Streamlight KeyMate

If I squeeze in a fifth battery cell - will I do any damage ??

Could you even get the head back on with a fifth cell in there?

Could you even get the head back on with a fifth cell in there?

the head will go on with a 5th cell, but mine did not function correctly like that with the origina LED nor the MJLED that I swapped in there...

I have modified the KeyMate.
-What you need is -not- more voltage.

You really need to extract the stock LED and replace it with either a Korean 100mA ISP 5mm, or one of the new 5mm (20mA) 26000mcd super LEDS.
-CPF member rocketmaninphx is doing a great group buy right now. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

VCAL--
So would the new 5mm (20mA) 26000mcd be better than the Korean (100mA) ISP 5mm?
It stands to reason if the 26000mcd is brighter and only has a current draw of 20mA compared to 100mA for the Korean ISP LED. But I don't completely understand all of these specifications.
I've got the LED module pulled out on my Streamlight KeyMate, so I'm ready to change out the LED--just deciding which LED to go with.
What is your take on this?

I love my keymate but the LED is way off. how hard is it to
take it out to align it right, or even replace? VDG

>Flashlike
I have just compared the two types side by side. I only acquired the 26Ks two days ago.
The ISP Korea will put out more light overall-it draws more than 100mA.
The 26K from rocketmanin phx is much more efficient-only drawing 25mA.
You will quickly damage the 25K by feeding it more than it's designed ratings. 6V. will work, but only with LR-44/357/76 type batteries.

The ISP has a much broader beam and can be driven up to 150mA.
The 26K is a narrow thrower. -like 4°.

>voodoogreg
You can back out the black plastic Led holder by wiggling it (carefully) sideways and pulling it out backward -with needlenose pliers.

>VCAL
Interesting. Thanks for posting your comparison evaluation. I'm going to go with the ISP 100ma LED then use the L544 lithium battery since I'll be overdriving it somewhat.

If you use the L544/ISP configuration, your Keymate will be almost twice as bright as the original.

Where is a good place to get the ISP 100ma LED's? I would love to get more out of my Keymate.

Nevermind, I found their site: http://www.lsdiodes.com
However, I think that I am going to go with the 26Kmcd ones for better runtime.

I've done a little more experimenting with my Keymates and found:
If you are going to use the 26K LED, then do not run the Keymate on all four cells. The 26K LED has a very low forward voltage, and does not like 6 volts!

I have also found that running only three cells (with a spacer) yields 95% of the brightness as running four cells.
The LED will live a lot longer life, AND the runtime of your light (on just three cells) will almost DOUBLE. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Very cool.

Yes, very cool! This little $10 light is starting to impress me more and more. With this mod I think this light is going to be hard to beat when you factor in price, performance, and small form factor.
I plan to run silver Oxide SR44 cells.

Just modded my keymate with 26k mcd led and removed the keychain attachment.



By silver spray painting the reflector, it now removes artifacts an gives a nice spill aswell





now its brighter than a 1x AA 8 led xnova clone on lithiums!

Sengoku1986...
Removing the keychain attachment makes it more of a flashlight, and less like a novelty. Nice idea, IMHO.
That's an even better idea to spraypaint the reflector to get rid of the artifacts!
But how did you get the lens off? I managed to get the black plastic LED holder out OK, but there is a metal washer with 1/32" holes in it on the back side of the reflector. Three plastic pins from the back of the reflector protrude through this washer. (The pins go through the holes in the LED holder).
And the metal washer doesn't seem to be removeable because it is a slightly larger diameter than the threads on the neck of the head.
Did you somehow push the lens out from the inside, then reglue it back on after you painted the reflector? My KeyMate is brand new. Maybe yours was an older one and constructed differently?
Thanks for posting the photos!!

Newbie here, but last night I put in a mjled from lambda's site and I was so amazed how much brighter it is. Anyone know how that compares to ones being discussed here? Only downside is 25 min runtime to 50%. I chipped off a small portion of reflective coating near rim of reflector when removing it though. What type of spray paint did you use? Also, was using 5 LR44 with stock, now just 4. The head is a little loose now with 4 so I put small piece of tape on threads and works great now. Also just got 50 Lr44's from ebay for 5 bucks including shipping.

Here's the thread for mjled
web page

Flashlike: thanks, i followed the instructions on lambdas thread on pressing out the reflector.

Just modded another keymate with a MJ Led, i was surprised it only has slightly more throw than the 26k mod but very bright sidespill.

farscape105: I dont recommend using silver spray paint over the reflective surface, its not reflective at all. I only used it to remove the unwanted side artifacts you get from 25 degree 5mm leds.