How my Tec40 will be as bright as my LegendLX

Tater Rocket

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I am working on a project right now. I am making a pr base bi-pin socket. Yep, that means I'll be able to plug in my LX bulb into the socket, or I could to a Surge, or whatever else i wanted. I could also then use the DB4AAA bulb in my Tec20. What do you all think of that?

My current problem is the bulb filament is too high. I am going to be working on making the copper pipe I am using fit lower so the bulb will sit lower. I think this MAY work, we'll see. If it does, what do you think, should I make a few and sell them? How much do you think would be fair? If this works, I am going to absolutly LOVE my Tec40. I already love the NiMHAA's and 3D bulb combo, but if this works....*drool* a rechargable (read: free to use) LegendLX. The Tec40 isn't a whole lot larger than the LX too.

Spud
 

Bushman

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how much work would you have to do to get a surge bulb for instance into a prbase?
 

Bushman

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Tater, since i don't have a surge yet i cannot tell you and am glad you went ahead and posted the question.
My understanding from brock, (you may want to read my post on this very question)
is that the surge bulb with 4AA will be brighter than a 3d cell overdriven lamp but not as bright as it could be if the surge bulb was in the surge because of the amps that the series/parallel 8aa will put out.
Again i don't know if this is true because i don't have a surge or a tec 40 yet.

Really i am trying to decide between a modded tec 40 or just getting a surge and being "done with it".

regards
 

Tater Rocket

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Were you to use alkalines, yes, it would be dimmer than a surge running off of 8 alkalines because the voltage drop would be more. However, I am not using alkalines, I am using NiMH's. From what i hear from others, there is not much, if any, difference in 4 NiMH's and 8 of them. So whilst the Tec40 would be almost as bright as the Surge, it would last half as long. It should still last around an hour and a half I think. You wouldn't want to do that all at once or something may melt, but I'll use it in the same capacity as my LX, to light up things, or stun people (so I can laugh at them ;) ) for a few seconds up to a couple of minutes. I think my LX gets activated a lot in my pocket when I bend over, and I will not have this problem with the Tec40.

BTW, can I use Silicone based heat sink compound as lube? Yes, I am that pathetic. I don't have any silicon lube and don't particularly care to buy any if i can use the heat sink compound.

Spud
 

Bushman

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spud what nmih's do you use? I am looking at getting a set but i want the best for my money i.e. smart charger etc
 

Tater Rocket

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I would be using Nexcell's, except I think I fried 12 of them with my Nighthunter project, only two of the twelve seem to be giving off any voltage. Right now I used what was laying around. That is, 2 energizer Accu rechargables, and two of the spare nexcells. Two of the rayovacs are also in the charger. I really hope i am mistaken about my 12 NiMH's being fried, but I don't know that I am. I haven't really done any testing on any of them, I just used whatever was cheapest (seeing as I am a cheapskate, and a 17 year old without a job to boot). I definatly will be sure to NOT run down the batteries so I won't have to worry about reverse charging or anything.

Spud
 

Lux Luthor

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Hey Tater Rocket,

Go for it! As I said on another thread, be my guest and do post instructions if and when you get it to work. I guarantee it will outshine the overdriven 3 cell bulb dramatically.

BTW: I've never had any problems with the reflector melting. It all depends on how close the bulb is to the reflector. The Surge bulb is so small that it doesn't hit the reflector, but the 3 cell bulbs sometimes hit the lens. I don't know about the LX bulb. I've been to all 6 Walmarts within a 60 mile radius and have never found one.
 

txwest

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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tater Rocket:
If you could tell me how many thousands of inches the pins are....<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>TR, the pins appear to be 3/32", as close as I can measure. TX
 

Tater Rocket

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Ok, I'll have to check mine later. Now that I know the spacing between the pins, I need to know the pin's diameter. Mine are about .0203, plus or minus probably about 3 ten-thousandths (I can accurately measure to thousands, but acting like the chemist I am, I estimate the extra decimal place). Anybody here into reloading as much as my dad AND own a surge bulb they can measure?

