# 9 Amp PT-54 Phlatlight Maglite Mod!



## jayrob (Jun 4, 2011)

*Phlatlight at 9 Amps with focus!
*
*Edit:* I originally showed this build just as a project, because I figured that not many would really want to go with the expensive driver that I used...

But with a few people asking, I do have a price breakdown of the complete build with parts, etc...

Just send me a PM!











*Some tips for DIY:*

The tricky part is fitting that huge driver and making sure there is no contact to the heatsink from any of the components near the outside of the driver board. 

Sizing the emitter. I got it as small as I could, but still had to machine the reflector hole larger so that the emitter can fit into the reflector for focusing.

Getting the emmiter centered and sized perfectly also needs to be done carefully. I thermal glued it first (after clipping the corners so I could center it), then used a tiny belt sander after it was attached to my heatsink with Arctic Silver thermal adhesive. (3/8" belt sander)

Also, *the emitter base is case positive.* So you need to use a 'thick enough' layer of thermal adhesive, and then test with your DMM to make sure that it is electrically isolated from the heatsink...

This build looks easy in the pictures, but it barely fits the batteries with the tail cap mod and correct size switch. And it also is a very tight build using the largest heatsink I could fit inside. So it's a little trickier than it looks. I just don't want you to go into this blind... (pun intended) 

*P.S.* I have 6000mAh 32650 Li-Ion cells available! 



These fit a 2D Maglite without a tail cap modification. Just an easy spring mod to shorten the spring length.










*Details of the build:*






I wanted to see what this *red* LED from a C***o projector would look like at about 9 Amps... (now *green* too! - see below)

So I used a Maglite host so that I could have 2 X 32650 protected cells to give me a little run time, and enough room for a good size heatsink for it.






*Key features for both builds:*

* *Red *Phlatlight LED (you can find the *green* PT-54 emitter there as well)
* 9 Amp buck driver This buck driver requires a minimum input voltage of 6 Volts. So using 2 X non-protected Li-Ions is fine...  (this driver is huge - 26mm diameter!)
* Aluminum reflector 
* Borofloat glass lens to handle the heat
* Focus-able
* Largest heatsink I could fit
* 2 X 32650 protected Li-Ion batteries (these ones are the exact same length as the ones shown in this thread - 70mm)
However, I recommend non-protected for the green (or blue) build. (see green build below)
I have 6000mAh 32650's here! 

PT-54 data sheet:
Phlatlight PT-54 Product Data Sheet







*Here are some pictures of the two builds,* and some beam shots as well!










*Driver, heatsink, reflector:*




















*Switch and tail cap:*

In order to fit my 32650 protected cells, I had to use the style switch shown in the pictures, as well as machine the tail cap as shown...



















*Beam shots:*














As you can see, this bad boy is bright at 9 Amps!





Has good throw as well!

The camera doesn't show it, but you can see the red beam in the night sky!







*Current measurements:*

I tested the driver and measured the current at the LED. It is putting out 8.9 Amps to the LED with the 2 Li-Ion 32650's shown...

Battery current measured at the tail from the two cells in series was 3.8 Amps. (estimated run time - 1.4 hours)

So I do believe this high dollar buck driver is very efficient just as the specs say it is!

Driver data sheet:
http://daoriginal.da.funpic.de//data...werBuck_DS.pdf

I tested it with just a 5 minute run for now, and was pleasantly surprised that it was only warm. No where near hot. Or even what I would call 'very warm'. Just warm...












*Green build:
*

Same set up as the red build, just using the green PT-54 emitter instead...

For the green build (or a blue as well), I recommend these 6000mAh 32650's. (Good cells) The green or blue (higher voltage) emitter builds will demand a lot more current, and the protection circuit on the protected cells will limit the current needed. 


Since the driver requires a minimum of 6 volts, I believe it's fairly safe even with non-protected cells. But it's a good idea to check voltage once in a while to be sure...












*Current draw:*

The current to the emitter is the same as with the red. (8.9 Amps)

But the current draw from the 2 X 32650's in series, is more with the green build. Because of the higher voltage demand from the green emitter vs the red...

The voltage demand (per the data sheet) for the green PT-54 is 4.9 vs 2.6 for the red. (I measured 4.3 for the Green PT-54, and 2.2 for the red)

My battery current draw on this Green PT-54 build is 6.7 Amps vs 3.8 Amps for the Red PT-54. And of course that means it gets warmer too...

