and

I'm wondering what's with that 1watt resistor? it appears to be on all these modules (except, some are 10mw/20mw etc) the only difference is the resistor value, this circuit can't possibly be just a regulated voltage and a resistor to keep a constant current vs that of a regulated current.....

(Lower Resistor = Brighter? gut feelings?)


I found a nice little UV/Purple Diode on Ebay.... I just bought a 100mw I got to hold out for the UV project

 

It may not be a resistor, but a inductor for a buck boost circuit. If you measure the ohmage and it appears to be shorted that is likely the answer.

 

Most likely a 220 uH inductor, as Bill stated, a DMM across i should read a good bit less than around 20 Ω

If you have one in hand, is there another SMD resistor to the lower left of the blue large (assumed resistor or inductor)?

The PCB shows "R1", which would mean resistor, but it isn't lined up with the blue item you are looking at. It should have an L1 or L2 (L<number>) identifier on the silkscreen.