# MRV SSC P7s. Lots of different SSC P7 beamshots!



## StefanFS (Jul 5, 2008)

My SSC P7 MRV. The sweetest light I own at the moment...

The OP reflector is provided by CPF user Flic. I did the actual modding a few months ago and had to wait to find an OP reflector.







































It is powered by one of those AMC7135 based sandwiches that I make for my 18650 SSC P7 builds. One 1000 mA five mode multimode driver with a 1400 mA slave board.














I take the driver out by removing the plastic cover over the led, then insert a small screwdriver down into the holes for the emitter, find the ledge formed by the brass contact ring around the driver and tap it out (remember to remove the plastic cover that protects the driver in the heatsink, it screws out with tweezers). The star can sometimes be tapped out from the underside if it partly covers a hole, otherwise just twist it out wit a pair of pliers.


Glueing the P7 in place with AA epoxy, centering it with the bored out reflector before the epoxy cures.








The new driver sandwich with it's brass contact ring hammered down into it's place in the heatsink. This can be tricky. You can see that I used the little spring from the original driver for holding the brass contact button that goes into the plastic cover that screws down into the heatsink.













Runtime on high is exceptional on one small AW 18650 LiION cell.







Beamshots are in the process of being made...

Stefan


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## StefanFS (Jul 5, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*

Self explanatory this post is... I deemed beamshots of longer distances than ~100 meters useless, due to the present conditions with a bright sky at 1 am. 

Camera settings are daylight, 6 seconds, ISO 100. Manual focus.



























































A challenging location, the black water absorb much of the spill light. It makes the 'not on the ground' spill light more visible.


























































*Third set added 2008-07-13.*


I decided to include a third set that I earlier had decided to leave out. It does show the difference in intensity clearly. Shot the same night as the other two sets.


A small clearing. Pic of the place is taken last fall, target to the left at 35 meters.



















































 



And a nice flower.


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## addictedmatt (Jul 5, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*

Very nice. You always have the best beamshots, I can't wait to see them. PS, Your beamshots inspired me to buy a tiablo a9 q5. :twothumbs


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## Cookie Monster (Jul 5, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*

Nice work! 
Could you post a comparison beam shot of the pre mod and the post mod reflector?


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## StefanFS (Jul 5, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*



Cookie Monster said:


> Nice work!
> Could you post a comparison beam shot of the pre mod and the post mod reflector?


 
As it happens I do have one 'pristine' Q5'ed, digital MRV left. I need to wait a bit as it is pouring down here. In 48 hours (at the most) there will be beamshots!

Stefan


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## KRS1 (Jul 6, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*

Nice to see you are working on this. I planned to mod MRV with p7 awhile back but spend all money on alcohols and girls :mecry:
 
Cant wait to see some outdoor beam shot comparison 
 
Nick


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## Cookie Monster (Jul 6, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*



KRS1 said:


> Nice to see you are working on this. I planned to mod MRV with p7 awhile back but spend all money on alcohols and girls :mecry:
> 
> Cant wait to see some outdoor beam shot comparison
> 
> Nick


 
Well, if I had more money I'd spend it on more booze and girls too! :naughty:


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## nein166 (Jul 7, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*

Love the polish job
Do tell about your unique name tag


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## cat (Jul 7, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*



StefanFS said:


> Reserved.
> 
> In wait for the promised beamshots; a flower.



wow, beautiful.  Beautiful photo. I like the ground-cover stuff too. 


I thought it was the Tiablo that you had found to be the best host, but now you're doing MRVs.....?


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## StefanFS (Jul 7, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*

nein166,

the plaque is ordinary 1.5 mm brass sheeting. I engraved it and filled it with enamel and then polished it. The 'light engines' on the MRV is brass underneath the copper and nickel plating.


Cat,
the MRV is actually a little better because of better thermal transfer. It does require an OP reflector. Beam pattern is very similar to the Tiablo, spill is bigger though.


It simply won't stop raining here, so I can't take any beamshots right now.

Stefan


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## Bimmerboy (Jul 7, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*

Nice mod, Stephan. That runtime graph looks great too!



KRS1 said:


> I planned to mod MRV with p7 awhile back but spend all money on alcohols and girls :mecry:



I spent most of my money on booze, women, fast cars, and flashlights... the rest I wasted. :devil:


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## StefanFS (Jul 8, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*

Beamshots added to post #2.
Stefan


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## Bimmerboy (Jul 8, 2008)

Outstanding beamshots, Stefan! 

That P7 Mag with OP reflector looks _very_ good.

Nice flower.  What is it?


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## PhantomPhoton (Jul 8, 2008)

Wow, the MRV does very well with a P7. So the big question is, why the heck isn't Lumapower making these?

