Cavechat.org

I was wondering if anybody has found a bright led bulb to replace the standard halogen in the duo.I have seen several screw base LEDs that would fit but was wondering if anybody has had luck with anything in particular.I have been told you can not use a 3 watt because it would get too hot for the Duo base.I currently have the 14 LED insert and was wanting to see if it would be possible to find something bright in a screw base.I know the Duo is not as bright as the Apex when it has the 3 watt on but i already have the Duo and have had lots of luck with them in the long term around water, i have read recent posts about the problems with the apex around water.I have two duos and one I got back in the early 90s and still works great, I am sold on the durabilty of them but would just like to find a nice replacement for the screw base bulb.Thanks for any help.

Cody JW wrote:I was wondering if anybody has found a bright led bulb to replace the standard halogen in the duo.

Yes. This has been discussed in several topics.

See LED Replacement for halogen bulb, LED replacement bulbs, and LED or maglite for more information.

The following 1 Watt LEDs will fit the high beam side of the Duo. Click on the pictures to see the specs and where to order them. I have the LS-407 in my spare Duo.

I have the Tektite LS407 in my Duo and it's a big improvement over the Halogen bulb. It's brighter, has a better spot , uses less power and no more yellow light :) Not used it enough to comment on it's durability but after all it's a led, so it can't be worse than the halogen bulb it's replacing. Well worth the $20 !!!

http://store.led-replacement.com/ls407.html

I've put the 1 watt module shown on right photo in my duo and it's bollocks for the dollars. Definitely good as a back up should for some outrageous reason the other side die but the high beam 14 beats it every time. I guess the reason is optics really; you need to chuck out the reflector and go for full 3 or 5w modification and a decent optic (anyone seen one done). The big issue is that once your eyes on are on the LED wavelength the halogen wavelength appears very yellow and dim. Though if you turn your light off and wait 5mins then turn on the halogen and wait 5 more mins you will see it is a good light still, but thats not reality for why we use spots. Also i suspeect the same could be true with standard 5mm LEDs and Hyperbrights but not as sever from the various lamps that have combos i've tried. I am looking for a 5watt module i can mod into a duo with minimum fuss (ideally screw in) and is suitable for 30 second bursts up avens etc (let us know if anyone has done one seen one)

Led's are shifted towards the blue end of the spectrum and halogen bulbs are shifted towards the red end of the spectrum.
your eyes are more sensitive to the blue light colors....

kip wrote:...but the high beam 14 beats it every time. I guess the reason is optics really; you need to chuck out the reflector and go for full 3 or 5w modification and a decent optic (anyone seen one done).

All the Duo bulb-replacement LED conversions I've seen so far seem to use old-school Luxeons.
If someone made one using a more recent LED, such as a Seoul P4, Cree XR-E, or Luxeon K2 or Rebel, it'd be 2-3x brighter for the same power draw.

There is at least one optic-based unit out there - a friend had one and I upgraded the LED from the original LED, which seemed to be some ancestor of a Seoul P4, I think.
He'd bought the unit something like 2 years ago. The beam pattern was OK, if not very tight. However, the electronics side wasn't great - it seemed to be linear regulation, which basically meant something like half the input power was wasted as heat in the circuitry.

I someone has a spare duo that thy would let me play with,
I will let you know what can be done - Modification wise.

Mark620 wrote:I someone has a spare duo that thy would let me play with,
I will let you know what can be done - Modification wise.

Coincidentally, I have a spare Duo or two which I'm not doing anything with right now.