# Sure-Fire E2 Lamp to LED conversion



## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 18, 2001)

Well, I couldn't wait for my lamp to burn out so I made my own drop-in LED replacement for my E2. I made it out of a bic pen barrel, coax cable with the guts pulled out,two washers and lots of hot glue. Sorry I don't have the digital camera anymore. Maybe I can take some shots at work. First I took a round white barrel Bic pen and cut it exactly the length of the regular lamp from the metal washer to the contact end. Leaving me with a small white plastic tube. I then cut a piece of thick contractor grade coax cable the same length. I pulled the guts out leaving me with a hollow tube. I stuck this tube into the Bic pen tube. The cheap coax won't be big enough. You have to get the good thick stuff. You can do without the coax tube if you have to. It's just to make it a better fit. Take a white 5600mcd LED and cut the positive lead short. About a quarter inch or a little less. Take a 33ohm resistor and cut the lead of one end leaving a quarter inch of wire. Solder the resistor short leg to the short leg of the LED. Cut down the positive lead to a quarter inch and solder a piece of resistor wire to it. Just cut off the resistor and keep the wire. The lead isn't flexible enough. Find a metal washer the same diameter as the metal washer in the original lamp. The one I found had a center hole exactly the right size for the white pen barrel to fit tightly in. I stuck the white barrel in it so it was flush with the other side of the washer and hot glued the back side of the washer to the white pen barrel. Stick the LED leads including the resistor through the flush end of the washer down into the pen barrel. There should be a quarter inch gap between the very bottem of the LED and the flush side of the metal washer. It has to stick up this far to be able to extend all the way into the head of the flashlight. Hot glue all around the underside of the LED to the washer. Cut away any excess after it dries. The glue can't be wider than the LED if it is to fit into the head of the light. Cut a slit in the pen barrel almost all the way to the washer. File a notch in the washer edge by the slit. Pull the negative lead (the one without the resistor) down into the slit in the pen barrel and down the side and over the washer into the notch. Bend the lead over so it sits flat on the LED side of the washer. Now take a small thin washer a little bigger than the pen barrel and notch the outer edge on one side and make another notch on the opposite outer edge. Make a small slit in the pen barrel for the positive lead to bend over the edge of the pen barrel and stick out. Hot glue the small washer onto the center of the pen barrel lining up the notch on one side with the slit in the pen barrel and the positive lead. After it dries bend the positive lead over the notch and across the washer and down into the other notch. Then bend the lead under the washer and around the pen barrel just to keep it out of the way. You can glue it to the side of the pen barrel if you want. Just don't let it touch the negative lead that's there. I know it's hard to picture with just written instructions. I'll try and get some pictures of it from different angles so you can see what I'm talking about. 

What's nice about this conversion is that I didn't have to modify the flashlight in any way.
I take my regular lamp out and drop the LED lamp in and I've got at least 26 hours of nice LED light. The reflector on the E2 is great for LED. It makes a nice bright smooth and round circle of light. It's plenty bright. Several times brighter then my white Photon. The circle of light is about 10 times bigger too. After doing all this I still think it would be easier to just take a burned out E2 lamp and replace the bulb with an LED. You might want to just wait till your lamp burns out instead of messing with all the glue and washers and stuff. But if you can't wait, give this project a try. It was a fun one. I'm still planning on getting the high output lamp too. Then I can switch between low (LED) medium and high depending on the situation.
I reworked the project 4 times until I got the brightness level I was looking for.
Here are the resistor values I tried and the mA output of the light. At least peeling off the glue was easy with the hot glue. Resoldering the resistors was kind of a pain though.

10 ohms 110mA
22 ohms 75mA
33 ohms 50mA
47 ohms 35mA

I finally settled on the 33 ohm resistor with a nice steady 50mA output.
Nice and bright and I don't have to worry about the LED blowing out and leaving me in the dark.
I really like the push button on the end for a quick burst of light and the twist on end cap works really smooth. This is my new favorite carry everywhere flashlight.


Brad


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 18, 2001)

Brad,

It was with great interest that I read your modification of the E2. But unfortunately I'm not familiar with the E2 at all. I know very little about the world of incandescent flashlights beyond the well known brands and models carried at my local Walmart and Home Depot. Do you have a link to a description or to the manufacturer's homepage? I want to know more!






