PT EOS Seoul & Reflector Mod Writeup

[jch79]

A plain-jane (Lux) McR-18?

Yup!

Can you comment on how you trimmed the MCR18 to make it work in the EOS? Also, what kind of beam pattern are you getting with this modified reflector? Any possibility of beamshots?

I just filed a tiny bit off of both ends of the reflector with a flat file. It probably would have fit without any modification, but I feel like I did more of a mod if I saw metal shavings (or dust!)

The beam is awesome - just what you'd expect from one of Don's reflectors! I'll take some photos of the mod tomorrow - as for beamshots, I might be able to get around to take some, but I'm not sure what light I'd compare it to? Maybe a SPY005 w/ Seoul, set to approx. the same brightness?

john

[coors]

Heya, is this the reflector that comes in a minimag LED?

Where does one get these reflectors?

I don't know, but I think that it's a custom made reflector for using in Seouled or Luxeoned MiniMags. This is the guy that I bought mine from http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=168062 but he seems to be temporarily out. If you're interested I can sell you one of my spares.

coors

[cave dave]

The foam tape is a good idea. I stirred up some glow powder in Epoxy and used that but its fairly permanent. I also filed away a flat on the edge of the reflector and put in some H3.

[Cuso]

OK, whos gonna be the first one to put a Rebel in their EOS.

[coors]

I've decided to try out my modified EOS as a handlebar light, given the fact that it's my best headlamp for seeing things in my peripheral vision... out to 50 feet or so. I made a 'roughed in' way of mounting the 'headlamp only' version solidly. If it performs well then I plan to expend the necessary effort required to make it look more presentable... if not, then I only invested about 15 mins in it. I've been modding another headlamp lately, too, and it has very good 'throw'. Though I would only use one headlamp or the other, most of the time, I can think of circumstances where using them both simultaneously could be a big help.






coors

[cave dave]

Obviously it make sense to work with what you have but there is a bicycle version of the EOS that comes with bar and helmet mounts, but does not come with the headlamp strap which is available for extra.

http://www.brightguy.com/products/Pr...c_EOS_BIKE.php

[coors]

Thanks for pointing out the bike version! Since I already had my "headlamp only" version modded the way that I'd have modded the "bike/handlebar" version, if I were to buy one, I opted to make the mount myself using available materials. If I don't like how it performs on the handlebar then I can unscrew it and put the headband back on. I'm sure the bike version looks much nicer... but that doesn't matter to me.

coors

[coors]

I just just ventured out into the rainy night, to test the EOS as a handlebar light... it didn't work, because the road vibrations made the head tilt down as I rode. Looks like I may have to get the bike version afterall! I'd imagine that it's detents, for tilt adjustment, are much stiffer or that it's a different kind of system altogether. Does anyone have any firsthand experience with the bike version? Does the head want to tilt down from road vibration with that model also?

coors

[cave dave]

I just just ventured out into the rainy night, to test the EOS as a handlebar light... it didn't work, because the road vibrations made the head tilt down as I rode. Looks like I may have to get the bike version afterall! I'd imagine that it's detents, for tilt adjustment, are much stiffer or that it's a different kind of system altogether. Does anyone have any firsthand experience with the bike version? Does the head want to tilt down from road vibration with that model also?
coors

I was worried that might happen with the regular. Try adding velcro to the battery cover and to the tilt plate and using the handle bar bracket for tilt not the detents. You could also use a ziptie to hold it in place or Flipping it upside might help.

PS The bike version has a screw and nut instead of detents so it can be positioned at any angle and tightened down till it doesn't move unintentionally.

[greenLED]

Coors, attach it with the swivel part pointing upwards. You may have to adjust the angle by rotating the entire assembly that's on the handlebar, but it sure beats having the light point directly downwards...

[coors]

Thank you, Cave Dave and GreenLED, for sharing your ideas with me! I don't have any velcro, but I have a roll of double sided 1.5mm foam tape... so I put a strip on the back of the battery chamber and another on the inside of the headband mount. I removed the waxed paper(?) strip from each side and mashed them together. It was rock solid on my test ride tonight! I am wondering if this doublesided-tape will continue to hold when cold weather arrives, though. I have the beam pointed at the ground about 25-30 feet out and the spill is really nice. I'm no longer worried about seeing people on the bikepath that I've been riding at night, as a cop stopped me on the trail and told me that I'm not allowed to ride the path at night anymore (local ordinance). So, now all of my night riding will have to be on the road... where I'm much more concerned with potholes, rocks, glass, etc.

coors

[Supernam]

Hi there,

I have the bike EOS. I was very disappointed to find out that the handlebar clamp was too small in diameter for my handlebars. I have a new Felt Racing road bike. The clamp is about 1" in diameter or 2.75mm.

