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Sold/Expired KL3 Mod

Chop

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 22, 2003
Messages
3,635
Location
Louisiana
I've gotten A LOT of PM's about the KL3 mod in the past 24 hours and I can't keep up with the requests and questions via PM's so here's what I think I'll need to do.

First I need to gauge interest in those interested in a kit of sorts that would include just a turned down reflector and a spacer. The next thing I will need to gauge is the interest in KL3 Package mods. Those that have PM'd me about pricing and luxeon availability, nothing is reserved until I get a PayPal. I will answer requests in order of receipt of PM's. Just use "KL3 Mod" in the subject line.

I currently have three TWAK's left. I just got off of the phone with Future and all they have worth anything is SWAK's and they're telling me that I need to order 200 or them to get the SWAK's. I can't afford that, so when the TWAK's are gone, I'll be ordering SWAK's from the Shoppe. This isn't entirely bad since even Mr. Bulk says that there's not much difference between the SWAK and TWAK. When I run out of TWAK's it will be the SWAK from the Shoppe.

What I need here is this. I need posts from those that want either a mod or turned down reflector and spacer so that I have an idea of how many reflectors and SWAK's to order.

To those that I have already corresponded with, you need to PM me and act if you want one of the three TWAK's that I have left.

I hope I'm handling this fairly.
 

jtice

Flashaholic
Joined
May 21, 2003
Messages
6,331
Location
West Virginia
Chop, I would jump on this, but I am wanting to do a 5W one.

I am interested in this though.
I have a lathe of my own, and can do the reflector turning myself, A few pointers would be great though. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Maybe you could give the the measurements of the spacer you say is needed?
Also, where exactly does the reflector need turned down at?
I havent had the KL3 open yet, so I cant piture this yet.
Just Eyeing it up, looks like it would fit.

Thanks for all your help, you helped me out alot through PMs, and now you are willing to help everyone! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif man
 

Chop

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 22, 2003
Messages
3,635
Location
Louisiana
jtice,

Man, I have a couple of 5W leds left over from when the KL4 mods were hot. They are KL4 pulls and I only kept the white and bright ones. All others were either trashed or returned to the owners. On the one's I kept, I actually bought them from those that I did the mods for. I don't know what bin they are, but they are nice. I'd be willing to let one go for $20. That's the amount of credit that I gave for them.

The only problem with doing a 5W mod on a KL3 is that you will have to run it on 3X123's. 2X123's will get you direct drive.

I didn't see the part of your post mentioning that you had your own lathe. Man, you've got it made.

All I did when turning the reflector was to reduce the diameter until it fell into the KL3. When you open up the KL3 you'll understand what needs to be done. After I got the diameter right, I turned down a piece of 1" delrin until it properly spaced the reflector for the luxeon. After I had to spacer, so that it had the lux at the right height, I faced off the reflector to give it a flat surface of the front. I then added an o-ring that fit around the outside of the reflector, but was a bit taller than the reflector. This way, tightening down the lens with the ring compressed the o-ring forming the seal. When you hit the flat edge of the reflector with the lens, stop tightening. It worked for me. If you wanna give me a call, PM me and I'll give you my phone number, or you can PM me with your phone number and I'll call you. I got long distance on my cell phone.
 

CM

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 11, 2002
Messages
3,454
Location
Mesa, AZ
Chop,

You still have a TWAK to sell? PM me with how much you want for it.

CM
 

richpalm

Banned
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Messages
965
Location
Central Pa.
Definitely (!!) put me in for one drop-in reflector and appropriate spacer-my KL3 is already modded with an R2H which is a major improvement but I want to do the Pelican reflector routine.

Only question-how soon?

Rich
 

Chop

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 22, 2003
Messages
3,635
Location
Louisiana
I have no more 5W pulls. I haven't been buying anymore 5W on KL4 mods as I've lost interest in them. They generate way too much heat for me and I prefer small lights.

As for the KL3 mods kits. I've gotten quite a few PM's about these. I'm just not sure of what a fair price would be. As I've already told a few, I don't want to overcharge anyone, but I don't want to be doing this for nothing. Time spent doing these, will be time NOT spent doing what I want to be doing on my lathe.

