You’re welcome. I like that it’s real amperage up top, at the emitter, after any driver losses.
I make sure to use the negative lead because if it manages to touch the walls of the head while testing it will only bypass the driver and go direct drive off the cell. If using the red positive lead and it shorts, sparks and smoke and damage done in that same split second your heart and stomach meet jumping out your …… 
Thanks for the tip DB, and yes, those “ups I reversed the polarity” moments can be “interesting”, I fried my tablet like that (internal battery life diminished rapidly so I tosed it out and left just two leads for external battery pack) along with several step up converters that I often use for different things like driving 12V COB leds or 12V fans etc…
Spontaneous headlamp mod…
So I was walking down the isle of my local “home depot” style shop and saw a cheapo $8 3xAAA headlamp that looked like it could fit a triple, and as I have dual headlamp project ongoing I though I’d have a shot at making a prototype triple headlamp to see if it’s worth pursuing.
I ripped out the LED, resistor and small switch, and stuffed some triple optics to see if it would fit nicely. It fits but not perfect, the hole is a little too large so I slopped on some glue:
I stuck a S2 spacer on the back with artic aluminia adhesive:
I didn’t want to glue everything in place and at the same time didn’t want the hole thing to fall part with flashing new firmware versions so I kept the original battery case and put a hole in it for the spacer and wires, and stuffed in one of my G-16 programmable constant current / PWM hybrid drivers. I didn’t want to use my FET based F8, it would probably melt the plastic a little too quickly. It’s just an initial trial so 6 amps from 16 x 380mA 7135s is enough:
With my ongoing dual LED headlamp project I’ve gotten annoyed with the wires sticking out. So when I was just walking down the isle of the shop I happened to see this:
It says max 10 amps on the description and is long enough for two projects. I chopped it in half, took a 18650 case from another cheapo headlamp, soldered it in and it was good to go! Funny I didn’t think of this before, it’s a pretty simple solution and more than enough for a prototype:
I couldn’t use the original crappy small switch so I installed my own. I squeezed it in using the existing plastic as support:
The downside was that the rubber switch cover wouldn’t fit under. As this is just a prototype test I slopped on some epoxy and stuck it on the outside. I don’t expect it to stay there for long, but it should last long enough for me to evaluate if I want a headlamp with a triple in it:
So here it is, my triple XLP-HI headlamp prototype… spontaneously made within two days of simply seeing a cheapo headlamp in the store:
Those are the most fun mods because there isn’t anything to lose. If it fails, no big loss, but when it works…it’s that feeling of accomplishment.
I’d have to agree, fun indeed. First time I’ve done this kind of “quicky”. Everything except glued optics can be re-used again.
Very nice mod Mike !
Another impressive one .
How it handles heat ?
Nice, Mike now go do something constructive. Oh yeah, forgot this is a hobby and this is what hobby’s are about.
Seriously this really is a sweet mod. 
Thanks. I haven’t had it long enough to melt plastic yet, but as it’s a plastic host I can’t feel how hot it is. Once the copper spacer heats up it might melt it’s way out 
Because of the driver position I don’t expect the temp sensor of the 85 will be much help. Doesn’t matter though, the idea is to make a alu casing for my headlamp project once I find out what kind of configuration I want. It’s leaning toward the dual LED config though, will be updating that thread with new progress next week or so.
So we end up with the strap left from the original light? :person_facepalming: 
:laughing:
A while ago I bought this lightcasltle then later sold it to a mate. He asked me recently to make it one mode. I considered just running DD but I figured he might let it run hot enough to desolder one of the leds. So I installed a single mode 9a driver The output may have dropped marginally but can’t really tell.
I added rollers to my lathe steady tonight. Drilled and tapped the points. Made small washers to space the bearings off. Installed :sunglasses:
Cool, at first I thought you were going to notch the points and put the bearings there instead.
Hey that’s a good idea. It never occurred to me since I was just mimicking what I had seen on the web. I’ll check if the material is thick enough to slot the bearing in. Thanks
I fine tuned the fitment of a heat sink I made for another forum member, boy is it hot out there! We still have 2 months of summer to go, easy….
I put an old mercury thermometer on the central support column the other day, big 4x8 wood beam, so the thermometer is in the center of the shop, away from exterior walls by about 20’ and some 12-13’ from the peak of the roof, directly behind the lathe. It’s 104º in the shade, no air movement at all. Wicked! That’s 39.5ºC for y’all that don’t do Fahrenheit.
my fav small sun mod
Head from a zyt13. Tube and tail from a zyt27.
Fet driver with an XHP70, extra copper, two IMR 18350’s and BINGO ……
The side switch is inoperable. Would like to find a good driver w/ e-switch that will fit in this thing.
Also an OP reflector would make it my fav id say.
Would be awesome weapon mounted.
I was bored today…
You could sputter the reflector and both DrJones and led4power have E switch compatible drivers. Some MtnE drivers are compatible as well.
Finally today I made my first modded light:
It is bright, gets hot really quick. I spent a lot of time learning how to do things. Then about an hour to recognize that reflector was doing short circuit…from the temperature one spring collapsed due to hot, but fortunately - nothing else was burned.
Since I was using regular Convoy light - not the host - I had to desloder the driver from pill….that was really difficult. How do you do this?
Afer that - another challenge was to solder new driver in place…maybe you have also some hint for this?
Wow, nice job :)! The thing is, though, the parts (and work) you put into the modded headlight probably cost way more than the original one :)??
Thanks.
Of coarse, but I’m designing a headlamp that will be made from aluminum (CNC machining). This is just a protoype test to see if I want to make a triple headlamp alu case. I don’t think so though, I’’ll probably pursue my other expensive “cheapo” prototype: Build: Dual XP-L headlight project.
I made up an extension ring for a DQG 26650 to take a Khatod optic. I haven’t filled it with running gear yet. The thread onto the body worked out a little bit tight but I think it’s a good thing because I notched a groove in the extension ring for the optic to sit flat ie the optic has a nob on one side from manufacturing (I guess that’s what it is…?). Now the optic won’t try to spin when I screw the bezel on and off :sunglasses:
