Kl1 Mod Completed

Hello all , Just wanted to share my first real mod with you . I bought a TWOK Lux III and a 17mm refletor
and gathered my knowlage from the pages here at the Forum .
I then went for broke and decited it was time to take on a KL1 mod . Nothing fancy just changing the emitter and adding a reflector leaving it at stock bias .
I have to say the hardest part of this mod for myself was getting the head open . Here is why : I heated the head up with a heat gun which softend the glue but in all my excitement
I unscrewed the threads to the convertor board housing instead of the bezel ring . /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif I got worried that I would twist the wires loose from the board . I screwed it
back together , warmed it up again and tried to unscrew the bezel ring . No luck ! The other threads were allready loose and the glue on the bezel threads was still holdin on strong . So I placed the bezel in the lathe and heated it up again and with a leather strap and slip jaw pliers uncrewed the bezel head . Un-soldering the old emitter was a little bit of a problem . I remember reading somewhere that Surefire puts a coating on there sodder joints and you can not solder through it. Well with enough heat I got it off and pulled out the the PCB . I did this first to set the new Lux III on the PCB and second to straighten out the leads which were kinda screwed-up from all that unscrewing of the board housing threads . I straightened out the wires so they would match up to the holes in the PCB and placed it back into the head , soldered the leads to the emitter , droped the reflector in and screwed the bezel down .Finished !
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I can hardly wait to get my next mod underway . KL3 lookout here I come . I first need to Find some resistors for overdriving it to about 850ma and of course a McR27 reflector . Then I plan on doing a Exe Mod . I have the 13/16x20 tap ordered and the E-can which will host a NG400
I just dont know what reflector I should go with on this one , a 17mm or a McR20 / IMS 20mm (if there is a difference) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
I will keep you all posted : I love Mod´s !

Kenny

Congratulations on the success of your first mod! Here's where it all begins, very soon you'll be modding just about everything else /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

The 20mm IMS reflector has a more focused beam that reaches further (throws further). The 17mm is more of a close-range flood.

Kenny,
Will it not possible to just remove the top bezel ring and unsolder the original LS from top up? Or you really need to pull the PCB out?

Jonny , Yes it is possible to just remove the bezel and remove the emitter . I had made a mistake and twisted the
wires so that they loosend the PCB and would not allow it to set flat aginst the base of thr board housing , so I had to remove it and strighten everything out .
I went out last night and tested the beam of this mod aginst other lights that I have and am very impressed .
For mid range work and just a little more it just right.
I dont know what the stock bias is , I think 350ma , but Im not sure /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif. I have another KL1 that I have sent to Chop to overdrive to 700ma but it has either been lost in the Mail or nabed by customs somewhere because Tony has not recived it yet /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif. I would realy like to see how its beam would look . Maby it will turn up someday .
To bad they dont make them any more /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif, it is a great mod that anyone could do.
I dont like the new KL1´s beam , not enough side spill .
Looking forward to the KL3 . /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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Kenny

Kenny,

I believe stock bias is at 350ma. I have a KL1 done by Chop, overdriven to 700ma and with so17xa reflector. Very nice hotspot and very bright. Good medium light. What I hate about overdriving it, is that the KL1 circuit produces a lot of heat at that level. Using it for about 5 min continuous makes it hot.

Which reflector did you order for your NEW Chop mod? He has a newer mod using a turn-down McR20, but maybe more expensive as it requires more machining time. But it maybe worth it, since you already have a so17xa(17mm) so that you get two different lights.

Good luck and welcome to CPF /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif...
where only your wallet and creativity is the limit in lighting up your day... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Jonny ,

How true you last stament is ! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif
I belive I will go with the McR20 reflector in the Exe mod I am still thinking about how hard to drive it . I think anything over 500ma in that head would get way to hot . Maby I will build two LE´s , one with a NG400 and the other with a NG500 and test it out .
Thanks for the warm welcome . You all are great ! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

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Kenny

Kenny,

Don't waste your time building the 400 and 500. Just pick one of them. I'd go for the 500mA bias. It does really well in small lights with small reflectors. The 400mA will be just like the 500mA, just a tad less bright with more runtime. Building both will be redundant and will leave you with two LEs that are almost the same.

On the other hand, if you want to build two of them, build one at 400mA and the other at 700mA. One for runtime and one for more brightness.

Tony ,

Thanks I think that is a good idea NG500 it is . I can swap the LE with the NG700 from my Aleph just to see how the 20mm reflector looks at that bias .

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Kenny

Kenny,

My point is that the difference between 400 and 500mA is almost negligible, with 500mA just being a performance sweetspot for smaller reflectors. The difference between 500 and 700mA isn't drastic either. If you already have the 700mA LE, then I'd build the 400mA LE.

I usually try to build my LEs for a purpose. Since you already have the NG700, then I'd go for the NG400 for a fair amount of brightness, but 2 hours of runtime on a single 123.