So I read about how easy it was to upgrade the Myo XP to the Seoul P4. I decided to give it a try with 2 Seoul P4 stars I had purchased from Fred Pilon in the buy/sell area.This is the first flashlight I have ever tried to upgrade. Main reason being that I use this Myo XP headlamp the most, but often wished it were a little brighter. This is my first upgrade of any flashlight type device.
I also have an old Myo3 halogen/3LED that I NEVER used. Once you get used to LED's, filament lights just don't cut it anymore. Plus the 3 LED's it came with were terrible in color and focus. While the Myo3 was MUCH cheaper than the MyoXP long ago when I got it, it had a MUCH better battery box and strap setup than the MyoXP. Guess what, the Myo3 bracket is the "exact" same as the MyoXP's. Just a different color. Look at the battery box, so much tougher than the regular MyoXP's. Spring loaded water resistant cap, hard shell box..
First I had to both head units out of the headband brackets. Petzl uses these funky plastic one-way screws that remind me of bathroom stall screws. How will I get them off?
I made a high tech tool out of two nails and a piece of wood!
Just turn the plastic head 180 degrees and it pops loose. I cut the Myo3's power cord off and removed the head unit. Did the same to the MyoXP.
Once I had the MYOXP unit out and apart, I noticed this POS piece of thin aluminum that Petzl considers a heatsink.. In addition, there is way too much heatsink paste in there. Took me forever to get all the excess off (too much actually hinders heat conduction). Once I got the circuits out, I hooked up 4 brand AA alkalines to the unit to see if it would work. Just enough to light the lights up. Didn't want to overheat it since it was apart. Worked like a charm with 4 AA's. All functions worked.
I then desoldered the power wires and the Luxeon. In there place went the new Seoul P4 and the wires to the Myo"3"'s battery box and headbacnd/bracket. A quick test and everything was working.
Knowing I was gonna be driving it hard, I had to do something about the heat. That POS thin piece of aluminum wasn't gonna cut it. Time for the dremel tool! I held the back piece in my hand and using a diamound round bit, took out all the posts and bumps and any excess that was in the way. If I had not intended on making my own heatsink, I would have run into the issue of spacing with the original heatsink. The backplate on the Seoul star was much thinner than the original Luxeon. The posts would have kept the original heatsink off the back of the LED by about 1mm. I would have had to modify the aluminum plate or the posts. Since I had a custom heatsink in mind, I just tore the thin posts off with some pliers.
Then I took an old aluminum heatsink (about 5mm thick) off the southbridge on an old PC motherboard and cut it down to size and shape so it would fit in snugly. I first cut the sides so it would slip in, and then I ground it down little by little, until putting the backpiece on squeezed the heatsink very tightly onto the back of the Seoul LED. The tighter it was, the better heat would be conducted off the LED star backing.
Compare the two. My southbridge cut heatsink has much more surface area and at least 5 times as much material volume, even though it looks smaller.
The heatsink has hollows in it and I made a area that the heat sensor would fit into so it would be dead center of the LED area and in contact with the custom heatsink's bottom plate. With a thin skin of silicon heatsink paste (nothing special like Artcic Silver) on the back of the led and on the heat sensor, I reassembled. The heatsink is held TIGHT against the back of the LED so it will conduct heat much better than the 1/16 inch glob it came as.
To get the plastic bracket screws back on, just snap on and then turn until you here a loud 'click"
Here is the finished product:
Heat sink is working well, I can feel it get warm. If I blow in the bottom drain hole so that the air comes out the back two air holes, you can definately feel hotter air come out. This is good, means the heatsink is conveying heat out of LED. Time will tell if the heatsink can keep it cool enough, but so far seems ok. Light is MUCH brighter. Med is as bright the old high (if not brighter). No color shifting that I can tell. Hotspot is much wider and floodier.
Just a little heavier, but better balanced with the better headband and so much brighter, especially on the 20 sec turbo mode!
I also have an old Myo3 halogen/3LED that I NEVER used. Once you get used to LED's, filament lights just don't cut it anymore. Plus the 3 LED's it came with were terrible in color and focus. While the Myo3 was MUCH cheaper than the MyoXP long ago when I got it, it had a MUCH better battery box and strap setup than the MyoXP. Guess what, the Myo3 bracket is the "exact" same as the MyoXP's. Just a different color. Look at the battery box, so much tougher than the regular MyoXP's. Spring loaded water resistant cap, hard shell box..
First I had to both head units out of the headband brackets. Petzl uses these funky plastic one-way screws that remind me of bathroom stall screws. How will I get them off?
I made a high tech tool out of two nails and a piece of wood!
Just turn the plastic head 180 degrees and it pops loose. I cut the Myo3's power cord off and removed the head unit. Did the same to the MyoXP.
Once I had the MYOXP unit out and apart, I noticed this POS piece of thin aluminum that Petzl considers a heatsink.. In addition, there is way too much heatsink paste in there. Took me forever to get all the excess off (too much actually hinders heat conduction). Once I got the circuits out, I hooked up 4 brand AA alkalines to the unit to see if it would work. Just enough to light the lights up. Didn't want to overheat it since it was apart. Worked like a charm with 4 AA's. All functions worked.
I then desoldered the power wires and the Luxeon. In there place went the new Seoul P4 and the wires to the Myo"3"'s battery box and headbacnd/bracket. A quick test and everything was working.
Knowing I was gonna be driving it hard, I had to do something about the heat. That POS thin piece of aluminum wasn't gonna cut it. Time for the dremel tool! I held the back piece in my hand and using a diamound round bit, took out all the posts and bumps and any excess that was in the way. If I had not intended on making my own heatsink, I would have run into the issue of spacing with the original heatsink. The backplate on the Seoul star was much thinner than the original Luxeon. The posts would have kept the original heatsink off the back of the LED by about 1mm. I would have had to modify the aluminum plate or the posts. Since I had a custom heatsink in mind, I just tore the thin posts off with some pliers.
Then I took an old aluminum heatsink (about 5mm thick) off the southbridge on an old PC motherboard and cut it down to size and shape so it would fit in snugly. I first cut the sides so it would slip in, and then I ground it down little by little, until putting the backpiece on squeezed the heatsink very tightly onto the back of the Seoul LED. The tighter it was, the better heat would be conducted off the LED star backing.
Compare the two. My southbridge cut heatsink has much more surface area and at least 5 times as much material volume, even though it looks smaller.
The heatsink has hollows in it and I made a area that the heat sensor would fit into so it would be dead center of the LED area and in contact with the custom heatsink's bottom plate. With a thin skin of silicon heatsink paste (nothing special like Artcic Silver) on the back of the led and on the heat sensor, I reassembled. The heatsink is held TIGHT against the back of the LED so it will conduct heat much better than the 1/16 inch glob it came as.
To get the plastic bracket screws back on, just snap on and then turn until you here a loud 'click"
Here is the finished product:
Heat sink is working well, I can feel it get warm. If I blow in the bottom drain hole so that the air comes out the back two air holes, you can definately feel hotter air come out. This is good, means the heatsink is conveying heat out of LED. Time will tell if the heatsink can keep it cool enough, but so far seems ok. Light is MUCH brighter. Med is as bright the old high (if not brighter). No color shifting that I can tell. Hotspot is much wider and floodier.
Just a little heavier, but better balanced with the better headband and so much brighter, especially on the 20 sec turbo mode!
!
