GLADIUS/INSIGHT TYPHOON SEOULED(P4) MODDING ***UPDATES & DISCUSSION ***

[GLADIUSX1]

GOT THE SEOUL P4 AND FIXED THE GLADIUS ,HAD SOME POSITIVE SLUG ISOLATING PROBLEMS ,BUT FOUND A EASY 100% SOLUTION. SUCCESS.I WILL POST PHOTOS WHEN I FIGURE OUT HOW TO POST THEM .BEAM SHOTS AND OF THE FINISHED GLADIUS.
WHAT IS THE EASYEST WAY TO POST PHOTOS.HELP

[ewsforos]

Check this post here for information on how to post pictures

Hope this helps.

Btw, good job on your mod. Gladius + Seoul P4 sounds like a very interesting combination

[GLADIUSX1]

THANX FOR THE HELP ,I'M WAITING FOR THE IMAGE SHACK TO SEND ME AN EMAIL RESPONCE SO I CAN START HOSTING THE PICTURES ,THIS WILL GIVE SOME TIME TO GET THE BEAM SHOTS .MIGHT BE A DAY OR TWO.[img]images/icons/rolleye11.gif[/img]

[9volt]

Can't read your post.

[GLADIUSX1]

thanx for waiting ,click on the image and it will take you to the image shack so you can see the larger picture.more pictures posted through the thread.have a look.


.

[LEDcandle]

Very nice GladiusX1... how did you pry out your luxeon? mine was affixed so tight that I had to destroy it. Did you heat it or something?

[GLADIUSX1]

Removel was reqiured but it came out fully intacted.no moding of the reflector is reqiured and the p4 is aligined perfect as you can see in the one photo that shows the p4 refection.added the other pic so you can see the differance.if there are any problems with this mod in the future i will post what is happening.click on image for larger view

[GLADIUSX1]

sorry LEDcandle I misunderstood what you asked .yes i did have to pry out the lux III,I desoldered the lux III and then pryed out using an exacto knife.all went well and i still have my lux III intact.

[LEDcandle]

ah ok, you took out the Luxeon LED but left the star there and fixed the SSC to the old lumileds star; ok.. thanks... can't do that for a Cree that's why I had to take out the entire star and put in a Cree Star... oh well.... SSC would be a better choice for a direct swap from original... but I guess now I can swap in a Cree Q3 bin fairly easily when it comes! (not tat the Q3 is any better than the SSC anyway)

[zifnab69]

thanx for waiting ,click on the image and it will take you to the image shack so you can see the lager picture.the beam shots are of the gladius (brighter image) and the other one is a streamlight 4AA luxeon III.image is taken from 20 feet away .camera settings the same for both and the white balance corrected.any questions feel free to ask .the gladius is putting out about 180-200 lumes.with no more extra heat.

Are you sure about the 180-200 lumens ?
What about the low light level of the gladius, is it always low , like the original one ?
thank you

[GLADIUSX1]

The lumes rating is very close to the that range. just check the the photos .to get twice the preceived brightness you need up to four times the output so if you look at the beam shot you will see this differance as the streamlight puts out around 50 lumes (4AA model).this is what the gladius was putting out before the mod. also if you look at the spill light on both you can see all the extra light that the gladius also puts out in it's side spill ,as for the low level it is much improved.gone is the sharp edged small spot and replace with a soft spot that is much wider.

[GLADIUSX1]

Here are those pictures again.click on to see full size.the beam shots are of the gladius (brighter image) and the other one is a streamlight 4AA luxeon III.image is taken from 20 feet away .camera settings the same for both and the white balance corrected.any questions feel free to ask .the gladius is putting out about 180-200 lumes.with no more extra heat.

[zifnab69]

impressive.
about the low level.
in fact i'm please to notice that the low level have a soft spot, but my question is.
in the original luxeon3, gladius low level is about 0.8 lumens, witch is very very low, and i thing useful for me.
I just like to know if the gladius seoul low level is always 0.8lumens or 8 lumens or so.....
in fact i'm afraid that , putting a more brighter led on the gladius may increase the minimum lumens output of the light.
thank you

[GLADIUSX1]

The low level is about one level up ,but because the beam is wider overall ,it looks very soft and as low as before ,but as i said is wider and 100% more usefull about 1.0 lume instead of 0.8 lumes.I will try to get a picture to show this some time today.

[GLADIUSX1]

Here are thoSe low setting pictures. the black and white picture is how it really looks,the colour one is one f stop overexposed to show more detail pictures taken at 30 inches distance.click on the pictures for larger size.

[mtbkndad]

One of my favorite features of the Gladius is how low and directional the beam is on low level.
While I like what you have done with the high end brightness of the light, the wider and brighter Low kills one of my favorite features of the light.

I hope, when and if Night-Ops revamps the Gladius, they keep low as low as before.
This is just my opinion.
You have done a nice mod :thumbsups:

Take Care,
mtbkndad

[GLADIUSX1]

(One of my favorite features of the Gladius is how low and directional the beam is on low level.
While I like what you have done with the high end brightness of the light, the wider and brighter Low kills one of my favorite features of the light.)

The statement is not all that correct. the low is only a fraction higher(1,0 lume instead of 0.8) and the beam is twice as wide over all,so the beam ends up having the same precieved brightness.this is very low and has better beam quality and is more usefull when reading maps and text,same level, wider beam more usefull.softer edges .
Here are two photos to show the beam at 10-12 inches away.the brighter one is over exposed 1 f stop the other is normal.click on for larger version

[SmUk]

Hello !

