Mutie
Enlightened
Probably more than anything the led me to become a flashaholic was the discovery of headlights about 25 years ago. Soon I was modifying for higher output and quickly learned that most of the plastic headlights out there would melt or craze if I tried to use halogen bulbs.
Then I found a first generation Rayovac NiteHawk headlight at the swap meet and paid about $2.00 for it. Metal, glass lens, and I'd say late 40's or early 50's manufacture date. It took a pr halogen bulb no problem and I hooked it up to a standard 4 D cell battery pack in a small waist pack. That was my headlight of choice for many years. Over time I cracked the lens and replaced the line cord several times. I also tried many other headlights and they basically just weren't good enough for my more extreme applications. I also got a third generation NiteHawk and by now the whole reflector assembly was plastic with a metal sleeve for the bulbholder. One shattered when I dropped it and the other crazed the reflector from the halogen heat. Finally about 10 years ago I got a Petzl belt and that was up to the task and became my new headlight of choice.
Still I had used the NiteHawk for many years and having a suitable replacement tried to refurbish it and ended up destroying the reflective finish trying to polish it. I tossed it into the parts box and there it sat for years until I ran into it again a few weeks ago.
I've been wanting to make a headlight for a long time based on a Luxeon V and couldn't find a suitable donor. I didn't know if the Lux III would be suitable but after getting my VIP I was convinced. And then I found my old NiteHawk again. Perfect. The reflector itself could serve as the heatsink. Just on a lark I plugged NiteHawk into Google and found a new, in the box second generation NiteHawk on Ebay which I got for $25.00.
No I'm not going to modify this one. It was just a very happy coincidence to find another and this one if probably a late 50's model. This one has a plastic lens but at least the whole reflector is metal and will be at least useable with a halogen bulb and be my comparison to how successful my mod works out.
Here are front and back pictures of my first generation reflector as it is right now.
The reflector is pretty hefty and solid. It was coated with a thin layer of copper. I don't know what the inside was coated with but when I tried hand polishing with polishing compound it went right through. It will polish up pretty nicely with a dremel but I'm thinking of getting the whole thing chromed. The buld holder is brass I think and is maybe attached with silver solder. It's in quite solid. The reflector is around 3 inches in diameter and 1 1/8 inch deep to the bottom of the reflector.
In case of pure serendipidy I was thinking how cool it would be to use a VIP driver when lo and behold there they were. I ordered the 1000ma and George very kindly added leads and the smt resistors for me as there is no way with my eyesight I could have done this. So I basically have most of the pieces and know how I want it put together. There are some things I don't about and some others that I probably won't be able to do so I throwing this out for advice and farming out the stuff I can't do.
First I'm planning on having the reflector chromed to get the best reflective surface, look cool, and be durable. Even though it will polish up I don't think it would stand up to the elements. Does anybody know if chroming it will seriously affect it heatsinking abilitys? These may be more questions for the chrome shop but I'll throw it out anyway. Will the different metals react differently to the chrome? If so will I need to remove the brass insert?
Reflector and Lux beam pattern expertise questions. My goal is for maximum hot spot. Since I have very little peripheral vision left and am extremely night blind flood won't do at all. I will just dim down to a lower setting for close up work. My question though is which type Luxeon would work best. Side emitter or high dome? I may also have to remove the existing brass lanpholder to get the proper sweet spot. Either way though I will have to get a custom led holder/heat sink fabricated which will screw into the existing holder or replace it and I will also need to have the Luxeon mounted and wired (I don't even trust my vision to do this myself). Please PM me with a quote or interest. I suppose too that I'm in the market for a really killer Lux III if anybody can direct me.
I would really appreciate any advice or answers you could give me. I'm quite excited about bringing this project to completion. And it will be a very unique combination of old and new technology.
Thanks,
Mutie
Then I found a first generation Rayovac NiteHawk headlight at the swap meet and paid about $2.00 for it. Metal, glass lens, and I'd say late 40's or early 50's manufacture date. It took a pr halogen bulb no problem and I hooked it up to a standard 4 D cell battery pack in a small waist pack. That was my headlight of choice for many years. Over time I cracked the lens and replaced the line cord several times. I also tried many other headlights and they basically just weren't good enough for my more extreme applications. I also got a third generation NiteHawk and by now the whole reflector assembly was plastic with a metal sleeve for the bulbholder. One shattered when I dropped it and the other crazed the reflector from the halogen heat. Finally about 10 years ago I got a Petzl belt and that was up to the task and became my new headlight of choice.
Still I had used the NiteHawk for many years and having a suitable replacement tried to refurbish it and ended up destroying the reflective finish trying to polish it. I tossed it into the parts box and there it sat for years until I ran into it again a few weeks ago.
I've been wanting to make a headlight for a long time based on a Luxeon V and couldn't find a suitable donor. I didn't know if the Lux III would be suitable but after getting my VIP I was convinced. And then I found my old NiteHawk again. Perfect. The reflector itself could serve as the heatsink. Just on a lark I plugged NiteHawk into Google and found a new, in the box second generation NiteHawk on Ebay which I got for $25.00.
No I'm not going to modify this one. It was just a very happy coincidence to find another and this one if probably a late 50's model. This one has a plastic lens but at least the whole reflector is metal and will be at least useable with a halogen bulb and be my comparison to how successful my mod works out.
Here are front and back pictures of my first generation reflector as it is right now.
The reflector is pretty hefty and solid. It was coated with a thin layer of copper. I don't know what the inside was coated with but when I tried hand polishing with polishing compound it went right through. It will polish up pretty nicely with a dremel but I'm thinking of getting the whole thing chromed. The buld holder is brass I think and is maybe attached with silver solder. It's in quite solid. The reflector is around 3 inches in diameter and 1 1/8 inch deep to the bottom of the reflector.
In case of pure serendipidy I was thinking how cool it would be to use a VIP driver when lo and behold there they were. I ordered the 1000ma and George very kindly added leads and the smt resistors for me as there is no way with my eyesight I could have done this. So I basically have most of the pieces and know how I want it put together. There are some things I don't about and some others that I probably won't be able to do so I throwing this out for advice and farming out the stuff I can't do.
First I'm planning on having the reflector chromed to get the best reflective surface, look cool, and be durable. Even though it will polish up I don't think it would stand up to the elements. Does anybody know if chroming it will seriously affect it heatsinking abilitys? These may be more questions for the chrome shop but I'll throw it out anyway. Will the different metals react differently to the chrome? If so will I need to remove the brass insert?
Reflector and Lux beam pattern expertise questions. My goal is for maximum hot spot. Since I have very little peripheral vision left and am extremely night blind flood won't do at all. I will just dim down to a lower setting for close up work. My question though is which type Luxeon would work best. Side emitter or high dome? I may also have to remove the existing brass lanpholder to get the proper sweet spot. Either way though I will have to get a custom led holder/heat sink fabricated which will screw into the existing holder or replace it and I will also need to have the Luxeon mounted and wired (I don't even trust my vision to do this myself). Please PM me with a quote or interest. I suppose too that I'm in the market for a really killer Lux III if anybody can direct me.
I would really appreciate any advice or answers you could give me. I'm quite excited about bringing this project to completion. And it will be a very unique combination of old and new technology.
Thanks,
Mutie
