Hi guys,
I received an e-mail from a fellow CPF member with the following image attached:
Apparently this member had the great misfortune of losing their two story stucco house in a wildfire that took out a large number of homes this summer. The Haiku had been on the night stand and while sifting through the rubble in that area, it was found.
I was queried as to whether I might be able to rebuild the light. Well I have always felt that the titanium host was capable of withstanding hostile environments well beyond anything we would endure and it seemed to me that this light should be capable of being rebuilt. I took on the project and offered to rebuild it as a token contribution to this member who had lost so much!
(I didn't offer any cosmetic surgery or improvements and as most of you know, cosmetics of the lights is not a focus of mine anyway! :nana: )
Following are some images I took of the light when I received it:
There was no evidence of the switch in the rear of the light:
The window,o-rings and reflector were also gone:
The MCPCB had some evidence of where the LED had been and its isolated layer was no longer bonded to the aluminum substrate.
My biggest concern was if the head would unscrew from the pak and it came off just like on any other light would:
The light engine was still present, sort of. The nickel plated aluminum was not there in full form and what was left of the contact PCB as well as converter was just black ash and many layers of fiberglass:
The anode contact plate fell out of the pak when I took the head off and the only concern now left was if the battery would come out of the pak. It had obviously expanded length wise. I was able to easily tap it out from the rear and the pic below shows it next to a "healthy" CR123:
I cleaned up the head and pak a bit and then washed them in the sink. I followed up with putting them in a sonic cleaner for a while in order to break free any loose particles.
This light was obviously subjected to a heat treatment and oxidation process of unknown temperature and exposure to elements. Titanium is known to react to various chemicals when elevated in temperature and I suspected and confirmed that what ever this hard oxide finish is, it is not electrically conductive like a pure Ti oxide would be. So I did use a file on the lip of the pak and a diamond wheel burr in the tail where the switch passes its ground contact.
This was an original Haiku and it is now a unique and special Haiku XM-L that may well fall short in the beauty category but it works like it should!!
Incidentally, I didn't want to push my luck on the clip screws but I noticed that the clip could be shifted from side to side a but when forced. I found that both screws needed a partial turn to lock the clip down. So those threads are also fine!
I didn't name the CPF member as I respect their privacy but should they be inclined to come forth in this thread and add any comments or further information regarding the fire, they are most welcome to do so! And if they want to improve on the cosmetics of this light then perhaps one of you would be willing to provide assistance! :nana:
In my opinion the light looks great and has earned its right to be a bit "off" in the looks department!
I received an e-mail from a fellow CPF member with the following image attached:
Apparently this member had the great misfortune of losing their two story stucco house in a wildfire that took out a large number of homes this summer. The Haiku had been on the night stand and while sifting through the rubble in that area, it was found.
I was queried as to whether I might be able to rebuild the light. Well I have always felt that the titanium host was capable of withstanding hostile environments well beyond anything we would endure and it seemed to me that this light should be capable of being rebuilt. I took on the project and offered to rebuild it as a token contribution to this member who had lost so much!
(I didn't offer any cosmetic surgery or improvements and as most of you know, cosmetics of the lights is not a focus of mine anyway! :nana: )
Following are some images I took of the light when I received it:
There was no evidence of the switch in the rear of the light:
The window,o-rings and reflector were also gone:
The MCPCB had some evidence of where the LED had been and its isolated layer was no longer bonded to the aluminum substrate.
My biggest concern was if the head would unscrew from the pak and it came off just like on any other light would:
The light engine was still present, sort of. The nickel plated aluminum was not there in full form and what was left of the contact PCB as well as converter was just black ash and many layers of fiberglass:
The anode contact plate fell out of the pak when I took the head off and the only concern now left was if the battery would come out of the pak. It had obviously expanded length wise. I was able to easily tap it out from the rear and the pic below shows it next to a "healthy" CR123:
I cleaned up the head and pak a bit and then washed them in the sink. I followed up with putting them in a sonic cleaner for a while in order to break free any loose particles.
This light was obviously subjected to a heat treatment and oxidation process of unknown temperature and exposure to elements. Titanium is known to react to various chemicals when elevated in temperature and I suspected and confirmed that what ever this hard oxide finish is, it is not electrically conductive like a pure Ti oxide would be. So I did use a file on the lip of the pak and a diamond wheel burr in the tail where the switch passes its ground contact.
This was an original Haiku and it is now a unique and special Haiku XM-L that may well fall short in the beauty category but it works like it should!!
Incidentally, I didn't want to push my luck on the clip screws but I noticed that the clip could be shifted from side to side a but when forced. I found that both screws needed a partial turn to lock the clip down. So those threads are also fine!
I didn't name the CPF member as I respect their privacy but should they be inclined to come forth in this thread and add any comments or further information regarding the fire, they are most welcome to do so! And if they want to improve on the cosmetics of this light then perhaps one of you would be willing to provide assistance! :nana:
In my opinion the light looks great and has earned its right to be a bit "off" in the looks department!