The kit also comes with a helmet mount that uses a velcro strap. I have no option but to use that unless I modify the handlebar mount somehow. Nevertheless, I will be tossing in a Seoul + Khatod reflector soon.

One more gripe is that the flashing mode of the EOS is kind of slow for my liking. Not your typical strobe rate.

[Varroa]

Hi there,

I have the bike EOS. I was very disappointed to find out that the handlebar clamp was too small in diameter for my handlebars. I have a new Felt Racing road bike. The clamp is about 1" in diameter or 2.75mm.

The kit also comes with a helmet mount that uses a velcro strap. I have no option but to use that unless I modify the handlebar mount somehow. Nevertheless, I will be tossing in a Seoul + Khatod reflector soon.

One more gripe is that the flashing mode of the EOS is kind of slow for my liking. Not your typical strobe rate.

PT has a larger diameter handlebar clamp available but you have to buy it from a retailer. I bought one for my oversized handlebars on my MTB.

[greenLED]

One more gripe is that the flashing mode of the EOS is kind of slow for my liking. Not your typical strobe rate.

Yup, I share your views on this one. I sent PT's CS a note about this a while back. Maybe if enough people pitch in, they'd make a faster blinking rate available.

[jch79]

+1 - I wouldn't use it for bicycling because the flashing rate is too slow IMHO. A fast strobe is key to get noticed!
john

[greenLED]

Hey, J, I finally built up the courage... the Eos you gave me is getting Seoul-ed.

[jch79]

Hey, J, I finally built up the courage... the Eos you gave me is getting Seoul-ed.

Yeee-haw!!!

Hey, my PT EOS mod was the first time I've EVER soldered (ever!), and without even practicing, I found it extremely easy.

What I found hard was believing that my soldering iron could heat up to 600°F... and the curious man inside me told me to touch the iron to find out if it truly could get that hot that quickly...... ah, trial by stupidity!

Good luck Migs - let me know how it went!

john

[greenLED]

- let me know how it went!

It should be all said and done this next weekend. I'm putting one in my helmet light (and keeping the stock optic), and another one in your headlamp (already has a reflector). I'm keeping my third Eos (hey, you started it!!) with the stock LED, but I'll swap out the optic for a reflector.

I hope you don't mind, but I won't be testing the temperature of my soldering iron.

[jch79]

I'm keeping my third Eos (hey, you started it!!)

You went from not having any, to having THREE!?!? HA! Glad I could be of service!

I hope you don't mind, but I won't be testing the temperature of my soldering iron.

Suit yourself!

[greenLED]

You went from not having any, to having THREE!?!? HA! Glad I could be of service!

That's what friends are for!

[greenLED]

I also decided to take some beamshots with all 3 reflector types:

Stock Optic:

Khatod reflector:

Minimag reflector:

Coors, is that Khatod reflector a smooth or stippled?

Also, what camera settings did you use? I have both smooth and stippled Khatods, as well as IMS17 on hand. I can take pics using your same camera settings so the pics are directly comparable.

[Supernam]

Hey guys,

I got my 17 Khatod stippled reflectors and Seoul USWOH stars from Photonfanatic and played around with various configurations. Here were my findings:

At first I just swapped the emitter and kept the optic holder with the Khatod. I cut a strip of the foam Photonfanatic uses to package the emitters and reflectors in order to center and stabilize the reflector. After assembling it together, I found that the stippled reflector is a little TOO diffused for my liking. I only have a bike version of the EOS right now and as mentioned previously, the headlamp is nearly useless if it cant even put light on the ground 15 feet in front of you.

I found the stock optic most optimal for Biking combined with the Seoul.

When I buy a standard EOS, I will swap the emitter and use the Khatod stippled reflector since I use headlamps for hiking, camping, and nighttime fishing only... all closeup usages.

The USWOH seemed a little on the cool side as far as tint. I don't think the USVOI was available which is slightly warmer.

[coors]

Coors, is that Khatod reflector a smooth or stippled?

