Cateye Triple Shot Pro - electrics?

Hi CP Forums,

I created an account especially to ask this question of your experts:
I've gotten my hands on an old Triple Shot Pro (EL830RC) headunit - I don't have the battery back or charger.
From my extensive googling, I've discovered the older, NiMH powered Triple Shot had some kind of electronics (presumably the driver for the emitters) attached to the battery pack.
I assumed this design would be similar to the Pro version (Li-Ion battery, but otherwise near-identical) - but an elec. eng. friend believes the remote switch on the head unit is performing both switching (brightness settings) and acting as the driver for the emitters (3 in series, presumably Luxeon IIIs, like the non-pro version?).
I have had the whole headunit hooked up to a 700mA constant current source, which seemed to work fine (but wasn't overly much brighter than my 2.4W halogen).
Can anyone confirm or deny my friends suspicions? I just don't want to hook it straight to a battery only to find out the remote switch doesn't stop the emitters melting. :laughing:

I don't know anything about the Triple Shot, other than that I thought it was really cool when it came out on the market!

Didn't someone here have a thread on modding the Triple Shot? Or was it on MTBR, in the DIY section?
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-diy-do-yourself/

Yeah, it would have made sense for the battery pack to have the driver next to the control switch.

So what was your plan?? Just put new NiMH in the battery pack and go? Or install a Li-ion system and go with a driver like the Buck Puck family of switchers? Or maybe drop some modern LEDs in it? With decent LEDs, it definitely ought to overwhelm a 2.4W halogen. Heck, I modded an old Cateye Micro II with a single Cree XR-E and it is an incredible improvement over the original 2.4W halogen configuration.

edit: hey, here's the MTBR thread on the Triple Shot mod:
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-diy-do-yourself/cateye-hl-el700rc-triple-shot-review-mod-408260.html

Yep, seen that thread already - infact that's what informed me that non-pro version had the driver in the battery pack.
ATM I just want to get it up and running, if I've got a battery system and some kind of driver I ought to be able to change out emitters down the track if I need/want more light.
I was planning (loosely) on some kind of lithium, for weight and simplicity's sake (2 cells instead of 6+), but I haven't really tackled that knowledge hurdle yet.

If it helps at all, here's some linkage / spec for the model I'm talking about:
http://www.shopcateye.com/product/triple-shot-pro-hl-el830rc
Li-Ion, 7.4V, 4600mAh
_GUESSING_ Luxeon III's @ 700mA (as per TS non-pro)

I think that it's exactly the same as in normal TripleShot (they only have changed battery) - so in the head you have only 3 leds connected in series. Driver is buck type and it's external.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?196672

In that case the best solution is to buy 14,4V li-ion battery pack + buck driver - you will find most of the stuff here :
http://www.batteryspace.com/packswtrail-techfemaleplug.aspx

It's an easiest but quite expensive solution :shakehead, the cheaper one will be 8,4V battery pack + some boost driver :
battery pack 8,4V 4400 mAh
http://dx.com/p/4400mah-external-battery-pack-with-pouch-for-sku-29489-30864-4-18650-32756?item=12
some cables
http://dx.com/p/5-4mm-male-to-female-extension-cable-for-sku-29489-30864-100cm-32751
driver
http://dx.com/p/regulated-3-mode-q3-q5-3-led-driver-circuit-board-for-diy-flashlight-5-8-4v-128093

Here is a mod I did to a Tripleshot but it did require a new battery and charger
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?270295-1800-lumen-Cateye-Tripleshot&highlight=

it was before the XMLs so now I would do a similar config and use a Taskled LFlex and 2 MXLs
with a 7.4 V Li ion battery .

i have a cateye doubleshot that i hacked.

the battery is 10 NiMH cells and the driver is 700mA on the battery back. It is very convenient, I re-allocated the battery to a different headlight since it has the driver on board. i reused the doubleshot housing for a dynamo headlight.

if you are unsure of the arrangement for your cateye pro, take the battery pack out of the neoprene sleeve, everything is very well marked. batteries are 2700mAh (i was surprised they were such a high capacity for such an old light) and the driver is also marked as 700mA. I could not image the pro model would be a whole lot different.

I had no regrets modifying the headlight since the beam pattern/optics were so incredibly terrible.

Modded my old tripleshot with ssc p4 leds and upgraded reflectors a couple years back but never messed with batts or drivers. IIRC the driver is mounted to the battery pack, it is definately not in the head though.

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