has anyone figured out what to do about Pentagon 9 volt xenon replacement bulb assemb

[eldopa]

i have a pentagon 9 volt xenon weapon light. its a great light. i dont want to have to toss it. pentagon wont return my emails, and their phone #'s are all disconnected. i am aware that they went out due to lawsuit. i am also aware of the other thread that was started on this topic here.
there has to be an assembly out there that will work with a little shimming and tweaking. i spoke to someone at Malkoff this morning. the m60 assemblies are obviously too narrow (which can be made to work), but they are also almost 1/2" too short. so, perhaps a longer spring would work?? i have been looking around at different flashlights to find a 9 volt light that has a 1 1/4" bezel. im sure there is something out there that is close that can be made to work. intil then, i am going to keep emailing Pentagon everyday until they at least tell me to **** off..

 

[bigchelis]

Any P60 drop-in will fit. for cheap use a DX R2 or Malkoff M60 for dependability. If you use a Malkoff you need a spring at the base of the LED module and wrap the modules with aluminum foil to make it a snug fit.

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

You could always have someone make you a custom drop-in, just for your light.

 

[M@elstrom]

You could always have someone make you a custom drop-in, just for your light.

+1

Like this 'one off' production run created by wquiles found HERE, I'm continually blow away by CPF member's skills with a lathe :thumbsup:

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

I'd offer to make you one myself, but I have no toolpost until next week.

 

[eldopa]

wow.. that would be great.. perhaps a part could be made to seat a 9volt surefire assembly. then, the overall dimensions would work. im sure there are several people on the forum that have Pentagon lights and have a similar situation. it seem that it would be more worth your time if you could turn out several of them.
the dimensions of the Pentagon assembly are: 1 5/16" x 1 3/4" (including spring)...

thanx for the info guys.......

 

[Sgt. LED]

Perhaps a Pentagon specific bi-pin reflector set-up?

 

[tango44]

i have a pentagon 9 volt xenon weapon light. its a great light. i dont want to have to toss it. pentagon wont return my emails, and their phone #'s are all disconnected. i am aware that they went out due to lawsuit. i am also aware of the other thread that was started on this topic here.
there has to be an assembly out there that will work with a little shimming and tweaking. i spoke to someone at Malkoff this morning. the m60 assemblies are obviously too narrow (which can be made to work), but they are also almost 1/2" too short. so, perhaps a longer spring would work?? i have been looking around at different flashlights to find a 9 volt light that has a 1 1/4" bezel. im sure there is something out there that is close that can be made to work. intil then, i am going to keep emailing Pentagon everyday until they at least tell me to **** off..

Pm sent!

 

[gallonoffuel]

Which Pentagon light do you have? I can tell you how I modded my buddy's X3.

KD sells a reflector thats marketed as '35mm' but in reality is closer to 37mm. The base of the reflector is thread and comes with an aluminum pill where you'd typically install your driver and LED. The threads are finer than most of the P60-type dropins I've seen, so I took a file and ground down the base until I could force a Cree R2 pill in and it threaded in well enough to focus in the reflector.

I then removed the pill and filed the top of the reflector until it fit into the X3 head. The stock 9v X3 xenon lamp assembly is 34.8mm so I took off a decent chunk of the top of the reflector. I wasn't too careful but I didn't noticably destroy the OP coating on the inside.

Once the reflector fit in the head I had to get the electrical contacts to work. I replaced the stock lens with a thinner one from KD (they have a perfect 34.8mm glass lens) because my buddy is a welder and he destroyed the stock lens. I would not have gotten the bezel to screw down all the way withouy the thinner lens, but if you have a lathe you could probably turn the reflector down to fit better inside the head of the light. I had to stretch the cathode spring on the pill to make contact with the flat contact in the head of the light. I also used a spring to make the anode contact, but it took some fiddling to make it work.

I did this on a budget and the results were great. My buddy gets 3x the runtime of the stock bulb, and he runs it on 2x CR123 and a spacer now instead of 3xCR123s. He can also run 2 or 3xRCR's if he wants, run 3xCR123, run 2x17500s, whatever he wants.

The whole project cost me $25 (reflectors (2 pack), lenses (10 pack), R2 dropin, and 1xCR123 spacer.

 

[eldopa]

thanx for the info. il try it out..:thumbsup:

 

[gallonoffuel]

Thinking back on it, a 32mm reflector might have been easier, but I can't get a picture of the one KD offers so I didn't purchase it.

 

[gallonoffuel]

Ugh, I'm losing it. I just looked back through my records and need to clarify.

