# MC-E Keychain lights (EDCs) - 3rd torch new pics



## Techjunkie (Mar 12, 2009)

*MC-E Keychain lights (EDCs) - (4) pics, video*

Unfortunately, the tailstanding polished Aluminum beauty you see the photo would not accommodate a driver larger than 16mm and the unregulated 5-mode (PWM + memory only) driver that I'm using is 17mm in diameter. I had purchased that torch specifically for this project,but it wasn't a total loss, even as stock, it's awesome in every way. I might, at some point in the future, try reducing the diameter of one of those drivers to fit, and if successful, do the upgrade to it then. For now, I hate to chance destroying its perfection. Anyway...










The beat up old Trustfire TR-803 made an awesome MC-E host, once I got the CREE Q5 out of it. The whole thing is heavy, pill included, and so lends itself to heatsinking more so than any other 1*CR123A torch i own. I've perfected my own method of installing the MC-E emitters in such a way that XR-E reflectors are optimally focused and that there is no risk of crushing the delicate little *******s when tightening things up (see pill pics).

The PWM only driver (with mode memory) was key to providing the option of running unregulated full blast or more consevative modes that will last more than 15 minutes, without the annoyance of having to cycle through modes every tmie I turn it on. (If I couldn't find one in 17mm, I would have considered a two-mode switch and a resistor, but I'd still have the cycling problem and probably couldn't have fit a resistor of the right spec.)

The crucial element of course, is the IMR 16340 battery. The MC-E pulls over 2A on high - not something I'd want to try with a Li-Ion RCR123. I suppose LiFePO4 could handle the load, but would have had lower output and shorter runtime than the LiMn IMR battery.

Tailcap measurements on a battery that measured 4.19V at rest (so almost full charge, but not quite:

High: 2.2A
Med & Strobe: 1A
Low: 200mA

This one's a pisser. I don't think anyone will be less than amazed at the output comming off my little keychain light.

I'd love to strip it down and have it polished or Nickel plated or something to dress it up. Maybe on the next custom plating group buy...
*update: I de-ano'd a new T-803 host and moved the pill to the new host. I also improved the electrical path by placing a spring under the pill and by filing down the tailcap to make sure the bottom of the battery tube made direct contact with the switch retention ring. Now it's perfect in form and function.

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Here's a few pics of my 2nd keychain MC-E creation, which uses an UltraFire EMR1 Rebel as the host. I've dubbed it "The Ugly Duckling":
















The pill and reflector have substance for a single CR123A light





Pill and reflector (bored hole, filed bottom to achieve focus)





Coated the threads of the lens retaining ring in this flexible loctite adhesive to waterproof it in the absence of a bezel gasket

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...And here's #3. I love this one. Single mode DD, pulls 3.3A off fresh battery (gets hot but doesn't turn blue), but doesn't get hot under normal use after battery has been conditioned with a few short uses. Double gaskets at head and tail. Thick gasket at lens. Tailstands. Awesome.





Look like that one above that I said I couldn't use? Well, it is. (Who needs a driver anyway?)






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At it again. Had to have one in neutral white. This little beauty is the smallest yet, but also the heaviest. It's the chrome-plated-brass Ultrafire WF-C6S (incorrectly advertised as stainless steel). The boost driver that ran the Q5 it came with well even on a primary 3V battery is smaller diameter than the KD driver, so I had to go direct drive again, but I don't mind. It's plenty bright in neutral white and man, this sucker gets hot after a little while. Good heatsinking, good mass, and a good thing the little IMR 16340 wont run it at full blast very long...





















The first two are now for sale here.


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## griff (Mar 12, 2009)

*Re: ME-E Keychain light*

show us more!!!


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## Techjunkie (Mar 12, 2009)

*Re: ME-E Keychain light*



griff said:


> show us more!!!


 
Ask and ye shall receive:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2mkS6vIpFQ

I have to add two disclaimers here. My house was a mess when I took the video with my phone. Don't judge me. I couldn't tell with the lights off and I was too busy filming with a phone while juggling two keychains and trying not to trip to notice what I was filming. Number two, the phone doesn't film well in low light at all and the auto iris/balance shuts down bright light really well. (I actually use it to tell if all 12 diodes in my 3xMC-E torches are lighting by pointing those torches directly into its lens, and you can actually make out the squares perfectly.) That last part said, the outside video looks entirely unimpressive, but hopefully, you can tell the tremendous difference between the 1000mA XR-E keychain torch and the 2.2A MC-E keychain torch, even if neither appear all that bright on the phone video outside. Enjoy...


