Petzl Duo 5 LED upgrade?

[Penguin]

I've an old Petzl Duo halogen / 5 LED, which is about as bright as a fish supper.  It's still in very good condition though, and i'm wondering about upgrading it with the 14 LED module.  However i don't want to buy the 14 LED module and find that it doesn't fit the 5 LED or that my torch is too old to take the upgrade!  Not sure of the exact age, but it was bought - i think - when the 5 LED was top of the range offering from Petzl - maybe 7 or 8 years ago? 

If the upgrade works, i'll then have a spare 5 LED module.  I'm guessing there won't be too many jumping at a chance to own one of these, so i was wondering if it would be possible to replace the halogen with the 5 LED module so i have the option of a more efficient light?  Unfortunately my electronics knowledge is severely limited, so i was wondering if it would be a simple matter of hooking the 5 LED unit up to the +ve and -ve connections of the halogen?  :-\ 

 

[Pete K]

I've always thought that as long as the Duo already had an LED module that it could be upgraded.

http://www.caving-supplies.co.uk/cgi-bin/psProdDet.cgi/36025%7C%7Cduo~@c~@b%7C0%7Cuser%7C1,0,0,1%7C17
http://www.hitchnhike.co.uk/acatalog/duo_bulbs_and_led_modules.html

Well worth the upgrade as the Duo 14 is really good. As for putting the 5 LED module in place of the main bulb... I don't think it is worth it. I have the LED spot replacement for the main bulb and it is good but I hardly use it. I find the full power on the main module is great and the low power setting will last ages and is plenty enough to cave on unless in large passage/really dark rock. If you did want to put it in it should just be a matter of soldering it to the + & - terminals on inside of the Duo (dissassembly is not straight forward). The LEDs should be complete with all the circuitry they need and the board provides the same power to both terminals.
Search the equipment section and look at 'Inside the Duo' and 'Cree in a Duo', good info. Lots of Duo talk already on here if you have a search.

 

[Penguin]

Well worth the upgrade as the Duo 14 is really good. As for putting the 5 LED module in place of the main bulb... I don't think it is worth it. I have the LED spot replacement for the main bulb and it is good but I hardly use it.

I gather there are polarity issues with early Duos (pre 2004, which mine is) and not all will take the LED spot upgrade. 

I'll give the 14 LED a whirl.

I find the full power on the main module is great and the low power setting will last ages and is plenty enough to cave on unless in large passage/really dark rock.

How do you change the power settings on the 14 LED module if it is an upgrade?  There are only three positions on the switch on the 5 LED version (off, halogen on, LED on).  With the 14 LED would i be limited to full power all the time?  This was why i was thinking the low power 5 LED might be an idea.  The halogen is rubbish anyway, so it would be no loss if i balls it up (highly likely). 

I've been reading the Duo threads but couldn't find any details on my mod idea. 

Thanks for your comments

 

[Pete K]

How do you change the power settings on the 14 LED module if it is an upgrade?  There are only three positions on the switch on the 5 LED version (off, halogen on, LED on).  With the 14 LED would i be limited to full power all the time?  This was why i was thinking the low power 5 LED might be an idea.  The halogen is rubbish anyway, so it would be no loss if i balls it up (highly likely). 

I've been reading the Duo threads but couldn't find any details on my mod idea. 

Thanks for your comments

Ahh, I didn't realise the Duo 5 only had an on/off.
The 14 module has some built in circuitry so if you turn it on and off it changes brightness modes, all using the original switch. It goes OFF-MED-OFF-HIGH-OFF-LOW-OFF and so on round and round. Once it has been on for a few seconds the circutry ignors the ON-OFF change of level and will just return you too your original brightness level.

 

[Penguin]

Excellent, thanks!  No reason why that shouldn't work with the 5 LED switch. 

 

[Pete K]

BTW, I'm not an expert on the Duo. If in doubt, I would pick up the phone to one of the gear shops. Hitch n' Hike are always very helpfull to me. I don't intend to provide wrong info but I am 99% sure you'll have no problems.

 

[Christian_Chourot]

How do you change the power settings on the 14 LED module if it is an upgrade?  There are only three positions on the switch on the 5 LED version (off, halogen on, LED on).  With the 14 LED would i be limited to full power all the time?  This was why i was thinking the low power 5 LED might be an idea.  The halogen is rubbish anyway, so it would be no loss if i balls it up (highly likely). 

I've been reading the Duo threads but couldn't find any details on my mod idea. 

Thanks for your comments

Ahh, I didn't realise the Duo 5 only had an on/off.
The 14 module has some built in circuitry so if you turn it on and off it changes brightness modes, all using the original switch. It goes OFF-MED-OFF-HIGH-OFF-LOW-OFF and so on round and round. Once it has been on for a few seconds the circutry ignors the ON-OFF change of level and will just return you too your original brightness level.