Mark


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 18, 2001)

Here is the link.

Sure-Fire E2


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## SteveY (Mar 19, 2001)

Hi

Just curious to know how is the light output of your modification to E2 compare with the Streamlight Batonlite with 3 leds.

Regards


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 19, 2001)

I don't have the batonlight so I don't know. It's pretty bright though for a single LED flashlight.


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 19, 2001)

Here are some pictures I took after work today. Hopefully this will make the instructions easier to understand. Sorry some of the pictures are not real clear. I had to get very close to get the shot and the camera doesn't do that well under two feet. The comparison shots are of my Photon white on the left and E2 on the right. Both lights have about an hour runtime each on the batteries so they are pretty fresh.
Be carefull with the glue. A small bit must have fallen off when I removed the LED lamp. I then ran the regular lamp for about 10 minutes and the glue melted onto the inside of the lense. I got it off OK with a Q-Tip and hot water though. Took a while.
Sorry if this is too many pictures. They are small and should load fast though.


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## Lux Luthor (Mar 19, 2001)

Do you think you could fit a little coil in there? I might be interested in converting an E1.


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## AlexGT (Mar 19, 2001)

Wow! Great project Brad ! Maybe you could change the metal tail cap to fit it in so you can have a led backup, I don´t know if it would fit but you sure scored an A+ with that one.

Congrats

AlexGT


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## The_LED_Museum (Mar 20, 2001)

Your converted Surefire looks like it's kicking the Photon's @$$. Are you sure that's a single LED and not five or six?





The only thing missing is the forgotten bottle of cat **** remover that doesn't quite get out of the shot.





So how does your conversion compare in brightness to multiple-LED flashlights (like the Batonlite), or have you tried putting any side-by-side yet?

http://ledmuseum.home.att.net


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## Badbeams3 (Mar 20, 2001)

Jimminy crickets...are you sure you didn`t leave the incandesent bulb in there when you took the pic? I am surprised at how much nicer the beam is. Looks like it is not a narrow beam either. Jeeese, maybe the photon has defective batteries?
Very, very nice. I want one!


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## axolotls (Mar 20, 2001)

Has to be the reflector. Right?
I do have an extra lamp I could screw with but; after the rotating blackouts in CA yesterday, it came in mighty handy last night!

Brad, you are the man when it comes to LED conversions.

What can you compare this too (brightness-wise) or is it you brightess conversion yet>


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 20, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Guy Guyer:
*Do you think you could fit a little coil in there? I might be interested in converting an E1.*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

There is a little room left over in the white round part. Since you wouldn't need a resistor for the E1 maybe you could fit the coil in it instead.


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 20, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by telephony:
*So how does your conversion compare in brightness to multiple-LED flashlights (like the Batonlite), or have you tried putting any side-by-side yet?

http://ledmuseum.home.att.net*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

My 4 LED light that uses two 123 batteries and runs at 240mA is still way brighter. But for a single LED running at only 50mA it sure puts out some nice light. It's got to be the reflector.


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 20, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by axolotls:
*Has to be the reflector. Right?

What can you compare this too (brightness-wise) or is it you brightess conversion yet>*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This thing really has a nice reflector. This isn't my brightest LED flashlight but it's my favorite. I was looking for a high quality light to convert that runs on lithium 123 batteries. The E2 is perfect. Plus the ability to put in the bright lamp is a real plus. I still hope they come out with the dimmer 3 hour bulb I heard about. I had the 65 lumen bulb on for 15 minutes the other night and man was it getting hot.


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## axolotls (Mar 20, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brad:
*This thing really has a nice reflector. <snip> The E2 is perfect. Plus the ability to put in the bright lamp is a real plus. I still hope they come out with the dimmer 3 hour bulb I heard about. I had the 65 lumen bulb on for 15 minutes the other night and man was it getting hot.*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think I'll wait till this bulb runs out on me. I have an extra. I used mine during the Calif. blackouts last night. The red eveready flashlight crowd had to put their heads down. Then I showed them the size of it and imagine the expression. I was using the momentary switch for a few minutes before it started heating up. I wonder how long we can keep it on before thermal shutdown.

