Match's Mods: Streamlight Scorpion Mod - Will it Host?

Streamlight Scorpion + Hammer and drill = Perfect P60 Host

Gentlemen,

Have you ever had a torch that you loved and cherished for years, only to wind up forgotten and neglected because some younger, prettier, and brighter torch came along? May I present to you my first: The Streamlight Scorpioin.

Our relationship started way back last century (1995 to be exact), and for more than a decade we laughed, we loved, were inseparable... But as so often happens I found myself not carrying a torch for a few years and soon my precious was demoted to "car duty" (shudder...). It was only in the past 6 months that I rekindled my interest in all things shiny, and found myself buying new torches with these new fangled LED's... (and buying, and buying, and buying...). Well, one night as I was rummaging through my old electronics bag I came across my old streamlight. Compared to the new lights out there, the years haven't been kind to this old gal. Popping a couple of fresh C123's in there, I was dismayed at the output after recently being spoiled by the newer tech. But still, there was just something about the size...the rubber grip texture...the perfect clicky...

A quick google search of upgrades available turned out only a strion incan mod (blech....). Out of nowhere the Six Million Dollar Man theme song started playing though my head. We can rebuild her....faster, stronger, brighter!

Not knowing the direction this would take I started with a simple teardown. As it turns out, this is the hardest part of the mod. After unscrewing the head and removing the bulb, the lens can be removed by pushing something blunt up through the hole. The lens just snaps in place. Make sure the end is soft so it doesn't scratch the lens, we'll need that later. The next part is pure brute force. To remove the reflector, place the head face down on soft wood and find a suitable socket to use as a punch on the rear. Apply ball peen hammer gratuitously to the makeshift punch and it should look something like this:

If one is so inclined, the clicky can also be accessed by using a very small screwdriver and carefully working it around the rubber sleeve while pulling. Once apart it looks like this:

Once apart it was apparent that with a little work I could make it P60 host-able. Aside from the tear down, the only thing I had to do was enlarge the interior of the head to accommodate a drop-in. Turns out a 55/64" drill bit is almost the perfect size for this (7/8" will also work, but will be oversided and require more tinfoil or copper). Yup, no lathe needed for this mod. Just drill down until the bit starts to touch the inner threads, then the depth will be perfect (just take your time to keep it centered). It should look like this:

And that's it for the hard stuff. The rest of the mod is rather blasé, more like a P60 assembly. As fate would have it, the day I started this mod a padded yellow envelope arrived on my doorstep. Looks like 'ol bessy is getting an XM-L! The driver of this particular drop-in would only do 1.7A, so it was swapped with a SB 2.8A piece. A single wrap of copper foil was cut and ready for final assembly.

The last part only requires snapping the plastic lens back in place. Mine had been scratched to hell and back from over a decade of carry, so a new one is on order.

And that's it. I've fallen in love all over again. The neat thing about this is that a used scorpion can be had for @$20, which puts it in the same price range as a solarforce. But the IMHO, there's no comparison...The scorpion is smaller, slimmer, has a better feel due to the full rubber grip, and doesn't have any pocket shredding "tacticool" assult crown. The fact that's it's now putting out roughly 10x the lumens doesn't hurt either . Although it can be run off of primaries, I suggest using a good 17670 (depending on driver/emitter combo, of course). And that's it!

Here's some before and after shots :

Before:

And after:



Nice one! I love the before and after lightning bug vs. A-bomb comparison! Frontpage'd and Sticky'd. Thanks for keeping us entertained with this.

Can I make a request for a future episode? This...

...is one of the few flashlights that I have tossed out. It's actually a very attractive host, but utterly worthless because of the 9 glow worms that consume 3 AAA batteries at a time. But I bet you could make a real pocket rocket out of this. It has enough diameter to fit a P60 I suspect...

I love the before and after pics. Nice job Match!

Like this?

http://flashlightnews.net/forum/index.php?topic=2450.0

OK Lambda is a lot better at these things than I am.....

Thanks for the nice comments. sb56637, I think I know what lights you're talking about. I've seen them at the dollar store. Although I have reservations about it being a good host because the few I handled seemed like they were made out of heavy gauge tin foil. Then again, it's only a buck....I'll pick one up and let you know.

