# Rayovac Sportsman 7D



## Sgt. LED (May 16, 2009)

OK I just got this light in today and I'm wondering what to do with it.
First thing I did was to toss a Mag xenon 6 cell bulb in it. It's got decent throw but the spill was way way wide, nice! I like the light but it can be more.
It is in good shape except for the reflector and I have all the body sections.
I picked up on only 2 mentions of it on CPF but I didn't search too long.

#1. I would like to keep it incan. I have a lot of LED's!
#2. It needs a new reflector. 
#3. It's goofy but I think I would like to stick to 7D alkies. :shrug:
#4. Whatever I do to it it must be reversable. I will not potentionally ruin a light this old.

Juggernaut mentioned getting another body section so it holds 10 D cells and putting in a Par 36. I like the Par 36 idea because it solves the reflector problem. Would I have to mod the connections on the Par bulb so it would work? Which Par is the right one?

Maybe there are other solutions or options besides the Par route?
I am all ears incan guys! Also the magic word is "cheap". The light cost me $5.


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## lctorana (May 16, 2009)

PAR36 lights come in 4.8V, 6V, 12V, 12.8V or 13V.

And higher, but that's irrelevant.

There ain't no such animal as an 8.4V PAR36 lamp. Hence Juggernaut's 10-cell design. You might be able to overdrive the 6V lamp (H7550, btw) with 6 cells, but certainly not 7.

Here's an alternative idea - keep the bad reflector, use a Pelican 3853L as the bulb, and replace the glass with some sort of interesting lens from Surplus Shed.


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## willrx (May 16, 2009)

I have two of these lights. Interested to see where this goes.


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## Juggernaut (May 16, 2009)

The Dorcy industrial 6 volt flashlight comes with a reflector and lens that “should” work since it was the replacement for the older version of the light with a sealed beam bulb, however both the reflector and lens are made of plastic. Also I don’t know how you could hook it up internally. Nest the original lens as I’m sure you found out is made of plastic, so that limits higher powered bulbs with the stock reflector. As for as the Par 36 rout you could so as I have done however you must be understand that the lowest wattage 12 volt bulb is 12 watts witch would work great “I’m guessing” off of 10 Ds but it’s all flood, while the next up bulb is very under driven “30 watts with way to much voltage sag” also these would need the use an extra extender. If my knowledge serves me right “I know Incans not really LEDs” but MCEs and P7s pull around 14 watts at their max which should be attainable pulling 1.5 amps out of D cells so you could go that rout for 800 lumens “if you over drive the LED” and a probably 5-6 hours of run time “though I could be wrong”. 
 
By the way did you acquire this on Ebay? One went for a similar price recently and I was hesitating over buying to get more extenders.


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## american lockpicker (May 16, 2009)

Thats a sweet light!


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## Sgt. LED (May 16, 2009)

I know! It's so retro cool. I have always liked the old 70's Rayovac Sportsman line. Wish they still made them.

I bought this one from the flashlight museum for 5 bucks.




Crazy deal.

So it looks like I need an extender........
The 6 Xenon works OK for now so at least it's not out of commission. Not a fan of the plastic lens.


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## american lockpicker (May 16, 2009)

Surefire (the store in Parkersburg not the company) has a 7D Maglite krypton bulb for around $4 if you need a proper bulb for it.


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## mdocod (May 17, 2009)

wonder if it'll fit AA cells 4 abreast.. I know you want to keep it on D alks but hey... 32AA cells could be a fun little adventure as well


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## Sgt. LED (May 17, 2009)

32AA! OK I'll check when I get home and see if it can do 4.

You'd have to be the one to make the holder for me. 


lctorana said:


> There ain't no such animal as an 8.4V PAR36 lamp. Hence Juggernaut's 10-cell design. You might be able to overdrive the 6V lamp (H7550, btw) with 6 cells, but certainly not 7.


This light does have a 1 cell extension on it so if the Par you have mentioned runs on 6 without flashing then maybe that's what I should try. So the question is wheather or not the 6V PAR36 can survive on 6D. If so what's the lamp life reduced to, what would the output be, and what is the runtime.
:thinking:


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## Juggernaut (May 18, 2009)

Sgt. LED said:


> 32AA! OK I'll check when I get home and see if it can do 4.
> 
> You'd have to be the one to make the holder for me.
> 
> ...