I used the '35mm' reflector from DX which comes in a 2-pack for around $6 (SKU 14599). The discussions at the bottom of the page mention the reflectors people are recieving are actually closer to 37mm. This was my experience as well, but for 2 for $6 I took the change and modded it. Notice how LONG the base is. This is typical of the older fine-thread dropins. The pills would screw WAY into the base.

KD has a reflector also labeled 35mm (SKU: S007676). The base looks significantly shorter. I'm going to purchase one and see if the modern R2 dropins just thread right into it. I guess I'll let you know in two weeks. I would also be curious if the advertised diameter is indeed 35mm or close to it. This would mean all you'd need to make a compatible dropin for a Pentagon X3 is a modern Cree R2 dropin, and this reflector.

The lenses I used were also from DX and are about half as thick as the stock one (SKU 10643).

 

[dudemar]

i have a pentagon 9 volt xenon weapon light. its a great light. i dont want to have to toss it. pentagon wont return my emails, and their phone #'s are all disconnected. i am aware that they went out due to lawsuit. i am also aware of the other thread that was started on this topic here.

intil then, i am going to keep emailing Pentagon everyday until they at least tell me to **** off..

They are completely out of business. Back in December 2008 they stopped selling their lights, and they continued to warranty their lights right up to the end of February 2009. I myself had a light warranted this past January. Soon after I bought another light that needed to be warranted, but they never emailed me back.

As for a replacement LA, the suggestions made are really good. It's nice to see someone finally come up with a custom mod for a PentagonLight!!!

 

[Monocrom]

As for a replacement LA, the suggestions made are really good. It's nice to see someone finally come up with a custom mod for a PentagonLight!!!

Good to see there are indeed options out there for the X3.

Got a couple of other flashlight projects I want to complete first. But it's nice to know my X3 won't just be a fancy paperweight, once the lamp burns out. (I might still ask Milky if he could turn it into an LED monster).

BTW, it's interesting that the official PL site is still up.

 

[gallonoffuel]

BTW, it's interesting that the official PL site is still up.

The PL website has been blank for weeks, every time I go to check it.

 

[dudemar]

Just the front page is down.

When you google pentagonlight there will be options underneath the first hit, such as "LED Lights", "Professional Flashlights", etc. Those are still accessible.

 

[Monocrom]

Indeed. I've got the PL official website bookmarked on my favorite model, their L2 model. It comes up every time.

 

[Rattleakak]

Which Pentagon light do you have? I can tell you how I modded my buddy's X3.

KD sells a reflector thats marketed as '35mm' but in reality is closer to 37mm. The base of the reflector is thread and comes with an aluminum pill where you'd typically install your driver and LED. The threads are finer than most of the P60-type dropins I've seen, so I took a file and ground down the base until I could force a Cree R2 pill in and it threaded in well enough to focus in the reflector.

I then removed the pill and filed the top of the reflector until it fit into the X3 head. The stock 9v X3 xenon lamp assembly is 34.8mm so I took off a decent chunk of the top of the reflector. I wasn't too careful but I didn't noticably destroy the OP coating on the inside.

Once the reflector fit in the head I had to get the electrical contacts to work. I replaced the stock lens with a thinner one from KD (they have a perfect 34.8mm glass lens) because my buddy is a welder and he destroyed the stock lens. I would not have gotten the bezel to screw down all the way withouy the thinner lens, but if you have a lathe you could probably turn the reflector down to fit better inside the head of the light. I had to stretch the cathode spring on the pill to make contact with the flat contact in the head of the light. I also used a spring to make the anode contact, but it took some fiddling to make it work.

I did this on a budget and the results were great. My buddy gets 3x the runtime of the stock bulb, and he runs it on 2x CR123 and a spacer now instead of 3xCR123s. He can also run 2 or 3xRCR's if he wants, run 3xCR123, run 2x17500s, whatever he wants.

The whole project cost me $25 (reflectors (2 pack), lenses (10 pack), R2 dropin, and 1xCR123 spacer.

I am following the guidlines you set forth in this post to convert my X-3 to Cree R2 LED, I have ordered the parts from DX. I do have a question. Will the R2 LED stand up to 5.56 weapons recoil. I would assume so as my L2 is an LED and it does just fine mounted on a 5.56? Thanks

 

[gallonoffuel]

I am following the guidlines you set forth in this post to convert my X-3 to Cree R2 LED, I have ordered the parts from DX. I do have a question. Will the R2 LED stand up to 5.56 weapons recoil. I would assume so as my L2 is an LED and it does just fine mounted on a 5.56? Thanks

Should be good, but it depends on the quality control of the dropin. If there are any cold solder joints you might have an issue. Luckily they are cheap enough to try another one if you have any problems.

 

[Monocrom]

Just a quick post to mention that the PL site no longer comes up.