Sylvania/Osram Mini 4AA Lantern Upgrade

[dom]

Hi Herb welcome to the thread :-)

The best cheapest option for Cree is the
LC1-M Ledil optic and holder -available from Cutter or maybe Brum

http://www.cutter.com.au/proddetail.php?prod=cut789

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sho...d.php?t=175502

I have only 3 of these left else i'd send them to you if i had the 6.

Cheers
Dom

[Wits' End]

Looks like Cutter is a good option. I sent an inquiry as to shipping direct to Romania.
Any suggestions on 'best' angle? 4, 8, 15? What does 22x11 mean? Thanks in advance and thanks Dom

[dom]

Hi Herb
Sorry about that -the Ledil LC1-M is 15deg

Probably from 10 -15 deg beam would work well ,as the Carclo brand one i tried was a 10.4deg.

8 deg ones DON'T work well ,and higher than 15deg will probably waste a bit of light.

22 X 11 deg is an elliptical beam.

I think i've tried a higher than 15 deg optic -though can't recall for sure. I'll just try one now and get back to you.

EDIT: Looks like 15 deg was the highest i tried for the Cree.


Cheers
Dom

[Wits' End]

22 X 11 deg is an elliptical beam.
I think i've tried a higher than 15 deg optic ....... I'll just try one now and get back to you.

again, thanks
That elliptical has some intrigue, after bouncing off the reflector it would fill a room better than a round optic--Yes?

[dom]

You could be right there Herb. I did just try an elliptical i had and the top reflector off a lantern -just holding it there by hand.

Could be interesting :-) I might make up one tonite and see what it looks like for real.

Cheers
Dom

[marven]

Maybe it's interesting for other European members:
I orderd some Carclo 10200 20mm optics, lens holders and Cree Q5 WG leds from www.led-tech.de at a reasonable price.

[Black Rose]

Grrr.

The silicone I have used (GE Silicone II) is crap.

It dried up and the optic became detached from the SSC P4 LED.

I've got to try and track down some better silicone for this or get the optic holders from PF.

[Duodec]

I haven't had opportunity to use my lantern a lot the last couple of months, but it has been moved around, transported by car, dropped twice, and is still together.

Permatex clear silicone adhesive sealant. I think it came from wallyworld.

[NorCalDave]

Anyone know if Sylvania/Osram are still making these lanterns? If not, is $15 each a decent price for a couple of new, un-modded units?

[Lynx_Arc]

Anyone know if Sylvania/Osram are still making these lanterns? If not, is $15 each a decent price for a couple of new, un-modded units?

I have never seen them for sale in the stores here and haven't heard of them for sale retail in the marketplace (stores) but they have a thread where they are sold for about $13 + $5 shipping which isn't cheaper for one but get 3 of them and it is some. $15 is nearly the best price to find them easily now. They are about $21 on ebay on occasion $17.
I have been trying to find a few cheaper but think I will need to trade or sell some things as I have spent toooo much on lanterns lately.

[NorCalDave]

Ok - Started working my way from West to East calling Menards stores and found the Casper, Wyoming store was willing to ship me the six lanterns they had for just over $9 each total cost - not bad, huh?

As to modding my units, I'm not interested in getting maximum output, instead I'd like to gain considerably more usable, white light than stock without making them blinding or adding glare. Which currently available emitter/optics combo would you guy's say gives the most bang for the buck in my case?

Links to suggested parts/suppliers would be much appreciated

Thanks - Dave

[Lynx_Arc]

Ok - Started working my way from West to East calling Melards stores and found the Casper, Wyoming store was willing to ship me the six lanterns they had for just over $9 each total cost - not bad, huh?

As to modding my units, I'm not interested in getting maximum output, instead I'd like to gain considerably more usable, white light than stock. Which currently available emitter/optics combo would you guys say gives the most bang for the buck in my case?

Links to suggest parts/suppliers would be much appreciated

Thanks - Dave

sounds great to me, but isn't that menards? (typo?) I myself am interested in this mod but the optics part I will have to reread because it sort of skipped by me which is the best solution and the best supplier of that solution.

[NorCalDave]

sounds great to me, but isn't that menards?

fixatated

[Lynx_Arc]

fixatated

thanks.... wanted to be sure as I have never heard of menards before CPF so I wasn't sure if I was wrong or you were

[NorCalDave]

Anyone have any experience with these SSC USX0H emitters or know if they'd work for this mod? With Optics, does a wider degree spread equate to a greater throw of light.

Sorry for all the questions but I'm new to CPF and modding & could use some helpful guidance.

EDIT - just was over on CPFMarketPlace and found info that indicates that the seller referenced in my link above does not appear to be recommended very highly. In that case, where should I go for the parts I need to avoid hassles???

[Black Rose]

In the marketplace, look for seller PhotonFanatic.

I bought my SSC P4 LEDs (U2SW0H) and the optics (20mm Khatod) from him to mod these lanterns.

The LEDs cost more than from buying from DX or KD, but they come well packaged and will arrive in one piece.