 
The H7550 is a good bulb and is meant to be used with 6 volt SLA batteries, I do not own any 6 volt SLAs “only lots of 12 volts” and I am currently running it off of an 8F Energizer alkaline 6 volt battery “off topic but I’m sad to say Energizer just discontinued their production of this battery:mecry:” anyways it’s decently bright in this setup, if slightly under driven. It pulls 1.3 amps at 6 volts and I would honestly not try pushing it pass 5 D cells “7.5 volts” it’s not that the bulb couldn’t probably handle more. It’s that unlike $1-4 Bi-pin bulbs, these bulbs cost like $25 and if you blow one of these it would suck a lot. Overdriven off of 5Ds should result in a pretty bright light around 10+ watts at maybe 27 lumens per watt would give you 270-300 lumens, if you upped the ante 9 volts by 1.85 “estimated new amp draw” around 16.65 watts at 30? Lumens a watt, putts you around 500 Lumens of very white out put and an incredible piercing beam that could probably rival most if not all astrosphereic LED lights. At around 1.65 amps 5D batteries would probably last about 5 hours and at 1.85 amps for 6D batteries about 3.5 hours, though after the first 30 minuets or less you would see a noticeable drop of power “such as the standard Maglite pulling .75 amps losses like 50% output after the first hour and then runs for another 10 hours, with the greater draw on the batteries you can probably see an even more noticeable drop off in output in a shorter amount of time. My 10D 30 watt RayOvac makes about 650 Lumens with fresh batteries but after the first 5-10 minuets it has a massive drop in performance to what I would think is about 350-450 under driven lumens, even if the light should theoretically run for another 2 and one half hours. 
 
Lastly I don’t think I mentioned before hand if you use Par36 bulbs you will have to wire the bulb up to work, the simplest thing to do “Which I did” was to simply attach a wire from the switch to one of the bulb’s terminals, then cover it in electrical tape, take some good conductible metal and screw it directly to the opposite bulb terminal so it covers both that terminal and over the electrical taped terminal so that the D cells directly touch it. This isn’t probably the best / strongest / reliable way to do it but it’s worked fine so far, just be careful not to allow the cells to slam into the head because they might break the bulb:sigh:.


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## Sgt. LED (May 18, 2009)

Thank you for the info! I will be moving into Par 36 sometime next week I think.

However last night I solved the reflector problem. :twothumbs
I dug around and found something that I already had that gives crazy throw.





Yes I robbed the Dorcy!!!!!!!! I now have great throw in an old light using the Mag 6 cell Xenon. It throws better than it did in the Dorcy because the Mag Xenon bulb focuses even better than the bulb the Dorcy came with. It's the best thrower in my house now. No contest at all.

IF there is anyone out there looking for a super easy replacement for their factory lens and reflector this is it! The Dorcy's lens and reflector fit perfectly. There is even a ridge in the lens where the head assembly retaining wire rests perfectly. This set-up does make it harder to screw the tailcap on because the reflector is twice as deep as factory and that moves the batteries that much deeper into the light. I managed to get it on but cutting a bit off the tail spring would make life easier. When putting this new Dorcy head assembly in just take the small negative tab and bend it up toward the lens. Align this tab with the switch on the light and you're golden. The only other change is flipping the big head spring around. The closed or connected end of the big spring should now sit toward the switch, that's it. No soldering, no permanent mods to the Dorcy or to the Rayovac Sportsman. If you want brighter then sure you need to move into PAR territory and do a touch of soldering like Juggernaut said. The Dorcy lens and reflector are plastic so a true *hot* wire or a potted bi-pin would melt things. I'm pretty sure the Mag Xenon won't do any melting since it's safe in a stock Mag. So far I'm right!

 This Rayovac is a laser.


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## Juggernaut (May 18, 2009)

I’m glad this worked out for you, just to air on the side of caution, when I used the Magnum star Xenon in my RayOvac when it used to be an 7D “not 10” I burnt out the bulb in under three days:mecry:, so just a warning though it could be a random event “I tend to destroy components a lot faster then most:sigh:” your plastic reflector should be fine though my cardboard 6D krypton bulb hotwire light has melted it’s reflector before but it is much smaller and if I remember correctly The Dorcy’s reflector off sets the bulb a little bit so it should be fine:thumbsup:. I wish there was a way to just buy the reflector and lens for the this light, and not the whole light itself “$40 for a reflector and lens isn’t worth it:sigh:”.