I'm willing to bet that provided the polarity of the 14 LED module is the same as the 5 led one, or that you put it in reversed if need be, that the power levels of the 14 LED module will work just fine in the duo5 housing since it's the toggling between power states that does the magic.

 

[Agrophobic]

I can also confirm the 14 will be fine if you have a 5. some older dou's had different polarities depending on how the person who wired it was feeling that day. if your 5 works then you have one with the right polarity for the 14. must have been a monday morning one. later ones were standardised.
I wouldnt bother with the 5 in the halogen position either, just dim the 14 if you want to save battery power.

 

[Penguin]

Thanks all!  Have bought one... 

Anyone fancy a 5 LED module?

 

[Agrophobic]

i think we've all probably got one in the bottom drawer allready.

 

[cavernkid]

Hi Penguin, Agrophobic et al,

I'm new to caving and have a standard Duo with regular bulbs. If anyone has an old 5 LED module they would like to part company with to free up some space in the bottom of their drawers I would gladly take it off your hands! ;-)

Let my know with a PM and I would be happy to exchange currency for candlepower.

 

[Penguin]

Hi Penguin, Agrophobic et al,

I'm new to caving and have a standard Duo with regular bulbs. If anyone has an old 5 LED module they would like to part company with to free up some space in the bottom of their drawers I would gladly take it off your hands! ;-)

Let my know with a PM and I would be happy to exchange currency for candlepower.

I have the 5 LED module and you can have it, but won't you also need the 'socket' for it to go into?  It doesn't fit bulb sockets - has two little 'legs' / pins.  The 14 LED module had the same fitting so i have no spare socket.  It may be possible to solder it in place though?? 

I've just tonight added one of the Tesco Cree LEDs in place of the halogen!  It's unregulated - soldered to the halogen circuit - but blows the socks of the halogen as a distance spotlight!   

 

[potholer]

I have the 5 LED module and you can have it, but won't you also need the 'socket' for it to go into?  It doesn't fit bulb sockets - has two little 'legs' / pins.  The 14 LED module had the same fitting so i have no spare socket.  It may be possible to solder it in place though??

Surely the LED module is a direct replacement for a bi-pin bulb?

I've just tonight added one of the Tesco Cree LEDs in place of the halogen!  It's unregulated - soldered to the halogen circuit - but blows the socks of the halogen as a distance spotlight!   

Is that the module intended to run from 2xAA, now being run off 4xAA?
That would sound like a potentially short-lived arrangement.

 

[Penguin]

Surely the LED module is a direct replacement for a bi-pin bulb?

Sorry i thought it was a screw-in bulb i've never seen the all-bulb model. 

Is that the module intended to run from 2xAA, now being run off 4xAA?
That would sound like a potentially short-lived arrangement.

Yes...  My electronic knowledge is very limited!  How short lived and what do you think will be damaged first?  I won't be running it all the time. 

 

[potholer]

Yes...  My electronic knowledge is very limited!  How short lived and what do you think will be damaged first?  I won't be running it all the time. 

I just connected the module in my 2xAA Tesco torch to 4xAA NiMH cells, and it was pulling something like 2Amps, which isn't remotely sustainable - whether the LED would burn out before the electronics (or if they'd both go together) would be anyone's guess, as would the lifetime.

Running from alkalines, the current might be a bit less, since they're not as good at supplying large currents, and there might be some resistance in switch contacts, etc, but even so, it still seems like a case of when it would fail, not if, and whether the module would melt anything else before it dies.

It's *possible* that the Tesco 2*AA torches don't all have the same driver circuitry, but I'd guess that they are basically similar.

 

[Penguin]

How would i successfully run the Tesco Cree LED from my 6V Duo battery?  I've no idea what kind of Cree it is so don't know what best to do with it. 

 

[paul]

I have the 5 LED module and you can have it, but won't you also need the 'socket' for it to go into?  It doesn't fit bulb sockets - has two little 'legs' / pins.  The 14 LED module had the same fitting so i have no spare socket.  It may be possible to solder it in place though??

Surely the LED module is a direct replacement for a bi-pin bulb?

Yes - it is. At least it was in my old all-bulb (or all-lamp) Duo I used to have. I swapped the original "pilot" bulb for a 5 LED fitting before I gave the lamp to my brother a few years ago.

 

[Agrophobic]

How would i successfully run the Tesco Cree LED from my 6V Duo battery?  I've no idea what kind of Cree it is so don't know what best to do with it. 

2AA (3v) drivers boost the voltage to the led, You would need to unsolder the led from the driver pcb and get a driver designed for 6v running (4AA). check the other duo conversion threads for details. if your electronics knowledge is really as poor as you say then get several and be prepared to blow a few leds and drivers in the name of experimentation.
hope that helps.