small/portable shop LED light ... turbo modded

wquiles

Flashaholic
Joined
Jan 10, 2005
Messages
8,459
Location
Texas, USA, Earth
I recently bought two of these on special, because it looked like an LED light wanting to be modded, and I liked the flexible arm, the strong magnet base, and the fact that it can be run from 2x AAA cells or the included wall-wart.

DSCF9073.JPG


DSCF9074.JPG



AC power input:
DSCF9104.JPG



Internal "circuit" - the resistors are there to drop the low current 9v DC from the wall-wart to about 3.2V DC:
DSCF9081.JPG


DSCF9105.JPG


DSCF9106.JPG




So I started to look how it was put together:
DSCF9075.JPG


DSCF9076.JPG


DSCF9077.JPG


DSCF9078.JPG


DSCF9079.JPG


DSCF9080.JPG



So I decided to replace the 7x small LED's with a "single" package of 4x LED's - a warm tint, low vf P7. Basically I am going to use the P7 "way underdriven" since I don't have a good thermal path for the heatsink:
DSCF9082.JPG



I made a small heatsink/platform to raise the LED and to isolate from the electrical board (using epoxy as insulator):
DSCF9083.JPG


DSCF9084.JPG


DSCF9085.JPG



And after wiring it, I put it back in the head:
DSCF9086.JPG


DSCF9087.JPG



I played with various lenses, and I settled on a plastic Aspheric lens I got from Asia (DX, I think). I used the lathe to make the right size hole in the original 7x "lens" to allow for a press fit on the lens from DX:
DSCF9088.JPG


DSCF9089.JPG


DSCF9090.JPG



Then I used the lathe again to make the back of the DX lens fully open:
DSCF9091.JPG



After final assembly:
DSCF9102.JPG


DSCF9103.JPG




How does it work?
Turbo light OFF (manual exposure):
DSCF9093.JPG



Turbo light ON (manual exposure):
DSCF9094.JPG





Turbo light OFF (manual exposure):
DSCF9095.JPG



Turbo light ON (manual exposure):
DSCF9096.JPG





Turbo light OFF (manual exposure):
DSCF9100.JPG



Turbo light ON (manual exposure):
DSCF9101.JPG



and perhaps the best pictures, the new Turbo light on the left, and the ugly original 7x LED on the right - which one do you rather have? Even underdriven, the P7 LED gives a great beam in shape/color - a definitely improvement in my book :devil:
DSCF9107.JPG


DSCF9108.JPG



Of course, only a complete crazy flashaholic would put $30-35 worth of parts, plus a couple of hours of labor on a $35 light, but I guess that is what makes us flashaholics, right?


EDIT: Current draw with the P7 LED with 2x AAA alkaline cells is right at 200mA and slowly dropping, but a steady 260mA with the AC wall-wart.


Will
 
Last edited:

darkzero

Flashaholic* ,
Joined
Oct 7, 2003
Messages
4,459
Location
SoCal
Nice light Will! :twothumbs Looks like it should be very useful for boring & threading operations!


Of course, only a complete crazy flashaholic would put $30-35 worth of parts, plus a couple of hours of labor on a $19.95 light, but I guess that is what makes us flashaholics, right?

Will

Huh, what do you mean? I don't think so & never crossed my mind..... oh wait, I think I'm one of those crazy people as well. :ohgeez:
 

wquiles

Flashaholic
Joined
Jan 10, 2005
Messages
8,459
Location
Texas, USA, Earth
Nice light Will! :twothumbs Looks like it should be very useful for boring & threading operations!

Huh, what do you mean? I don't think so & never crossed my mind..... oh wait, I think I'm one of those crazy people as well. :ohgeez:
Thanks Will. Yes, it is a disease ... :crackup:


Nice job :D

Think a P7 or an MC-E (or maybe SST-50/SST-90) would mod into my Makita 18 v light? Battery is Li-Ion 1500 mah.
Absolutely. I would recommend a hipCC (2.8A) and one of the smaller reflectors (like the ones I use in my Barbo lights), and more importantly, a heatsink that is not confined to the plastic casing, so that you can release heat to the air - this might be the more challenging side of the project - but still totally doable ;)

Will
 

TorchBoy

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
4,486
Location
New Zealand
Wow. Top marks for thoroughness of your report, except I'd really like to know how many milliamps you're running it at.

