http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?203235-*****-P7-and-DHS-Heatsink-Part-2*****
At some point he (re-?) added these to the main listing… $20. That’s for the mounting of LEDs such as the XR-E, SSC P4, Luxeon K2-TFFC. In theory you could also put an XP-G or XP-E mounted on ~7.7mm mcpcb on there, based on my measurements of my DHS heatsink. Or just grind off the guides and mount a 14mm star or whatever.
This is primarily useful for those of us who have retired old d-size mags (those old enough not to have a D in the serial number). I’m not sure how worthwhile it is to upgrade, even with the heatsink being available… it’s true that you can achieve around 270L at 1000mA with a Cree XR-E R2-bin, which will net well over 200 out the front lumens with the optics in place… but you’ll need:
- $00 Old D-Size Mag
- $20 heatsink
- $10 LED
- $?? driver board
If you’re dealing with the popular 2D size, I think the lowest you could go for a decent 1A boost driver is a BB Nexgen 1A: http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/product_info.php?cPath=48_49_61&products_id=730 – that should be optimal for any of the last-gen LEDs such as the XR-E, SSC P4, and the Luxeon K2-TFFC, but not enough juice to get the most out of an XP-G (1.5A).
So about $18 shipped for that… bringing the cost of the mod into the $48 range.
A different option would be to use two KD 3AA->1D battery trays at $2 each and a DX 5W driver, in theory that should be good. Possibly more fiddly, but that reduces driver cost to $6 including the adapters, bringing the total down to $36 (assuming the $10 LED pricetag I actually made up is accurate) and allowing you to use readily available (and rechargeable) AA’s.
3D with a 7135 based 1.4A driver and a modern low vF XP-G might be a good recipe though.
I hate to pay $20 for a bare aluminum heatsink of that size though, the BriteLumens heatsinks have much more mass and are anodized a stylish black. Unfortunately they are not an option for older mags though.