So what to do? Salvage and rebuild with LED tech of course. My conversion is based on a single 20W LED emitter which I got from a distributor in Shanghai. The emitter is driven by a Luxeon Power Puck that delivers a constant current of 1.0 amp for any supply voltage in the 5-32V range. This arrangement gives a nice steady light source of about 900 lumens regardless of voltage fluctuations. That’s roughly equivalent to a 100 Watt incandescent bulb. I was able to mount the emitter on a custom heat sink which I made from standard copper tubing (Home Depot Rocks). I then fixed the emitter assembly to the original light head stem so that it fit into the removable glass envelope that covered the original HID bulb. Essentially, I just replaced the power converter and HID bulb on my original light with custom parts. Pop in a new battery pack and flame on.
And now the good news. The pics below compare my new LED light to a 3W LED (OMS Vega) and a 10w HID (UK Light Cannon). I was happy to find that the Halcyon reflector and glass globe still do a decent job of focusing the LED light into a tight enough beam to deliver a motion signal. I was concerned about that. As you can see in the pics LED’s tend to emit more diffuse light for any given size. I think the total light output from this new LED setup is at least as strong as my old 18W HID, even though I’m only running the LED at about 70% of its maximum power capability. I also like the color of the light better; not as much of that eerie moonlight hue that I got from my HID bulb.
I ran the light for a couple of hours in a bucket of water (to make sure it won’t explode or something really bad). Next weekend I’m going to take it up to Dutch Springs and see how it performs in the field.
In all, the cost of the conversion was less than the cost of a new HID bulb, so I figure it was money well spent. If anyone ends up in my situation and wants more details on how to make this conversion, just email me. If you are still married to a Halcyon Helios 18W HID and want a good backup bulb, I listed my old HID bulb on eBay.
eBay Listing
Edited by BubbleBoy, 06 September 2008 - 04:22 PM.