Handheld light build/upgrade requests..

[joethefish]

Hi all posted a while back about making a canister light for myself.. sadly life (getting wed) etc got in the way. Now im back and in dire need of a new light, being a fool like most I fancy making or modding something.
Anyway my requirements are below..

500+ lumen
Tight narrow beam
Min 3hr battery life (pref. with little loss of output)
Handheld size

So im thinking of using something like this..
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.36030
(SSC-p7 drop in module)

and either modding it into one of my existing under powered hand helds or maybe customising something else as the lamp body.. (mag lite perhaps?)

Anyway thoughts on the above drop in module or alternatives appreciated as are thoughts suggestions on what batterys will likely give me my desired burn times..
Oh I also have a UK SL4(led) and SL6 and a couple of miniQ40 led's that are up for being butchered..

Thanks in advance
Joe

 

[AnAppleSnail]

The established modders like PackHorse and so on will want to know what sort of dives you'll use this on:

Depth: How water-resistant must it be?
Water conditions: Clear, murky, etc

That reflector won't give you a tight beam.

 

[joethefish]

Sorry should of thought, lol. Ok conditions are UK so vis generally from 1-10m plenty of particles too :shakehead. It will be used while freedive spearfishing so depth rating 30m although more/higher is always a bonus safety wise.
Use will be predominantly night with occasional hole inspection during the day.
I had worries on that reflector too although reflector is fairly easily changed but alternative bulb driver combinations happily looked at..
Cheers
Joe

 

[jspeybro]

Depending on what batteries you are going to use, the driver of that dropin (if it has one) only accepts up tp 4.2V which is maybe to limited, e.g. if you want to use batteries that are connected in series.

I haven't used them, but have a look at the boards that have 3 or 4 cree XPG leds. The leds are smaller so easier to focus. The led itself produces some 300 lumen depending on bin and how hard it is driven.
There are lenses available for these boards.
link: http://www.cutter.com.au/products.php?cat=Cree+XPGadvantage is that they don't need to be driven at 2.8A.

based on your requirements, I think the ultrafire w200 might be a good starting point for modding.

Johan

 

[Packhorse]

A modified W300 ultrafire makes for an excellent host. Either hand held or can light.
The stock reflector is pretty good and you can use a number of high out put LEDs.
I have made a MC-E and a SST-50 version and a SST-90 version is on the way.

 

[joethefish]

Thanks Packhorse, I will look at your builds for some inspiration.. If I go with a W300 handheld what batteries do you suggest? (obviously it will depend slightly on my choice of LED and driver) but is it possible to get both my required Lumen output and my required 3hour+ burn time on full power inside that host?
As for using the Cree bulbs I do like them but am wary of using multiple LED's as I do want as tight a spot and little flood as possible and guessing multiple LED's will make this difficult.
Anyone got any thoughts on modifying one of my current lights..
My Underwater Kinetics SL6 seems the most likely candidate, the light head seems similar size to a W2/300 although I have never seen any of those in the flesh and the battery compartment holds 6 'C' size cells although in a 3x3 side by side configuration.
Cheers
Joe

 

[Klem]

A thought...

While you are tinkering with your 500Lumen main light that UK SL4 of yours can be modded for a decent back-up with very little effort.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6090

A drop-in replacement Cree XR-E LED head like this fits perfectly into the UK, replacing the incandescent housing.

You will need a metal collar for the LED to sit in and make electrical contact with the side. A bicycle hadnlebar spacer will do nicely, or you can hacksaw the discarded aluminium reflector to do the same (you're going to discard it anyway).

 

[joethefish]

Cool cheers for the heads up.. might drop one in my SL6 if I dont use it as a housing for my main light.. my SL4 is already a LED one.. unless the Cree drop in offers much of an upgrade over that??

 

[Klem]

UK advertises their LED version of the SL4 as 116 lumens. You can get 180 lumens+ out of the Surefire drop-in's. For a few dollars and little effort on the side while working on your main torch it's certainly worth considering, and capacity/run-time will not be an issue with 4 C Cells.

The SL4 is a nice compact size for a back-up, but the SL6 is staring to get a decent size in the hand and BC pouch. With the same replacement drop-in's you wouldn't be getting any brighter output from your SL6, just longer glow time. For something the size of a UK SL6 I would be wanting much more light...which is where your original 500+ lumen main-torch comes in!