might be short on distance for fast downhillers. battery run times for x8 is great. 2 hours and 40 minutes run time before it hits the 30% low power mark. 2 hours and 55 minutes until cutoff, which in my eyes is great run times especially on 100% power.

now for the goodies, i am going to swap out the luxeon 3 leds for cree q5 bin leds. which are rated at over 3 times the output at the same power consumption. this will give the blackburn a final output of 456 lumens at a run time of about 3 hours.

do get this project done you will need:

blackburn kit
2 x new leds
solder gun
artic illumina (none adhesive)
precision screw driver (phillips)

so you all know what the stock kit looks like. so here is what the light engine looks like all part.



angle with view into light engine to see mounted led



from here you just unload the led and disconnect with soldering iron.



here is the leds side by side... the luxeon is thicker, so you will need to space the optics so that there will be no movement of the interenals.



then reattach the new led. and place inside with new arctic illumina. make sure not to touch the led emitter.

you have to be careful when pulling out and putting the led back into the unit. sides of the housing are easy to scratch. not critical, but wanted everything to be simple and clean. yes, i used a notebook to solder on top of. also make sure you make note of how long you can keep an led heated... some leds have good resistance but some don't, so when you solder try to make it quick but clean.

funny trick... you can put the leds in the spiral part of the notebook and it will hold it down well. i didn't have a work bench or a solding platform... so i made due with what i had...



so, what are you guys all looking for? the beam patterns. so, i modded my narrow beam so that it would be easier to see the actual patterns easy, i figured the wide would be too diffused.



OMG! can you see the brightness difference? the pattern is alot wider, and the intensity is just amazing! this is why i went through so many return (on the x6 system) so that i can get this project up and running.

i want to try to test out both new and old ont he street, but may not be have the patience to wait to take pics... i just just mod it and ride it... i want to return the last x6 system as the battery is not lasting more then 1 hour. which was unexeptable even at a very low price.

i went outside, the beam pattern is alittle wider and the color is a bit whiter. i know it is alittle vague, but i like the effect. i think it made the narrow beam alittle wider, and i think the wide beam might be alitle narrower focus, with good spill. i think i have good hopes for this modded setup. i am going to try to make a fullerton night ride this week.

the wide beam i just modded. it is just super bright all around and very wide...

[92se-r]

Nice.