Help identifying a Wilcox Industries lam light

[chrisSF]

Howdy!

I was hoping you all could help me with identifying a light bulb and then dispense some advice to me

I recently got a vintage Wilcox industries lam unit. Two of them in fact so i was able to see what was done differently or missing. Both flashlight units had two very different bulbs.

Bulb A below has no markings. The manual says it's supposed to be a 5-volt quartz halogen bulb. I really like this bulb size compared to bulb B. Can I still buy this bulb and is there a name or a number that I should look for?

Bulb B below has markings it is a Mag+3cell HK 1L2. Is this in fact a 5 volt quartz halogen bulb? Are both bulbs about the same lumens? I can't see a difference in brightness.

Would there be something better made today, perhaps LED? Something that would work without modification or risk to circuitry inside? The bulbs simply slide in.

One of the Wilcox units had a spring retainer the other did not. Do you have any good sources to find a similar spring? I checked my mag mini, nope won't work. Both lights work but the one without spring doesn't work when I adjust it.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Chris

 

[Solscud007]

I'm not familiar with the details of the bulbs but would you mind posting pics of the lam unit? I love wilcox lams. How much were they?

 

[chrisSF]

The price range of the Wilcox units is crazy. There is no rhyme or reason to it. One guy I talked to on HKpro bought his unit for less than $650. He bought a MK23 mount and 2nd gen laser set on ebay for $450 and then someone contacted him via ebay for a flashlight for $150. The same set up owned by a different person recently sold for $3500 on Gunbroker. What's even more rare is the infrared model. So it could fetch a bunch more. The IR versions had restricted sales to civilians. Wilcox Industries in 2001 ceased manufacturing completely of the series. I spent $1200 shipped for a laser set with a M16 mount. I really wanted to the infrared set but it wasn't showing up for months. The day after I bought the laser set someone on HK pro came through with a Infrared set, $1400 shipped for that. So now the laser set and M16 mount are on Gunbroker. I'm asking the high end, proceeds would help a student in college (me ).

http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=151038142

It's a VERY kick *** design. The 2nd generation had the battery mounts on the side and a LCD read out of laser blink rate as well as battery life on bottom. The flashlight bezel and a few other parts a machined metal, the gun mount cast metal, lot's of injected molded parts. One design feature is the infrared communication port. When you want the flashlight and laser on, you hit the paddle switch and the laser module sends a IR beam to the flashlight to turn on. "Fly by wireless" controls I've become obsessed with these things in the past few months. For years and years they were an obscure collectors item, very few pictures or info anywhere. I hope to make a PDF of the manual and targeting sight as well as put up a review. I also tracked prices for some time at HKpro, just search MK23 and my name is everywhere, to help potential buyers to figure out a price and budget. There are a bunch of pictures on the auction page... If you want anything specific I'll take some.

Still looking for info on the bulbs any gurus here I could try personally Any guesses on the bulb A, have you seen that bulb at home depot? I want to get another because it's soo tiny and it does the same job as bulb B. But I'd also consider a LED replacement.

Thanks

 

[chrisSF]

halp!

 

[Solscud007]

Well considering that it is a maglite bulb, you might want to look into a simple maglite led replacement. Or you could try talking to milkyspit. He is one of the experts in custom upgrades. He could build you something to fit the wilcox.

I'm a fan of the mk23 thanks to Metal Gear Solid. I only have an airsoft one. And the wolf inustries lam unit. It uses Surefire lamp assemblies.

 

[chrisSF]

Nice! I wouldn't call myself a fan of MGS but I do remember the days of playing it non stop at least the 1st one. I was reading up on the Wilcox and MGS, I think it was only used in the 1st MGS? Is that correct, any chance do you know what other lam units were used in the later games? I just have my Wilcox attached to a TM Mk23 and a KSC fake silencer. $1200 lam on a $60 pistol and $60 can. I'm thinking of making molds and making cheap resin copies so people can get a cheap Wilcox. They can always drill out the holes and put in lasers or just a prop.

With the bulb B, the mag bulb, I noticed that the light pattern is not as clean as bulb A, because of the shape of the bulb. Just a minor detail I like in bulb A.

thanks

 

[Solscud007]

Wow and I thought I was a little out there with my airsofting. People think I'm crazy for spendng hundreds of dollars on Surefire weapon lights. But at least I can use them for my real steel and Nerf haha.

Check out the incandescent threads here on CPF. Sure fire method for perfect beam. Etching cream will give you a nice beam profile.

I too have a Non blowback TM Mk23. I bought a used KSC Mk23 hardkick and that is a hand cannon.

You mentioned that you have the TM mk23, don't you have the TM silencer? It actually lowers the pitch and makes the report of the gun seem quieter. It really works well indoors. People don't know where they are being shot from. I sugges you get one. You can even swap silencer adapters to the TM pro silencer shorty. It is half as long but just as quiet.

Have you seen scans of the KSC manual? They have the history of the mk23 and nice pictures.

Oh I would be very interested in a resin cast of a wilcox lam unit. My friend is very skilled at resin recasts if you need help doing it.