You have a great idea going here, especially since the batteries run down in an hour or so, pop the led in and i am sure it can go for quite sometime before you dropped in another set of 123's


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 20, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brock:
*So how much are you going to charge for them? I want one, they look great!
Brock*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I wouldn't even know what to charge for one.
The first one took a few hours to make but that was mostly trying different parts from my junk box until I found the right size parts to fit the flashlight head. Trying all the different resistors took a while too. Now that I know what parts to use it wouldn't take as long. Would anyone be interested in trading some 5600mcd white LEDs for one? I can always use more of those.





Brad


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## Badbeams3 (Mar 20, 2001)

Well, I don`t have an E-2 but I may get one now. How about charging say...$15 and a couple bucks for shipping. When I get one I would be more than happy to be able to convert it as that would allow me to actually use it as opposed to just looking at it (batt cost).


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## Brock (Mar 21, 2001)

So how much are you going to charge for them? I want one, they look great!

Brock


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## Badbeams3 (Mar 21, 2001)

Hmm...no response. Well how about $23 deliverd?


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## Go Go Gadget Flashlight (Mar 21, 2001)

KenB,

Is there some reason you couldn't just buy a lamp assy from Surefire and put the LED in it?
No disrespect to Brad, that was a very cool construction project.





Surefire Lamp Assembly

(Edited 3/21/01)


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## Badbeams3 (Mar 21, 2001)

Hi Gadget, I`m not sure if using the parts from the Surefire bulb would be as good. It is possible one of the reasons Brad`s seems so bright is because the metal washers used act as a good heatsink, dispersing the heat away from the led leads and allowing more power to be sent through without overheating. I once spoke with John at Ledcorp and he was telling me how he had been able to run up the power to a regular Nachia by imersing the leads in oil. He said it was very bright. I tried immersing one myself in W-D 40 and running 6 volts through it. It was very bright but after two days the W-D 40 evaporated and the led turned blueish and dimmer. I learned since then that w-d 40 does conduct some current and was a poor choice on my part ( thanks to some of our members). But I did learn how tranfering the heat away allows for more power to be run with out damage. Other than that I guess I am thinking since Brad already new just how to do it I might see if he would be interested in making them for the less talented members such as myself.


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## Badbeams3 (Mar 21, 2001)

Why is everthing so wiiiiide?


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 21, 2001)

KenB,
re: wiiiiiiiiiiiiiide,
I whined about that a few weeks ago down at bb problems, but so far no answers...also, so slooooow today, think I'll try again later, tomorrow...


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 21, 2001)

I'd be glad to make some more of these lamp replacements for you guys who want them. I'm still working on a better contact though. I tried using a big solder blob and filed a flat spot on it. The solder leaked down and made contact with the negative lead. I ran the light for about five minutes and the handle got so hot I could hardly hold it.




I reworked it with no ill effect to the LED. I made another one with a Photon turquoise LED I had. Wow! It's bright. I sanded the LED a little to remove the rings.

As for selling these things... I'm out of LEDs. I need to order some more. I usually buy from www.whiteleds.net for a $1.75 each.
These LEDs seem pretty good. Have any of you guys tried these yet? I did buy one white LED from B.G. Micro. It's really white. Hardly any blueness to it. Where do you guys get your LEDs from?

Let me work on the contact a little more. I noticed a little ware on the wire from screwing the head onto the batteries. I want to make sure this thing is going to last before I send it out. 

I got to try out the light tonight. My friend is building a house across the street from me. The basement was just poured. We went to take a look at it and the E2 with the white LED lamp was plenty bright enough to see around the place. I also brought the 4 C cell Maglight with the Turtlelight LED in it. Very nice spotlight to see all the way accross the street with.


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## vcal (Mar 21, 2001)

Brad,
You might just ask Paul @whiteleds.net if he is sending 
the Nichia 5600s....(500BS)
p.s.-I'd like 2 buy a completed
element from u also, and maybe 
later get an E2 to go along with it!










lightaddict


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## Go Go Gadget Flashlight (Mar 22, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by KenB (and Ted):
*Why is everthing so wiiiiide?



*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry guys! My fault.





