Cabela's dual power headlamp upgrade?

[Germ]

I'm the official flashlight nut at work One of the guys dropped off a Cabela's dual power source rechargeable headlamp and asked if I could do something with it. This is what it looks like:

And the bulbs:

Cablela's link

I know what you are thinking, "$19.99? Forget it and get another headlamp." He has another headlamp, he just wants this one to be more usable, as in brighter. I like a challenge and I hope you all can help.

The light uses a 5v bi-pin lamp. The power sources are either 4 AA batteries or the rechargeable pack that has 5 batteries in it and says 6v. There is a smaller bi-pin lamp too (looks like it would work in a AA MagLite), but he is really only concerned with improving the larger lamp. Runtime with the large lamp is 1 hour. The light is not very bright and the beam is awful.

Can anyone think of some suitable bi-pin replacement candidates? Could there possibly be any LED bi-pins that would drop in? I suppose a LED could be directly driven by using 3 AA's and a dummy.

I checked and the reflector from a D cell MagLite will drop in perfectly if the cam is taken off. The guy said he can live without the small bulb, so using a Mag reflector might be an option for cleaning up the beam some.

I imagine this light is a re-brand. Does anyone know who makes this light?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Gunner12]

How much space do you have within that front part of the headlamp?

If there is enough space, you could place in a chunk of metal and a driver connected to a two stage clicke for high and low, or a multimode driver.

I don't know if the light is rebranded or not.

 

[Germ]

Thanks Gunner12. It is pretty roomy inside the front part. It is about as roomy as inside a D cell Mag head.

It looks like the headlamp was made by "Ultimate-Lite". The owner said it is about a year old.

Where is a good place to look for bi-pin lamps? I assembled a Mag 2C using 2 18500 batteries and a 6 cell Xenon lamp for the same guy and he likes that light. Since he likes that one that is what I'm shooting for for output with the headlamp.

 

[Gunner12]

I was actually thinking of a more maglite like mod. A heatsink, a buck driver(Multimode?) and a Seoul P4.

I don't think there are any Bi-pin drop-ins that will work for this situation.

I don't know anything about this light so everything I say is guesswork.

About the 2 18500 mod you made for him, I've think that a 5 Cell bulb would be brighter(slightly overdriven). I have a 2D light with 2 18650 batteries and the 5-Cell Maglite Magnum bulb in the light and it seems to work well, pretty white too.

A Seoul driven at around 1 amp might be close to it's(the 2 18500 mod) output.

 

[Germ]

Thanks again Gunner12. Do you have any links for the LED components and perhaps some how-to's?

I asked the guy and the budget is probably around $20 max for the upgrade. We have access to a machine shop and computer aided drafting equipment.

All the mods I've done so far have been just assemblies. I haven't done any soldering yet. I always like whatever I do to be reversable and non-destructive to the existing components.

 

[Gunner12]

Humm, $20 price range. A reversible mod of a headlamp would be hard, even with a higher budget.

Seoul P4, How does the light turn on? Clicke I presume. If yes, reverse or forward. This would help determine the driver used.

Also is it possible to upload a picture of the insides of the headlamp?

I'd suggest practicing soldering a bit before trying this mod. The 2 Weeks to a month shipping time from DX should give you enough time to practice.

 

[Germ]

Thanks Gunner12. It is a reverse clicky. The big lamp comes on first, then the little lamp, then off. Here is a pic of the inside:

 

[Gunner12]

I think a Maglite Reflector would work better since there will be less artifacts from the small reflector.

Is the switch a two stage clickie or is there a separate switch for the smaller lamp?

If it is a normal on-off clickie, that would make it easier to change modes. If not, then there would have to be some way to work around that(Two LEDs?).

I think a correctly sized metal disc would work as a heatsink.

 

[Germ]

There is one switch for both bulbs. It is a reverse clicky. First the big bulb comes on, then the small bulb, then off.

If I go with LED's I was thinking to replace the small bulb with a red LED or maybe a white one. Could the small LED be direct driven by the 4 cells, or would that overdrive it too much?

What circuit would you recommend for the big LED?

The owner was probably thinking that I would just replace the big lamp with a more powerful bi-pin lamp. I could go for that too as it would be a simpler upgrade. Maybe frost the bulb to cut down on artifacts.