It's like they're saying, "no PhantomPhoton, we don't want your money" :mecry:


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## StefanFS (Jul 8, 2008)

PhantomPhoton said:


> Wow, the MRV does very well with a P7. So the big question is, why the heck isn't Lumapower making these?
> 
> It's like they're saying, "no PhantomPhoton, we don't want your money" :mecry:


 
Because it's difficult and expensive right now as it's a 'newish' emitter. You also need to find a really good driver for it. The drivers I use take time to modify. The LumaPower MRV OP reflector is very well suited to take advantage of the P7, but it's floodier with a bright center. It's good for distances upp to ~150 meters (maybe more) in dark conditions. You don't even have to sand the reflector, it's a straight swap after you open up the reflector hole to 9-10 mm with a tapered reamer et al. A very sweet light, it lights up a sports stadium!
Stefan


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## alantch (Jul 8, 2008)

The OP relectors seem to be doing a better job overall with a good balance of spill and spot. And the MAG 4D is just awesome! Great beamshots!


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## LukeA (Jul 8, 2008)

Stefan, not to draw the thread off-topic, but is that wire high-temp teflon coated? If so, where do you get it?


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## Bimmerboy (Jul 8, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*

Ha! Just realized the best beamshot of the litter...



StefanFS said:


>



Dog at 40 meters!

:rock:


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## StefanFS (Jul 9, 2008)

LukeA said:


> Stefan, not to draw the thread off-topic, but is that wire high-temp teflon coated? If so, where do you get it?


 
I only use that type of wire. I got some good wire from
 *mudman cj*. 
Stefan


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## coors (Jul 9, 2008)

You've really got me thinking about trying to modify my MRV-clone like this. The beam looks much more useful, to me, than the narrow beam of the Raidfire (or other narrow beams from throwers). If I had the confidence that I could make your 2.4a driver I'd jump right in, but I don't. Thanks for sharing this great info!

coors


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## Kabible (Jul 9, 2008)

Stefan, could the MRV tail cap use mudman's 2 speed switch?


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## PhantomPhoton (Jul 10, 2008)

Lumapower is doing SSCP7 lights... their DX1. But that thing is a mag sized monster and just not interesting.
I say, of course it is difficult and expensive, that comes with innovation and being the first. I just don't get mediocrity. I haven't seen a small P7 from anyone but Wolf Eyes yet, not Tiablo, not Nightcore, not Lumapower, and only a dismissed prototype from Dereelight. It is obvious such a design has great potential but few manufacturers seem to be stepping up to the challenge. (Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.) Small companies like those just listed should have enough resources be able to design a driver and order a batch of existing OP reflectors with slightly larger holes withinin the 5+ month span that we've known about SSC P7s. :sigh:


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## Mike Painter (Jul 10, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*



StefanFS said:


> Camera settings are daylight, 6 seconds, ISO 100. Manual focus.



With a six second exposure my question is, do you see what we see in the pictures?
Are the trees really that well lit to the naked eye (or mine with glasses.)


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## StefanFS (Jul 10, 2008)

Kabible,
that switch would fit with a bit of modding to the switch pcb. A lot of work.


Mike Painter,

I'm using ISO 100 (sometimes ISO 80). With ISO 200 or 400 it would be a problem with long exposures. It also depend on which camera you are using and what software that camera have installed. And countless other factors. Finding camera settings that represent reality is a long process, it took a lot of experimenting to find good 'night settings' for beamshots with my current camera. But you could never be entirely sure that I'm not a trickster, I could be shooting in raw and processing my pics in photoshop and so on.. In the end it comes down to trusting people to tell you the truth.

This is very close to what I see with my bespectacled eyes. But human eyes show wide variations between individuals. I have 'normal' eyesight with some correction. Also remember that the photos are taken in fairly enclosed spaces and at short distances, and all lights are really powerful.

When I take beamshots at even closer distances I go down to 4 sec. and for longer (200 + meters) I go up to 8 sec.

Stefan


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## Cookie Monster (Jul 11, 2008)

Thanks for the comparison shots, I can see what a difference the reflector did.


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## StefanFS (Jul 11, 2008)

Cookie Monster said:


> Thanks for the comparison shots, I can see what a difference the reflector did.


 

It does indeed. But I still like the stock Mag reflector for it's absolutely awesome throw. But sufficiently wide OP reflectors are great for 'wall of light' flashlights and it still has an intense center/hotspot. With narrower reflectors you tend to lose the hotspot and get almost all flood/spill light.

As a sidenote; I had a lot of stock Mag reflectors laying around so I used different brands of clearcoat spray lacquer on three of them for sputtering/op effect. It worked great and I put them aside when they had dried about a month or so back. I found them a few days ago and both the surface and the reflector coating have deteriorated badly. Output have suffered badly from the sputtering gone bad. They were on par with the fine alu mop reflectors I have when new, now they have a totally different beam.

Stefan


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## Cookie Monster (Jul 11, 2008)

I was wondering, me being a novice flashlight modder, does the stock Mag reflector suffer at all from the heat generated from a P7. How about after a long term exposure?

