Inside The Petzl Duo

[JAA]

I certainly wouldnt take one to 350m! I took mine to 6 and seem to have irrepairably knackered it, although to be fair my knowledge of electronics is abysmal!

 

[Agrophobic]

I can't lock out unwanted modes but if you switch off for 4 seconds then switch back on it resets to high so the unwanted modes are not a problem. i find that high being the default mode is an advantage.  you can always dim it down from there if your fellow cavers complain you're blinding them.
I tried taking some beam shots to show comparison with 14led duo but my camera aint that good and doesn't show it well.

No i wouldnt take a duo to 350m either  my point was that using too much silicone grease can allow water ingress. use it sparingly.

 

[Agrophobic]

I certainly wouldnt take one to 350m! I took mine to 6 and seem to have irrepairably knackered it, although to be fair my knowledge of electronics is abysmal!

Is it just the 14led side thats fubar or the whole thing. i can maybe do you a repair.

 

[Pete K]

Would love to know what driver you used and where you sourced it as I'm planning to do something similar with an old Duo. I've looked at the other Cree related topics and they have been useful but it would be good to see what you used.

 

[Agrophobic]

Hi I used a pair of these http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10421
one for each led. this gives built in redundency in case one driver fails or overheats.
not that they have, or will, but as a prototype i wanted to be sure.
it also saves having a switch on the output of the driver which could give problems as they are not meant to be unloaded.
I got the optics from there as well.
use as much heatsinking as possible. i ended up packing the whole thing with heatsink compound which helps to keep the water out as well as spreading the heat, but will be messy if i ever have to open up again.
Go for it!!! cree's and p4's are extremely bright.

 

[southpembscaver]

So has anybody come up with a way of properly sealing a duo yet? I'm having to keep on opening mine up to dry it out and it flickers like crazy.

 

[potholer]

Any idea where it's leaking - cable inlet, switch, focusing lever or body-lens seal?

 

[anfieldman]

So has anybody come up with a way of properly sealing a duo yet? I'm having to keep on opening mine up to dry it out and it flickers like crazy.

I have opened mine a couple of times now. Once to change the bulb to an LED one and once to swop the whole assembly to one of Bif's upgrades.
After the last time I purchased some silicone grease from an auto parts wholesaler. It wasn't cheap ( about ?12-00 for a tube IIRC) but the size of the tube means I will have some for the rest of my life now! 
Seems to have done the job fine. No leaks so far. 

 

[carabeener]

I used my duo as a back up scuba light for a while, took it to 20-25M, switched it on a few times at that depth without any water ingress.  The seals around the switches will probably wear and leak eventually, but cleaning the threads for the front really well and greasing it should mean there is no leakage in normal use, even if there is some dunkage.

Getting moisture collecting most times in front of your LED could be due to some moisture being in there already and it is just condensing on the front plastic.  I'd consider opening it and putting it in the airing cupboard for a couple of days, then cleaning, greasing the threads.  Or put a small sachet of dessicant in.

 

[pickering man]

Have a look in the bottom of the battery box if its flickering the last one i repaired had corrosion between the flexy cable and the stainless battery contact

 

[Burt]

So has anybody come up with a way of properly sealing a duo yet? I'm having to keep on opening mine up to dry it out and it flickers like crazy.

Buy a little Monkey / viper / etc.