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FrozenGate by Avery

Compact 1.6W Hotlights 22600/18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

DTR

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Jun 24, 2010
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Alright I wanted to try my gold dollar mod for a Hotlights 18500 **EDIT** This host also accepts a 22600 2500mAh battery that is as good as most 18650's **EDIT** Host from Mohrenberg. I also wanted to see how an IRM 18500 holds up powering a 445 @ 1.5A.

If you would like to see more of my reviews and tutorials please visit my compilation page.

http://laserpointerforums.com/f51/d...difications-compilation-60258.html#post852148





Here is the host kit from Mohrenberg. For being a compact unit this host actually has a pretty large heatsink which will work well for a 1.6W build. Also for an inexpensive I do love the way it feels and operates.

p1012236.jpg






Here is the battery I will use. It is a high discharge AW IMR 18500 from Lighthound.

Specifications:
Nominal Voltage : 3.7V
Capacity : 1100mAH
Lowest Discharge Voltage : 2.50V
Standard Charge : CC/CV ( max. charging rate 4.5A )
Cycle Life : > 500 cycles
Max. continuous discharge rate : 10C

82224570.jpg




**EDIT**

Here is the 22600 which is the preferable battery for this host as it does not require the additions of the spring on the clickys battery contact point to fill the gap you get with the 18500 plus you get a capacity that puts it closer to the better 18650's. Not to mention it just fits very snug in this unit.
http://kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=10622

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**EDIT**








So to get started on this project I prepared a Flexdrive.

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Solder the unit to set the range to allow it to run @ 1.5A.

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Next we will prepare the Pill.




Bend the tab into an upright position.

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With the tab in the upright position you can now slide the spacer out with ease. You don't have to but I suggest cutting 1/3 of this spacer off to shorten it and make the pill a little bigger.

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Now that the spacer is out you are left looking at the clicky.

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Now reinsert the clicky in the host with the spring facing the back of the host.

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Slide your spacer in and add some Krazy Glue to hold the spacer in place. That's it for the pill preparation.

p1011597.jpg









Next get your $1 gold coin to be used as the heatsink for the driver.

p1012227.jpg








Take it to a grinder to flatten the points that will have contact. First the lip on the bottom of the coin that will press against the heatsink.

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Then the area on the coin that the driver will sit.

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I drilled a hole slightly off center for the wires to go through.

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I quickly realized the diode pins will stick out too far for the dollar to fit over it. So I had to drill a larger hole centered for the pins to stick out.

p1012156a.jpg








Next I got some thermal adhesive mixed up.

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Put a thin coat on the area that the driver will be affixed to. Set the driver and add some alligator clips to hold it tight until the adhesive hardens.

p1012163.jpg







I gave it 20 minutes for the adhesive to harden then I removed the alligator clips and ran the diode wires through the hole.

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I clipped the wires shorter striped them and added some flux to the tips.

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Soldered the diode using the case pin for an isolated negative and added shrink tubing.
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I then tested it at a low current to make sure all was well.
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Next I set the coin against the heatsink as it will be in the host.
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Made sure the wires would not bunch when pressed down.
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I used a little electrical tape to cover up all the corners of the driver. Then I got some more thermal adhesive. I smeared some on the coin and pressed it up against the heatskin.

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You can see the heatsink sits on the coin and the coin sits on the lip of the host.
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I used the great amount of pressure that the head can exert down sandwiching the heatsink, coin and the host body together while the adhesive hardens.
p1012177a.jpg









After 20 minutes I opened it back up and the coin was very well bonded to the heatsink. So I soldered the positive wire to the contact pad in the host.

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Then I put some electrical tape over the positive contact in the pill just to keep everything isolated.

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I then screwed the head back on. Threw in the battery and I was ready to go.

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There you have it. Really was an easy build. Now I have a laser with a continuous duty cycle for the driver running @1.5A putting out 1.6W.:eg:

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Here is the fun part take it out and get some beamshots.



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Now for the point of the whole project. I did a duration test and the unit will run continuously without the driver overheating. I did not want to push it so I stopped @ 3 1/2 minutes. I ran the test with a 405-G-1 lens from Jayrob and a sweet 1.6W came rolling out.:D








Operating at 1.5A the driver pulls 2A from the battery.

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I am really loving these driver heatsink mods. I hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.
 
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Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

Well done. Clear documented build, nice pics, I can almost feel like I were doing it with my own hands. Good style step-by-step documentation. +1 rep for the photo work.
 
Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

Thanks. I hope it helps anybody looking to make a similar build.:beer:
 
Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

Nicely done DTR. I would have picked up several of those host's myself if it weren't for the 18500's. I'm trying to keep all my lasers 18650's.
 
Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

Very nice! One question though...why did you use that battery instead of this one??

AW 18500 Protected Rechargeable Lithium Battery

The IMR batteries are supposed to have a higher discharge rate(10C rated). When using a flexdrive set to 1.5A the draw is around 2.7A. I think the regular AW battery would handle it but wanted to try these out. Had it running for around 40 minutes and have not recharged it yet.:beer:
 
Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

Ok cool. Thanks so much! Glad to see you are putting your new flex's to good use! haha
 
Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

This one really looks good. The host is the color of the laser. Nice feature.

Glad to see that it is ok for it run at 1.6 watts. And the heat sink only cost a dollar ;)
 
Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

This one really looks good. The host is the color of the laser. Nice feature.

Glad to see that it is ok for it run at 1.6 watts. And the heat sink only cost a dollar ;)

Luckily I picked up a few of these host kits while they were around. They are great. I am really digging the side clicky and the short/fat size. They also look really good to.;)

p1010620m.jpg
 
Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

I agree it looks really good. A nice royal blue color, one of my favorite colors.

What do you like better, side clickers or tail clickers. I like them both equally so it's hard to choose.
 
Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

Hi. DTR.

Awesome laser! So legit!

I have 2 questions:
1. In the current setting of your microflex v5, is there any difference between removing the end resistor and not removing as your v5?

2. Is there any delayed flickering?

I built some 445nm with end-resistor-removed v5. But I could not reach over 1.2A without flickering.

I'll try after you... Thank you for sharing great info.

SHIN
 
Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

I have seen no difference with or without the resistor and drlava has said that it does not need to be removed.

No flickering. Is your flickering immediate or does it start 10-20-30 seconds into your run? If you don't have a heatsink on the driver it will go into overheat protection after 10-30 seconds causing the laser to blink when running @ 1.5A.
 
Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

Hey I see your thumb is healing!

haha. You post new pictures every day and they always have that thumb in it. Someone should gather them up and show the progressive healing of it.

what did you do to your thumb anyways?


Also....

I see your coffee table is getting more and more cluttered as time goes on.
I see an xbox 360. You play MW2 on xbox live by chance?
 
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Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

Hey I see your thumb is healing!

haha. You post new pictures every day and they always have that thumb in it. Someone should gather them up and show the progressive healing of it.

what did you do to your thumb anyways?


Also....

I see your coffee table is getting more and more cluttered as time goes on.
I see an xbox 360. You play MW2 on xbox live by chance?

Soldering accident I think.

Remember... most geniuses are slobs :D
 
Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

You play with soldering irons every day you are bound to get burned.

It is just about gone.

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But unfortunately I did it again last night. Touched some solder while it was in its liquid state. Yea that sucks.:(

p1012281.jpg
 
Re: Compact 1.6W Hotlights 18500 Host W/Driver Heatsink Mod

Thank you for the advice.
I'll try a heatsink for v5.
 


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