Spudgunr
 

Tater Rocket

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According to Brock's site, I think I will be better off using the LX's bulb. Yes, the Surge is rated higher in watts, but that is ONLY because the voltage is higher because the voltage drop is less because it is using 8AA's. With the given amount of 4AA's, the voltage drop will be around the same, and the LX has .1 amps more current draw. So, it will be a bit brighter. PLUS, I already have it! I need to know how high the filament is from the base on the surge so I can compare that to my LX bulb. If the surge bulb is shorter, that might be a lot easier to use because (no, I still haven't gone downstairs again to try it) I think it will be hard to get the filament about the same height as on a regular bulb since the LX bulb is fairly tall.

Spudgunr
 

Lux Luthor

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Here's some specs and info:

The Surge's bulb filament is 6.5mm above the bottom of the base. i.e. if you plugged it all the way into a plane surface, the filament would sit 6.5mm above the plane.

The tip of the bulb sits 11.0mm above the "plane". Compare that to an overdriven 3 cell PR bulb, and you'll see why the Surge bulb won't melt the lens. i.e. the distance from filament to tip is smaller for the Surge.

Also, I once made a small burn on my Surge reflector while doing a runtime test with the light on its side. But the area that got singed was very close to the bulb. Since you don't have a Surge, you should know that the reflector has a small hole near the bulb, but on the Tec 40 the hole is much larger (to accomodate the PR base). Had I done these runtime tests within a Tec 40 reflector, the hot spot would have come nowhere near the reflector.

Anyway, about the diameter of the pins: I don't have a micrometer, but they're less than 1/2mm, and also a little smaller than a standard LED lead.

If you want, you can get a Surge bulb from Brightguy here.

I don't know about the LX, but I have read before that the Surge is brighter.
 

Empath

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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tater Rocket:
If it does, what do you think, should I make a few and sell them? How much do you think would be fair? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You may not get rich from mass market demand, but you'll make some modaholics happy.
grin.gif
wink.gif
grin.gif
 

Alan

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I have experimented a lot on Tec40 with different type of bulb. I think the maglit 3D bulb is the max you should go if you don't want to melt the reflector.

I wish PT to come up with a aluminium reflector.

Alan
 

Tater Rocket

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Bushman: I don't know how much work, probably not much. If you could tell me how many thousands of inches the pins are, I can tell you if the pins would fit in this tube. I can't get a surge bulb, the dive shop here only carried UWK (UKE) lights. I think the main difference would be in the space between the pins.

Empath: Yeah, I didn't think I'd be able to make much. IF I can get this to work, I mainly want to be able to cover the cost of the materials and a little bit of my time. I guess I can worry about that IF I can get it to work. I remember seeing before somebody used copper pipe endcaps (I guess 1/4 inch endcaps) instead of old bulbs, so if I do start making a few of these, I can either buy some of those, or I can have everybody send me all their blown bulbs. Anyway, I just got in a nap, so I think I am going to go check and see if I can get it to work with my LX bulb.

BTW, could somebody tell me how high the filament on the Surge bulb is from the base of the bulb (not the pins, where the bulb and pins meet) and I'll see how easy it would be to try that. If it is shorter, it may just be easier to do that (except for the fact I don't have one of those bulbs).

Somebody before simply soldered the surge bulb into the PR base, but the reason I am wanting to do it this way is you could use more than one bulb and it would be a lot easier to switch and replace the bulbs.

Spud

Edit: Simulpost with Alan. Anyway, yeah, that's true, the bulb would get very hot. Then again, I rarely use my LX for more than a minute or so at a time anyway, so I personally wouldn't have to worry about that too much. What would be nice is if somebody with metal working equipment could make us a couple reflectors out of Aluminum or something, but I don't think that will likely happen.
 

Tater Rocket

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While we are at this, can anybody tell me the filament height on the Scorpion bulb? It too is very bright (according to dano's wattage specs), and I can actually GET these bulbs unlike the LX (unless I buy more), or the surge (order off the net). I guess I'll get dressed and head to the basement to work on this project a bit more.

