# Modified petzl DUO in progress



## recycler (Apr 28, 2011)

hi all
Firstly great site, and keep up all the good work to everybody who posts here
This is my first post, so hope it goes well..

The project, my 8 year old duo has been in regular use and showing signs of wear, it is used for work and play and often, before this mod it has allready recieved a new cable and headband, diy of course.

My plan; to remove the halogen bulb which is pretty rubbish, and replace it with a cree xpg, and try keep the variable focus thing using the existing side knob, also using a dx aspheric lens so i can get some throw
Also to retain the original 5mm LED 3mode cluster which is in the unit

Problems with the build
The original switch needs removed and replaced with something more suitable, but retaining the original look
The insides need gutting completely and thrown away
There needs to be a form of heatsink internal to conduct heat from the xpg, there also needs to be a slug for the xpg which will slide inside the heatsink
There needs to be a seperate driver internal for the xpg
The slug needs to move up and down as per the standard DUO

The driver, ive found a Petzl driver from ebay, this is a 4 mode, momentary action hi/med/lo/flash/off, however these are slightly faulty as when off there is a feint glow which is only just visible in the dark, so draining battery very slow, however if i can cut power completely using the rotary switch that will not be a problem

The switch, this is 5way 4pole switch, i need 2 poles and 4 way, so switch is going to be modded including; filing to fit/removal of poles/thinning down to the shaft/drilling and tap M3 to shaft of switch/moding shaft end to accept original locking petzl switch

Now for the pics, im about 70% complete
im trying to post photo,s so will be here soon

Recycler


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## recycler (Apr 28, 2011)

testing


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## Norm (Apr 28, 2011)

I see your'e trying to post a picture.
How to post Images from Google Picasa Web 
How to post images from Flickr 
Norm


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## recycler (Apr 28, 2011)




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## recycler (Apr 28, 2011)

ok, got that sorted, some photo's now

opened up duo


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## recycler (Apr 28, 2011)

now stripped duo, all internal tabs of plastic cut away, also holes needed for switch and heatsink


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## recycler (Apr 28, 2011)

here are all the internals, and 8 year old lens which has just been replaced


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## recycler (Apr 28, 2011)

here are the new bits


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## recycler (Apr 28, 2011)

here is the modified switch with an unmodified one


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## recycler (Apr 28, 2011)

modified switch in position, its a bit tight and will need slight tweakin but will work fine


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## recycler (Apr 28, 2011)

here we have the reflector cut to take heatsink, along with heatsink and slug, i do have a lathe which makes life easier
and the brand new lens, which is just peachy


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## recycler (Apr 28, 2011)

and finally, for now the xpg in its heatsink and slug with aspheric, its a cheap plastic from dx but will work fine


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## Norm (Apr 28, 2011)

recycler all your pics can go in the original post, there is no need to start a new post for each picture.
Norm


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## vtunderground (Apr 29, 2011)

recycler said:


> i do have a lathe which makes life easier



When I saw the thread title, my first thought was "I sure hope he has acess to a lathe!"

The mod's looking good, I can't wait to see the finished result.


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## recycler (Apr 29, 2011)

Thanks, I've done a trial fit and the slugg is 3mm too long at interface with led cluster so will trim in lathe next chance, also need to enlarge the hole so slug sits lower, zoom action will work and will get just under 10mm movement from first impressions. 
Everything fits including driver so far
pics after I do some more trimming


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## Bolster (Apr 29, 2011)

I like your work. If you get a chance could you include a photo of your lathe. I don't have a lathe. (Yet.) Just a small mill. I would like to learn how to do the sort of work you're doing someday.


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## recycler (Apr 30, 2011)

trial fit everything inside but not connected yet


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## kevinm (May 3, 2011)

Turn it on, man!


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## recycler (May 5, 2011)

ok, been busy and its done
firstly i didnt like the reflector so ditched it in favour of some 3mm alluminium plate to takesome more heat





and another






here is heatsink with 5mm led cluster






now for everything wired up and working
i now have 3 modes on the cluster switching down 1 click, up 1 click switches driver for xpg on, second click up changes through 4 modes, the zoom works a treat
just to be safe i put a small amount of copper grease on the slug/heatsink to help it a bit

i found another function, the two white wires below on the driver (used to be a momentary switch) give about a 10% boost to the xpg but sadly decided to not use it






there is also a function 3mm led red/green which shows battery life, this is through the heatsink and looks good






beamshots, very close, about 5 feet away but you get the picture, im happy with the throw of the xpg, if there was more space i could have used a better lens
but overall im happy

throw mode






dialed back in for flood at max





5mm led cluster on max, natural big flood





all photos from xperia x10 phone

so, what do ye all think then


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## vtunderground (May 5, 2011)

That's the best looking Duo mod I've ever seen.


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## robostudent5000 (May 5, 2011)

have you considered ditching the 5mm cluster and putting in a second xpg module? if you run it without the lens, it would provide smoother, brighter flood than the cluster. this would also open up the option of running the first xpg with a reflector since you wouldn't need the flood-to-throw option as much.


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## recycler (May 6, 2011)

Thanks I haven't thought of that, meybe if the case was metal I would consider, at the moment the cluster will get used 80% of the time, I can't think of a reason to ditch it as the cluster has a nice low beam and stays on at crazy low battery levels, next mod would probably be a car charger and charge port and meybe an external add on battery, I'm limited with power due to plastic housing I don't want it melting, if heat becomes an issue I will have to extend the heatsink outside the case, I've allready a plan for that if needed


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## recycler (May 15, 2011)

latest update, some GITD on the xpg slug


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