This is what I'm thinking. $32 complete. This includes the reflector, a spacer, and an o-ring to do the mod as I've been doing it. I'll ship it to you via 1st class mail in a padded envelope. The spacer may need a bit of material removed with sand paper to fine tune the focus to your taste. I'd rather have it a bit too long than too short, although a too short situation can be remedied with some business card stock. You'd be surprised at how much of a difference the thickness of a business card can make.

The Shoppe has very few PR's available, so I bought them and they are coming in. As of now, I'll have five until the Shoppe is restocked.

If you are interested in the deal as it is, then you can send me an account transfer via PayPal to [email protected]

Right now, I have 3 PR's unspoken for, so those that want the kit, post with an I'll take it and PP me. Those who miss the boat, get in line. I'll go in order of posts for those in line and I'll get back to you as reflectors become available.

To those that have already PM'd me with an "I want it," PM me again. I believe that there were two or three of you and I've set reflectors aside for you. PM me and remind me that you had already PM'd me asking me about these and had already asked for a price. The price will be as stated above.

To those that think that I am asking too much, I am sorry. Once I take on this task, I may find that I charged too much and will try to make it right. On the other hand, I may discover that I didn't charge enough. In this case, the price on future kits will either go up, or I will stop doing them.
 

LEDmodMan

Flashaholic*
Joined
Feb 12, 2003
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1,719
Location
Over a MILE high, CO
Sorry, but I think $32 for the modified PM6 reflector and spacer for the KL3 is just not worth it when the bezel itself can be bought for only slightly more. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

I modded my KL3 a little while back with a Fraen LP optic when I changed the emitter and the drive current on it. The optic fit right in place of the stock NX-05 with no fuss, and they can be bought now for only $3.50 at the Sandwich Shoppe. Easy as pie. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif At the time though, I was really thinking of putting a PM6 reflector into the KL3, but I decided to go with the Fraen LP and see if I liked it before going through the trouble of getting the PM6 reflector to fit. Now, I don't think it's worth the extra $$$ to get a PM6 reflector to fit, as the Fraen LP is such a good optic. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif IMHO, the Fraen LP mod is definitely the better value over the PM6 reflector for better KL3 output, as you can almost buy a new KL3 for the price of this turned-down PM6 reflector. (/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif Sorry Chop)

FWIW, here's why I think this:

I have a McLux-PR bezel with a SWAK @ 917mA, and my KL3 uses the Fraen LP with a TWAK @ 1A. The McLux-PR has a slightly brighter hotspot, with a lot of the total light from the Luxeon III going into the spill area. IMHO, the spill is too dim to really be much use in any situation besides close-up work or in a pitch black room. The KL3 with Fraen LP has a hotspot that is about four to five times larger than the McLux-PR, and is only ever so slightly dimmer than the hotspot of the McLux-PR. Because there is so much more light in the hotspot of the Fraen LP, it is much more useful at any distance less than about 75', and becasue this hotspot is so large and bright, the light reflected off of your target does almost as good of a job at lighting up the immediate area around it as the spill light from the PM6 reflector does. However, the hotspot fromPM6 reflector does throw farther overall though. For the difference in price of $28.50, I think the Fraen LP is definitely the way to go. (again, sorry Chop)

Now, when you're talking about a 5w Luxeon, this all changes. The Fraen LP doesn't do the 5w justice at all, and in the PM6 reflector, the 5w is like a combination of the huge Fraen LP hotspot from a 1w or 3w, with the benefit of the spill light like the PM6 with a 1w or 3w. My favorite beam overall is a 5w Luxeon in a reflector of some sort (my MR-X kicks a$$). The only drawback with using a 5w is the power dissipated is larger, therefore runtime is reduced quite a bit. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif
 

Chop

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 22, 2003
Messages
3,635
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Louisiana
LEDModMan,

I wish I could disagree with you, but I can't. I do agree. The KL3 modded with a Fraen LP is a very cost effective mod and I've done a few of them. They perform very well. I just tried the PR mod because I thought that a light with that much mass should be able to be used at greater distances. Like you said, the LP is great out to about 75'. I've poke holes in the night with a PR based light at distance exceeding 100 yards and was able to see what I was looking at.

I'm not pushing these on anyone. I'm doing at the request of fellow CPFers. Believe me, I have plenty of irons on the fire without taking on more. I'm charging $32 for a few reasons. Although it does't take a whole lot of time to do the reflector and spacer, it does take time. This is time that I could be spending doing something else. Although it is not a full blown mod, I still have to package the stuff up and haul my butt down to the post office to get them off. I also have to assume the responsibility of things going wrong. I don't know how many PR's you've handled, but these things are delicate and are easily scratched. Preventing scratches is not an easy thing to do when working with a PR on a lathe.

