2D Maglite mod questions
- Thread starter Firecop
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Northern Lights
Flashlight Enthusiast
Rats! off to order another reflector and Q5, 5 emitters it is! Thanks.
EDIT:
This concerns me, Download's warning:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2129881&postcount=56
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LukeA
Flashlight Enthusiast
What size are your reflectors that 5 of them fit in a Mag head?
erckgillis
Newly Enlightened
kewl,
easier MAG mod is a Ceramic Socket by modamag and aluminum reflectors, then add 1/2D NiMh cells or a 9xAA 14500 LiPo's with Welch Allen Bulbs or my new fave is the LEDLenser MR16 Bulb with 20W LED and Fresnel lense system...
I'll bring it to the DFW area SPF meet...or see my dotphoto post...
ed
easier MAG mod is a Ceramic Socket by modamag and aluminum reflectors, then add 1/2D NiMh cells or a 9xAA 14500 LiPo's with Welch Allen Bulbs or my new fave is the LEDLenser MR16 Bulb with 20W LED and Fresnel lense system...
I'll bring it to the DFW area SPF meet...or see my dotphoto post...
ed
Northern Lights
Flashlight Enthusiast
fraen, couple of sources .$0.99 to $6.00 each
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=169747
Northern Lights
Flashlight Enthusiast
That is a nice hot wire, I have several hot wires built at several levels of torch lumens, 5761 bulbs about 900 t-lumens, 64430 bulbs 2250 torch lumens but none will run for long like LEDs. 4 Q5s on the set up I mentioned should turn out 960 lumes for over 9 hours, 5 Q5s set you back to 7 hours but at about 1200 lumens. In the case of these high flux LEDs or Hot wires the big problem for run time is thermal management. All get very hot and that most likely is the real limiting factor of run time.
Ed, I looked at your post count, welcome, you are going to part with some money and have fun I see. WA bulbs, like the 1185 at about 700 torch lumens or the 1164 at just at 1000 torch lumens are great little lights to start building with; their out puts now are being surpassed with bulbs like the Phillips 5761, Osram 64430 and the Cree Q5 LED! The brightness levels I find myself caught up with lumens- the more the merrier. Actual output is so very dependent on the features of the build that control the resistance. Many builds do not realize the full potential beause only drop in ceramic sockets are used without re-wiring the switches and tail caps. These can look bright but there is more potential to squeeze out the bulb that is not being used. I just finished a 5761 on A123 batteries tonight. I build my own ceramic sockets but there are great ones made by KIU and FiveMega. This new light is brighter on 6.6Vbattery than my AW powered 5761s on 7.2 Vbattery. HUH? Yes, voltage sag is almost non existant with the A123 cells so they stay at a higher voltage while the other cells drop past them.
Either of these lights would be great for the purpose Firecop and I are looking for, they are brighter than the WA and ROP bulbs but the factor we have to address here is the run time. We need hours of bright light. That can only be done with LEDs.
Ed, have some fun, search CPF using the keyword 64430 and 5761 to see some nice hot wire mods and then search Quad build, Tri build and look through the responses in this thread http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=169747 and I think you will see the comparisons. Through CPF so many ideas have been turned into working lights of many variations. Too many to build them all but at least you can choose a course to finely tailor a light to a specific purpose.
Firecop
Newly Enlightened
All right...I hit a snag...
I bored out my old 2D Mag to hold an 8AA>2D adapter, wired my switch to a Shark, connected an external 20k pot (Thanks again, Don!), and soldered up my 5 crees in series. Before I epoxied anything down (my first good thought of the mod) I decided to check and see if everything works.
It doesn't.
When I trigger the switch just right, the leds flash on for the briefest time (<.5 second). I pulled my LED string off and tested it straight against the battery pack, and it works just fine. (OW! Note to self: don't look at the emitters when they are operating)
Any thoughts on what may be going wrong?
TIA
Edit: Nevermind...I got it working...after blowing an emitter...oh, well
I bored out my old 2D Mag to hold an 8AA>2D adapter, wired my switch to a Shark, connected an external 20k pot (Thanks again, Don!), and soldered up my 5 crees in series. Before I epoxied anything down (my first good thought of the mod) I decided to check and see if everything works.