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## Sgt. LED (May 18, 2009)

Yeah I wouldn't drop $40 for it but I already had it and wasn't using it much. If you are lucky you might be able to find a place that still carries these for $20. I think $20 would be worth it if your old lens is scratched up or your reflector is ruined. Especially if you really wanted to get impressive throw from a nice classic. Didn't the older cheaper blue case version of this light have the same lens and reflector?

I didn't find much data on running a 6 Xenon on 7 cells. I have heard that these bulbs don't like being overdriven so I was hoping that the resistance from the switch and tail spring on a 70's light would be enough to save it. 
I need a tester! 
So far it's working but I think you are right, it's only a short while till she burns up. When it goes I think I will knock it down to 6 cells. I do have a spare 6 cell Xenon bulb. Not as bright on 6 but more dependable.


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## Sgt. LED (May 18, 2009)

Now what would an ROP low bulb do.......................... Melt it?


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## Juggernaut (May 18, 2009)

Sgt. LED said:


> Now what would an ROP low bulb do.......................... Melt it?


 
Yes….but not immediately:devil:. Theirs no problem running a ROP Low bulb in even the smallest plastic reflectors as long as it’s not for long, I heard it would take 7 minuets to start damaging a stock Maglite reflector, but for testing purposes 30 seconds or so shouldn’t do any damage at all:thumbsup:. 

The ROP Low flashes at 9.6 volts so 7 Ds are not going to work “with out a soft starter because, though.... there is no way that Alkaline batteries are going to keep up their voltage at 2.3 amp loads! In fact it may just, work but I wouldn’t try it myself. You’d get 1,500 Lumens though!!” Anyways on 6 Ds with some sag your still looking at 750+ Lumens which isn’t to shabby at all “more then my 10D, 30 watt version on fresh batteries:thumbsup:.



> Didn't the older cheaper blue case version of this light have the same lens and reflector?


 
The older blue version used the Par36 sealed beam bulb H7550.


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## Sgt. LED (May 18, 2009)

I may eventually get an ROW low bulb just for kicks.

I am looking into getting a potted Carley 808 bulb.
It can take the voltage with no problem but I am not sure about the heat. I have no clue how hot it gets around 10 volts.

I have also discovered that there is such a thing as a 7 Cell Xenon star bulb! If I can land one of those it should be perfectly safe.
*BIG if!!!* If it does happen I better buy more than one. :laughing:


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## Juggernaut (May 19, 2009)

Wait a second! A 7 cell Xenon Magnum star!? How can that be possible? Xenon Magnum stars are pretty new and how long ago did Maglite discontinue the 7 D and C lights, it was years and years ago, I thought before Xenon Magnum stars came out, Because they definitely wouldn’t introduce an upgraded bulb for a light that wasn’t in production. I also heard that the 7 and 5 cell lights had the same output so most people bought the 6 cell back in the day, though I could be wrong:thinking:.


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## Sgt. LED (May 19, 2009)

It's not a *Mag-num* Star......................



Carley makes it.

mdocod...... It can fit 4 cells side by side! Ignoring the expense of that many batteries and chargers, what were you thinking of fitting in the light bulb wise?


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## Juggernaut (May 19, 2009)

Sgt. LED said:


> mdocod...... It can fit 4 cells side by side!


 
Also 3 cr123 cells side by side.


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## Sgt. LED (May 19, 2009)




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## Howecollc (Jun 1, 2009)

That Dorcy lantern should have come with a Philips HPX-53 Xenon bulb in it rated at .975 amps draw at 6.0 volts. While it is certainly the most yellow Xenon bulb I have ever seen, it can take a ridiculous amount of overdrive without flashing. 

I put this bulb in an old RayOVac 2D chromie along with 3 CR123s and gave it to a buddy of mine. He recently used up the last of his 12 pack of Surefire 123s, meaning he has run it thru 4 changes of batteries. People say the Radio Shack KPR-112 6.0 volt bulb usually flashes when they replace the first set of depleted CR123s with a fresh set. His HPX-53 is still going after 4 fresh sets. 

I think it might very well be able to handle 7 ni-cads, while maybe not being able to take the initial voltage spike of 7 alkalines. I know you said the Mag Xenon focused better, but the extra output of the HPX-53 when over-driven to this level might make up for a lot. Can't hurt to try if you've already got the bulb.