You also have to remember that the PR also needs to be spaced corrrectly to prevent shorts and for proper focusing. That's why the reflector comes with a spacer to serve the purpose. These also need to be turner from stock.

Like I said, I am offering these at the request of fellow CPFers. If the price is too steep, I truly apologize. I had never intended to make any sort of huge profit on these. I thought I was offering a service that some wanted. At the quoted price, I'm getting around $15 per reflector/spacer/o-ring set and by the time all shipping details are taken care of I'll probably have better than 1/2 an hour into each set. Maybe I should re think offering these.
 

LEDmodMan

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Feb 12, 2003
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Over a MILE high, CO
Chop,

I wasn't trying to be hard on you. I really hope there's no hard feelings. I just wanted the people that are more budget driven (like myself since having a baby) to realize that the Fraen LP was pretty comparable and much less $$$.

You are offering a service, and I think you should be compensated for your time. I'm sure there will be some takers, heck I was expecting to be one of them, since I don't have the tools to elegantly put one of these into the KL3 myself. It's just that with that price differential compared to the Fraen LP, it's just not worth it to me, especially since I have other PM6 reflector based mods already. This decision was based on a couple of days of hard comparing of the two different set-ups, and when I realized that I could almost buy a KL1 (which would be awesome for it's size with the Frean LP) for the same cost, that was what clenched it for me.

I understand your price point, I was just hoping (but not expecting) it would be less.
 

Chop

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 22, 2003
Messages
3,635
Location
Louisiana
LEDmodMan,

No hard feelings, I was just stating my position. I was apprehensive about offering these in the first place. I just don't like to risk disappointing anyone, hence my considering not doing this at all.
 

BC0311

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 31, 2003
Messages
2,488
I've been paying extra for incremental increases in performance for things all of my adult life.

Cars, 4x4s, firearms, knives, computers, hookers, mobile communications, hunting gear, boots, flashlights, etc.

I had Tony mod a KL-3 and it uses the Fraen LP. But, it really limits the range of usefullness of the beam, particularly at anything over 70 feet.

A fact of life for me is paying extra to have someone do things that I cannot, or who does it much better than I can, or does what I'm too damn lazy to do, in order to add an increment of improved performance and reliability.

Most aren't willing to pay for it. That's just fine with me. It cuts down the length of wait to get what I want.

I have a custom knife sheathmaker make belt sheaths for many of my flashlights. Some of those sheaths cost as much as or more than the lights they are made for. They are custom, hand-made sheaths, though.

They are substantially better than any of the sheaths the lights come with, and, for the most part, better than any sheath made for the lights.

It is that increment of better performance and reliability, quality of materials and construction, and attention to detail that I happily pay extra for.

Tony, I haven't landed another KL3 yet, but I still want you to mod one for me with the PR or Carley as you and I discussed in PMs. You don't need to hold one of these emitters for me, we'll cross that bridge when I get you the head.

Best wishes for your continued success,

Britt
 

Chop

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Joined
Jul 22, 2003
Messages
3,635
Location
Louisiana
Britt,

No worries. I had you in mind when I ordered the reflectors. Believe me, this is more than an incremental increase over the performance of the Fraen. This is truly a long distance light, typical of all lights based on the PR. If you'd prefer more flood, I'll just trim the reflector a bit more.
 

BC0311

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 31, 2003
Messages
2,488
[ QUOTE ]
Chop said:
Britt,

No worries. I had you in mind when I ordered the reflectors. Believe me, this is more than an incremental increase over the performance of the Fraen. This is truly a long distance light, typical of all lights based on the PR. If you'd prefer more flood, I'll just trim the reflector a bit more.

[/ QUOTE ]

Woohoo! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/party.gif

Just what I wanted to hear. I'll get crackin' !

I want that long distance light, no trimmin' for me, but thanks.

Britt
PS: I just bought an M2 from Darell that'll be home for this darlin', it should arrive on Thursday or Friday. But I'm also having fun with Doug Speck's E2C and a KL3 on an E2e will be hoot. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif

BTW, Tony, are you doin' any L1 mods ala McGizmo?
 
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