A Leslie Wong Blog

The current high lumen output LEDs use multiple chips on a single die. The Seoul Semiconductor Z-Power LED P7 and the Cree XLamp® MC-E LED are two examples that are in popular use by flashlight modders.

I recently bought a DealExtreme Cree MC-E LED 3-Mode Drop-in Module ($23.49 USD) for my Surefire 6P flashlight (the 6P body is bored to work with a single 18650 battery).

The DealExtreme P60 size drop-in works with 2.7V~4.2V – a single Li-Ion 18650 battery, single RCR123A battery or CR123A battery. There is also a not too low level mode and annoying strobe mode. In the Surefire 6P host (about 5.2″ long – 13.2 cm), the DealExtreme Cree MC-E drop-in is an extremely bright flashlight in a small package. There is an extensive list of similar sized flashlights that use P60 size drop-ins in this Candlepowerforums.com thread.

DealExtreme seems optimistic in their description of the MC-E drop-in brightness as 410 lumens. It has more flood and less of a hot spot than the Malkoff M30. For comparison, my Malkoff Devices M30 output is rated at a realistic 235 lumens. My SSC P7 mod, inspired by jirik_cz, gives me the feeling that I am seeing everything. If not for the $125 USD cost, I would be all over the Malkoff M60 MC-E.

In my flickr set below, there are beamshots comparing the Cree MC-E, Cree XR-E and SSC P7. I centered the beam of each light on the scrawny tree against the fence. This flickr slide show has larger versions of the images below and more clearly show the differences in the beams.

I recently bought a Solarforce L2m flashlight host (head assembly, battery tube and tail switch assembly). The L2m is only 4.5″ long (~115 mm).

The head assembly is designed for a Surefire P60-sized drop-in. Fizz753 over at Candlepowerforums.com has compiled a very complete and up-to-date list of LED drop-ins.

I used one of my modded Cree XR-E (Q5 bin) LED drop-ins with a DealExtreme 16-Mode 3W 3.7V 7135 Circuit Board (SKU 7612) stuck in it.

Power is provided by a single protected Li-Ion RCR123A 3.7V battery. This 16340 size battery gives about 30 minutes on full with the 7612 board. I haven’t measured the current out of the board, but the specs say 1000 ma, so the output, according to Cree (Cree® XLamp® XR-E LED Data Sheet – PDF), is probably about 180-200 lm.

The next mod I made was replacing the reverse clicky switch with a McClicky switch. The last thing I’ll probably do is replace the crenelated ring on the head with a plain one.

A Star Trek (TOS) Tricorder will be released in late June 2009 by Diamond Select Toys.

Given the technology changes since 1966, this tricorder would probably be easy to mod into the real thing.

Measuring 12 x 5 x 8 inches (30.5 x 12.7 x 20.3 cm), it could be a host for a hundred things, like a PSP, DS or even a case for my homeless Via pc2500.

Buy the Star Trek the Original Series Tricorder @ Amazon.com and I get a piece of the action.

netgeek06 over at digg writes, “As we stand waiting at the starter tree of the 2009 motorsports season, we’ve let our minds wander across the infinite expanses of Google Earth, finding these shots of the world’s top 15 race courses.”

Number 7 is Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, near my house.

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