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## Techjunkie (Mar 13, 2009)

*Re: MC-E Keychain light*

Doh! I typo'd the thread title, which should have read M*C-*E keychain light. Bummer.


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## matrixshaman (Mar 13, 2009)

*Re: ME-E Keychain light*

I think you can fix the title if you click advanced mode. Nice mod on the MC-E. Could you post any inside beamshot pics?


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## Techjunkie (Mar 13, 2009)

*Re: MC-E Keychain light (EDC)*



matrixshaman said:


> I think you can fix the title if you click advanced mode. Nice mod on the MC-E. Could you post any inside beamshot pics?


 
Yep, that did it. Thanks for the tip. I'll post indoor beamshots tonight. I know the YouTube video makes it hard to judge because of the phone that it was shot with.


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## cerberuss (Mar 13, 2009)

*Re: MC-E Keychain light (EDC)*

great mod!.. what driver did you use there?


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## Techjunkie (Mar 14, 2009)

*Re: MC-E Keychain light (EDC)*

Here are some beamshot comparisons of this new EDC keychain phenom compared to the previous keychain champ, a CR123A CREE Q5 with boost driver.

Specs on the two contenders:

1. Ultrafire A1 CREE XR-E Q5 modded with DX driver sku 15880 (1A buck/boost 5 mode)

2. Trustfire TR-803 modded with MC-E k-bin, IMR 16340 battery, KD driver pid 1845 (unregulated/DD 5 PWM modes with memory)

All shots of a given distance were taken with the same camera settings as follows:

4ft from target: ISO100 F/4 1/8sec
12ft from target: ISO100 F/4 1/3sec
40ft from target: ISO400 F/4 1.3sec

The subjects: 1.right 2.left





The subjects: 1.left 2.right (MC-E host is 1-2mm thicker)





Control shot lights on 4ft.





XR-E 4ft.





MC-E 4ft.





Control shot lights on 12ft.





XR-E 12ft.





MC-E 12ft.





Control shot outdoor flood lights on 40ft.





XR-E 40ft.





MC-E 40ft.






That's it.


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## Gunner12 (Mar 14, 2009)

*Re: MC-E Keychain light (EDC)*

Wow! Nice mod!

Thanks for the Video.

How much runtime do you get?


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## Techjunkie (Mar 14, 2009)

*Re: MC-E Keychain light (EDC)*



Gunner12 said:


> Wow! Nice mod!
> 
> Thanks for the Video.
> 
> How much runtime do you get?


 
The short answer is "not much"...

The long answer is that the total runtime is open to interpretation when using these components together. There's no low-voltage protection PCB on the battery and no low voltage cut-off built into the driver either. The MC-E will still light up at pretty low voltages too, so you have to gauge by eye when it's time to charge the battery again. While running the battery below 2.5v doesn't risk physical harm to the operator the way it might with Lithium Cobalt batteries, it does risk damage to the Lithium Manganese battery, which will reduce cycle life and runtime. So even if you don't mind running it down to dim levels on high, you'd be doing yourself a disservice in that you'd be shortening your battery's service life.

If you run it constantly on high (show and tell mode) you'll probably be much more aware of the difference in brightness as the voltage drops, and want to recharge the battery before it's voltage gets down to ~3V. That's pretty much how I use it - I charge it well before the total runtime ahs been reached.

Considering that the draw measured at a full charge decreases as the battery's voltage decreases, and that these batteries' capacity are pretty accurately rated compared to say Trustfire batteries, I think it's probably safe to calculate the realistic usable runtime as rated capacity in mAH divided by draw (measured on full charge) in mA = runtime in H, and then add 20% to compensate for the reduction in current draw that occurs as voltage drops, extending the total runtime. Adding 20% to the runtime calculated by the draw measured at a full charge, I think, is conservative, considering that my torches with protected batteries yield 200% of runtime calculated by draw measured on a full charge before the protection circuit on the batteries kick in.

The IMR 16340 is rated at 550mAH so using my formula for realistic runtime presented above yields:

High: (550mAH / 2200mA) * 1.2 = 0.3H * 60min/H = 18 minutes
Medium/Strobe: (550mAH / 1000mA) * 1.2 = 0.66H * 60min/H = 39 minutes
Low: (550mAH / 200mA) * 1.2 = 3.3H * 60min/H = 198 minutes
SOS is probably similar to Low, I think, but that's a wild guess.


