# Mag623 vs. 15MCP (vs. Quad Cree) shootout



## monkeyboy (Jan 18, 2008)

I've just completed my Mag623 build. It's a mag 2D FM tribore host using Luxluthor's 13 cell 2/3A Nimh pack. The head is FM's FM3V-2 3" head which gives a good combination of throw and flood. It uses the osram 64623 bulb overdriven to 15.6V producing around 5-6K bulb lumens. There's lots of information on this build on CPF if you're interested.







Here's the comparison: On the left is the 15mcp spotlight from B&Q (hardware store chain in the UK). It's identical to the 15mcp thor cyclops. In the middle is the mag623 and on the right is a quad Cree XR-E Q5 with each emitter driven at 825mA. 

And now for the beamshots: (all pics 1", f4.5, iso200)
















The 623 destroys the 15MCP spotlight in terms of output and makes the poor little quad cree look like a minimag.

Here's a hotspot comparison:






The 623 looks to be matching the throw of the 15mcp which is pretty amazing for the 3" reflector. You could argue that the 15mcp is a tiny bit more intense right in the centre of the hotspot but it's not noticable and the wider hotspot of the 623 makes it appear to throw better IMO.


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## leeleefocus (Jan 18, 2008)

*Re: Mag623 vs. 15MCP vs. Quad Cree shootout*

I've got a 3" head and was planning on building a 100 watt mag. After seeing these pics i need to get my a** in gear and do it. That 623 is amazing.


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## drew2001 (Jan 18, 2008)

*Re: Mag623 vs. 15MCP vs. Quad Cree shootout*

Nice... Nice... and Nice.

A very cool lamp show, thanks for the beam shots !


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## monkeyboy (Jan 19, 2008)

*Re: Mag623 vs. 15MCP vs. Quad Cree shootout*



leeleefocus said:


> I've got a 3" head and was planning on building a 100 watt mag. After seeing these pics i need to get my a** in gear and do it. That 623 is amazing.


 
Make sure you buy lots of 64623 bulbs. Some people say that resting the battery is enough to prevent instaflash but I find that I need to rest the pack for *at least* 2 hours *and* drain the battery a little to prevent instaflash. It took me a few bulbs to find out what works. I bought 10 bulbs from Thomann.de which seems to be the best place to get them (delivered to UK) Took about 3 weeks to arrive despite what the website said.


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## drew2001 (Jan 19, 2008)

Agree, best figure on planning for the need of extra bulbs. 

Monkeyboy, what votages are you finding too much and is popping the bulb? I found it very safe at 17.9 -18.0 no problems. I have installed Jimmy's JM-SST circuit board and so I have been experimenting on higher inputs. I have reported in my lastest findings, edited into at the very end of my tutorial post in "Homemade and Modified lights"

Are you having flashing happen at above 18.2v ( or within + - .2) volts, with a direct start switch? And yes I also found pack needed at least two hrs rest to drop to 18.1 or 18.2 usually for my prior Mag623 uses before I added the SST circuit board.

Wow, That turbo head is fantastic.


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## monkeyboy (Jan 19, 2008)

I find that 17.9V+ (open circuit voltage) is too much for my setup. I've had to modify the switch slightly to allow the battery to fit which has probably reduced resistance slightly. (I have one of the shorter 2D mags apparently) After draining slightly, the voltage recovers to about 17.5V which is fine. Resting the pack is also important and allows the pack to cool which increases the voltage drop under load.

I'd like to get hold of a voltage regulator. Having to rest and drain the pack takes too much time and effort and you also lose some runtime. I hope AW's regulated driver comes out soon. I'll check out that thread Drew


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## Patriot (Jan 19, 2008)

Monkeyboy, does your 623 have the full low resistance mod at the switch?


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## monkeyboy (Jan 19, 2008)

Patriot36 said:


> Monkeyboy, does your 623 have the full low resistance mod at the switch?


 
It did have the low resistance mod but I had to cut the bottom off the switch housing so that now the +ve button touches the switch directly. This probably reduces the resistance even more.


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## Cydonia (Jan 19, 2008)

Oh boy... oo: This is serious. Must... resist...urge... to... ugh.....


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## adamlau (Jan 19, 2008)

I am destined to own an FM creation one of these days...


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## jugg2 (Jan 19, 2008)

WOW!


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## Taboot (Jan 19, 2008)

Nice work. Thanks for posting the pictures. I am very impressed with the Mag mod. Someday, I really need to do one myself.


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## Brozneo (Jan 20, 2008)

I had a Mag623 for a short time and the output was amazing! But since I had the bulb in the usual Mag head, it was more of a flood light than a thrower!


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## leeleefocus (Jan 20, 2008)

*Re: Mag623 vs. 15MCP vs. Quad Cree shootout*



monkeyboy said:


> Make sure you buy lots of 64623 bulbs. Some people say that resting the battery is enough to prevent instaflash but I find that I need to rest the pack for *at least* 2 hours *and* drain the battery a little to prevent instaflash. It took me a few bulbs to find out what works. I bought 10 bulbs from Thomann.de which seems to be the best place to get them (delivered to UK) Took about 3 weeks to arrive despite what the website said.


 
Thanks for the advice. I would have probably suffered the same as you with the blowing bulbs. I like to use my lights straight away it must be torture having to wait 2 hours before you can use it.