But it will still be fairly close to an hour of run time.





But the brightness and visibility blows away the red! According to the data sheet, the Green PT-54 will be about 1000 lumens at this current. (vs about 450 lumens for the red)

450 lumens of red is blinding. 1000 lumens of green is staggering!







*Beam shots!*


















Pretty cool!





Hope you like it!











*This same set up* would make a pretty nice SST-90 build...

But I opted for a voltage monitor, more run time, and 3 modes with my XM-L T6 build instead... (linked below) 

*Check out* my 1000 lumen XM-L T6 Maglite build if you haven't already seen it!




FS: 1000 Lumen XM-L T6 Maglite Mod With Voltage Monitor - Parts, or Complete Light!


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## LilKevin715 (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

Geez it looks mars in your living room. Have you considered tailcap/switch mods to reduce resistance? Looks great, love the heatsink.


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## jayrob (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

:thanks:

I have not thought about using a tail cap switch in a Mag...

I really love the side button forward clicky! 

Especially in my 1000 lumen XM-L T6 Maglite mod that uses a 3 mode driver. Because you can easily switch modes before clicking all the way on...


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## Stephen Wallace (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

Are those the Novae 32650 li-ion batteries that you linked to in your 1000 lumen Maglite thread?


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## jayrob (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

No, I got those on e-bay from a guy who only had 6 of them. He did not respond when I asked where he got them...

I have some of the Novae ones ordered so that I can compare the length. Hopefully the Novae ones are a little shorter because these ones just barely can fit...


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## LEDAdd1ct (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

That is an awesome, awesome mod! *thumbs up*

A great sleeper light in Mag form factor to just hand to a friend without telling him what it is first...:devil:


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## VegasF6 (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

Hey can you elaborate a little on the phlatlight led contacts? I just got mine and it is still a rectangle with the original plastic connector attached. Tell me a little about how you cut yours down if you don't mind.
Thanks!


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## jayrob (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

It's a gold plated copper base. In this picture, you can see which contacts are positive and negative:






You can also see the little rectangular pad that I did not want to cut into. (upper right) That's why I had to machine my reflector opening larger. Because this was as small as I could get the emitter. First I just clipped the corners with snips, and then after thermal gluing it onto my heatsink, I used a tiny belt sander. (3/8" belt)






LEDAdd1ct said:


> That is an awesome, awesome mod! *thumbs up*
> 
> A great sleeper light in Mag form factor to just hand to a friend without telling him what it is first...:devil:



:thanks: 

Glad you like it!


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## Walterk (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

Nice, fun and bright!
Do you have a green light coming as well?


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## VegasF6 (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

I really need to take a picture of mine to make this clearer, but here goes. The plastic connector that would be on the right in your photo you just cut away? Just to the left of that at the top there is what looks like just a metal jumper. Any idea what that is? Just to the right of the emitter there is a very small SMD component mounted to the board and covered in epoxy. Any idea? You kept your I presume. And finally, my bottom pad is covered in Kapton tape. I imagine you just cut that away, huh?

*edit*
Here is a pic I stole. You can see the SMD component circled in blue and the black outline is the jumper I talked about. In that photo the jumper has been removed, mine is in place. Wonder what that's all about?


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## jayrob (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

Yes I left the small SMD component (blue box in your picture) in tact, cut away the plastic plug connector, as well as the other component. (black box) I just peeled off the tape! 

P.S. Keep in mind that the entire base is case positive. So I just used a thick layer of thermal adhesive, and then tested to make sure that it was isolated from my heatsink... (because my host is case negative)






Walterk said:


> Nice, fun and bright!
> Do you have a green light coming as well?


 
Yes I plan on using the same set up for a green one at some time in the near future... 
http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=AafiUGZxyHZgYoMG%2fwkW3g%3d%3d

*Edit:* Green Mod shown in first post now.


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## shao.fu.tzer (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

That is beyond awesome... Those LEDs are so expensive or else I'd be all over them... I think I read somewhere that green is the brightest Phlatlight besides maybe that CSM-360 (6000 [email protected]~6.3A or something)....


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## MikeAusC (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

These LED boards will have a Diode connected in parallel with the LED chip to provide static surge protection.

