My W200 (pic heavy) (edit with first mod ready)

[SUBjohan]

After seeing Packhorse's thread about the W200 I thought I'd buy one from DX.

First impression was verry good, nice build. Put in the battery's and see what happens, hmmmmz constant flickering.

So this one should be modded I am thinking Cree XR-E R2 with a 1400mA AMC (single mode driver) driven by 3 eneloops.

So lets make this thread a step by step thread, due to the fact that I am rebuilding my house as well, it is probaly going to take me some time :mecry:

So first lets open one, this is very easy.

Lets start on the battery tube side:
Looking inside the batery tube

Just take a needle-nose pliers and pull out the alu tube:

Here you can see the O-ring which camps the tube inside the housing:

And there it all is:

First thoughts:
-Spring should be mounted fixed to the tube
-Tube should be better fixed inside the housing

Next is the head:
Start with removing the large O-ring:

So the big O-ring is out:

Get those needle-nose pliers out again:

There is the heatsink, also fixed with a O-ring

Here you can carefully press out the front glass:

So there youve got it all:

Next is the led pill it self:
The led pill:

The empty head:

The inside of the led pill:

The porely mounted led (not fixed to the heatsink):

The led lose from the heatsink:

Overall shot:

Next is the search for the driver:

Surprise there is NO driver!!

So the plan for now is:

-Fix the spring to the battery tube and fixate the tube better in the housing
-Cut down the led pill so I can mount a driver (probably a AMC 1400mA)
-Make a heatsink on my lathe
-Replace the old P4 with a R2 bin led :twothumbs
-Replace all O-rings with better quality ones

Here a small (and verry fast) drawing of my to be made custom heatsink:

To be continued:

Greetz Johan

 

[SUBjohan]

Re: My W200 (pic heavy)

This is the first mod, there are more to come (R2).

W200 with a Cree MC-E
Led: Cree MC-E M-bin and WD color
Driver: none the MC-E is switched 2S2P direct drive
Power: 2x protected 14650 with 1600mAh

And now the pictures:
Making the "special" heat-sink:tinfoil:

Tada

Test fit

The original led pill needs to be shorter

I took a part of a mag for the + pole and press fitted inside the old led pill

The MC-E in its new home

I also received some more W200's these seem to have some modifications:
They don't flicker any more
There are O-rings at the head for better grip
The battery tube is a bit different

And here is my new W200

I hope I can make a night dive this friday so I can make some beam shots.

Greetz Johan

 

[SUBjohan]

Re: My W200 (pic heavy)

Reserved for beamshots (also under water )

 

[Packhorse]

Re: My W200 (pic heavy)

Just a couple of thoughts since I am a few lights ahead of you now ( Moded 6 of these so far).
Im not sure how you will mount the spring to the tube as its steel vs aluminium. Im not sure it is necessary.
As for mounting the tube in the body better I also dont this that is a concern.

Making another heat sink is not really needed. Fun to do if you have a lathe but not needed. I use a stock heat sink and cut it down. Fit a MC-E on a star to it and it works fine.

I am interested in where the flickering comes from. All the stock ones I tried have done it.

Most important thing for you to do is CHANGE ALL THE O RINGS!!
The stock ones are soft and cheap.

I dont think you are going to get a huge improvement in light output with your mods. Infact if you add a driver you may get less. But if you can get rid of the flicker and make it more water proof that alone will be well worth the effort.

 

[SUBjohan]

Re: My W200 (pic heavy)

Im not sure how you will mount the spring to the tube as its steel vs aluminium. Im not sure it is necessary.
As for mounting the tube in the body better I also dont this that is a concern.

My tube ratles a bit in the housing this is easely fixed by adding a extra O-ring

Making another heat sink is not really needed. Fun to do if you have a lathe but not needed. I use a stock heat sink and cut it down. Fit a MC-E on a star to it and it works fine.

I dont like the standard heat sink for multiple reasons:
- It does not make full contact to the head. (0,5mm of dead space on both sides) this is not good for heat conductance.
- More important the heatsink has a opening exactly at the point where the led is.

I am interested in where the flickering comes from. All the stock ones I tried have done it.

I think it is a combination of lose components, if you hit the light on the back side it works again for a couple of seconds/minutes.

Most important thing for you to do is CHANGE ALL THE O RINGS!!
The stock ones are soft and cheap.

Will do!!!

I dont think you are going to get a huge improvement in light output with your mods. Infact if you add a driver you may get less. But if you can get rid of the flicker and make it more water proof that alone will be well worth the effort.

Thats what I want, a reliable regulated back-up light.