It doesn't.
When I trigger the switch just right, the leds flash on for the briefest time (<.5 second). I pulled my LED string off and tested it straight against the battery pack, and it works just fine. (OW! Note to self: don't look at the emitters when they are operating)
Any thoughts on what may be going wrong?
TIA
Edit: Nevermind...I got it working...after blowing an emitter...oh, well
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Firecop
Newly Enlightened
I'm worried...
After reading in another forum about my Q4 Cree's underside terminals, I'm afraid that just putting some AS on the bottom of my emitters will somehow shorten their life.
I have 4 LEDs set directly on one of Download's aluminum heatsinks inside my Mag. I put a little AS on their bottoms and used the lens/bezel pressure on the Fraen reflectors to hold them in place.
Did I do something wrong? Do I need to remove the bottom contact strips? How does removing/leaving them affect the operation of my light?
Will I ever stop asking these questions?
TIA *again*
After reading in another forum about my Q4 Cree's underside terminals, I'm afraid that just putting some AS on the bottom of my emitters will somehow shorten their life.
I have 4 LEDs set directly on one of Download's aluminum heatsinks inside my Mag. I put a little AS on their bottoms and used the lens/bezel pressure on the Fraen reflectors to hold them in place.
Did I do something wrong? Do I need to remove the bottom contact strips? How does removing/leaving them affect the operation of my light?
Will I ever stop asking these questions?
TIA *again*
3rd_shift
Flashlight Enthusiast
The download adjustable heatsinks are reportedly electrically isolated with annodized surfaces.
Your emitters should be ok.
Wiring all emitters in series is the best way to get maximum output from ALL of them. :thumbsup:
Series/parallel combo is a compromise that is very easy to do with 4 electrically isolated star mounted leds.
In fact, Luxeon5 emitters are actually 4 Luxeon1 led dies wired in a combo series parallel inside that little dome.
A lightly resistored setup with fairly even discharge rechargeable li-ion batteries that are only slightly higher vf than the leds require is just my personal favorite.
It's easy to do and wastes about the same, or less power than a driver board will when done right.
If adjustable light output is desired with a direct drive, or near direct drive setup, a d2dim board from www.taskled.com can be used for that function.
Still, it looks like your project is coming along quite well, and with the maximum reliable performance that can be gotten out of that light with that amount of aluminum. :rock:
Edit:
As for the bottoms of those leds, one can still clip off the corners of those leds to "deactivate" the underside contact strips.
Try it 1st with the fried led.
With a magnifying glass, you may actually notice the top of a wire running through the ceramic from the top to the bottom near the corners.
Without the corners and thier "pass through" wires inside them, the led only works with it's top contact strips wired up the way you want it.
Cheers!
Your emitters should be ok.
Wiring all emitters in series is the best way to get maximum output from ALL of them. :thumbsup:
Series/parallel combo is a compromise that is very easy to do with 4 electrically isolated star mounted leds.
In fact, Luxeon5 emitters are actually 4 Luxeon1 led dies wired in a combo series parallel inside that little dome.
A lightly resistored setup with fairly even discharge rechargeable li-ion batteries that are only slightly higher vf than the leds require is just my personal favorite.
It's easy to do and wastes about the same, or less power than a driver board will when done right.
If adjustable light output is desired with a direct drive, or near direct drive setup, a d2dim board from www.taskled.com can be used for that function.
Still, it looks like your project is coming along quite well, and with the maximum reliable performance that can be gotten out of that light with that amount of aluminum. :rock:
Edit:
As for the bottoms of those leds, one can still clip off the corners of those leds to "deactivate" the underside contact strips.
Try it 1st with the fried led.
With a magnifying glass, you may actually notice the top of a wire running through the ceramic from the top to the bottom near the corners.
Without the corners and thier "pass through" wires inside them, the led only works with it's top contact strips wired up the way you want it.
Cheers!
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Firecop
Newly Enlightened
Okay, I see the little wires that pass through the corners of the base. If I clip the corners off, including the wires, I will isolate the top pads as the only electrical contacts, right?
What happens if I don't clip the corners and I place the 4 LED string on a non-anodized (sp?) aluminum surface? Will the bottom contact pads short out? Will the emitters burn out?
