Rayovac headlamp mod question/help needed

[Lux Luthor]

I got the amber and green side emitters today.

I haven't put one in yet, but the holes on the star(hexagonal) heat sink unbelievably are exactly perfect for the 3 screws on the light. This blows my mind! Plus, you can hook up the 2 wires to 2 of the solder pads, and there's another hole that goes right over that rubber extra bulb holder, so you can route the wires easily through there! It's like the star ones were made exactly for this light!

Guess I should get to work on it tonight.

 

[Lux Luthor]

OK, I have it working, and I took it for a test in the park (Damn, it's getting cold out there!).

It works quite well, and in fact the amber I put in it is FAR brighter than the amber high domes I've gotten in the past. I would say it outshines my red/orange in the woods. This mod will definitely be replacing my red/orange Rayovac kid's headlamp mod. Do go with amber if you want. These newer ones are very good.

BTW, if you use a high dome instead of a side emitter, it will focus more tightly (too tightly for a headlamp), and in order to broaden the beam, you need to sort of unfocus it, which makes the beam look a little crappy. With the side emitter, if you focus it just right, you get a broad fairly uniform central beam, then a large secondary (also uniform) cone of light which is perfect for your peripheral vision. It's really makes a good headlamp beam.

 

[Plinko]

Way to go, Lux! Sounds like a great mod! Unfortunatly, it looks like Future has upped the price to $14, so you got a great deal. Are you using the original reflector then with this version? Also, any runtime estimates yet?

THanks so much.

 

[BugLightGeek]

So, Lux...did I miss it in this topic or do you have the exact part numbers and the web site or phone number for the company you ordered your parts from?

That way, myself and others can duplicate your findings and give a decent headlamp a much needed overhaul.

Also, I know I could use a photo or two of the Luxeon Star LED's you used to visualize them.

 

[Lux Luthor]

Originally posted by Plinko:
Way to go, Lux! Sounds like a great mod! Unfortunatly, it looks like Future has upped the price to $14, so you got a great deal. Are you using the original reflector then with this version? Also, any runtime estimates yet?

THanks so much.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">The website says $14 for some reason. I would email Melanie at Future, who's email address is above. If you don't get the same price, I would mention my order.

Also, yes, I'm using the original reflector, but you have to drill a larger hole in it so it will fit over the emitter.

No runtime tests yet. I haven't decided on a resistance value yet. In fact, I just put 5ohms resistance in along with 3AAA NiMHs, just because that's what I had on hand. It's bright enough this way, I think, and I may tone it down for more runtime - not sure yet.

 

[Lux Luthor]

Originally posted by ChrisM:
So, Lux...did I miss it in this topic or do you have the exact part numbers and the web site or phone number for the company you ordered your parts from?

That way, myself and others can duplicate your findings and give a decent headlamp a much needed overhaul.

Also, I know I could use a photo or two of the Luxeon Star LED's you used to visualize them.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">The company is Future-Active. Their phone number is on the website. You need the exact part numbers, or they won't let you order.

Side-emitters:

amber: LXHL-FL1C
green: LXHL-FM1C
white: LXHL-FW1C
cyan: LXHL-FE1C

As I mentioned, the white and cyan are on back order.

I don't have a camera, but a photo of the star side emitters is on their 1W datasheet. I would download it: DS23.pdf.

 

[BugLightGeek]

Looks like I'll have to order one of those to try out in this mod.

I did remove the resistor for the white LED. It is now much better and brighter than my Infinity with a lithium AA and with the black dot removed. I'll compare it with other white LED's to see where it ranks.

I also removed one RED LED and replaced it with a Blue LED. I also removed the resistor on the Blue as well. The combination of 1 red & 1 blue LED make the overall light much brighter. It also makes for some cool colored shadows due to the red/blue light.

 

[steveG]

I realize I'm bringing back an incredibly dead thread here, but I have a couple of these lights and actually like them but I never use the incandescent lamp.

Anyone have any any pics or other additional info on the LED conversion? Links to other threads would be helpful too.

Thanks!

EDIT: Update here: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/203782