Quote from your thread about the W200

Next required a custom LED/driver assmebly and also an aspheric lens with spacer rings. Both require use of a lathe.
I could have used the same aspheric as I did with the ISTs but decided on a 30mm aspheric instead that is capable of a 4 deg spot. The lens requires reducing its diameter which I got a local glazier to help me with. I defocued the lens alittle to give a 6 degree spot.

Overall Im pretty happy with the outcome. Its driven at 1 amp so I should get over 4 hours burn time with 2500ma cells.

What driver do you use and where did you mounted it?

Greetz Johan

 

[Packhorse]

Re: My W200 (pic heavy)

Ah. My tubes have all been tight.
I know what you mean about the heat sink. And I had the same concerns. Used it anyway and it has work fine with a P7 and MC-E. A XR-E will not be a problem. But as said if you have access to a lathe there is no reason not to make another.

I used a DX R2 drop in module. I then cut the reflector down to fit in the head and then also cut down the front of the reflector so it does not gather any light from the LED. A copper tube is then soldered to the brass pill and this protrudes down to the end of the head.

 

[SUBjohan]

First mod is ready, I like it!!! :naughty:
See post #2 for the mod.

Greetz Johan

 

[Scattergun]

Is there any chance of mounting a driver to the original heatsink? I guess it would have to be put where the PCB-contactplate is, but is there sufficient room for a normal driver for this?

 

[Packhorse]

I doubt it. It would have to be tiny as. The heat sink is 21mm OD. ID is probably 16mm?

 

[Patriot]

I don't know if it has been discussed before but the W200 seems to be the same light that AE Light is selling for 4 x the price.

http://www.aelight.com/product.php?category=24&id=158

I always liked the AE but never purchased one due to the high price. This light with the P7 mod looks fantastic though!

Btw, I'm not a diver so I was curious if you considered this to be a primary or a back-up light. I would guess it to be a back-up even with the P7 but I'm only speculating.

Thanks.

 

[Packhorse]

The W200 is a cheap copy of the AE light.
I think the AE has an aspheric lens.

I use my W200's (1 R2 and 1 MC-E) as backups but they are more than capable as primary's for most dives I do.

 

[Patriot]

Thanks Packhorse. Since I know little about dive light application what are some of the things that determine whether a light is or isn't "enough" or in your language "capable" as a primary? Obviously photography takes more light so I mean the question apart from that application.

Thank you sir.

 

[Packhorse]

If it produces enough light to use for the dive planned then its good enough for a primary light.
If it can produce enough light to get you out of trouble (eg out of a cave or wreck) if your primary light fails its good enough to be used as a back up.

Although my definition is a little simpler. A can light is a primary while a hand held is a back up.

 

[SUBjohan]

Although my definition is a little simpler. A can light is a primary while a hand held is a back up.

+1 on this one

 

[Patriot]

Thanks you guys for the interesting info. One last question if you don't mind... Are two lights always enough and could you surface without light as long as you weren't in a cave or wreck? Are your dive computers self illuminated?

 

[DM51]

Are two lights always enough and could you surface without light as long as you weren't in a cave or wreck? Are your dive computers self illuminated?

You NEVER want to be in the position of having to surface without light. Apart from anything else, you'll need a light on the surface to indicate your position. I would consider the minimum for any dive to be primary, backup, and emergency/strobe.

 

[Patriot]

Thank you David. You and the others are a wealth of information. I'm fascinated with dive lights because they have to operate in one of the most critical and demanding environments that a flashlight could ever operate in. If your lights fail, you could die. Not unlike much of the other equipment you guys use down there.

 

[Packhorse]

If your lights fail, you could die. Not unlike much of the other equipment you guys use down there.

NO! If your light fails you switch to your back up. If your back up fails you switch to your second back up ( any wreck or cave dive demands 2 back ups). If your second back up fails your buddy has 3 lights also. What are the chances of 6 lights dying in one dive?

Its similar with regulators. You have a 2nd regulator in case the primary fails. If both fail there is your buddy or stage bottles with regulators.

You should never be in a situation where you life depends on 1 piece off equipment.

 

[CBR-runner]

I here that. I lost my reg and mask in a wreck at 100+ feet in the Gulf of Mexico. Scary for a moment but my other reg saved my life. :huh:

 

[gav6280]

I here that. I lost my reg and mask in a wreck at 100+ feet in the Gulf of Mexico. Scary for a moment but my other reg saved my life. :huh:

And where was your buddy during all this scary stuff, and why didn't you just put your hand back and follow the hose routing to your reg?