BTW, I showed my partner my new light and he was very impressed. In a regular office setting, it blew away my Inova T4 and my stock Streamlight SL20! I can't wait to try it out on scenes. I work Tuesday night, so here's hoping...
Umm...I'm truly *not* hoping that someone's house or property burns...it's just that...well...you know...(this sounds bad, doesn't it?)
I'm gonna try and get some on-scene beam shots for you guys.
What happens if I don't clip the corners and I place the 4 LED string on a non-anodized (sp?) aluminum surface? Will the bottom contact pads short out? Will the emitters burn out?
BTW, I showed my partner my new light and he was very impressed. In a regular office setting, it blew away my Inova T4 and my stock Streamlight SL20! I can't wait to try it out on scenes. I work Tuesday night, so here's hoping...
Umm...I'm truly *not* hoping that someone's house or property burns...it's just that...well...you know...(this sounds bad, doesn't it?)
I'm gonna try and get some on-scene beam shots for you guys.
3rd_shift
Flashlight Enthusiast
On a non anodized, or non elctrically isolated surface = 
in the near, or unexpectedly in the distant future.
A sharp chisel and hammer with a good aim, may be the way to go at chopping off those corners if the leds are already installed.
If an led pops off it's heatsink in that process, just re-attach it with thermal adhesive afterwards.
in the near, or unexpectedly in the distant future.A sharp chisel and hammer with a good aim, may be the way to go at chopping off those corners if the leds are already installed.
If an led pops off it's heatsink in that process, just re-attach it with thermal adhesive afterwards.
Firecop
Newly Enlightened
Very good to know...thanks!
Northern Lights
Flashlight Enthusiast
Mounting the Q5s, I am very interested on this part of the discussion.
But I need advice to finish the penta-build and tri-build Q5 lights regarding mounting the LEDs too.
For the 5X I have a smooth copper sink and suppose I can cut the corner contacts with a small diamond wheel for the dremel and mount with Artic Alumina. This is pretty standard to many threads it seems.
For the second TM I need stars. I have bare emitters and unless a miracle happens and someone will trade Stars for my Bears I will need to mount them on the stars. I had the bare emitters before I decided to upgrade the TM-800x3 other wise I would have obtained star mounted Q5s and not had to deal with this intensity. I obtained bare stars that are marked Cree and have the bottom contact points in the correct locations on the PCB. I thought I should tin the emitter contact and star contacts, clamp the emitter in place and tack the edge of the contact with my varialble power iron. Should any sink grease be used between the soldered contacts or will that hamper soldering? Am I on track?
Placement needs to hold its centering when I solder becaues of the need to accurately align to the reflector. If the stock reflector does not handle the narrow beam of the cree then I will need to stuff the Fraen reflector in it.
I just finished my SCC P4 star upgrade of a tri-build, TM-8900X3 that has a run time of 3.5 hours, 3 levels, 720 lumens. Almost fits the intended use of scene illumination that Firecop has identified.
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=175525
But I need advice to finish the penta-build and tri-build Q5 lights regarding mounting the LEDs too.
For the 5X I have a smooth copper sink and suppose I can cut the corner contacts with a small diamond wheel for the dremel and mount with Artic Alumina. This is pretty standard to many threads it seems.
For the second TM I need stars. I have bare emitters and unless a miracle happens and someone will trade Stars for my Bears I will need to mount them on the stars. I had the bare emitters before I decided to upgrade the TM-800x3 other wise I would have obtained star mounted Q5s and not had to deal with this intensity. I obtained bare stars that are marked Cree and have the bottom contact points in the correct locations on the PCB. I thought I should tin the emitter contact and star contacts, clamp the emitter in place and tack the edge of the contact with my varialble power iron. Should any sink grease be used between the soldered contacts or will that hamper soldering? Am I on track?
Placement needs to hold its centering when I solder becaues of the need to accurately align to the reflector. If the stock reflector does not handle the narrow beam of the cree then I will need to stuff the Fraen reflector in it.
I just finished my SCC P4 star upgrade of a tri-build, TM-8900X3 that has a run time of 3.5 hours, 3 levels, 720 lumens. Almost fits the intended use of scene illumination that Firecop has identified.
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=175525