The pic I posted was so wide, the whole page grew to accomodate it. I changed it to a link instead and it's better now.
As for _SLOW_, I didn't do it.





As for KenB's response, good point. I didn't know that a "heatsink" would do any good.

For future reference, if you want to try the oil method, use pure mineral oil. It is non-conductive. That's what they used in the old high power transformers before they discovered PCB's. ;-)


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## Chris M. (Mar 22, 2001)

<- Hey look- new icon!!!


_Why is everthing so wiiiiide? _

It`s because of that long wide pic Gadget posted up there......at least it was- he`s edited it down to a click-on link now so all is well again.

Trouble with these UBBs is that if someone posts a very large picture that is wider than the normal width of the message column in the table, the whole page stretches to fit the picture, and the text sort of follows making users of lower resolution screens very seasick having to scroll left and right to read it!












(edit)
Hey Gadget- you beat me to it! I`m just too slow.....or is it the board?


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 22, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by KenB:
*Hmm...no response. Well how about $23 deliverd?



*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

$23.00 delivered. Does that sound fair to everyone? It should go for 26 hours on one set of batteries. The regular lamp would eat over $200 worth of batteries by then. Plus you would probably go through a couple of lamps too. I used my B.G. Micro LED today and made another one. Nice whiter light then the first one. I think I'll keep this one and send Brock the prototype to test. This is the one used in the pictures I posted earlier. That way he can do an independent review for everyone before you spend any money. I ordered more LEDs from B.G. Micro tonight. Thats what I'll be using in these things from now on. I really like the nice white color. These are almost twice the price of the one I used in the protype but I think it's worth it to get a little bit more whiteness in the light.


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 22, 2001)

Brock,

Would you be interested in reviewing my E2 LED replacement lamp for the forum? The light is going to be a little more blue then the LED I'll be using in the next batch but the brightness should be about the same. This is the prototype with just a wire stretched across a washer for the contact to the battery. I think I found a better way to make the contact today. I bent the wire back and fourth into a solid pattern and put a good blob of solder on it and filed it almost flat. This should hold up longer. If you're interested, e-mail me your snail-mail address and I'll send it right out to you.
Of course you can keep the lamp for doing the review. If it's no good though, just say so. My feelings won't be hurt. I just don't want to rip any of the guys off if it's not as good as I made it out to be.

Thanks,

Brad


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## Badbeams3 (Mar 22, 2001)

Sounds like a plan to me. The only thing I might do different is send Brock the better one, that way the review would be precise


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## Go Go Gadget Flashlight (Mar 22, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by videocal:
*Brad,
You might just ask Paul @whiteleds.net if he is sending 
the Nichia 5600s....(500BS)
p.s.-I'd like 2 buy a completed
element from u also, and maybe 
later get an E2 to go along with it!










lightaddict*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I just ordered some whites from [email protected]. He has NSPW500BS (5600mcd, 20 deg). $1.50 ea if you buy 50... Guess how many I ordered?


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## Brock (Mar 22, 2001)

Hi Brad we of course I would like to see one of these retrofits! Since I have 2 E2's, one of them is just begging for an LED. I would agree that it would be better to send whichever one is more representative of the ones you are going to sell for a more realistic review. In about a week or so I am sending another couple of lights over to Craig, I could send it there once I am done with it since I was going to let him play with an E2 anyway.

Brock


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 23, 2001)

Brock,

Sounds good. e-mail me your address and I'll send out my best one. Please feel free to send it on to Craig when you're done with it.

Thanks,

Brad


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## Brock (Mar 23, 2001)

Cool, you should have my address.





Brock


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 24, 2001)

Brock,

It's on it's way. You should see it Tuesday.


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## Brock (Mar 24, 2001)

Ok, it's on its way to you now.

Brock


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 24, 2001)

Well, I reworked the lamp again. Now it's running at 85mA with a 22 ohm resistor and is even brighter. I let it run for about 20 minutes and checked for heat buildup. The contact was only warm and the LED wasn't hot at all. This is the one I mailed to Brock today for testing and review. Only 15 hours run time now instead of 26 hours but I think the brighter light is worth the trade off. Hopefully Brock and Craig will have good results with the lamp.

