MCMODULE PM6 DROP-IN MOD

McModule Drop-In Module for Pelican M6 Flashlights (www.dmcleish.com/CPF/Pelican-M6/index.html)
Manufactured by McGizmo and the Skunk Lights Team (www.dmcleish.com/CPF/Pelican-M6/index.html)
Last updated 08-19-04




This drop-in module was spawned by and made for members of Candlepower Forums, a group of people out there who (like me) are nuts about flashlights!

The module consists of a screw-in replacement for the Pelican M6's incandescent bulb, and a specially cut reflector that fits the McModule and only the McModule. So all you need to do is unscrew & remove the Pelican's bulb, screw the McModule in in its place, and exchange the reflector in the Pelican with the one provided, and screw the thing back together. See below for more details on this.

Once you have the McModule in, you are rewarded with 5W of bright, white light that won't blow up and go out if you drop the flashlight. This can happen to incandescent flashlights, but should never happen when you convert that flashlight to LED.


SIZE



Once you have the McModule installed in your Pelican M6, use the light as you would normally use the Pelican. To get a shot of light anytime, press in the black rubberised button on the tailcap. To plunge yourself back into darkness, release the tailcap.
You can also screw the tailcap in (clockwise) to get continuous light without having to press or hold anything. Unscrew the tailcap 1/4 of a turn or so to turn the light off.

It's easy and tool-free to modify your Pelican M6 with a McModule.
Start by taking your Pelican M6 and your McModule kit to a table. Or a bed, or a dresser, or a countertop, or even the top of the cistern (assuming of course, yours has a lid). Any flat place will do.

Unscrew and remove the head of your M6, and set it aside. Remove the white plastic washer from the top of the lamp assembly, and put it away (the box your M6 came in can be used for this). Unscrew & remove the Pelican's lamp assembly, and put that away too. Screw the new McModule in where the lamp used to go. Tighten it finger tight only; do not use wrenches or other tools to tighten it any further.

Now, grab the head with one hand, and unscrew the two halves until they come apart. Remove the reflector and spring assembly from the head, and put that away with the incandescent lamp assembly and plastic washer. Close up the Pelican's box and stash it away in case you want to go back to incandescent later on. Pick up the modified reflector that came with your McModule kit, and lay it on top of the flashlight's lens, shiny side down (like the original reflector was oriented). Screw the two halves of the head back together, and screw the head assembly back onto the flashlight body.

Now, go enjoy your new flashlight. :-)



Current was measured at 1.37 amps (1,370mA). This was measured with the Tekcell batteries that originally came with my Pelican M6. Figure you'll get about an hour of good light, with some amount of decreasing light after that.

I believe the McModule incorporates a Bad Boy 750 regulator in it, so I honestly don't know exactly how much battery life you'll get. But since it uses a regulator, you should get rock steady output until the batteries poop out...then output should drop over the next couple of hours or so once the batteries can no longer provide enough current.

To change the batteries in your McModule equipped M6, unscrew & remove the tailcap, and dump the dead batteries in the...in the...garbage can. Insert two new CR123A cells into the barrel, button-end facing the front of the flashlight. Replace the tailcap, backing it off a little when the McModule comes on, and be done with it.




Like other CPF member creations, the McModule looks very professionally made. In the above picture, the reflector is on the left, and the McModule (shown face-on) is on the right.

The McModule has a knurled (textured) finish on its sides, so it's easy to screw into the end of the Pelican M6. I found it very easy to put in, and I didn't need any tools to do it. The reflector was cut especially to fit the McModule, so you'll want to use it rather than leaving the original Pelican M6 reflector in. If you leave the original reflector in, you'll probably BREAK the Luxeon Star LED, and you'll be S.O.L.

The McModule equipped M6 is somewhat focusable; turn the head counterclockwise (unscrew) to widen the beam, and turn the head clockwise (screw in) to tighten the focus. There is some spill light outside the main beam that you should find bright enough to be truly useful.

The light is splash resistant at very minimum, so you ought to be able to use it in crappy weather and not have to worry about it. There are also a couple of O-rings affixed to the flashlight body, so if you break the one at the head or tail, you can just roll a new O-ring right from the flashlight body to the place you need one.



Beam photo of 5W McModule at ~12".
Measured 830,000mcd
Brownish color is caused by the camera.
A more accurate rendition is shown below.


Beam photo of 5W McModule at ~5'.





TEST NOTES:
A finished McModule was pre-ordered and purchased in late June 2003, and now that they're finished and being mailed, just arrived today (07-21-03).

A letter was enclosed with the McModule kit. You'll want to read it before you start taking your Pelican M6 apart. If you didn't get the letter or if you threw it out before reading, it basically reads that the McModule is designed to run on 6 volts (two CR123 cells) and if you go over that, you start running the LS LED at "direct drive" and you might let out all the magic smoke of the regulator circuit, and probably the LS too.
Secondly, the light is somewhat focusable.
Lastly, there is a warning that you might bust the LS LED if you touch its wires or solder points, or if you forget to swap out the reflector in the PM6 with the one in the McModule kit. You should also not try to take the brown insulator off the bottom of the McModule or try to dig out the circuitry. Both are potted in place, and you'll probably ruin your McModule if you tried to do that.

Because this is a limited production, user-made module, conventional ratings will not be assigned.


UPDATE: 08-19-04
Don M. (McGizmo) now has his own forum on Candlepower Forums. Go to this link to access it.










McModule Drop-In Module for Pelican M6 Flashlight * www.dmcleish.com/CPF/Pelican-M6/index.html






Do you manufacture or sell an LED flashlight, task light, utility light, or module of some kind? Want to see it tested by a real person, under real working conditions? Do you then want to see how your light did? If you have a sample available for this type of real-world, real-time testing, please contact me at ledmuseum@gmail.com.

Please visit this web page for contact information.

Unsolicited flashlights appearing in the mail are welcome, and it will automatically be assumed that you sent it in order to have it tested and evaluated for this site.
Be sure to include contact info or your company website's URL so visitors here will know where to purchase your product.


WHITE 5500-6500K InGaN+phosphor 
ULTRAVIOLET 370-390nm GaN 
BLUE 430nm GaN+SiC
BLUE 450 and 473nm InGaN
BLUE Silicon Carbide
TURQUOISE 495-505nm InGaN
GREEN 525nm InGaN 
YELLOW-GREEN 555-575mn GaAsP & related
YELLOW 585-595nm
AMBER 595-605nm
ORANGE 605-620nm
ORANGISH-RED 620-635nm
RED 640-700nm
INFRARED 700-1300nm
True RGB Full Color LED
Spider (Pirrahna) LEDs
SMD LEDs
True violet (400-418nm) LEDs
Agilent Barracuda & Prometheus LEDs
Oddball & Miscellaneous LEDs
Programmable RGB LED modules / fixtures
Where to buy these LEDs 
Links to other LED-related websites
The World's First Virtual LED Museum
Legal horse puckey, etc.
RETURN TO OPENING/MAIN PAGE
LEDSaurus (on-site LED Mini Mart)



This page is a frame from a website.
If you arrived on this page through an outside link,you can get the "full meal deal" by clicking here.