"Angled Head" Military flashlight conversions

[FLHunter3006]

I have a couple of the "Angled Head" military flashligts issued to the military, that a buddy from the Air Force gave me a few years ago.
How can I make them brighter? Are LED's available for them? Are they still issued to the military? I kind of like the filters and the spare bulb feature in them....

Thanks,

Emilio

 

[Flash_Gordon]

Yes, they are still made and issued. Fulton flashlight has been making them for at least 40 years. They are MX-991/U. Yon can have them in OD, black, camo, gray or tan.

Electro Lumens used to do an LED mod on them. Do not know if he still does but you can check, here: http://elektrolumens.com/AngleLux/AngleLux.html

They are not very bright lights, but there are a couple things that are easy to do.

Replace the stock bulb with a xenon lamp. WallyWorld or Ace Hardware has them. This makes a huge improvement.

Replace the clear plastic lens with glass. 43mm and a little hard to find but worth it. Most of the original plastic lenses are beat and are not very efficient in the first place.

The stock reflectors are not great, but I have not run across a better one that fits.

Mark

 

[marcspar]

Wayne at Electrolumens makes really great mods out of them using one or two luxeonIII's in individual reflectors.

I would see if you can get some ideas from that....

http://elektrolumens.com/AngleLux/AngleLux.html

It sounds like a fun project!

Marc


edit: Mark with a (K) beat me to it!

 

[Lunal_Tic]

Here's a mod to a mod but you could do it from scratch as well. Angle Lux w/ Mc38 reflector.

The easiest would probably be an EverLED replacement for your bulb. It's not that bright but eliminates the frailties of the bulb and gives you longer runtime too.

-LT

 

[pizzaman]

These flashlights are soooo retro, and at first glance quite boring, but I love them! They are rugged, reliable, upgradeable, and affordable. 4 for 4! I can clip it to my belt or jacket for hands free walking. I can set it down and aim it for maximum effect in a latrine. It has a hook on the bottom to allow for hanging or lanyards. If I were to lose or destroy one, little sleep would be lost. I cannot say the same for my treasured SF A2.

Here's what I did with my "Angle Heads":

The first thing I did was pull the stock bulb and upgrade to krypton. Nice! Maybe I'll try xenon for the longer bulb life.

I do not use these for throw, but prefer them to provide a wide swath of light while walking or working. I needed a wider, smoother beam. The loooong bezel on this thing makes for a tunnel beam, limiting spill. Maybe a positive on the battle field, but not what I needed. I unscrewed the extension bezel from the front of the reflector and put the end bezel back on. Instant wider beam!

Still wanting more flood (and reduction in beam artifacts) I tried the included faceted lens. Hated it!. It creates it's own nasty artifacts. The white semi-opaque lens kills too much light. It would be good when needing minimal lighting, but for general use is a poor solution. I took the stock clear lens and applied clear contact paper/film to the inside. This was an ideal setup for a flood light. I am pleased with the results.

When EverLED decides to drop their prices on that fine bulb I will snap one up and finish my upgrade. Brighter, longer running and nearly indestructable bulb. (I will still keep a krypton or xenon spare bulb in the base as cheap insurance).
Long live the humble angle head!!! :rock:

TR

 

[ABTOMAT]

I'm not sure I'd want to do any costly mod to an angle-head. The switches start getting a little iffy after a while. Takes some swtiching on and off before it'll make a steady beam.

 

[Unicorn]

I don't remeber who makes them, but there are som generic PR based LED conversions around. Will fit any light that uses a PR based bulb. Maybe not much brighter, but great for a long runtime.

 

[Lunal_Tic]

Unicorn,

One of the PR LED units of which you speak is listed/linked in my previous post. It's called an EverLED. There are a couple of others out there but the EverLED was "flavor of the month" for quite a while when they came out.

-LT

 

[pizzaman]

Quote: "The switches start getting a little iffy after a while. Takes some switching on and off before it'll make a steady beam".

I give my flashlights a good work over before putting them in use. I pull the flashlight apart as far as is practical. I put some Penetrox (electrical joint compound) on a Q-tip and rub it into all the electrical contacts. I want to get the stuff in the pores of the metal and polish off any oxidation. It is left with a barely visible film. I treat every mechanical contact that I can reach. The center contact in the body required needle nose pliers holding a q-tip. Look carefully at the flashlight and mentally follow the entire circuit to be sure you don't miss any critical contacts. I also do this to the top and bottom of the batteries. On the bulb I only treat the bottom contact, not the body, so I don't get any goo on the bulb itself. Instead of doing the body of the bulb I do the contact area inside the rear base of the reflector. For switches I use a non petroleum base silicone spray. This lubes the parts to reduce wear and prevent oxidation. I may tweak any springs a bit (especially those behind the reflector) to ensure positive contact. That's it!

I have treated many flashlights this way and have never had to shake them or fiddle with the switch to get full lighting capability instantly. My angle-heads are no exception.

I grabbed one of my angle-heads this morning and gave it the full treatment including fresh batteries, and contact paper diffuser on the lens. I found a nice maglite 2D xenon bulb to replace the krypton. The krypton bulb went into the base as a spare. What can I say, I like it. Inexpensive, nice wide smooth hotspot with plenty of spill. It is a great work light.

When the EverLed becomes more reasonably priced it will replace the xenon.

It's not sexy, more like a hard working homely wife. She gets the job done without a lot of fuss or further attention needed. :naughty:

TR

 

[Unicorn]

Unicorn,

One of the PR LED units of which you speak is listed/linked in my previous post. It's called an EverLED. There are a couple of others out there but the EverLED was "flavor of the month" for quite a while when they came out.

-LT

I realised that a little while later. It hit me that it was your post that reminded me of them. Somedays my mind just doesn't want to work in any way, shape or form.

 

[Lunal_Tic]

No worries. Brain fade hits me with increasing regularity too.

Also I'm not certain people can tell when I make links that are only one word. I'm using the alternative CPF color scheme and links are the same color just underlined making them hard to see IMO. I'm just hoping that it shows better in the default colors.

-LT