SL Survivor Upgrade

smokediver24

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 15, 2011
Messages
7
Hey guys I've been a member for awhile now and haven't posted because i hate feeling like a newb, but I guess oh well. Im a firefighter(I think theres another FF on here I've seen that has the name smoke diver as well but its not me), and I've grown to real like my survivor streamlight. I've also lucked up because a few months back and bought 3 additional survivor lights w/ chargers for about $40 each when the supplier where my department buys from shut down due to the 2 owners not agreeing on how the business needs to be ran. All 4 of my survivor lights are rated at 140 lumens, and have the rechargable 4.8V 1.8Ah SUB-C NICKEL-CADMIUM batteries.

I really like them because they seam indestructible, and they can withstand the extreme heat. I also use them when not at the station also. But in the past year have really got into being curious about brighter lights, and have learned some what about them here, and want to do some modifying to one or more of the lights. I am good at working on smaller electronics, and can soldier etc.. just need a little guidance.

What I want: I want to basically get the light brighter:/ I'm sure I will have to change the LED out, and I'm guessing the driver that controls it. I want to keep the same controls(on,moon setting, strobe and off), and the same battery set up because the charging capabilities. I also love the trow, I like how it can light things up from way away. I'm guessing the throw is based of the reflector...???

Im including pictures of the light components for anyone who is unfamiliar with it.

I have A Kobalt 500 lumen light that I've noticed in other topics and thought about using the CREE XM-L led from it. Im unsure if I could use the driver from the cobalt or would have to get another to fit into the survivor.

So what do you guys think, I want the same survivor shell/same controls/same batteries, but be a lot brighter.


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SimulatedZero

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 23, 2011
Messages
586
Location
SouthEast, USA
I'm surprised that no one has replied to this thread. The throw will be based off of the reflector. Unfortunately, moving to a larger LED like the XM-L will sacrifice throw. You could do an XM-l mod, though it would be a little more difficult to do because it's an angle light and a polymer light. Heat will end up being a bit of a problem. Do some looking around on here and try to find a heat sink that will fit inside the light right behind the reflector. After that you can pick up some XM-L's online, just look around, and various drivers to, well, drive the LED.

You will need to know how much voltage you are working with and how many lumens you want. You already know how many volts you are working with, so know you just need a lumen goal. Depending on how much you know about Li-Ion's, you could seriously up the voltage and get some serious lumens out that thing. Thought the run time would be fairly low. With 4.8 volts I would suggest shooting for the 600 lumen range. It's nice and easy to obtain and won't cause to much stress on the system.

I think you will have to do some creative thinking here. If you can figure out a way to mount a heat sink and driver in that body somewhere you'll be fine. From your photos it looks like you can remove the circuitry off the springs in the top and mount a square-ish heat sink and run the wires from the springs to the driver.

I probably missed a few things here and I may comeback with more suggestions later. My brain is fairly fuzzy at the moment...:tired:
 
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