Brad


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## Badbeams3 (Mar 24, 2001)

Brad, is there room for two resistors and a micro switch? It might be nice to be able to choose between 85 and say 20 millamps. Does the beam still have a nice white color or did it turn blueish purple?


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 24, 2001)

damn it



i just got the E2, and i told myself that i wouldn't buy anything else after that since i have a lot of other expenses.....but now you had to make this really cool LED assembly for it, and i have to buy it from you


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## Bucky (Mar 24, 2001)

I cannot wait to hear how bright this LED is. I think it was a great idea to send one to Brock so that he can compare it. Who has more lights/LEDs than Brock



? Plus, he can take some pictures too. Great idea guys.

Everyone with an E2 should have one of these for long runtime applications. SureFire can forget the long runtime lamp now and concentrate on the high output lamp. This LED conversion should be much better than any low power lamp SureFire could make



. If I had two E2's I could have one with the hopefully upcoming high output lamp for situations where I need a lot of light, and this LED conversion in the other E2 for times when runtime is more important. Many thanks for a great idea Brad



.

Bucky


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## The_LED_Museum (Mar 25, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brock:
*Cool, you should have my address.






Brock*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Brock, 

I guess my last e-mail to you fell into the bit bucket behind the computer... but I need your address again so I can get your lights returned... figured you'd eventually see my message if I posted it here.





thanks





http://ledmuseum.home.att.net


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## Size15's (Mar 25, 2001)

Do you think that SureFire will have overlooked the potential of LEDs?

I believe LEDs have a vital role to play. It is shear folly to ignore the the advantages that LEDs have to offer.

SureFire has never struck me as the "shear folly" type company.
SureFire is about providing the highest quality illumination options...

I look forward to reading Brock's review and seeing his photos. Thanks Brad!

Al


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## Brock (Mar 25, 2001)

Brad, at about what size resistor does it match the Photon with new batteries? I would guess the 33 ohm would be a bit brighter and the 47 would be a bit dimmer.

Brock


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## Badbeams3 (Mar 25, 2001)

Well, maybe Brad`s convert will give SureFire a gentle little kick in the a$$ and they will...let`s say...be happy to borrow his idea as making money is the real goal of any company. Might keep them awake all night knowing people are buying this and their not profiting. But then again, as people would not be buying SureFire replacement bulbs and batteries as often...and as long as Brad`s not getting rich advertsing on the internet...maybe no real threat... there would probably be much more profit in NOT making LED options for thier lights...why throw a bolt into the money machine untill you have to (untill someone else is doing it anyways). One more thought, most people that spend the kind of money required to buy a Surefire do so because they want the brightest light for it`s size, police, fire & rescue ect. When these folks want light...they want LIGHT...and thats what SureFires are the best in the world at. These people may not be interested in a LED. Well, we`ll just have to wait and see how this play`s out. Intresting question and thoughts AL.


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 25, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by KenB:
*Brad, is there room for two resistors and a micro switch? It might be nice to be able to choose between 85 and say 20 millamps. Does the beam still have a nice white color or did it turn blueish purple?*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ken,

I don't think they would fit. You might get the two resistors in it if you use the smaller 1/4 watt size. I use the 1/2 watt size since it's bigger and centers nicely in the tube. Then I wrap it up in a pigtail and 
smash it down and put a solder blob on it and file it down flat to meet the small
washer. The B.G. Micro LED in the lamp I sent to Brock still is bright white at 85mA. The LED from Paul is kind of blue but not because it's burning out. The thing isn't even getting hot at 85mA but I don't think 
I should push it much further. I wouldn't want it to blow out while I'm out in the dark somewhere. The first batch of LEDs from Paul at www.whiteleds.net seemed to be whiter then the last batch. They are 
more blue. Maybe a bad batch? I'll only be using the more expensive LEDs from
B.G. Micro in the lamp when I start making them to sell. I've got some on order now. I'll still probably buy more from Paul for other projects though. I put four of Paul's LEDs in a bulb case and run it with two 123
batteries and it 's nice and white. I don't know why some from the second order were 
blue.

Brad


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 25, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brock:
*Brad, at about what size resistor does it match the Photon with new batteries? I would guess the 33 ohm would be a bit brighter and the 47 would be a bit dimmer.

