pc_light
Enlightened
With Spring around the corner I was in the garage preparing for some yard work when and I spotted my old (incandescent) Streamlight Scorpion sitting on a shelf. It was two years since I'd even turned it on so I thought I'd better check how the battery had weather the Winter.
I turned it on and judging from the dim glow I suspected the battery was probably a little run down. So I went into the house and got a fresh pair of primaries. Turned it on again and although a tad better, it was still not quite as bright as I'd imaged it would be. Then I recalled why I had relenquished the light to garage back-up duty, over the years the incan just wasn't puttin out like the LED's I'd gotten used to.
A quick Search of the CPF Forums for any upgrade/mod suggestions, came up mostly empty.
- Some who have tried indicated that the bezel is sealed and to take it apart was to risk destroying it.
- The Surefire E-series bezels/heads fit onto the old incan Scorpion body, but that could cost more than an entirely new LED Scorpion.
Since there didn't appear to be any economical drop-in modules out there, most folks felt that it would be cheaper to sell it and buy a new Scorpion LED or other "bargain light".
So, before I decided to put it back on the shelf as a "back-up" light, I decided to look in my old junk draw for any tinkering ideas. I noticed an old Maglite LED Upgrade Module that I'd picked up on sale. It happened to be a 4-C/D cell (6V), so the voltage was spot on. I decided to take the Scorpion apart to see what was what.
SL Incan Scorpion w Maglite 4-cell LED Upgrade Module
Low and behold, the LED Upgrade Module and the incandescent buld/holder were almost of the same height and diameter at the base. That was encourgaging enough for me to decide to see if I could get a fit.
Bulb and LED Module
Well, to make a long story short, with some hand-boring and after 4-5 tweaks to get the focus just right, I managed to get an acceptable fit with the following results. (Since I didn't start out expecting to post the results, I didn't think to take any BEFORE shots of the Scorpion head in it's incan state. But here's the AFTER shot with LED Upgrade Module installed.)
Scorpion Bezel w LED Installed
I don't have a light sphere and I wasn't planning on running any official run-time measurements but on the basis of Newbie's most excellent Maglite LED Upgrade Module technical review, my guess would be 60-min or so before dropping below the 4.25V Bucked power levels; so hopefully longer, brighter and more regulated than when it was incandescent. So as far as I'm concerned, it's a keeper.
LED and Incan Beams compared
So for about $20 and a little grinding, my old semi-retired incan Scorpion has been called up for active duty again!
Getting back to that day, well by the time I'd finished fooling around with the Scorpion, it was getting too dark to work in yard,... oh well, maybe tomorrow if it doesn't rain.
I turned it on and judging from the dim glow I suspected the battery was probably a little run down. So I went into the house and got a fresh pair of primaries. Turned it on again and although a tad better, it was still not quite as bright as I'd imaged it would be. Then I recalled why I had relenquished the light to garage back-up duty, over the years the incan just wasn't puttin out like the LED's I'd gotten used to.
A quick Search of the CPF Forums for any upgrade/mod suggestions, came up mostly empty.
- Some who have tried indicated that the bezel is sealed and to take it apart was to risk destroying it.
- The Surefire E-series bezels/heads fit onto the old incan Scorpion body, but that could cost more than an entirely new LED Scorpion.
Since there didn't appear to be any economical drop-in modules out there, most folks felt that it would be cheaper to sell it and buy a new Scorpion LED or other "bargain light".
So, before I decided to put it back on the shelf as a "back-up" light, I decided to look in my old junk draw for any tinkering ideas. I noticed an old Maglite LED Upgrade Module that I'd picked up on sale. It happened to be a 4-C/D cell (6V), so the voltage was spot on. I decided to take the Scorpion apart to see what was what.
SL Incan Scorpion w Maglite 4-cell LED Upgrade Module
Low and behold, the LED Upgrade Module and the incandescent buld/holder were almost of the same height and diameter at the base. That was encourgaging enough for me to decide to see if I could get a fit.
Bulb and LED Module
Well, to make a long story short, with some hand-boring and after 4-5 tweaks to get the focus just right, I managed to get an acceptable fit with the following results. (Since I didn't start out expecting to post the results, I didn't think to take any BEFORE shots of the Scorpion head in it's incan state. But here's the AFTER shot with LED Upgrade Module installed.)
Scorpion Bezel w LED Installed
I don't have a light sphere and I wasn't planning on running any official run-time measurements but on the basis of Newbie's most excellent Maglite LED Upgrade Module technical review, my guess would be 60-min or so before dropping below the 4.25V Bucked power levels; so hopefully longer, brighter and more regulated than when it was incandescent. So as far as I'm concerned, it's a keeper.
LED and Incan Beams compared
So for about $20 and a little grinding, my old semi-retired incan Scorpion has been called up for active duty again!
Getting back to that day, well by the time I'd finished fooling around with the Scorpion, it was getting too dark to work in yard,... oh well, maybe tomorrow if it doesn't rain.
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