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## Techjunkie (Mar 19, 2009)

*Re: MC-E Keychain light (EDC)*

Lightening strikes twice... I had a second one of those PWM drivers lying around and one more MC-E k-bin emitter, and was still bummed about not using the other torch I wanted to for this project so I modded another 1xCR123 light.

This time I used the UltraFire EMR1. The body is thin and short and it tail stands. The head is the same size as the TR-803, but because the walls are thinner, it accommodates a wider reflector. I was hoping to achieve a slightly better throw with this one, because of its slightly wider reflector. It's very hard to tell (beamshots would make it easier to judge).

I had to hand ream the reflector that was meant for a Rebel in order to fit the MC-E diameter, and file it a bit from the back end to thin the wall of the opening, to better focus it. I also ahd to file down the pill's wall height to allow the reflector to come closer to the bare MC-E emitter. The MCPCB that the Rebel was on was thicker than the MC-E base, causing the MC-E to be further from the top of the pill than the Rebel was. It took some careful, patient work, going a little at a time, but in the end, the fit and focus are perfect.

The EMR1's head was glued on and there was no way I was leaving the clip on it. I marred the black anodizing something awful while removing the head, even though I had wrapped it in packing foam before getting out my pliers. Not having any lye around, I tried to remove the anodizing off of the head and body with a wire wheel. Now it has a very unusual look. I think I'll dub this one "the ugly duckling".

It's thinner, lighter construction makes the heat it generates on high much more noticible than the TR-803.

:Edit: Pics of this added to 1st post


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## Pontiaker (Mar 19, 2009)

*Re: MC-E Keychain lights (EDCs) - 2nd torch new pics*

I will trade you some finish work for a light mod:~) Send me one of those lights and i will clean it up and bead blast it. It will remove all of the anodizing and it will look something like the lights in the pic below. I can also high polish your light but alot more time involved in that kind of work.Lights below have all been blasted with my super fine blast mix. Comes out very smooth.
Matt


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## Techjunkie (Mar 19, 2009)

*Re: MC-E Keychain lights (EDCs) - 2nd torch new pics*



Pontiaker said:


> I will trade you some finish work for a light mod:~) Send me one of those lights and i will clean it up and bead blast it. It will remove all of the anodizing and it will look something like the lights in the pic below. I can also high polish your light but alot more time involved in that kind of work.Lights below have all been blasted with my super fine blast mix. Comes out very smooth.
> Matt


 
Sounds good to me, if you supply the parts. I'd prefer the polish to teh matte finish, but beggers can't be choosers. BTW, what kind of alloy are those lights in the pic? On my screen, they appear gray with a purple tint.


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## Pontiaker (Mar 19, 2009)

*Re: MC-E Keychain lights (EDCs) - 2nd torch new pics*

The purple tint is just from the flourescent lighting. The two lights on the right are Surefire, not sure what alum they use? The other is a hodge podge of parts, also have no idea on the alloy.
Matt

I will send you a PM and we can talk.
Thanks!


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## Techjunkie (Apr 2, 2009)

Drivers? We don't need no _steenking_ drivers!

I couldn't resist. That nice polished aluminum light with all the gaskets and everything was just going to waste by not being on my keychain.

I pulled out the 6 mode driver to save for a rainy day and replaced it with a blank contact board salvaged from a 1AA light driver.

The emitter that I put into it I pulled from another torch I had modded. Among the two dozen or so MC-E emitters I've been through, this one was without doubt the brightest. Easily an M-bin disguising itself a s a K-bin (from DX, no less!).

I trimmed down the parallel star it came on rather than risking ruining it by trying to remove it from the MCPCB. The extra metal came in handy for heatsinking. I filed the threads on the torch body to accommodate the extra length inside the tube and worked the hole in the reflector a bit (it was actually too small for the XR-E before).

It couldn't have come out better. I'm so happy with it.:twothumbs

Hot off the charger, a new IMR 16340 measures 3.3A draw at the tail cap. Amazingly, the emitter doesn't get hot or shift toward blue at all. Damn, I wish they were all this good!

Pics added to first post.


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## toby_pra (Apr 3, 2009)

Awesome result after the mod!!!


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## Techjunkie (Jun 15, 2009)

*Re: MC-E Keychain lights (EDCs) - 4th torch new pics*

Couldn't resist - had to have one in neutral white. The new Ultrafire WF-C6S sure is purty. Chrome plating is so hard to keep polished though. Pics up top.