Brock*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Brock,

I'm not sure. I only have less then an hour on my Photon batteries but it doesn't seem as bright as it used to. The 47 ohm was still pretty bright because of the great reflector in it. I made another lamp tonight using a 82 ohm resistor. It runs at exactly 20mA. Not real bright but should go about 65 hours on one set of batteries. It's exactly the same brightness as my AA Maglight with two lithium batteries. The Maglight will run for about 225 hours though. I guess if I was going to get lost in a cave or something I might need that long of light.




I suppose if my power ran out I'd grab the 20 mA lamp and pop it in for the extra long run time. It's still bright enough to walk around the house with at night. Nowhere near as bright as the 85 ohm lamp though.

Brad


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## Badbeams3 (Mar 26, 2001)

Well, I would still urge you to try the switch idea...of coures you`d have to charge a little bit more. Otherwise we`ll all have to buy 2 modules...lol.


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Mar 26, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by KenB:
*Well, I would still urge you to try the switch idea...of coures you`d have to charge a little bit more. Otherwise we`ll all have to buy 2 modules...lol.



*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Using a switch sounds like a good idea. I just don't know where I'd put it. How big is the switch you are talking about?


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## napalm-2002 (Apr 2, 2001)

I just ordered an E2 lamp replacement from brad and i don't even own an E2."Yet"

Surefire please hear our cry.

Brad thanks for making it possible.


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## axolotls (Apr 4, 2001)

Recieved my LED Conversion from Brad today.

It coincided with the DL123's at 4.74 Volts. 

The MN03 won't even give a flicker at this voltage. Stuck the LED Conversion in voila.

Seems brighter than my 2AA Mag Conversion.

I suggest everyone with an E2 give this serious consideration.

Also, I need to think of some sort of way to carry both bulbs with me.

BTW, I am in complete darkness and using the E2 LED while building/upgrading my CPU.


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## Go Go Gadget Flashlight (Apr 4, 2001)

Now someone needs to make an E2 tailcap with storage.

Anybody want to _loan_ me an E2 for design specs?


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Apr 5, 2001)

How many mA is it pulling with the almost dead batteries? It should pull 85 or so with new batteries.


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## axolotls (Apr 6, 2001)

Unfortunately, I don't have a multimeter that reads current (Bottom of the line Fluke).

However, it is around 35 - 55 ma based on pure theoretical calculations.

It is brighter than my mag conversion that runs around 40 ma.

Best thing to do is run an E2 down like I did and measure the current at the LED.


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Apr 6, 2001)

I don't have any dead 123 batteries yet. I only use the standard lamp a little. Mostly just the LED. Batteries still going strong!


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## The_LED_Museum (Apr 10, 2001)

For those of you waiting for my take on the E2 with baited breath, it is now in progress.

The page is only about halfway finished, but if you want a head start, go to http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/e2.htm 

I'm typing more of the page's text as I speak (well I will after I hit the Save button) so there should be some good info up as the evening progresses.


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## Brock (Apr 10, 2001)

Craig, the E2 currently does not ship with the MN02 (25 lumen lamp), actually it hasn't been released yet. Just thought you should know for the review.

Brock


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## The_LED_Museum (Apr 10, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brock:
*Craig, the E2 currently does not ship with the MN02 (25 lumen lamp), actually it hasn't been released yet. Just thought you should know for the review.*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, the book said it did, so that's what I wrote.




I'll change it the next time I publish to that server.


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Apr 12, 2001)

I will try you battery Brad, i need a light that will give me many hours of service. Will you ship to Israel?