Also, what camera settings did you use? I have both smooth and stippled Khatods, as well as IMS17 on hand. I can take pics using your same camera settings so the pics are directly comparable.

I ordered a stippled Khatod reflector, from Cutter... but they sent a smooth/mirrored one to me, instead.
For the indoor beamshot I unknowingly had the camera set to iso400. The camera used was a digital slr. The lens was a 35mm f2 manual focus lens. The camera utilizes a 'four-thirds' size sensor... so the crop factor of 2x effectively renders this lens into a 70mm (equivelant) focal length. The shutter speed used was 1/20th sec. and the lens aperture was set to f5.6. If I were to reshoot this at iso100, I'd get the exact same result by only changing the shutter speed to 1/5th sec.
For the "maglite reflector" beamshot, I actually had to change the lens to a 30mm (my widest lens... 60mm equiv.), because the spill was so wide and I wanted to show that. I also moved the camera/tripod farther away... so I stopped that shot down to f8 and increased the shutter speed to 1/10th sec... which allowed exactly the same amount of light to fall on the sensor as 1/20th f5.6
For the outdoor shots all were shot at iso100, 60seconds, f5.6... with the 35mm lens. If you want to replicate my own results with a point and shoot digital... it's easy, since the depth of field of the small lens/sensor combination is greatly increased, per f-stop. An f-stop of f2.8 has the same depth of field as f8 in a slr (roughly). So if you chose a 70mm focal length equivelant, an aperture of f2.8 and a shutter speed of 15seconds... it would be the equivelant settings as those that I used for my outdoor shots.

coors

[greenLED]

Thanks, Coors. I have a digital SLR with full manual mode, so fixing the settings shouldn't be a problem. I don't speak "photo", so your explanation on how to change apertures and exposures to be equivalent to other settings just went over my head.

I'll go with the 1/20, f5.6, iso400 for starters.

[coors]

The USWOH seemed a little on the cool side as far as tint. I don't think the USVOI was available which is slightly warmer.

Thanks for letting us know how your mod went, Supernam. I appreciated you commenting on the tint of the USWOH. I bought 2x USVOH emitters, but ruined one of them trying to deslder it after soldering it... reversed polarity. Actually, I think that I killed it instantly when I powered it on, like that... then I ripped a leg off when I tried desoldering ...but anyways, after I purchased the USVOH emitters I was wondering if the USWOH would have been the better choice. I still haven't used my USVOH emitter, because I put 2x different SSC P4 stars in each of my headlamps. I got these stars from DX, like the original poster did, but I have no idea at all what kind of tint these have. I'll have to put my USVOH emitter on a star and try it out, but I probably wouldn't recognize a cool tint from a warm tint.

coors

[jch79]

I probably wouldn't recognize a cool tint from a warm tint.

Just don't hold them up side-by-side on a wall! (which I can't resist doing)

My USV0H Seouls are noticeably cooler than their less efficient little brother, USV0I.

john

[TranquillityBase]

Yep...A big difference in tint from the early Fred batch of USVOI's to the USVOH's, almost like they may have been labeled incorrectly from Seoul, or maybe Fred mixed them up My USVOI's were a gorgeous vanilla tint, and the USVOH's are ice blue

[JackJ]

+1 - I wouldn't use it for bicycling because the flashing rate is too slow IMHO. A fast strobe is key to get noticed!
john

I realize it's going to be a minority opinion, but I find the flash rate on my EOS to be perfect for cycling. I find most strobes (Fenix, early FluPics) are way too fast. I think a moderate flash rate (2 or 3 Hz) is plenty attention grabbing, without being annoying. I'm not only concerned with annoying motorists, by also myself, when ambient light is low enough for me to see my own strobe.

Jack

[jch79]

I hear ya Jack, and your opinion is just as valid as anyone else's! The PT Aurora has two strobe rates... too bad the EOS doesn't, so it could make us both happy!

One other criticism of using the EOS as a bike light is the lack of side visibility - another must-have IMHO.

john

[greenLED]

Absolutely, Jack! But you're almost comparing apples to oranges: blinking is not the same as strobing. I wouldn't use a continuous strobe as bike light.

The Eos blinking rate to about 1.5Hz - a tad faster would be better (2-3Hz like you suggest), without it turning into a strobe frequency. I e-mailed PT about this a while back. Their response was that new bike lights would be forthcoming, but I haven't seen anything new from them, nor I have a clue if they'd take a suggestion from an otherwise random e-mail.