Not all PAR-36 sealed lamps are floodlights. I've included a link below to a GE 12v 20 watt "very narrow spot" lamp at WW Grainger, where you can walk into a local branch and get them to order it for you. It's useful to BS something to the effect that you work in the building trade or similar if you don't have an account with them. As for the voltage, I'm sure you can come up with many imaginative ways to get the light up to 12 volts; 2 MagCharger battery sticks in series comes readily to mind.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/1PEK6


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## mdocod (Jun 2, 2009)

Juggernaut said:


> Also 3 cr123 cells side by side.



Sorry I missed getting back to this thread...

Hmmm... 

Here's some ideas:

32AA cells: 
Experiment with a 64460U, 24V 100W 2000hr axial filament.... Might require a dummy cell or 3... 7K bulb lumens give or take a few thousand.., run-able on eneloops with a runtime of 15-20 minutes. 

----

The 400W 64663 is just calling for a battery configuration that can drive it properly... unfortunately, I don't think 32AA cells will do it. Considering the ~12A current requirement to overdrive, I think this could be a candidate to take advantage of 2/3A size hobby style cells. I think the golden ticket here would be between 36 and 39 cells (experimentation required) 3 abreast would fit fine if you can fit CR123s in there in this configuration... Might be able to reach ~20K bulb lumen on the top end here... for 5 minutes at best 



-----

With 3 li-ion cells abreast... hmmmmm...

will it fit 18mm cells or just the CR123 size (~17mm)?

Here's some thoughts based on the assumption that it will fit 3x17mm cells abreast:

24x17500 cells. Wired 8S3P for a ~29.6V 3.3AH power source (very good energy density here, and AWs 17500s are really great performers for an application like this coming in at a true 1.1AH at most loads, only slightly under when heavily taxed). A 64638 bulb, (24V, 100W, 300hr, 2900L).... Final results would be something like ~ 5000+ bulb lumen with a runtime around 40 minutes... Heat would likely limit continuous runs but it would have a nice practical amount of runtime on tap for a 5K lumen build... A 64642 would really be hard on the cells but would probably run more like 8K bulb lumen for ~20 minutes..

-----

A huge complicated adapter and a massive pile of cells and a crazy bulb would be really fun to show off... but don't forget the practical obvious solutions like just using 7 D size NIMH cells and running the 3853 bulb set. 

-Eric


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## ANDREAS FERRARI (Jun 2, 2009)

mdocod said:


> ... but don't forget the practical obvious solutions like just using 7 D size NIMH cells and running the 3853 bulb set.
> 
> -Eric



Long runtime and incredibly bright-what more can you ask for?:twothumbs I would start with the 3854 set first(should be enough resistance in an old light like that for these bulbs to work without(especially the LOLA).


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## Sgt. LED (Jun 2, 2009)

Thanks a bunch guys! I have lots of options to ponder now. 

And I need to find some ROP low bulbs!


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## mcbrat (Apr 9, 2013)

any pics of this still around?


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## mcbrat (Jun 10, 2013)

for anyone else who happens onto this thread...

the head of this light is the same diameter, but takes a sealed beam bulb, but installs the same, so you just need to split the lense away from the back of the bulb... I've found some car sites that show this being done with a tile saw blade chucked into a drill press and slowly rotating the bulb around until it's all cut.


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## snakebite (Aug 7, 2013)

btw i rebuilt my diehard rechargeable with 6 nimh d cells(real ones).
the h7550 seems to do fine on these.i probably have more than 50 hours on it total so it owes me nothing.
that reminds me to troll ebay for spares....you got competition now!


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## apete2 (Feb 15, 2016)

Just got a 7D from ebay today. No rust and leather strap is in good condition.

I popped in 7D alkaline cells and a mag 6 cell krypton bulb. Light throws well with nice spill.

Did we ever find a 7D xenon or krypton bulb? I would rather not use argon.

Was anyone successful with a sealed beam mod?


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## mcbrat (Feb 15, 2016)

I didn't have any luck with sealed beam, so had this done!

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?408908-The-biggest-drop-in-bulb-Come-see

it's my Dad's light now, so between this and his Maratac Cu 123, he keeps the neighbors out of the dark where he lives


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