Armytek Predator for diving

Asked the company about this but sometimes just hearing from the general expertise of the forum helps too .

I was thinking of trying out an Armytek Predator for diving.

From hearing from people around here, the main cause of flooding when going too deep is the lens is too thin to take the pressure and deforms under load, letting water in.

The rest of the light seems very waterproof. The battery cap is double o-ringed at both ends, etc. I have had it down to 15 feet no problem,but I was thinking more 130 feet

My idea was to disassemble the head and fill it with Norland 61. Since it so clear I should lose very little lumen-wise and I'd still have the lens on the outside for anti-scratch etc.

Any thoughts? It just seems to hard to find a 400 lumen dive light that is as small as the predator with any decent throw. At least one that doesn't cost $400.$100 is a nice price point plus it would work fine in its previous capacity as an around the house and camping light.

Yep the Dive Industry moves slow as it is a relatively niche application compared above water lighting,most of the Leds in the Dive lights are 10+ year old tech using multiples of Leds that may not be even equal to 1 XM-L Led can do if pushed properly

What do you think of the filling of the head with norland idea?

I actually had to look up Norland as I had no idea of what it was,hehe.I am not an engineer so I would be afraid to say whether it would work or may even damage your light.You should probably ask this on the Dive Light subforum on this site where I think there are some home builders who actually mod or build these lights and have experience in this.Most lenses can probably handle more pressure than humans can, my old test tube dive light has been to 180' feet or so with no problem and the test tube is less than 1/8" thick although if you drop it would shatter most likely.I don't think glass thickness is too important at "reasonable"diver depths(key word there).The electronics is the big problem especially in Salt Water.A nice Fat O ring is the real solution to keep a light watertight from my experience.

Wouldn't work too well, I'd imagine. For one thing, how would you turn the light on and off underwater? Water pressure would force the clicky in constantly, turning the light on in whatever mode it was set to turn on in. Also, filling the head with Norland wouldn't necessarily work. Admittedly, I've had limited exposure to the properties of Norland, but even so, it makes sense that filling the head, with even a near optically pure material, would still affect the refraction of light within the reflector, and the epoxy itself.

The tailcap could be replaced with a solid"twisty" style tailcap, but even with a couple of o-rings, twisting it underwater would cause deformities in the mating surfaces, and at pressure, even well lubricated o-rings would likely fail to seal out water.

The best overall bet is to take the guts of the Predator, if they suit your needs, and machine yourself a new housing for them.

I don't know, though...

I'm ok with the light being on while I'm diving. Maybe I could make a new tailcap though that uses a magnetic switch.

Also, the index of refraction, won't that just give me a wider or more narrow beam, depending ?

I don't know what Norland is but I'm assuming it's mineral oil. That concept works but is messy and not necessary.

Lens thickness does matter but if you don't bump into things underwater and keep depths to 100 fsw or so it isn't usually the failure point. A reverse clicky will push in and you won't get any light...try it. You have to push in and release a reverse clicky for the light to come on. Water pressure will cause the switch button to press in and won't release until you are ascending. A forward clicky would come on (but not go off) but most tail cap buttons won't remain waterproof either.

If you have decent o-rings and a reasonable length of threads in the tail cap that's not generally where the leaks occur. I converted a smaller light but taking out the switch and using epoxy to fill in the hole. This in effect made the light a twisty. I took it down to 100 fsw and twisted it on and off with no leakage.

Many o-ring designs on non-dive lights aren't waterproof designs. Some are however. If there is a ledge with a groove for the o-ring so that increasing water pressure compresses the o-ring then it will work. The compressing o-ring pushes back against the front glass lens thus opposing the increasing pressure.

If the o-ring design isn't appropriate then use marine grade silicone sealant around the front lens and it will usually work.

My dive light is about $100, uses a MC-E and has OTF approx 500 lumens, is reasonably focused and has a magnetic control ring. You can get it at DX. I won't post a link but you can look for Diving Cree and find the right one. It uses (2) 18650 and lets you do two dives without recharging the batteries.

Wow cheap!

There is a ssc p7 light, same maker/design that claims 900 lumens (prob 700 OTF?). It is even cheaper actually. How do you think it would perform compared to the MCE version ?

anethema said:

Wow cheap!

There is a ssc p7 light, same maker/design that claims 900 lumens (prob 700 OTF?). It is even cheaper actually. How do you think it would perform compared to the MCE version ?

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I know what they claim but it's not even possible given the bin being used. However, there are many divers who have used both the MC-E version and the P7 version. They are both about the same brightness in reality. Some have reported that the MC-E was even a little brighter. The MC-E is also a little more focused (important in diving with less than perfect visibility).

IMO the MC-E is the better light.

I sold my $300 HID dive light after I got the MC-E version. They both had the same output.

My suggestion is that if it's a light you may have to depend on then get one that's actually designed for diving. Trying to jury rig a non-diving light for that purpose could end up leaving you in the dark.

I just saw Norland 61 on CPFM for $12 for 2 milliliters, I think the cost of filling up that huge reflector volume would end up costing you as much as a dedicated dive light!

I've since found norland much cheaper.

Also I would NEVER go diving at night without a proper dive light. This was just for fun. I primarily use dive lights for spearfishing to peek in caves looking for dogtooth snappers. Though I do occasionally night dive.

Ya I think I'm going to pick up the MCE version of that badboy then. Some comments say the spring mod is no longer needed to stop flooding? Did you have to do it ?

anethema said:

I've since found norland much cheaper.

Also I would NEVER go diving at night without a proper dive light. This was just for fun. I primarily use dive lights for spearfishing to peek in caves looking for dogtooth snappers. Though I do occasionally night dive.

Ya I think I'm going to pick up the MCE version of that badboy then. Some comments say the spring mod is no longer needed to stop flooding? Did you have to do it ?

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Yes, I did it. I was one of the earlier buyers. It's not hard to do and it's not hard to see if you need to do it or not.