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## TigerhawkT3 (Jun 16, 2009)

Full-powered MC-Es in keychain lights... awesome. 

BTW, when you say that the MC-E at 3.3A isn't getting hot, how long are the runs you're using? Something like that should heat up pretty quickly, so if the flashlight surrounding it isn't hot, you may be cooking your MC-E. An overheating MC-E or XR-E won't turn blue like a Seoul will. Of course, sometimes that's the price you have to pay for such a sleeper. :devil:


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## Techjunkie (Jun 16, 2009)

*Re: MC-E Keychain lights (EDCs) - 4th torch new pics*



TigerhawkT3 said:


> Full-powered MC-Es in keychain lights... awesome.
> 
> BTW, when you say that the MC-E at 3.3A isn't getting hot, how long are the runs you're using? Something like that should heat up pretty quickly, so if the flashlight surrounding it isn't hot, you may be cooking your MC-E. An overheating MC-E or XR-E won't turn blue like a Seoul will. Of course, sometimes that's the price you have to pay for such a sleeper. :devil:


 
The 500mAH IMR battery only pushes that amount of current to the emitter fresh off the charger and then current quickly tapers off. Basically, these torches are like little hotwires in that way.

I notice that if I run them for a few minutes when the batteries are fresh, they get very hot in my hands, (especially the two direct drive ones), but if I do that after typical use of several short bursts, they generate much less heat.

As for turning the emitters blue, P7s and MC-E s absolutely do it, it just takes more juice than conventional Li-ions provide if the emitters are heatsinked well. I've done it to 3 well mounted MC-Es at a time using 2 AW IMR batteries and one poorly mounted P7 using a regular Li-Ion.

If you check out the 3x MC-E torches in the MC-E Maddness link in my signature, you'll see I had to add resistance to keep from the 6s2p emitters from turning blue when directly driven by 2x18650 IMR batteries.


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## oldspice10 (Feb 9, 2010)

Hi!! Im new to modding flashlights, but I have been reading the forums for a while now, and still have some questions. I would like to copy your TR-803 MC-E K-bin design. I have the donor light (TR-803), but Im not sure what driver to buy. You mention a " KD driver pid 1845 (unregulated/DD 5 PWM modes with memory)" Where can I buy one of those? 
And also about the MC-E, should I just get an emitter, or is there one already mounted to a driver available that will fit into the TR-803 head? I am pretty handy with a soldering iron, and electronics, but this is still a very new world to me. 
Any other tips for me?
Please let me know!


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## Techjunkie (Feb 10, 2010)

oldspice10 said:


> Hi!! Im new to modding flashlights, but I have been reading the forums for a while now, and still have some questions. I would like to copy your TR-803 MC-E K-bin design. I have the donor light (TR-803), but Im not sure what driver to buy. You mention a " KD driver pid 1845 (unregulated/DD 5 PWM modes with memory)" Where can I buy one of those?
> And also about the MC-E, should I just get an emitter, or is there one already mounted to a driver available that will fit into the TR-803 head? I am pretty handy with a soldering iron, and electronics, but this is still a very new world to me.
> Any other tips for me?
> Please let me know!


 
I got the driver from Kaidomain (KD). The pid is the number you see in the URL when you click on one of their items. They show a sku on the page, but they don't provide a way to search by sku. (You can use google with the site=www.kaidomain.com parameter, but might as well just click an item and then replace the pid in the URL.)

I used Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive to mount a bare emitter inside the pill. I also filed down the back of the reflector or the top of the pill to perfect the focus and created standoffs out of MCPCB chunks to keep from crushing the dome.

I've replaced the original beat-up TR-803 host with a brand new one that I de-anodized by soaking it in drain cleaner. (Now it's silver.)

I also made the following mods to perfect the electrical path, as the TR-803 had a nasty habit of flickering as the threads wore.:

file down the tailcap so the end of the battery tube pushes flush against the switch retaining ring when the cap is screwed on fully, eliminating the tail threads as a necessary conduit
 installed a negative contact spring beneath the pill to mate the PCB with a relief in the battery tube. the crome plating on the pill threads was insufficient in my opinion
If you're interested, I've been considering selling the redone TR-803 and the "ugly duckling" now that I have more keychain torches than I know what to do with.


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## oldspice10 (Feb 10, 2010)

Thank you for the specifics! Exactly how did you affix a contact spring between the PCB and the tube? Im not sure how it would hold in place. Do you have a picture of the standoff you made for the LED dome? I would like to make my first custom torch a success. 