Spudgunr

Edit: Just fount my LX bulb is 11.9 mm overall, and the filament is 9 mm from the base. Ok, now I need the Scorpion info. Since I have to head that way anyway, if I can't get the info today, I'll head to Bass Pro on the way to our apartments (where I work some) and take my dad's micrometer inside to measure the scorpions bulb.
 

Lux Luthor

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I am very interested. Please keep us informed. I don't have a Scorpion, but I hope someone who does will respond.

I'm curious, how do you plan to mount the bulb?
 
D

**DONOTDELETE**

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Try using a 3 cell bulb with NiMH batts. Seems plenty bright, but afraid of burning hole in lens.

have fun
 

Tater Rocket

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That IS what I WAS using. Sure, it is bright, but not as bright as the LX bulb would be. The LX bulb should be 30-50% brighter.

Update: It works, however it is out of focus. The filament is too high, but the bulb DOES fit in the socket. What i did was use 1/16 inch (OD) copper tube (50 cents at hobby store). I slightly bent a length of it, then stuck it through the hole in the base of a PR bulb. then, I took another length of it, and stuck it beside the first. I then filled the base with silicone sealant. I moved the pieces to where I wanted them, then layed the PR base onto the tip of my 140 watt soldering gun. I heated it like this for probably 30 seconds or more, until all the silicone sealant was quite firm. then, I soldered the piece that ran from the very bottom, and made the little solder blob like normal. Then, I cut a short length of Cat5E wire, took one of the strands, and stripped it. I bent it about 1/16th of an inch from the end, and poked it into the sealant. I then bent the other end onto the outside of the base. I heated up the pipe and wire and soldered pipe #2 to the wire using just a little dab of solder. Then I soldered the wire to the base. To make the hole smaller on the tubing, on one I crushed the end a bit with pliers, and on the other, I covered it a bit with solder.

This would work QUITE nicely I think, except the filament is still a couple of milimeters too high. If it weren't for that, the thing would be in focus. I really don't feel like heading to the apartments today (I just got in from shoveling a driveway of wet, and icy, snow. It wasn't that large and took 2 hours), but I may make a trip to Bass Pro anyway to measure their scorpion bulbs (that is, IF they have only the bulb. Surely they do).

Spudgunr
 

Tater Rocket

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Ok, it seems I now have a Magion, or a Scorpiolite. I dunno, either way, I am using the Scorpion bulb in my maglite. This is SO much easier because of the adjustable focus. I have no doubt with some time and effort I could get the right height in the Tec40, but it may take quite a bit of both to get the right height, I am not sure. I may keep trying. The LX bulb is too tall (well, the filament is too high) for the maglight, but the scorpion is perfect. Now the maglight puts the 4NiMH/3dBulb combo to shame. For the same sized spot, it is quite a bit brighter, and even WHITER than the Tec40 (yes, I checked to make sure I was using the 3D bulb instad of the 4D). The tec40 looks like a little fuzzy spot, while the mag still has the trademark crappy spot. However, it focuses just as tight, if not tighter, and the beam IS less crapy than normal due to the smaller filament I'm sure. Now what I am going to have to do is:
1. See if I can make this faster (with a little practice I'm sure I can)

and
2. See if anybody would be willing to buy any for their adjustable focus flashlights.

Or, I could simply say "my light is brighter" and be done with it. Not sure which I want yet.

IF people want these, on ebay right now there is something like 38 pr-base bulbs for around $10 (if the price doesn't go up TOO much on ebay), so the bases would be cheap, and I could order online the scorpion bulbs for around $5, so the total cost for these bulbs would probably be around $8, maybe up to $10 shipped. I'm not exactly sure. That seems like an awful lot though. I'll have to keep searching the net and looking around and seeing if I could even finish these at a rate of 3 an hour. IF I could do these at 3 an hour, AND sell them for $10 shipped, it might be worthwile. We'll see.

Spudgunr
 

Bushman

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SPud I would buy one for $10 from you (scorpion in prbase)

I am still a bit unsure how you get a bi-pin in a pr base... any way you could email or post pics?

sorry that the tec 40 didn't work out as planned. Im sure that if you keep working on it that it would work eventually...

howbright is the magion compared to the tec 40 with 3d bulb?
 
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