Tikka XP 4 x 2/3 AAA Mod..

Tikka XP 4 x 2/3 AAA Mod.. Bright

Here is a picture of my Tikka XP with 4 x 2/3 AAA installed.







~ 7w Boost Mode
~1.4w High
~.8w Medimum
~.3w Low

j

woah! Thats crazy... good job! can you get access to the LED?

The Batteries come out as a pack..



Standard Batteries fit also





Here is the front view.. looks Stock.. Until you turn it ON!

Here are some beam shots.

Low



Med




High



Boost




High (Diffuser on)




Mini Mag (For Comparison)

Nice going on your modded Petzl Tikka XP joegreen42! :thumbsup:

hows the battery life? Any access to relative runtime graphs? I wonder how much current is going to the LED.... Is the Tikka XP just a Lux1?

Again: can you get access to the LED?

jar3ds said:

hows the battery life? Any access to relative runtime graphs? I wonder how much current is going to the LED.... Is the Tikka XP just a Lux1?

Again: can you get access to the LED?

Click to expand...

[font=&quot]From the picture that Cave Dave posted it looks like the LED can be accessed through the Brown and Red wires.. I have not done this.. I do not know what LED the Tikka XP uses.




[/font] The 4 x 2/3 AAA NiMh batteries are rated at 350mah .

After full charge the voltage and current draw at the battery is as follows:



High 5.1V @ 270ma = 1.377 w
Med 5.26V @ 148 ma = 0.78w
Low 5.28V @ 56 ma = 0.3 w
Boost 4.8v 1.6A = 7.68 w



I set my power supply to 3.6vdc to simulate using 3 x NiMh Rechargeables and found the voltage and current draw to be:

High 100 ma = 0.36w
Med 50 ma = 0.18w
Low 25 ma = 0.09w



I have not done an exhaustive run time test and do not have any access to relative runtime graphs.. I have been running it on our evening walk over the past month or so and have found the Medium Diffused setting to be just right for brightness. This gives ~2+ hours of run time before it automatically drops to Low... Boost mode is amazing for such a small light.. I am counting on the Temp sensor to prevent damage to the LED.. Time will tell.



The Tikka XP demands too much current from Alkaline AAA's for a reasonable discharge curve . 3 x Rechargeable AAA's give a flat discharge curve but the light output was disappointing.. Lithium AAA's seem OK but they are expensive. The 4 x 2/3 AAA Mod has turned this light around for me. It's light weight, compactness, hands free use and great diffuser have made this one of my all time favorite "truly useful" lights.

Excellent job and write-up, Joe! I too own a Tikka XP headlamp and have really been disappointed with the performance of the unit, especially when running Energizer 850mah NiMh batteries in it.

I took it on a backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon last Oct, ended up using my backup headlamp (RiverRock 2aaa from Target) more than the XP.

awesome! Thanks for the pics!

You really should switch that LED to something really nice like a SXOH or something

Bright mod!

I modded my Xp with little more heatsink and lowered the resistor value for high mode.

Don't remember anymore current draw on high with nimhs, but i think it was around 300mA.

Boost, low and med are original brightness.

I also like mine a lot.

Juha

Any longer-term results of your mod, joegreen42? Is the light still going strong? Your elegant and simple mod (and great pictures) inspired me to finally stop lurking and come out of the shadows of the site. I've got a Tikka XP coming in the mail and would love to hear any updates (or tips) that you've got!

I have noticed NO degradation so far.. but this is purely subjective.

This light is my primary around the house light.. In the DARK it is bright enough on low and that is where I usually run it. When there is some ambient light around and my pupils contract I run it on medium (<1watt).



Our nightly walks have gone to once per week lately so I have only put a few more hours on it since my first post.. BOOST mode (~7W) comes in handy when you hear a noise over in the field. I have probably used boost 50 times at around 7 seconds per shot (some more, some less). The overtemp circuit has not shut off the LED yet.



The electronics seem to be holding up fine.. It is the Long Term Degradation on the LED that we all are worried about. In my view, worst case would be an upgrade to a better LED if this one becomes damaged. Once again, NO sign of that yet…


J

i'm really suprised that your temp sensor hasn't effected the output... even on the 270ma (your high) setting... that should be getting the LED nice and toasty... Maybe not though... the PT EOS runs its star at even higher ranges...

i'm a little skeptical of petzl and PT saying that they are indeed monitoring the temp of their stars... from your mod, and the high temps the eos star gets... i'm just really suprised that the units allow the LED's to get as hot as they do... not that I care much since I can change out the star for a new one every 2 years if i'm that paranoid ...

i'm a little scared with the EOS though that it may cause that diode under the led and other plastic around there to melt :laughing:

Re: Tikka XP 4 x 2/3 AAA Mod.. Bright!

UPDATE!!



Went camping in Kings Canyon / Sequoia National Park last weekend.. The Tikka XP was in my jacket pocket with my keys and inadvertently was turned on HIGH for ???.. I noticed it shining through the jacket material and promptly shut it off.. the lens cover was HOT.. too hot to touch for 10 seconds.. After about 10 minutes it cooled down enough that I turned it on again.. it seemed a little dim and Boost mode would not come on for more than a split second. I ran it the rest of the night on Medium.. The next night I popped in my spare 4 x 2/3 AAA Pack and all was well. Good light through the whole night. No evidence of any physical damage.



J

Re: Tikka XP 4 x 2/3 AAA Mod.. Bright!

joegreen42 said:

UPDATE!!



Went camping in Kings Canyon / Sequoia National Park last weekend.. The Tikka XP was in my jacket pocket with my keys and inadvertently was turned on HIGH for ???.. I noticed it shining through the jacket material and promptly shut it off.. the lens cover was HOT.. too hot to touch for 10 seconds.. After about 10 minutes it cooled down enough that I turned it on again.. it seemed a little dim and Boost mode would not come on for more than a split second. I ran it the rest of the night on Medium.. The next night I popped in my spare 4 x 2/3 AAA Pack and all was well. Good light through the whole night. No evidence of any physical damage.



J

Click to expand...

thats weird how the lens cover got so hot... I bet things inside of there were just baking..

thanks for letting us know your experience! :rock: