Inside the princeton tec LED headlamp module

I have a number of princeton tec LED headlamp modules that I use for caving, night hiking, etc.. and I got an Attitude for christmas, which is about 5x brighter. Looking at the two, the LEDs themselves seem similar but there is some circuitry on a board in the headlamp module where the attitude only has a resistor.
The headlamp module is made of foggy plastic so its difficult to see inside so I took an old one apart. I figure everyone would enjoy pics while I had it open, so here they are.
this module sat underwater for a weekend this summer.. fell off my dock and took me a while to get it back. It it a bit corroded but still works fine and is as bright as a brand new one. I have been thinking of bypassing all the electronics alltogether an using a resistor, or no resistor for some added brightness. Any thoughts?
I'm not an electrical engineer, so I cant be sure, but this looks like an oscillating circuit to drive the LEDs?
Here are the pics:
first pic (small)
first pic (big)

second pic (small)
second pic (big)

third pic (small)
third pic (big)

Edit:
Looking at the pics, I realized I left the chip out.. here it is:
Chip

Sorry, Haribante, I haven't the faintest idea.
But I do like the photos !

lightlover

Hello Haribante,
I only have an attitude, and I agree with you that there is a great different between the module and the attitude!

besides for attitude, I like my 2AA mag LED convertion better, cos it has some "focus" power over some distance (by drilling a 5mm hole on the original 3mm hole on the reflector, so that it work just like the original mag bulb), where attitude can't compare with it over 10ft !

while tinkering around with the LED board, taking readings, etc..
I tried turning the little pot on the front side of the board.. and the LEDs got MUCH brighter!!!

After some more playing around, I found that the brightness can be easily adjusted from very dim to way overdriven. When all the way up, the entire board including the LEDs gets quite warm.
The light level seems to plateau around maximum brightness for the last 1/5 turn of the pot or so, this is where it gets much brighter.
I turned it up till it stopped getting brighter and down a tiny hair and put it all back together. it is now even brighter than my attitude!!!
I imagine that this will have a fairly large effect on battery life, I will definitly do some testing and take some pictures tomorrow.

I disassembled my Princeton Tech LED module as well, and compared with your photos, noticed that it's been updated quite a bit, and the parts that are being used in mine don't seem to be adjustable as you described. Looks like the second generation received some "idiot-proofing" so guys like us can't easily tinker. Boo to Princeton Tech for trying to take away our fun!

How did your modification turn out as far as battery life goes?

Thot I'd resurrect this thread 'cause battery life was being discussed ...
Recently put Rayovac AAA 700 mah nimh bats. in my PT Attitude and then let it run ... after 5.5 hrs. it began to dim & die out.
Perfect for me as an electrician doing a panel change in the dark.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Benjamin in Seattle:
I disassembled my Princeton Tech LED module as well, and compared with your photos, noticed that it's been updated quite a bit, and the parts that are being used in mine don't seem to be adjustable as you described. Looks like the second generation received some "idiot-proofing" so guys like us can't easily tinker. Boo to Princeton Tech for trying to take away our fun!

How did your modification turn out as far as battery life goes?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You're right. It's not adjustable anymore. It's too bad. I wanted to try to brighten it this way.

ill pay $50 for a 7 led module. if that price is not good enough then ill pay more- i must have one. or name youre price for an ajustable module