I recently purchased a W200 which apparently is a copy of the Tilly Tec W30.
I have yet to see the tilly tec but by all accounts they seem very similar except the Tilly uses an optic while the W200 uses a reflector.

Anyway. The construction of the W200 is very good. The body is made out of some sort of plastic., probably acetal.
The head is made of aluminium.
Total legth is 200mm and 40mm diameter at the head.
I like the form of it and the attachment at the end for a bit of line to hold a snapbolt. I imagine it would fit really nicely clipped off to a chest D ring on a BP/W harness and then tucked under a bungy or inner tube.

It has 3 O rings sealing the body from the head. Activation is achieved from turning the head.

The front lens is held in by a O ring, pick this out and a 6mm thick lens drops out ( or can be pushed from the other side). There is another O ring that does the actual sealing of the lens.

It is recommended for the light to be run on alkaline AA's (3). I found that after 20 minutes of run time the light started to flicker. I have heard the same report from another purchaser. Its very anoying. Although I like the light in every other way the flickering is enough to put me off.

So now I have a dive light that I dont want to use. What to do? You guessed it, mod it!

There is a aluminium tube in the body that coducts from the - of the battery to the head. If you remove this then the body will take 2 18650 Li Ions (Wahoo!). Problem is there is no longer a source for the electrons to travel along. So what is needed is a new tube with a ID large enought to take a 18650 and OD small enough to fit in the body. I managed to fine a tube with the right ID but to large OD. A bit of machining sorted that.
Next required a custom LED/driver assmebly and also an aspheric lens with spacer rings. Both require use of a lathe.
I could have used the same aspheric as I did with the ISTs but decided on a 30mm aspheric instead that is capable of a 4 deg spot. The lens requires reducing its diameter which I got a local glazier to help me with. I defocued the lens alittle to give a 6 degree spot.

Overall Im pretty happy with the outcome. Its driven at 1 amp so I should get over 4 hours burn time with 2500ma cells.
As you can see from the pic it does have a halo caused by the use of a reflector behind the aspheric. Its mainly used as a spacer so painting it black would get rid of the halo but not effect the hot spot.

Im hoping to try another aspheric soon that will gather more light making it brighter and I should be able to set the focus at anywhere from 5 degrees up.


Anyway its for sale if anyone is interested.
PM me for details.


W200 and IST

10w WA HID (trailtech "6degree" bulb

Modded W200

Both

That's a wickedly intense spot Packie! looks great!

Yeah. Could be a little to tight. I can make it tighter still, its optics are the same I use in a rifle scope light I make. I should have a better lens next week so its spot will be bigger but as bright. Then Im going to try a more powerful LED. This will not work to well with a tight spot but I hope it will work well with a larger beam. Run time will be reduced. So its a trade off.

Packhorse,

Thanks for the mod. I bought some parts to play with and can't get the lens back in the front any tips?

What light is it?

The W200

The thin O ring needs to be in place first. Then push the flat lens in and the push the fat O ring around the lens to hold it in place.

would you say this modded w200 make a good primary?

That would total depend on the dive.
I have also built a 700 lumen version that out performs a 10w HID. Only real issue is burn time is only about 1.5 hours on high.

I have several different versions of this light for sale.

All have had all the sealing Orings replaced for better quailty ones.
They all now use 2 18650 Li Ion cells ( run times quoted based on 2500mah cells)
All LEDs and electronics have been replaced.


W200/R2 Aspheric. As the name suggests it uses a Cree R2 LED and an aspheric lens. The entire beam is concentrated in the hotspot. There is next to no spill at all. This works really well for low viz conditions and signalling. Burn time is about 4 hours at full power before it will turn off with no warning. I can also set this up so it has a much tighter brighter beam of about 5.7 degrees.


W200/R2 Aspheric @ 5.7 degree focus


W200/R2 reflector . Same as above but uses a reflector instead of aspheric lens. The hot spot is smaller and slightly brighter and there is also some spill light.



W200/P7 or W200/MC-E This one uses a quad die LED. Either Cree MC-E or SSC P7. Hot spot is much larger than the R2 reflector and there is brighter spill light. As with most multi die LEDs there is a slight dark spot in the centre. This is not noticable underwater. It has 3 power levels 100%,50% 10%. Run time on high is 1.5 hours.



For comparison purposes below is a pic of a DR fixed focus 10wHID. It uses a Welch Allyn "6degree" bulb but in reality the beam is much wider.





All pics were taken on a Canon G10 ISO 80, 1/30sec, f2.8

Cost
W200/R2 $300NZ
W200/MC-E or P7 $380NZ
Discounts for ACTIVE SODs members. ( That means you must actually come out diving with us).
Batteries and charger can be brought from DX who offer free shipping.

DealExtreme: $8.98 TrustFire Protected 18650 Lithium Battery (2500mAh 2-Pack Blue)
DealExtreme: $7.92 Digital Li-Ion 18650 Battery Charger

Soo, which model would you recommend as a primary for wreck diving?? I currently use a Halcyon Scout (3x C LED) but after diving with others using cans want to up-spec my light. Call it light-envy if you must... but if it enhances the enjoyment so be it

None. I would recommend a can light.

Dont get me wrong, these put out a lot of light probably as much as any other light in their size/price range ( these are cheaper than the Scout 3 cell LED's) but in my mind a primary light is a can light while a hand held is a backup.

In saying that if you really just want a hand held the W200/P7 puts out a lot of light and would put any 10w HID fixed focus to shame. Only down side is 1.5 burn time on high. But thats not a problem if you swap batteries between dives or use it at a lower power level.
And the W200/R2 aspheric is simply fantastic for cutting though murky waters.
I think having one of each would be ideal. You get 2 different focal beams so you can choose the best for the situation and one can be a back up.

Duh ! Remind me to read threads properly... the photo should have been a big clue

Chris, You may be interested in a custom made can light or an upgrade of an old HID

Hi Packhorse, What sort of cost are you looking at for these?