Is this headlamp likely to be rubbish?

[ausbump]

I was looking at this headlamp on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/3-WATT-LUXEO...7QQihZ015QQcategoryZ83552QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Is it likely to be cheap rubbish? Or are they 'ok'?

I've got several old school headtorches. I have been considering converting my 4AA one (with incand bulb) to incand + single very bright LED, but this looks ok in the meantime.

Any ideas?

 

[Pellidon]

Looks Princeton Tec inspired. Worst case is the LED is a counterfiet Luxeon and/or not heat sinked properly. My PT is kind of old, one watt, yellow green side emitter and in need of an upgrade.

Can't be too much rubbish if it can be worked on.

 

[ausbump]

Can't be too much rubbish if it can be worked on.

Indeed. I think it looks ok - but i might need to check everything inside is 'ok' before burning it too hard. Might even be a good candidate for an incan drop in, so it can be dual led/incan.

With my other headlamp - is there some way to make a 'flip flop' switch so that each time it is powered on a different light is selected (e.g. led/incan).

EDIT: To say it is princeton tech inspired may be an understatement!
http://www.icebike.org/Equipment/testedonice.htm

 

[Enzo Morocioli]

Hey there,
I have that exact headlamp..
The headband is pretty tight, the straps are adjustable, but i have the one that goes across my head fully extended ant it is still fairly uncomfortable..and my head isn't that big...
The beam from the "3watt luxeon" is pretty useless as a headlamp..its a very narrow spot, that isn't too bright, and the one i have is a kind of nasty blue/purple color...
the 3 5mm leds are very purple, and don't offer very much flood...

I've opened one up, it is difficult to mod.. the luxeon is just an emitter, soldered by the tabs to a small metal drum.. There is NO heat-sinking, it is entirely plastic!.. don't waste your money on this.. get something a bit more expensive and you'll be much better off.

 

[ausbump]

Ok. Pity i bought one
Are you sure it's the same? The side strap is very clearly adjustable from the picture (has an adjustor thing on it that i can see).
It may have some potential as a source of electronics to implant into my other good petz headlamp.

Now i have buyer remorse. At least, i guess if it's any better than your description i'll be happy

 

[TMorita]

I think I've seen it before. Search for "dae" and "headlamp" in this forum.

Toshi

 

[ausbump]

Thanks. There was some interesting information on it. Looks really cheap inside. I might have a go at modding it to be a little better. Perhaps a cree mod - we'll see
Also have a similar incan headlamp that i can cannabalise to make one good one.

 

[yellow]

there are several overall flaws imho:

actual leds are this strong, they eat any incan You can put inside, better stay with Cree/SSC only.
that runtime here is a joke, but just lets assume there is some kind of regulation inside: 3 cells means, more-or-less, what goes out of the cells, goes directly into the led. 25 hours steady output (on 2200 mA Ni-Mhs) would be a draw of 88 mA per hour --> nothing "1 W" or "3 W" at all.
Most likely the light will be "direct drive", starts relatively bright, dims up very much while the 1st 5-10 mins, a bit less much for the next 1/2 hour and from about 1 hour runtime on, that reduction in output gets lesser and lesser, improving runtime.

If You take this lamp as a housing for a mod, use most parts (with that reflector, a SSC would be better suited than a cree), make a good heatsink for the led and a a multistage circuit that can drive the led on 700-800 mA on max, You get a 3 hours runtime on high and more on the lower levels.

PS: light looks good for starting modding, much room inside the head, 3 AAs, good weight balance, ...

 

[ausbump]

Thanks,
I have started a new thread which is more relevant than the title of this one.
Would love your input!

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=165586