I think they also have another chip which can be used for temperature monitoring - if it is, then you could remove it.


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## VegasF6 (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

That was my first thought, some sort of NTC or PTC or something but it really does just look like a strip of metal.


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## The_Police (Jun 4, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

That is very cool! I like it.


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## jayrob (Jun 5, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

Glad you guys like it! 

Man you have to be careful! This thing is a real 'blinder'! I hit a mirror from about 50'. Just a quick pass to get an idea of how bright it looks from that distance, and I do not recommend doing that again!





shao.fu.tzer said:


> That is beyond awesome... Those LEDs are so expensive or else I'd be all over them... I think I read somewhere that green is the brightest Phlatlight besides maybe that CSM-360 (6000 [email protected]~6.3A or something)....



I'm definitely going to have to go for a green build now. Especially since I already have another 9 Amp driver...

And yes, green should be much brighter visually. Since green is the most visible spectrum to the eye..


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## jayrob (Jun 7, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*



Stephen Wallace said:


> Are those the Novae 32650 li-ion batteries that you linked to in your 1000 lumen Maglite thread?



Ok I got the protected 32650's from Novae today...

And although the button on top is shaped like a normal D battery, the overall length is still the same as the other protected 32650's that I got from e-bay. (70mm)

So they will fit (barely), but only with a tail cap mod as shown in this picture...


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## CKOD (Jun 8, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

Pretty tight fit there, makes sense though, with them being 70mm. I put together a 2D light for a friend using 26650 LiFePO4 cells, and all I had to do was put in a spacer, and flip the spring upside-down and it worked fine.


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## jayrob (Jun 9, 2011)

*Re: Phlatlight Maglite Mod!*

Yeah a small spacer would make it work easier, but there is barely enough room without a spacer as shown in the pics...

*Update: 
*
I just now tested the green emitter with the 9 Amp driver and 2 X Li-Ions to see what the current at the LED was, and it is 8.9 Amps just like with the red.

I didn't test voltage to the LED though. But I can light up a red PT-54 with a 3 volt lithium primary and it's very bright. (2 Amps current draw)

But with the green (same battery), very dim. Can look right at it.

So that tells me the voltage is too low. (driver needed) So I would bet that it needs 4.9 volts just like the specs on the sales page says it does...

The information on the sales page shows 13.5 Amps, and 4.9 volts for both the green as well as the blue...
PT-54-G-C21-MPB Luminus Devices LED Arrays, Modules and Light Bars

And the red says 13.9 Amps and 2.6 volts...

That high efficiency 9 Amp buck driver I showed is expensive, but man what a nice driver it is...

And using a driver, your emitter will be regulated. So the output will stay the same. (as the batteries drain) Using 2 cells in series with this build, means more run time/capacity.


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## jayrob (Jun 12, 2011)

*Finished the green build:
*

Same set up as the red build, just using the green PT-54 emitter instead...












*Current draw:*

The current to the emitter is the same as with the red. (8.9 Amps)

But the current draw from the 2 X 32650's in series, is more with the green build. Because of the higher voltage demand from the green emitter vs the red...

The voltage demand (per the data sheet) for the green PT-54 is 4.9 vs 2.6 for the red. (I measured 4.3 for the Green PT-54, and 2.2 for the red)

So my battery current draw on this Green PT-54 build is 6.7 Amps vs 3.8 Amps for the Red PT-54. And of course that means it gets warmer too...

But it will still be fairly close to an hour of run time. 

But the brightness and visibility blows away the red! According to the data sheet, the Green PT-54 will be about 1000 lumens at this current. (vs about 450 lumens for the red)

450 lumens of red is blinding. 1000 lumens of green is staggering!







*Beam shots!* 














Pretty cool! 

Adding to the first post...


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## CKOD (Jun 13, 2011)

both at the same time for yellow beam shots?


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## jayrob (Jun 13, 2011)

Possibly yes!

But the green will most likely totally wash out the red...

I cannot try it until I get my other aluminum reflector from KD. (I used the red head/reflector for the green beam shots)


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## mewalker2 (Dec 22, 2014)

Jayrob - I'm interested in one of these Red LED Maglite builds to use as a scan light for Predator hunting. Are you still building these PT54's or have you found a better build/combo I may be interested in?


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