I’m going to convert a pair of RC-230 halogen lights to LED (running a 7.2v NiMh batery)

Can someone tell me the advantages of this + these optics over a drop in module

I presume a single mode drop-in module would be needed as the multi-mode ones wouldn’t be practical.

Also, if I was to go down the star route, do I need to purchase a ‘buck puck’?

Ta

Yes, the drop in will have the control circuit built in & all you do is conect the battery

cheers snaps, the only other question I have is if they have a range of input voltages, does that affect their output brightness?

Not really, if you go on the dealextreme forums for the drop ins, you’ll see some people have done a voltage versus output graph & they get to a certain voltage where they reach max output & any extra voltage is just disipated as heat.
I’ve used these & they are very good http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11836

cheers, it is the 11836, 1-mode R2 that I was looking at. Will check out their forums for the results.

Update : According to the forum, from 6.5v upwards the drop-in is producing it’s max light output, so with a 7.2v source they should be a good option.

You might find the packaging of the drop in unit tricky as it is designed for a torch – the contacts will be arranged as in a torch with a contact around thge edge and a central one – difficult but possible to solder on to and you still have the heatsink issue

Wont be hugely bright – somewhere around a 5 or 10W halogen

TJ I agree about the soldering.. Wouldn’t the cool air passing over cool them enough?

I’m happy with 10w equivalent output as the Cateye’s only produce 10w per lamp. The LED conversion is purely to get extended run time for similar (if slightly whiter) output.

I’d found this page with a conversion but was looking for a slightly easier mod.

somehow the heat from the led has to get to the air – needs a pathway from the led to the outside. That drop in unit would be a tight fit in the torch body it is designed for so will dissipate the heat thru the body of the torch – you will have to make sure its a tight fit in the housing you have – are the housings metal? trouble is if the led gets over 80c then it dies.

I don’t know the lights you have so I don’t know for sure.

they’re cateye rc-230s which are plastic bodied… designed for mr11 bulbs, so I figured that I could make up something to fit the led drop-in module into the body housing.

You have to find some way to get the heat to the outside world. It won’t go thru plastic very well.

You might be better making a body out of an bit of alloy tubing or something.

When I used those drop ins I inserted them into an aluminium tube (tight fit) with thermal transfer compound then cable tied them to my helmet.
Got the tube from http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZbrilliant2buy

or I might get an R2 kit and mount the head section with the end sealed off.