Nice!

i got a ton of those 9 led flashlights at Ocean state job lot... i recently was thinking about making one or two into high powered lasers lol

or better yet, ill just have fun with these

wont be rediculously bright by any means, but will be a cheap reliable mod

Love it. :)

I have a Surefire e2e that has served me well on three continents for well over a decade, in the desert, in sub zero conditions, more or less crudely attached to different helmets, dirt bikes, mountain bikes, firearms of various calibers, pets and Lord knows what else. It's not very bright (even keychain lights will give it a run for its money), it has been thorougly abused and it shows in places. And yes, it's still an incandescent light, just like the day it came out of the factory, a million and one bulb and battery changes ago. It doesn't get much regular use any more but I still absolutely love that light.

I've often thought about modding it but so far, I could never bring myself to do it. :)

Great work Match. What mil copper foil do you prefer to work with?

I'm not sure what I'd prefer....but what I have on hand is 6mil (.15mm). The stuff I use comes off of high voltage shielded cable. There's always about 6"-8" of the stuff that gets thrown out after the electricians at work get done making a splice.

I'm gonna try this. I enjoy your writing!

Rich

Hey Match, Great Mod. I've had my Scorpion ofr years and love it. I really want to do this mod. Can you list the parts you used. I'm new to the subject and the prospect of all these different dropins and drivers is perplexing. I think i can follow your directions and rebuild this thing as long as I have the right parts.

Aloha and welcome to BLF wpnorton!

Welcome, wpnorton! It's nice to hear someone getting something out of my projects. If I remember correctly, the only parts you'll need are a drill bit (I think it was 55/64") and a little bit of aluminum or copper foil. Measure twice, drill once. If you're careful in removing the stock lens it can be reused. Other than that, once modded, a regular P60 drop-in will slide in like it was made to. The only other thing to keep in mind is that the drop-in I used I modded with a 2.8A SB driver. The problem was the components on the backside making contact with the rim of the body if tightened down too hard. Still worked great, just gotta remember to keep that gorilla strength in check. Let me know if you have any other questions and how it turns out for you.

-Match

Do you have links to the parts you used. I can't seem to find anything on a 2,8v SB driver?????

I think the below link is the lamp module your refering to? Am I on the right track?

http://www.batteryjunction.com/1-mode-led-upgrade-r2.html

The drop-in I used was a 3-18v XM-L from kaidomain.com. I used that one because I thought I'd still want to run it off of 2x16340's. I didn't really like that drop-in as much as I thought I would, so I put a 2.8a 3 mode driver in from shiningbeam.com. I just looked and it appears that driver isn't listed on his site atm...which means he's out of stock. This one is very similar. If you look at the driver linked, you'll notice it has components on both sides of the pcb, which works, but is less than ideal due to the diameter of the body. Honestly, if you want a great drop-in, I would recomend this one from solarforce-sales.com. Combine that with one 17670 and you'll have a fantastic little torch. It's actually what I've since swapped mine over to.

awesome write up! I have a few scorpion lights that i didnt really know what to do with until now!

I am just learning, so I am just curious as to why you are recommending a XP-g drop in as apposed to a XM-L? I see some XM-L P60 dropins with 460 lumens, but again, when it comes to changing the driver, you lost me. I think i will have to get some in my hand first to see what everything is...

Would this work as well? http://www.batteryjunction.com/p60-dropin.html

Welcome Mustangous! (I like the name...I used to grudge race an '01 Bullitt.)

To answer your question, I don't think I recommended an xp-g, (I used an xm-l in the build). Having said that though, I have since put an xp-g drop-in in place powered by a 17670 li-ion. (I still really like a good xp-g with a smooth reflector...)

Do you still plan on running yours on 2 primaries or single li-ion? Deciding that would help narrow down your choices.

That's one (insert f-word here) great!

And on top of that, you brought that famous line. reminds me of that blender spots on youtube; "will it blend?"

I'll make use of that in the future!

Simon the sixfink

(who's been dumped for a younger, prettier and brighter "torch" in RL... d'uh! Leaves me with more time here, now does it?)

I been into mustangs since I was 16, now 32. Still have my original 90 fox. I need to get back into it though. Lol. House priorities.
I plan on using 123’s because I get them for free :-). I was thinking about the one I linked about with the 3 mode option. Was going to order through them, but hear their shipping takes 10 days. I’m a little impatient for that. Lol