# Mini Mag SSC P4 mod



## Dpanther (Jan 28, 2010)

I am very new to the site so please forgive posting errors and send me in the right direction.

First I would like to thank everyone here for creating a great environment to learn a fun hobby. I first stumbled across this sight while doing research for audio equipment. After a few months of reading up and studying pics and diagrams I decided that I just might be able to do this. I then ordered some parts and made a 3D ssc P4 mag with an amc 7135 1050 ma driver. Since that went well and after building several more I felt ready for a new chalenge. I had several p4's left so I decided to put one on a 2aa mini mag. after much thought measuring and research I figured I could put in a 500 ma micro puck. I used copper bracket that I cut pieces from to solder the wires to since I have no Idea how to solder to aluminum. 

If anyone is interested in this project I will try to figure out how to put up pics and make a tutorial. Otherwise thanks for the great site and the hours of fun it has been. 

Also I could really use suggestions for a good reflector, for now I stole the one from my terralux upgrade (which was total junk in my opinion) and I want to make several more. aluminum would be nice to help the heat more.


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## mvyrmnd (Jan 28, 2010)

Sounds good! I've always liked the MiniMag, and good mods are becoming rarer by the day.

Pics and beamshots please!


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## Fichtenelch (Jan 28, 2010)

The McR18 Reflectors fit and you can also get some 18x12mm Reflectors on DX which fit pretty well.
I got some of these for my MiniMag 2AA and my cutdown 1xLiIon MiniMiniMag.
You could have bought one of these Oxygen Free Copper Heatsink which were sold in the Custom-Area.
I'm going to put a XP-G R5 in my 2AA with a 1A boost-driver from KD, which has a 14mm board and seems to be perfect.


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## Dpanther (Jan 28, 2010)

*Re: Mini Mag SSC P4 mod pics*

I have pics but am unsure how to add them here.

I would have loved an XP-G but have no Idea where to buy one. For a heat sink I just used a 14 mm one from kai domain it does the trick. After about 15 min the body of the flashlight is warm. This runs on 2aa alkalines or 2NIMH. the NiMH last just above 2 hours.

The driver actually fits in the battery tube. I thought about a 750 ma driver but was concerned that the body could not remove the heat at 1050 ma perhaps the other heat sink would help. A cheaper driver would be nice though as the one I used was $10. 

Currently I prefer NIMH batteries and I may build these for friends which would make lithium ion batteries out of the question. I eventually would like to use some lithium ion batteries but I have to learn a bit more first.

thanks for the suggestions I will check them out also I could use help on putting the pics up thanks.


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## Justin Case (Jan 28, 2010)

Fichtenelch said:


> The McR18 Reflectors fit and you can also get some 18x12mm Reflectors on DX which fit pretty well.
> I got some of these for my MiniMag 2AA and my cutdown 1xLiIon MiniMiniMag.
> You could have bought one of these Oxygen Free Copper Heatsink which were sold in the Custom-Area.
> I'm going to put a XP-G R5 in my 2AA with a 1A boost-driver from KD, which has a 14mm board and seems to be perfect.



Which KD 14mm driver is this?

Do the above reflectors clear the XP-G (presumably either on an 8mm MCPCB or a trimmed 10mm MCPCB?) and its LED+ and LED- solder pads, and press on the OFC heatsink's raised retaining ring? If the reflectors press against the heatsink's retaining ring, then is the focus correct for the XP-G? I would think that an XP-G on an 8mm MCPCB would be low (I've typically measured an MCPCB thickness of only about 0.8mm). A 10mm MCPCB, which seems to measure right at 2mm thick, could put the XP-G die at just about the same height as a Seoul P4 die.


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## Dpanther (Jan 28, 2010)

Here is a comparison shot between my p4 3D mag and the Mini mag


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## Monkeyboab (Jan 28, 2010)

Looks a great output on your minimag. I made some sandwiches for the minimag with the 2 cell 700ma drivers from Dx but the needed allot of trimming to make them fit in the minimag. I've just ordered some of the Kd drivers to try with some heatsinks I have coming. Will try them with the latest ssc p4's from photonfanatic and some 10mm Xpg r5's from cutter as droppin for gifts.

Rob


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## Justin Case (Jan 28, 2010)

Dpanther, your photo is way oversized. The limit is 800x800 pixels.

Monkeyboab, what KD driver is this mysterious 14mm boost driver?


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## 420light (Jan 28, 2010)

Dpanther said:


> If anyone is interested in this project I will try to figure out how to put up pics and make a tutorial.



Do it. I am interested. :wave:


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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

I am sorry about the picture size and this is my first post so I am trying to figure it out.

The driver in the mini mag is a 500 ma lux drive micro puck purchased from led supply it fits inside the mini mag body where the switch used to be along with some copper pieces. it is nearly the same size as the switch so the two batteries fit fine. I plan to make another tomorrow and take the pics to post. 

For now I will put up some more shots hopefully the right size and pics of the parts,


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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

These are the parts used in the project: one mini mag 2aa incan version, bits of copper, 500 ma micro puck, terralux click tail cap, 14 mm heat sink from KD, ssc p4, artic alumina thermal adhesive, and a reflector currently borrowed from a terralux kit but soon to be upgraded.


