Is this worth modding? 1rst timer

[roverjohn]

Hello all, first post. I have this lame Cabella's 2xcr123 1 watt light with the greenest output possible. And to think I paid probably $50 for it. Anyone have any ideas for someone's first mod knowing that I want to end up with a useable light and not something to knock down satelites with.

 

[roverjohn]

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h263/johnsbmw/P0003578.jpg

this should be a better link and I have no idea why I can't post it into the text.
Sorry, John

 

[bombelman]

 

[bombelman]

Place the link to the image between

tags

Cheers !

 

[roverjohn]

Thanks guys I guess I forget the [/img] parts which there is no point doing now as bombelman already has. It's really amazing how lame this light is so I hope someone has an idea for it. If it can be made into something that will run on a single AA that would be cool. I have enough machining ability to do the sleaving and extending stuff.
John...

 

[bombelman]

Running a 1~3w lux from an AA-cell it not impossible, but you would have to find the circuit for these. These are being offered in many lights, but intil now, no one has been able to sell these inividual boards to the public yet...

You might be better off with a 1 cell (R)CR123 config, which is my personal favorite.

Is this light worth modding ? Not sure... If you wanna go cheap, you can get a new Lux, or even Cree light with more brightness and throw for less then you would pay to mod this light... It all depends on personal taste and if money is an issue or not...

I had a "Smarfire" 2x123 5W led light. One of the cheap ones.
However, I did like the form-factor and the body-shape...
It also had a star, so I just replaced the Lux-Star with a Cree star.
I don't use the 2x123 config, but run it on a 17670 3.6v cell.
The Cree is well-sinked and runs Direct-drive. These is place for a regulator
board, but not yet sure if it's worth it... I can always remove the star
from the light if I need it for something else... The light had a resistor,
which you need to bypass to run led in DD...

Cheers man !

2x123 model...

This is the 3xAAA model, however, the rest is similar.
Notice the replaceable star...

 

[Illum]

first of all, look at its design, then ask yourself

1. does it have a properly sized heatsink? if not is there space behind it for expansion, or perhaps a space for converter?
2. Is the design water-resistant? If not is there ways to make it water resistant? [probably not that important]
3. how thick is the body? [thickness usually gives you the option of boring to fit other cells, if made for cr123a, a little boring will allow it to fit 18650s, that kinda stuff]

I dont remember seeing this light from cabelas...but a simple mod would be to remove the existing led and replace it with a nicer tint. If its $50 i'd expect some type of regulation circuitry in it. if so, locate another emitter with near or if possible the same voltage requirements and glue it back in with artic alumina thermal adhesive and there you go...

 

[roverjohn]

[IMG]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h263/johnsbmw/PIC00070.jpg[/IMG]

While I was waiting to see if there would be any replies I unscrewed the reverse nut holding the lamp assy in place thinking it might just fall out but no luck. That ring is probably a way to heatsink the lamp to the case. The case is about 1.5 times the diameter of the cr123 so there's probably room for a bore but maybe I'll just try to make a longer body so I can use 4 AA or AAA NIH batteries so at least it's rechargable. The head assy has a side clicker switch so just about any body will work. Here's another pic.
Thanks for the ideas, John....

 

[CM]

Since you got the head apart, the cheapest upgrade is to replace the LED with something brighter like a Seoul P4.

 

[roverjohn]

where would I get one of those?

 

[bombelman]

9 bucks ea. here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=146284

 

[roverjohn]

thank you. I just did a "before" beam shot. If I don't pop the new emitter I'll be back.
John...

edit: seoul P4 it will be

 

[bombelman]

Above link I posted was for Cree emitters.

Links to Seoul leds are here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=148921
and here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=151476

Another Cree source with different tints here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=147611

 

[roverjohn]

Alrighty, I just pulled the head apart and all there was inside was a switch and a 51ohm resister. No regulator or anything. If I remove the resistor and the board it's on I could probably stack four or five dimes in that new space so is there a regulator that would fit in that space? Also, The disc that the emitter is mounted to is .825" dia and .155" thick. It's mostly solid aluminum with just the top lathed out enough for a thin PCB to fit into to keep the + terminal away from the case. The rest of the disc is both heatsink and neg terminal. Does someone like the Sandwich Shop sell a regulator that would drive a P4 or does anyone else have any other ideas to use this flashlight?
Thanks, John...

 

[chesterqw]

i think there is enough space for a driver.

the p4 can run from luxeon drivers too i believe.

a downboy converter should work pretty well

this link, and choose the resistor configuration for downboy 1000.

and have the resistors soldered too, since then soldering yourself is a pain in the 455.