I found with the 20mm optic that the light output went from blinding (original LED or replacement LED) when using the original difuser in the lantern to extremely usable.
The light seems to be directed downward a bit. I recommend anyone doing this mod to go with an optic.

Take a look at the images here to get an idea of the difference the optic makes (move your mouse over the images of the lanterns to change them)

[NorCalDave]

Thanks BlackRose

It looks like PhotonFanatic is the place to buy from.

Another question - I saw earlier where Dom suggested using Arctic Alumina adhesive or Arctic Silver thermal grease. Is this for both the Cree and Seoul emitters or just the Cree?

[Stereodude]

Anyone have any experience with these SSC USX0H emitters or know if they'd work for this mod?

That's what I've been buying to mod mine. I got the optics from PhotonFanatic.

[NorCalDave]

Stereodude

Did you buy the emitters from KaiDomain? If so, how was your experience buying from them? Any problem with delivery or the product itself?

Paying 1/2 the price for the emitters would be nice if no hassle was involved - it sure seems like they don't have a good rep over on CPFMP though.

[Bimmerboy]

I saw earlier where Dom suggested using Arctic Alumina adhesive or Arctic Silver thermal grease. Is this for both the Cree and Seoul emitters or just the Cree?

No problem using AA or AS with either emitter. AA is possibly a little more convenient to use since you can just kinda' stick the LED on there and it'll hold. However, on these lanterns I prefer the grease as the heatsink is eletrically isolated, so there's no worry about using the thinnest layer possible, and I believe it transfers heat a bit better than the adhesive.

If you use the grease, just make sure to use something to press down on the LED while soldering, then hold a few more seconds until the solder cools. That'll keep a tight squeeze between emitter slug and heatsink.

[Duodec]

Anyone know if Sylvania/Osram are still making these lanterns? If not, is $15 each a decent price for a couple of new, un-modded units?

The Menards in Palatine had them at normal price $9.99; they went on sale for a week just before Christmas at $4.99. When I went in this past weekend they were not available, but that store is being closed and its inventory has been sketchy.

[Lynx_Arc]

I emailed one store and they had 4 of them offered to me for $9.99 each plus $15 postage and I was looking for more than 4 and $15 postage is a bit stiff....

[NorCalDave]

After I found the six I bought for $7.99 each at the Menards in Casper, WY, I called around to about 5 other stores in various states to try & order some more but they all wanted $9.99. The Casper store charged me less than $8 for FedEx shipping to California.

I'd keep looking if I was you as it looks to me like Sylvania has discontinued these. If you got the right manager and pushed the issue of the item being discontinued, you might be able to get them to give you a lower price if you bought 10 or something.+

If they can sell them for $4.99 on sale, you know they're still making money.

[Lynx_Arc]

if they offer to sell em for $5 each plus reasonable shipping I may be em all. These would make great gifts. I have considered modding the $5 walmart LED lanterns for a cree if I cannot get any of these at a decent enough price. I got to thinking about modding lanterns and decided I would have to be able to make a better lantern to even want to start on that path.

[dom]

Hi NorCalDave
I'll admit this thread is a total mess to get info out of - really my first post on a mod
so i'll forgive myself :-)

I'll take a leaf out of StefanFS book next time i do one -as his mod threads are the most comprehensive i've seen.

So for the best optics to use and where to get them.

Ledil LC1-M for Cree
Either Cutter or Brum
http://www.cutter.com.au/proddetail.php?prod=cut789

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sho...d.php?t=175502


Seoul optic from Photonfanatic
(top one)
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showpost.php?p=1866709&
postcount=1

Also see if you can get the optic holders as sometimes just sticking
the optic on the LED without it doesn't hold .

All the above sellers have LEDs for sale as well.

AA the LEDs down if you aren't too good with soldering -if it won't be likely you would upgrade again .

If you think you may upgrade the LED again in the future - just use thermal grease.

Cheers
Dom

[bretti_kivi]

... digging this thread back up..

I don't know why I saw this, but I did. I have an osram version of this, picked up a couple of years ago in Germany, for cheap; it contains (believe it or not) four 5mm white LEDs. High and Low modes worked by a momentary swtich on the side.

I feel a Q5 or MC-E with D2Flex coming on.. this should be very interesting.

Thanks for the heads-up!

Bret

[ponygt65]

... digging this thread back up..

I don't know why I saw this, but I did. I have an osram version of this, picked up a couple of years ago in Germany, for cheap; it contains (believe it or not) four 5mm white LEDs. High and Low modes worked by a momentary swtich on the side.

I feel a Q5 or MC-E with D2Flex coming on.. this should be very interesting.

Thanks for the heads-up!

Bret

The problems we saw with them was if you left them on too long they wouldn't shut off. You would need to pull the battery compartment and then turn it back on. We still sell some of them though.

[Whineyweim]

Anybody near a Menards?

The most recent flyer I got in the mail has these on sale for $4.99 again.

Just a heads up if you are still looking for some.

[Lynx_Arc]

I wonder if they would honor the price via mail order

[Whineyweim]

Note sure about mail order.

I'll have to cruise over there tomorrow and see if I can score a couple. Who knows how many are in stock.