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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

beam shot of garage from end of driveway


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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

Tree


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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

Candle mode


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## Fichtenelch (Jan 29, 2010)

Justin Case said:


> Which KD 14mm driver is this?
> 
> Do the above reflectors clear the XP-G (presumably either on an 8mm MCPCB or a trimmed 10mm MCPCB?) and its LED+ and LED- solder pads, and press on the OFC heatsink's raised retaining ring? If the reflectors press against the heatsink's retaining ring, then is the focus correct for the XP-G? I would think that an XP-G on an 8mm MCPCB would be low (I've typically measured an MCPCB thickness of only about 0.8mm). A 10mm MCPCB, which seems to measure right at 2mm thick, could put the XP-G die at just about the same height as a Seoul P4 die.



The driver from KD is on the way to me, i'm also still waiting for some r5's, since i can't find the first ones i had..  lost in my appartment 
I need to have a look for the space with an xp-g, so i can't tell yet..


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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

Instructions:first take the mini mag apart and remove the junk internal switch. Set that aside for now.




Take the 14 mm heat sink and use a hacksaw to enlarge the holes so the wires can fit through them from the top of the mini mag body.





Take the ssc p4 or other chosen led and flatten and trim the contacts with needle nose pliers.





Now use Artic Alumina thermal adhesive to glue down the led with the contacts over the slots in the heat sink.






Next take the micro puck driver and trim the wires to around an inch use a wire stripper to prep the wires.





Then cut thin pieces of copper plate that will fit in the mini mag body about a third of tube for the negative contact that will be on top. the bottom positive contact can be bigger since no wires have to go beyond it. Use thermal adhesive to glue them to the driver. 

The copper should stick out to the sides of the driver. Now solder the red wire to the bottom piece of copper so that it does not stick out below it and the negative black wire to the smaller piece of copper in the same way. Then fold the green and orange wire around each respective side and bend them so they point up they will need to stick out of the flashlight battery tube after the driver is inserted.





















Put the driver in the battery compartment with the green and orange wire and negative contact pointed to the top of the compartment. I used a permanent marker to push it to the top and hold it in place. make sure the green and orange wires stick out and the negative contact connects with the top of the flashlight body.













Solder the green wire to the negative of the led and the orange wire to the positive. then use thermal adhesive to attach the heat sink to the flashlight body or do this step in reverse if you are more comfortable with that.





Now modify the current reflector with a drill and sander or use one that you ordered. Insert 2 AA alkaline or NiMH rechargeable batteries and screw on the Terralux or other on off switch cap and you are finished.


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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

Delete


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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

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## Dpanther (Jan 29, 2010)

Feel free to ask questions or discuss other possible parts.


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## nanotech17 (Jan 30, 2010)

the photos are rather small to see,can you post some closer shots,thanks.


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## nanotech17 (Jan 30, 2010)

i have used the KD driver with an old LED which is Edison Opto KLC8,and it is not bad either,curently i have one to let go at CPFMP.
It's the one on the right 












KLC8 with KD driver on the left vs SSC P4 U2SVOH


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## Justin Case (Jan 30, 2010)

If you crop the photos to remove all of that wasted, empty space, then effectively you will achieve a zoom. But still better to put your camera in macro mode and take closer-in photos. If you are using the flash, it is probably better to turn it off and use the ambient lighting. The flash tends to wash out details due to excessive reflected light. You can also combine each of the multiple posts that contain just one photo each into a single narrative post. Makes it a lot easier for folks to reference your instructions by linking to just one post instead of a slew of them.

Nano, what drive current are you using for that GD driver?


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## Dpanther (Jan 30, 2010)

Thanks for the suggestions about the pics and how to post. This is the first time I have ever posted anything so I learning ho to do it best. I will try to fix what I believe are the most critical pics later today.


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## nanotech17 (Jan 30, 2010)

Justin Case said:


> If you crop the photos to remove all of that wasted, empty space, then effectively you will achieve a zoom. But still better to put your camera in macro mode and take closer-in photos. If you are using the flash, it is probably better to turn it off and use the ambient lighting. The flash tends to wash out details due to excessive reflected light. You can also combine each of the multiple posts that contain just one photo each into a single narrative post. Makes it a lot easier for folks to reference your instructions by linking to just one post instead of a slew of them.
> 
> Nano, what drive current are you using for that GD driver?



The GD that i'm using is 1A.


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## GarageBoy (Feb 2, 2010)

Sandwich Shoppe still has the parts for a nice looking sandwich, though not as good of a heat sink as I'd like


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## Dpanther (Feb 9, 2010)

I have ordered some reflectors and a couple of those drivers to try from DX and KD. I am looking forward to seeing what can be done with them. I would also like to have different out put settings and was thinking of trying the Nite Ize IQ switch but have heard that it greatly dims the high setting. has anyone tried these or know of another option?


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## Justin Case (Feb 9, 2010)

You could try a GDuP boost-buck driver and a TerraLux TCS-1 tail switch.


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## Dpanther (Feb 9, 2010)

I do use the Tcs 1 as shown in the mod pics and it is great but just for one mode. I am not familiar with the GDuP boost-buck driver could you post a link.

I am happy with the original mod but will be continually improving it until I get it just right so to speak.


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