I have a 5-way lens that I want to drill out like that.
 

wquiles

Flashaholic
Joined
Jan 10, 2005
Messages
8,459
Location
Texas, USA, Earth
Wow. Top marks for thoroughness of your report, except I'd really like to know how many milliamps you're running it at.

I have a 5-way lens that I want to drill out like that.

Thank you :eek:

Current draw with the P7 LED with 2x AAA alkaline cells is right at 200mA and slowly dropping, but a steady 260mA with the AC wall-wart.

Will
 

cmacclel

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
5,018
Location
Sweden
Stop modding the $20 LED lights and try out that $500 powedercoating system already!!! I should talk I picked up a Tig Welder yesterday!

Mac
 

wquiles

Flashaholic
Joined
Jan 10, 2005
Messages
8,459
Location
Texas, USA, Earth
Stop modding the $20 LED lights and try out that $500 powedercoating system already!!! I should talk I picked up a Tig Welder yesterday!

Mac

I know, I know ... working today on the VFD for my knee mill ... soon I will be playing with the powder coating system ;)
 

wquiles

Flashaholic
Joined
Jan 10, 2005
Messages
8,459
Location
Texas, USA, Earth
Well, I got the second one of these little gems modded today. Also with a warm white, low vf P7 like before, but this time with a pure aspheric lens.

Here is the original one (wider dispersion):
DSCF9449.JPG



And here is the new one, with the tighter beam:
DSCF9450.JPG



Both side by side:
DSCF9451.JPG



Close up on the tight beam:
DSCF9454.JPG



Close up on the original, wider beam:
DSCF9455.JPG



but here is where the new tight beam really shines. Here is the original, wide angle light - note that you can't see much inside the chuck:
DSCF9456.JPG



but the new one with the tigher beam (although a little over exposed) allows you to see "deep" into the chuck. The photos don't do justice - it is even more dramatic in person:
DSCF9457.JPG



Now I have the best of both worlds - one wide angle, and one with lots of throw ;)
Will
 

Vinniec5

Enlightened
Joined
May 4, 2009
Messages
506
Location
New Jersey
That light with the new lens in it reminds me of the Death-Ray eye from The War of the Worlds:popcorn: The original one LOL

Nice mod, Like the wider beam for a work light
 

wquiles

Flashaholic
Joined
Jan 10, 2005
Messages
8,459
Location
Texas, USA, Earth
Absolutely - very helpful.

Here I used it to light the wiring terminal and motor during my VFD conversion:
DSCF9287.JPG


DSCF9288.JPG



Mind you that I had full lighting in the "shop", but you still had some dark spots because of shade, so with this little light it was easy to get light exactly where I needed it for the job ;)
 

Speedball

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Messages
73
What a perfect light for my stereo system, want to sell it?

The wider softer light is seems great compared to the original by a long shot.
 

donn_

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Messages
8,067
Location
Great South Bay, LINY
Very interesting mod.

A question:

When it's sitting on one of your machines, is it susceptible to vibration while the machine is running?
 

wquiles

Flashaholic
Joined
Jan 10, 2005
Messages
8,459
Location
Texas, USA, Earth
What a perfect light for my stereo system, want to sell it?

The wider softer light is seems great compared to the original by a long shot.

I did not build them with the intention to make more for sale, but to recoup the the cost of the parts, and then my own labor I would have to charge close to $100-120 for them, so I think these would be too expensive to offer for sale.


Very interesting mod.

A question:

When it's sitting on one of your machines, is it susceptible to vibration while the machine is running?

I leave them all of the time in the lathe and milling machine. There is nothing loose in them - all parts are screwed together, so I don't anticipate any problems. The neck is flexible enough to turn/position with one hand, but it simply stays put - I am really happy with them.
 
Last edited:
Top