I want also to "seoul" my gladius...

just some questions

how can i remove the head ?
just turn it round with all my power or is ther any special trick ?
and how to replace the LED ?
Just solder it out an place there the P4 ?

Is the strobe still working ?

what about the spot in "full mode"

is it still with that low angle ?

Thany you for yor help.
and sorry 4 my bad english

[scubasteve1942]

Great mod. i love the gladius

[GLADIUSX1]

I just added a poll asking if there would be any interest in me modding anybodys Gladius Night Ops.Here is the link for thePoll.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=153732

[GLADIUSX1]

Everything on the Gladius works as before only the brightness is increased to 180-200 lumes.

[mtbkndad]

(One of my favorite features of the Gladius is how low and directional the beam is on low level.
While I like what you have done with the high end brightness of the light, the wider and brighter Low kills one of my favorite features of the light.)

The statement is not all that correct. the low is only a fraction higher(1,0 lume instead of 0.8) and the beam is twice as wide over all,so the beam ends up having the same precieved brightness.this is very low and has better beam quality and is more usefull when reading maps and text,same level, wider beam more usefull.softer edges .
Here are two photos to show the beam at 10-12 inches away.the brighter one is over exposed 1 f stop the other is normal.click on for larger version

Let me first say that I think your mod is nice and well executed for you as a Gladius owner.
If you were a Night-Ops product tester I would say that you have killed one of the best features of this light.

There is a SIGNIFICANT difference between .8 lumen and 1 lumen at that level.
It is a 20% increase of total light output.
Your pictures demonstrate this very clearly.
Look in the low right corner of your photos.
On my 17" Powerbook-

Gladius stock - no door casing visible
Gladius P4 - door casing clearly visible and the entire wall around the corona is brighter.

That kills one of my main uses for my Gladiuses. Illuminating a small area while not illuminating the rest of a room. I like using my Gladiuses on low when looking for things in the bedroom knowing

1. I can see fine.
2. I have such control over it's beam and how the room lights up I never need to worry about disturbing my wife.

My first year at MBC my roomate was from New York and I am from So. Cal., with my Gladius I could negotiate the room without him ever waking up.

Out of my lights, only my Red Raw on low works better in these circumstances. On high it is 190 lumens of truly blinding RED light.

I have plenty of lights that will blow away a Gladius for overall brightness.
It is my only light that combines good useable brightness with the ability to go VERY low in light output.

You may want to mention that modding the lights will also void their warranties.

If you are a private person and this mod works for you, then great.
If others would like to have you do this and do not care about voided warranties, great again.

I am just saying that when and if Night-Ops revises the Gladius I hope they DO NOT loose the current low setting. I feel the Gladius will loose some of its funtionality without having the circuitry adjusted to keep the low as low as it is now. For that matter with the wider beam I would like to see a new Gladius with a low level at .6 lumen.

These are just my opinions based on how CLEARLY your photos demonstrate how much brighter the extra .2 lumens is in your mod.

Take Care,
mtbkndad

[GLADIUSX1]

Yes the warantie will be nulled and void but as of this time with so many out there I think the only issue that has crop up was the switch issue and has been taken care of over a year ago and no other issues since.as i state in the last post with photos the spill is so low it is insignificant.the claim of 20% in the figure is rite but don't forget that it takes four times the output in the figures to equal double the preceived light output and as i stated with the beam twice as wide the light puts out the same preceived light output as the original gladius did.the photo that shows the beam only with no spill is what you will see with your eyes and the brighter one is over exposed to showdetail. if i missed anything please post.

but i am glad for the input all comments welcome.
Thanx

[GLADIUSX1]

Sorry forgot to mention that I also use my lite as you do in the night at home and in the early morning on the low setting and it is much improved wider beam (twice )and same preceived light level.my wife does not wake up either.

[mtbkndad]

Sorry forgot to mention that I also use my lite as you do in the night at home and in the early morning on the low setting and it is much improved wider beam (twice )and same preceived light level.my wife does not wake up either.

These lights are really great in spouse non irritation mode .
I sent an email to Vaughn Baker of Night-Ops with a link to your mod thread.

My goal is to get Night-Ops to seriously consider what a Cree XRE or Seoul P4 can do for this wonderful light.
I also mentioned it would be nice, with the more even beam, to drop the low to .6 lumens.
My thinking is that, with a lower low, we can always choose slightly brighter if we need it.

Now that Night-Ops will hopefully be looking at this thread I will mention that my new Lumapower LP-Mini will easily out throw two Gladiuses at once and possibly 3, I need to wait till my wife returns home Monday evening so I can use her's and try one LP-Mini against 1 - 2 - 3 Gladiuses at once.
I will do beam shots of the experiment.

That is not to take away from the useability of the current Gladius.
Rather, I would love to see Night-Ops come out with something that has an even larger light range from high to low.
Hopefully this thread will help that come about if they are not working on it already.

You really did do a nice job with this mod .

Take Care,
mtbkndad

[GLADIUSX1]

If not mentioned the run time will not have changed ,they will be within 5% +/-.all functions the same.I have tested with 3 volt rechargebles and the run time results were great 30 minutes in full mode and the heat was lower and it did not step down in that setting ,but these were only 3 volt 600ma protected so at the end of the 30 minutes they shut down (voltage protection).I will give more times in the future.this will take time.

[waynejitsu]

pm sent...

[GLADIUSX1]

[GLADIUSX1]

The gladius night ops modding list has begun.check thread for updates .

[solidtrax]

pm sent!