Sniper


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brad:
*Well, I couldn't wait for my lamp to burn out so I made my own drop-in LED replacement for my E2. I made it out of a bic pen barrel, coax cable with the guts pulled out,two washers and lots of hot glue. Sorry I don't have the digital camera anymore. Maybe I can take some shots at work. First I took a round white barrel Bic pen and cut it exactly the length of the regular lamp from the metal washer to the contact end. Leaving me with a small white plastic tube. I then cut a piece of thick contractor grade coax cable the same length. I pulled the guts out leaving me with a hollow tube. I stuck this tube into the Bic pen tube. The cheap coax won't be big enough. You have to get the good thick stuff. You can do without the coax tube if you have to. It's just to make it a better fit. Take a white 5600mcd LED and cut the positive lead short. About a quarter inch or a little less. Take a 33ohm resistor and cut the lead of one end leaving a quarter inch of wire. Solder the resistor short leg to the short leg of the LED. Cut down the positive lead to a quarter inch and solder a piece of resistor wire to it. Just cut off the resistor and keep the wire. The lead isn't flexible enough. Find a metal washer the same diameter as the metal washer in the original lamp. The one I found had a center hole exactly the right size for the white pen barrel to fit tightly in. I stuck the white barrel in it so it was flush with the other side of the washer and hot glued the back side of the washer to the white pen barrel. Stick the LED leads including the resistor through the flush end of the washer down into the pen barrel. There should be a quarter inch gap between the very bottem of the LED and the flush side of the metal washer. It has to stick up this far to be able to extend all the way into the head of the flashlight. Hot glue all around the underside of the LED to the washer. Cut away any excess after it dries. The glue can't be wider than the LED if it is to fit into the head of the light. Cut a slit in the pen barrel almost all the way to the washer. File a notch in the washer edge by the slit. Pull the negative lead (the one without the resistor) down into the slit in the pen barrel and down the side and over the washer into the notch. Bend the lead over so it sits flat on the LED side of the washer. Now take a small thin washer a little bigger than the pen barrel and notch the outer edge on one side and make another notch on the opposite outer edge. Make a small slit in the pen barrel for the positive lead to bend over the edge of the pen barrel and stick out. Hot glue the small washer onto the center of the pen barrel lining up the notch on one side with the slit in the pen barrel and the positive lead. After it dries bend the positive lead over the notch and across the washer and down into the other notch. Then bend the lead under the washer and around the pen barrel just to keep it out of the way. You can glue it to the side of the pen barrel if you want. Just don't let it touch the negative lead that's there. I know it's hard to picture with just written instructions. I'll try and get some pictures of it from different angles so you can see what I'm talking about. 

What's nice about this conversion is that I didn't have to modify the flashlight in any way.
I take my regular lamp out and drop the LED lamp in and I've got at least 26 hours of nice LED light. The reflector on the E2 is great for LED. It makes a nice bright smooth and round circle of light. It's plenty bright. Several times brighter then my white Photon. The circle of light is about 10 times bigger too. After doing all this I still think it would be easier to just take a burned out E2 lamp and replace the bulb with an LED. You might want to just wait till your lamp burns out instead of messing with all the glue and washers and stuff. But if you can't wait, give this project a try. It was a fun one. I'm still planning on getting the high output lamp too. Then I can switch between low (LED) medium and high depending on the situation.
I reworked the project 4 times until I got the brightness level I was looking for.
Here are the resistor values I tried and the mA output of the light. At least peeling off the glue was easy with the hot glue. Resoldering the resistors was kind of a pain though.

10 ohms 110mA
22 ohms 75mA
33 ohms 50mA
47 ohms 35mA

I finally settled on the 33 ohm resistor with a nice steady 50mA output.
Nice and bright and I don't have to worry about the LED blowing out and leaving me in the dark.
I really like the push button on the end for a quick burst of light and the twist on end cap works really smooth. This is my new favorite carry everywhere flashlight.


Brad*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Apr 14, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sniper:
*I will try you battery Brad, i need a light that will give me many hours of service. Will you ship to Israel?

Sniper
*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think I can ship there. I'll e-mail you some info when I find out what the shipping charges would be.


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## K Horn (Apr 14, 2001)

Brad
I just wanted to say thanks for a great idea. I had some leds lying around just waiting for a project and yours was it. Of course mine didn't go real smooth. I assembled it and then discovered that the washer was a "hair" too big. So out came the dremmel and all is better.

It was very clever coming up with the BIC pen barrel. In fact I discovered that it would also fit in a PR base which made it easier to hook up 4 LEDS into one. I tucked the outer wires so they would slide against the base, no soldering.

THANKS Brad


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Apr 14, 2001)

Those Dremmel tools are great. Aren't they?
I've got the little cordless one and all kinds of tips for it. I really use it a lot for my flashlight projects. Glad your project went well. Are you running at 85mA too? I use my LED lamp all the time. Still on the first set of batteries. That E2 sure is a nice light. I hardly use anything else now that I have it. It's my very favorite flashlight now.


