Rothrandir
Flashaholic
5w \'\'x4t\'\' goncz m3 mod \'the informer\'
i don't know if many of you have been following the adventures of john goncz, but i certainly have!
in that >1000 post thread, many topics are discussed, titanium knives, handcuffs, goncz flashlights, gerbils, planet of the apes, bumper stickers, shot show, an so on.
anyway, bert had a goncz m3 from a while ago, as part of a deal where bert was to build goncz website (which never actually came to be, as goncz failed to provide information /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif). bert was promised an m5 (rechargable model), but goncz sent him the m3.
several people have posted reviews of the m3. basically, in its stock form it's barely short of shizty /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
yellow, not bright, poor reflector, poor switch, etc.
the machining was decent, but some design aspects were seriously lacking. i won't get into the details here, as i did it on the bf thread listed above, but i ended up totally revamping this thing, from switch to bulb.
here is the custom heatsink. pretty small, but there wasn't much room to work with /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
it should be plenty though /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
here's a [blurry] pic from the bottom. it was bored out to accept a downboy1200, which can be seen several pics down.
here is the light itself. the top part has been bored out completely to allow room for a heatsink and the far superior pelican reflector.
pelican reflector in head.
the stock reflector (not very reflective, and very very shallow) has been bored through to hold the pelican reflector.
the origional reflector had the threading builtin, and 2 holes for a spanner wrench were used to screw it up to the lens. i kept the outside of the reflector to accomplish the task.
from the bottom. this shows the 2 holes, and how the reflectors sit together. i beveled the bottom of the pelican reflector to more easily clear the luxeon. as this mod doesn't rely on the reflector actually sitting on a shelf (ala mclux pr), it can be modified with a slight bevel to further decrease chances of shorting.
2 coats of "hotpink electrical isolation paint" were applied just in case /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif (ok, ok, i just like the stuff /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif)
here are the reflectors inside the head. this shot shows how i had to bore the head out a little bit to accomodate the larger oring.
the oring that came with the m3 didn't even engage/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif
spent an hour in the hardware store trying to find an oring that fit.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon6.gif
here is the heatsink/led/downboy module inside the light, as seen from the tail end.
emitter attached and potted. dang potting stuff like that is hard /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
here is the "magic" of the goncz threadless focusing system. it's actually pretty neat, whodda thunkit?! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
the 2 spaces above and below are for the orings. i shortened the very top down a bit, to allow the reflector to go down far enough to engage the led.
as i said earlier, the tailcap of the light sucked. i bored it out, and pressfitted a minimag tail into it. well, it wasn't quite that easy, but you get the idea /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif
another angle...
from the inside...
there she is...
and to prove the tailcap modification works /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
what i did:
modified weak and leaky tailcap with solid and watertight tailcap (not to mention a clicky!)
replaced several orings (the stock orings were horrible, i could make better orings out of cheese)
replaced reflector
replaced bulb with 5w x4t (running on a downboy1200)
focusing still works, but it's probably not a good idea to mess around with it too much. it's got 2 screws which ride in the wavey groove, which take the head up and down. when the screws are tightened, the head will not move. it's set at perfect focus right now...
it was a huge pain in the buttcheeks to mod, but turned out very nice i think! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
bert owes me <font color="red">big time</font> /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
i'm sending it off tomorrow, so it can meet it's biological father (mr. john l. goncz), at the shot show.
boy what i wouldn't give to be there myself /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
*edit march 27 04*
since getting it back from the shotshow, i've been able to work on a better tailcap solution.
i took the end of the origional tailcap, and made a counterbore, in which i pressed a threaded piece i made from scratch. this works much better, since the threading is smoother, and it's the perfect length /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
i don't know if many of you have been following the adventures of john goncz, but i certainly have!
in that >1000 post thread, many topics are discussed, titanium knives, handcuffs, goncz flashlights, gerbils, planet of the apes, bumper stickers, shot show, an so on.
anyway, bert had a goncz m3 from a while ago, as part of a deal where bert was to build goncz website (which never actually came to be, as goncz failed to provide information /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif). bert was promised an m5 (rechargable model), but goncz sent him the m3.
several people have posted reviews of the m3. basically, in its stock form it's barely short of shizty /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
yellow, not bright, poor reflector, poor switch, etc.
the machining was decent, but some design aspects were seriously lacking. i won't get into the details here, as i did it on the bf thread listed above, but i ended up totally revamping this thing, from switch to bulb.
here is the custom heatsink. pretty small, but there wasn't much room to work with /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
it should be plenty though /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
here's a [blurry] pic from the bottom. it was bored out to accept a downboy1200, which can be seen several pics down.
here is the light itself. the top part has been bored out completely to allow room for a heatsink and the far superior pelican reflector.
pelican reflector in head.
the stock reflector (not very reflective, and very very shallow) has been bored through to hold the pelican reflector.
the origional reflector had the threading builtin, and 2 holes for a spanner wrench were used to screw it up to the lens. i kept the outside of the reflector to accomplish the task.
from the bottom. this shows the 2 holes, and how the reflectors sit together. i beveled the bottom of the pelican reflector to more easily clear the luxeon. as this mod doesn't rely on the reflector actually sitting on a shelf (ala mclux pr), it can be modified with a slight bevel to further decrease chances of shorting.
2 coats of "hotpink electrical isolation paint" were applied just in case /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif (ok, ok, i just like the stuff /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif)
here are the reflectors inside the head. this shot shows how i had to bore the head out a little bit to accomodate the larger oring.
the oring that came with the m3 didn't even engage/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif
spent an hour in the hardware store trying to find an oring that fit.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon6.gif
here is the heatsink/led/downboy module inside the light, as seen from the tail end.
emitter attached and potted. dang potting stuff like that is hard /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
here is the "magic" of the goncz threadless focusing system. it's actually pretty neat, whodda thunkit?! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
the 2 spaces above and below are for the orings. i shortened the very top down a bit, to allow the reflector to go down far enough to engage the led.
as i said earlier, the tailcap of the light sucked. i bored it out, and pressfitted a minimag tail into it. well, it wasn't quite that easy, but you get the idea /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif
another angle...
from the inside...
there she is...
and to prove the tailcap modification works /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
what i did:
modified weak and leaky tailcap with solid and watertight tailcap (not to mention a clicky!)
replaced several orings (the stock orings were horrible, i could make better orings out of cheese)
replaced reflector
replaced bulb with 5w x4t (running on a downboy1200)
focusing still works, but it's probably not a good idea to mess around with it too much. it's got 2 screws which ride in the wavey groove, which take the head up and down. when the screws are tightened, the head will not move. it's set at perfect focus right now...
it was a huge pain in the buttcheeks to mod, but turned out very nice i think! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
bert owes me <font color="red">big time</font> /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
i'm sending it off tomorrow, so it can meet it's biological father (mr. john l. goncz), at the shot show.
boy what i wouldn't give to be there myself /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
*edit march 27 04*
since getting it back from the shotshow, i've been able to work on a better tailcap solution.
i took the end of the origional tailcap, and made a counterbore, in which i pressed a threaded piece i made from scratch. this works much better, since the threading is smoother, and it's the perfect length /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