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## resistance1 (Jan 20, 2008)

*Re: Mag623 vs. 15MCP vs. Quad Cree shootout*

Anyway you could post how to build a Mag623? It would be great with links to all the parts, and exploded views of the light. After seeing this i MUST have one!!!


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## monkeyboy (Jan 20, 2008)

*Re: Mag623 vs. 15MCP vs. Quad Cree shootout*



resistance1 said:


> Anyway you could post how to build a Mag623? It would be great with links to all the parts, and exploded views of the light. After seeing this i MUST have one!!!


 
Hello resistance1, I don't really have time to explode the light but I'll help you out with some links:

1) Grey mag body was a limited edition tri-bore host from Fivemega (FM). This other guy is offering tri-bore 2D mag hosts:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/156080

2) 3" FM head is available here:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/174247
There are other threads in the Custom BST forum offering other designs of FM heads which will also work. Might be tricky to get matching colours.

3) Battery from LuxLuthor here:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/176185
13 2/3A Elite 1500mAh 15.6V pack. There are some fitment issues with this pack; There is a slight variation in length with the 2D maglite so LuxLuthor needs to know the inside length before building the pack. Contact LuxLuthor about the measurements.

4) KIU ceramic D socket here:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/171607
You'll need to search for the building instructions. alternatively, replace the entire switch with this:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/177316

5) For osram 64623 bulbs just search with google or on ebay. There are lots of different bulbs you can use which don't require pack resting and last longer. look at incan forums.


Good luck with the build, it does take some time and effort and waiting for stuff to come is always a PITA especially if one of the items takes much longer than the others.


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## resistance1 (Jan 20, 2008)

*Re: Mag623 vs. 15MCP vs. Quad Cree shootout*

Wow, great! this looks like its gonna be fun. can you tell me what size mag you used, and how it fits with the battery pack? im trying to find the right colors for the head.


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## LuxLuthor (Jan 20, 2008)

Excellent pictures that really show this light. There is also a thread that Lips postedj where he uses a rotating gif to flip between 14.4 and 15.6V packs towards the bottom of his 1st post.

After I got this message from Monkeyboy, I started requesting that people stick a ruler in their Mag 2D so if I know it is a cut down shorter version...then I can make the pack shorter. I also offered to replace/fix Monkeyboy's pack so he is happy with it, but he had already done his mod.

Really nice comparison shootout though!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## monkeyboy (Jan 21, 2008)

Thanks for the comments guys

LuxLuthor, I've edited post #16 slightly. 

resistance1, In response to your question, Any tri-bore 2D mag host should fit as long as you give Lux the measurements. The tri-boring needs to be sufficiently deep so probably not something you wnt to try without the proper equipment. The 2D hosts that Jesus Hernandez is offering should work.


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## Holy_Diver (Jan 24, 2009)

WOW! this is awe inspiring. What if you ran the 64633 (150W 15V) instead of overdriving the snot out of the 64623 (100W 12V). I ask because I have a 3D 9AA>3D with the Kiu Switch Kit and if I run 6 Lithiums at 3.7V (15.6V under load) and 3 dummies would that cut down on ing the bulb? I know that's a lotta amps, it wouldnt run for very long... same battery setup would the 64623 last longer per charge? Thanks in advance for the help! This is my 1st technical post so be nice


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## LuxLuthor (Jan 24, 2009)

Welcome to CPF!

One thing to be aware of is unless you are using Lithium IMR ("Safe Lithium Chemistry LiMn), you won't have enough current provided by more typical Lithium Cobalt to run these bulbs. 

Same issue with NiMH AA cells. You need to get a high current output type AA cells like Elite brand from cheapbatterypacks.com

Check the bulb testing I did in my sig link to look up the bulbs you are considering to see how many amps they need.

Ask questions, & take your time reading before buying.


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## Holy_Diver (Jan 24, 2009)

Well, it runs on 150W and at 15V thats a draw of 10 amps (insane, like you could run like 3 vacuum cleaners off that ) with losses probably 10.5 to 11. I looked at a very well done NiMH battery test, I think you actually did that. So even for a NiMH its hard to do, sanyo 2700mAH or equivilent. I'll look up your bulb tests. thanks for the lithium warning!


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## BUZ (Jan 24, 2009)

Wow, that's impressive. :twothumbs


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## LuxLuthor (Jan 24, 2009)

Holy_Diver said:


> Well, it runs on 150W and at 15V thats a draw of 10 amps (insane, like you could run like 3 vacuum cleaners off that ) with losses probably 10.5 to 11. I looked at a very well done NiMH battery test, I think you actually did that. So even for a NiMH its hard to do, sanyo 2700mAH or equivilent. I'll look up your bulb tests. thanks for the lithium warning!



It's not necessarily that it's hard for NiMH to do the job, rather you need to pick the right NiMH. Elite brand of AA's or SubC (or 2/3A, etc.) will hold their voltage at higher current outputs. Sanyo 2700mAh AA's will not put out that much current.


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## Icebreak (Jan 25, 2009)

The flashlight, the beam of light and the target image are all things of beauty. My impression anyway.


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## jasonck08 (Jan 25, 2009)

Cool... More info on the switch mod requested!


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