....now what can I do to that L2t I have sitting around here?..... :naughty:
Please PM me with what you would like to get for each of those keychain torches, I might be interested!

Thanks again!
oldspice10


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## Techjunkie (Feb 10, 2010)

*Re: MC-E Keychain lights (EDCs) - 4th torch new pics*

You can see the standoffs in the pics in the first post. If you look at the business end of the TR-803 pill, you can see two hunks of metal on either side of the emitter. The MCPCB that I filed the PCB layer off of (leaving just the metal core) was just a bit thicker than the black plastic base of the MCE. The filed reflector bottom touches down on those two metal pieces instead of hitting the MC-E base.

The spring is only held in by pressure and sits on the ledge of the larger bore area for the pill. It's just a few coils between the pill bottom and the ledge. (The battery goes through the spring.)


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## oldspice10 (Feb 10, 2010)

Oh, sheesh. Right there in the first couple of pics! sorry, thanks for pointing that out to me!  I'm excited to get started!


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## Techjunkie (Feb 19, 2010)

*Re: MC-E Keychain lights (EDCs) - (4) pics, video*

Update: The first two are now for sale. Sale thread *here*.


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## oldspice10 (Mar 15, 2010)

I finally got the drivers from KD, and all I can say is....THANK YOU for the info on making this torch. Its ridiculous.  here are some pics:





this pic = no justice for the awesome beam this thing puts out. plus I had it running for about 5 min before...which is alot on high.









Thanks again! This thing is rad. Now I have to make one for my Fiance, and my Dad!

EDIT: Just did a tailcap measurement with my cheap $1.99 multimeter from harbor freight, and it says the MC-E is pulling 1.4A out of a fresh IMR 16340. Not quite the same 2.2A your getting, could I have gotten a bad driver? or is the cheapo multimeter under-reading?


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## Techjunkie (Mar 16, 2010)

It could be your cheap DMM has long, low gauge leads that are adding resistance and causing the drop. You can try using 6" sections of speaker wire or lamp cord to see if that makes a difference.

When I created my torches, I used heavier gauge wire than was provided with the drivers. On the TR-803 I also de-anno'd the part of the battery tube that the pill sits in, and added a spring to make contact between the pill bottom and the ledge where the threads stop and the battery tube gets narrow. That way, the threads aren't the only contact points for V-, but where they are, they make better electrical contact than just where the anno rubbed off at their points.

If you think the driver is the problem, try bypassing it completely and grab a current reading in direct drive. If current is still low, it could be a bad battery. Of my four IMR16340, I have one that pushes much lower current in any application than the other three, but I think that was from over charging it to 4.5+ volts on a charger that didn't end the charge at 4.2v.

Sad news on my end - I tried an optic in my TR-803 that I didn't realize was taller than the reflector and ended up accidentally crushing the dome on the MC-E. With the intent of salvaging the MC-E to use de-domed in a different light, I successfully SMD soldered it to a star. Minutes later, I completely killed it by trying to remove a tiny black fiber from the lens gel and accidentally snagged a bond wire. $20 down the drain. On a positive note, I dropped in a de-domed warm white XR-E and an SMO reflector and was able to focus it into the furthest throwing 1x16340 torch I've ever seen.


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## oldspice10 (Mar 16, 2010)

I used 24 gauge teflon wire instead of the included driver wires, so i dont think it is that. Whatever it is, I'm still happy with its output. I will try new wire in the multimeter.

Sorry to hear about your MC-E crushing woes.
You HAVE to post up some pics of this keychain XR-E thrower you made!! :huh:

Your giving me too many projects to work on as it is though..

EDIT: I just discovered a problem that has just started, while running on high for 10-15 seconds, one of the dies in the MC-E begins to flicker, and then shuts off. the other 3 dies do not do this. The flickering is exactly the same each time I restart the light. when restarted all 4 dies operate until 10-15 secons in, the one die begins to flicker.
it will not do this on medium or low. just on the high setting. what could it be? Overheating?


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## moviles (Mar 17, 2010)

were can I buy the mc-e with 14-16mm stars ???


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## Techjunkie (Mar 19, 2010)

moviles said:


> were can I buy the mc-e with 14-16mm stars ???


 
I've never seen them offered that way. I think you're two most readily available solutions are to mount them to XRE stars yourself or to file down a 20mm star and solder to an exposed trace route or directly to an emitter leg.


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