 

[Gunner12]

6V will be too much for a single die LED. So you can't direct drive the LED.

Kaidomain does have more powerful 6V bulbs, but you'll also get shorter runtime. First page of the Flashlight DIY.

If you want to surprise him with LEDs, this driver(Or this one if you don't need four drivers) with a Seoul P4 should work fine as the main bulb replacement. Maybe two 5mm white LEDs in series as the small lamp replacement.

 

[jzmtl]

Mod the battery pack to 12 volts and put in a bi pin halogen bulb (the type for desk lamps)? They come in from 10 up to 50w.

 

[mdocod]

Um.... I have a diffrent solution to this...

My gut tells me a standard G4 bi-pin lamp will fit in that sucker just fine.

http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=3793

get a reflector something like that to help clean up the beam on it.

have your friend try out these:
http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=3075
run it on 3xAA NIMH (alkaline won't work here, too much current). Eneloops probably a good bet here. ..

If that doesn't satisfy, try out a Magcharger bulb on the 5 cell pack, use NIMH here to increase runtime (I assume the stock pack is a low capacity NiCd). Don't forget to replace lens with something glass if you can, as this power class might start to melt things.... If it IS a G4 bi-pin (check to see that pin spacing is about 4mm) then you have a lot of options... but some of them might be too much for what that little plastic housing can handle... theoretically, 1500+ bulb lumens is possible there with the right bulb and enough juice. But that might be a bit overkill.

 

[Germ]

Thanks guys.

The light uses a plastic lens that doesn't appear to be replaceable. It looks like it is glued in and the has rubber molded over it.

jzmtl, what were you thinking of to modify the battery pack to 12v?

Are there any moderate output 5v bi-pin lamps? I don't think extreme output is the goal. The owner uses the light while deer and boar hunting.

 

[mdocod]

but I thought you said:

I checked and the reflector from a D cell MagLite will drop in perfectly if the cam is taken off.

 

[Gunner12]

The reason I suggested the LED mod was for good output and relatively good runtime. But yes, it might be more complex then it needs to be.

A moderate output incan, if the bulb is a G4 bulb, then this bulb might work.

 

[Germ]

but I thought you said:

Sorry mdocod, I wrote "reflector" in my last post when I meant to write "lens". I must not be getting enough sleep. The reflector pops right out and can be seen in the pic showing the insides of the light. The lens is plastic and doesn't look like it is removeable.

Gunner12, using LED's is a fantastic idea, but may be out of my league. I'm definately thinking about it though.

 

[jzmtl]

jzmtl, what were you thinking of to modify the battery pack to 12v?

I was just thinking out loud. But now that I thought about it again, the heat from halogen bulb would be unbearable if it's right on your forehead, so that idea is out.

 

[grundan]

i know this is an old thread but, i have this same light and was wondering what size the small bulb is and a good place to order them

 

[Germ]

grundan, If you just want to replace the small bulb with the stock one it looks like Cabela's still sells the large and small bulb together for $2.99:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...&rid=&parentType=&indexId=cat20160&hasJS=true

I haven't done anything on this project because of Christmas. I took a look at the large bulb, and duh, it says 6V 5W on it. If I wanted to keep the headlamp incandescent it looks like a 6 volt 7.5 watt lamp from a Princeton Tec Surge or Torrent would work ($6.95 at Brightguy). lightbulbemporium.com has a 6 volt 6 watt and a 6 volt 8 watt G4 lamps made by Ushio for $3.50. Any more than 8 watts would probably melt the plastic reflector.

The light has a awful beam though with huge artifacts. I don't think the beam would be acceptable unless I frost the bulb, sputter the reflector, put a diffusing filter on the lens, or get an orange peeled reflector.

To really do the light right I think a LED setup would be best, I don't know if it would be worth it though. The owner told me this morning that he will probably get something else and that I could have this one if I wanted. Personally, I think I would just get something else unless I just wanted to do a project.

 

[grundan]

thanks, i should have looked there in the first place. i have went everywhere here in town i could think of looking for that small bulb and it must be an odd ball bulb or something.?

this is a cool site, ive been reading a lot on here today. thanks again