Anyone upgraded the LEDs in the Sten Light Headlamp ???

[Yucca Patrol]

I'll be very interested to see if you can make a very significant upgrade to the Sten. When I first started caving, this lamp was the holy grail but I could not afford it at the time. By the time I could afford it, I chose to buy another lamp which was about 4 times brighter, of equal or even better quality, and actually cheaper than the Sten.

Sadly, the manufacturer has never really made any significant performance upgrades and it is now severely underpowered and inefficient compared to other similarly priced custom caving lamps. It's really too bad because I think that the high quality case and awesome magnetic switch mechanism are better than most anything out there and they just need to update the emitters and electronics to current standards and they'd be back in the race.

 

[coors]

I'd like to know if you have succeeded in this modification. Myself, I'd have gone with neutral K2-TFFC emitters (200-lumen @ 1.0 variation), as they're a direct replacement for the old Lux IIIs (same die height.)

 

[jtice]

Never got a chance to get back around to this,
Last I messed with it, it would not turn on at all with the Seoul LEDs swapped into it.
Was going to put the original LEDs back in and test that, just not had time.

 

[coors]

Thanks for replying, jtice. I'm considering buying an old lux version StenLight so that I can upgrade it with the K2-TFFC emitters. I really would like it if the JSB/ McR-reflectors would become available once again, too. I may be able to modify the available McR reflectors though, to get a good wide beam. If reinstalling the Luxes back again gets your light working you might want to consider the K2-TFFCs, as they are a huge improvement. I've been EDCing a small Korean flashlight, Amilite T3 Power, for well over a year that has the K2-TFFC emitter/McR20 reflector and I'm not interested in anything else as a handheld.

 

[robostudent5000]

am i wrong? i thought you couldn't swap a K2 direct for a Lux III because the K2 has 4 pins instead of 2 and a bigger foot print. plus its Vf is a lot higher.

 

[Microa]

The 4 pins type K2 which 2 of them is no connect. You can cut them off. The problem will be the K2 is a bigger square that may not be able to put into the tight space and a capacitor is located at the close corner.

 

[hexxxx]

Hey all,

New here. Registered because I just bought a used sten light and I'm interested in playing around with it a bit. I know this thread is long dead, but the search function hasn't yielded any results and I'm stuck. Once I've removed the 6 bolts and the metal faceplate, how do I remove the clear material (glass? plexi?) over the actual optics and electronics?

Thanks!
hexxxx

 

[Mark620]

Look Here:

http://www.pbase.com/darklightimagery/image/49515635

 

[jtice]

Once the screws are out, you should just be able to pop it out.
It might be stuck a bit due to the rubber seal under it, but it shouldnt be glued or anything like that.
I stuck something in the holes and pried on it lightly.

BTW, I also ruined my Stenlight trying to upgrade it. haha
No idea what I did, been too long ago to even remember now.