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Apr 18, 2001)

ok i made one for my E2 to day it looks good. it is a little brighter then my stylus 3 but if i hold it a long time it makes my hand feel funny like theres something on them i am thinking it is HA finsh coming off in some way on my hands is this just happing to me ?


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## The_LED_Museum (Apr 19, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cme:
*ok i made one for my E2 to day it looks good. it is a little brighter then my stylus 3 but if i hold it a long time it makes my hand feel funny like theres something on them i am thinking it is HA finsh coming off in some way on my hands is this just happing to me ?*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


When you made this modification, you probably got some of the lube from the threaded portion of the light smeared onto the barrel (or on your fingers, then onto the barrel). If it was not noticed initially, it WILL become evident a bit later especially if you handle the light shortly after a handwashing.

Washing the flashlight with mild dishwashing liquid (like Joy or Dawn) & warm water oughta make it fresh as a flower again.


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## K Horn (Apr 19, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brad:
*Those Dremmel tools are great. Aren't they?
I've got the little cordless one and all kinds of tips for it. I really use it a lot for my flashlight projects. Glad your project went well. Are you running at 85mA too? I use my LED lamp all the time. Still on the first set of batteries. That E2 sure is a nice light. I hardly use anything else now that I have it. It's my very favorite flashlight now.*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah I ran mine at 85ma too. It is by far the nicest beam pattern of any of my single LED lights. I pushed the limits of my bank account and had gotten two E2's right off one is regular and one LED powered.
Great research Brad!!!


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Jun 2, 2001)

i work as a tracker and med tech for search and rescue in northren oregon and need a lihgt that lasts and has no flare or distorting light ring/blobs(tech term) and i use a led corp light now but its big and small is better i have 2 surefire p6 2, dl123 lights and they are good for scaning the area but too bright for close work and would like to try a led mod for one, the kohler/brightstar responder is a good spot lightbut also too bright so how do i get one of these led mods. ( [email protected] )


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## Rich N (Jun 4, 2001)

Joe, Brad makes 'em, go to the top of this page for his last post he has the link there.


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## DebtFree (Jun 27, 2001)

Hey Brad,
Have you tried the new Luxeon Star LED?
I was going to order your E-2 LED, but then I thought you might be experimenting with the LS. If so, I want one of those. I'm assuming it will be MUCH brighter. Maybe not.
Will you consider it? Huh, huh, huh?

Thanks. Anxiously awaiting your reply!!!


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Jun 28, 2001)

DebtFree, AFAIK LS LEDs are not available to general public yet. 

(General public = people who buy stuff in less than 1K quantities).


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## Free (Jun 28, 2001)

Hi Brad, 
I ordered your LED more than three weeks ago and it still hasn't arrived. Any update on the eta??


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Jun 28, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by DebtFree:
*Hey Brad,
Have you tried the new Luxeon Star LED?
I was going to order your E-2 LED, but then I thought you might be experimenting with the LS. If so, I want one of those. I'm assuming it will be MUCH brighter. Maybe not.
Will you consider it? Huh, huh, huh?

Thanks. Anxiously awaiting your reply!!!



*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


I havn't seen it yet. I'm pretty busy in the summer and havn't had much time to work on flashlights lately.


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## **DONOTDELETE** (Jun 28, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Free:
*Hi Brad, 
I ordered your LED more than three weeks ago and it still hasn't arrived. Any update on the eta??*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I sent you e-mail on this.


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## Free (Jun 28, 2001)

Brad, 
I sent you one back. Did you get it?


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## HANDGUNNER454 (Sep 24, 2013)

Hello
New to this forum. Not up much on how all this works with converting a regular light to an LED. I have a Surefire E2 Defender old style. Would like to convert to LED. Can I just buy the bulb and reflector setup or do I need more than that for it to work. Would prefer a 2-3 mode with high in the 300 lumen range. 
What do I need and who may I get it from? Thanks much to all who respond..
GUNNER


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## archimedes (Sep 24, 2013)

Whoa, 12-year bump (!)

I think this might be the thread you want ... 

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/358666


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