CM


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## StefanFS (Jul 11, 2008)

It's not possible for an SSC P7 emitter to have an effect on plastic Mag reflectors. Not enough heat, not even close. The stock Mag reflectors are very good performers and they are very well made.
Stefan


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## cat (Jul 11, 2008)

The MRV reflector doesn't seem to lose anything compared to the MAG reflector, in practical use. 

Pity you didn't have one of the Tiablos here - I'm wondering how it looks compared to the MRV. 

This looks better than the Dereelight P7 (Wade's photos) - as far as I can see - different sets of beamshots.

These beamshots show me again, not to bother with any LED other than the P7 (LED currently available, that is.) I've got what I need for indoors. What I've always been most interested in is lighting up outside and - other than the incans, the MAG mods - nothing seems to do as well as the P7 with the MRV reflector or the Tiablo reflector, or the MAG reflector.


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## Cookie Monster (Jul 12, 2008)

StefanFS said:


> It's not possible for an SSC P7 emitter to have an effect on plastic Mag reflectors. Not enough heat, not even close. The stock Mag reflectors are very good performers and they are very well made.
> Stefan


 
Thanks for the info. I was hoping I could still use the stock reflector.


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## StefanFS (Jul 12, 2008)

cat said:


> The MRV reflector doesn't seem to lose anything compared to the MAG reflector, in practical use.
> 
> Pity you didn't have one of the Tiablos here - I'm wondering how it looks compared to the MRV.
> 
> ...


 

Both the Tiablo and the MRV do get warm in use with an SSC P7 driven at 2.4A, they are also very floody. I'd like a little more defined hotspot, I was thinking of the optics that are available but it's very apparent that they don't fit in either MRV or Tiablo. As they are they are good up to 150 m in very dark conditions and maybe 75 m in a city with streetlights. They are very blinding at distance even if they don't have a very defined hotspot.

I don't have my modded Tiablo A8 anymore but I'm waiting for parts to rebuild my last Tiablo A9 in a similar way.

Stefan


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## StefanFS (Jul 13, 2008)

A third set of beamshots have been added in post #2.


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## selfbuilt (Jul 13, 2008)

oo: Phenomenal beamshots as always Stefan. Beautiful job on the mod - I'm amazed at how well the P7 does in the stock MRV body (with appropriate mod driver, of course).

:bow::bow::bow:

My soldering iron has been gathering dust this last little while, since I've been doing so many reviews on new lights. Hard to find the time to tinker like I used to. But my hat's off to you on this continuing MRV adventure of yours - outstanding work. Keep it up!

Cheers!


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## Isthereanybodyoutthere (Jul 13, 2008)

Is the op reflector you use in the mag the original that you have sputtered
Or is it one of the P7 reflectors from KD or DX


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## StefanFS (Jul 13, 2008)

Isthereanybodyoutthere said:


> Is the op reflector you use in the mag the original that you have sputtered
> Or is it one of the P7 reflectors from KD or DX


 
It's the OP from KD. It's a very good reflector, throw is still ~16 000 lux as opposed to the stock that throws ~25 000 lux. The stock reflectors I sputtered with clear spray lacquer have all deteriorated badly, they were as good as the KD OP when 'fresh', but now they are junk.
Stefan




selfbuilt said:


> oo: Phenomenal beamshots as always Stefan. Beautiful job on the mod - I'm amazed at how well the P7 does in the stock MRV body (with appropriate mod driver, of course).
> 
> :bow::bow::bow:
> 
> ...


 
Thanks,
You are THE reviewer in my opinion, no other on this forum has the stamina and capacity when it comes to reviews. I'm more into everyday mods now myself, I was never much of a reviewer as I really don't have the time for it.
Stefan


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## Patriot (Jul 14, 2008)

I'm not sure how I missed this thread until now, but I'm glad that I found it.

Amazing mod and beamshots Stefan. I'm blown away, as usual, with your mods. That's by far the "trophy" MRV on the planet. 

I'm not sure if that's your property, but that place is beautiful. I love how the house is tucked back in amongst the greenery. It's very secluded looking.

Thanks for sharing.


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## X_Marine (Jul 15, 2008)

What he said... :kewlpics: thanks Patriot36. :wave:

I'm in a quandary now, I have these urges to go work in the yard and a strange desire to build a driver. 

Awesome light and really nice yard dude!.. :twothumbs and give the dog some credit after all he sat & stayed at 40yrds. ') well trained. 

Thanks
X..


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## Flic (Jul 15, 2008)

Stefan, I finally found your thread. Fantastic light! I am truly envious. And I am gald I could play a (very) small part in the project.


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## StefanFS (Jul 16, 2008)

Flic said:


> Stefan, I finally found your thread. Fantastic light! I am truly envious. And I am gald I could play a (very) small part in the project.


 
I thought I had sent you a link, but I was mistaken. The project was doomed without an OP reflector so it was lucky you had one to sell. The beam from the smooth reflector is horrible with the SSC P7. Thanks again,
Stefan


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## 04orgZx6r (Jul 18, 2008)

Hey Stefan, I've been wanting to do a P7 mod for a while and I think this might be just the light to do it to. I think I understand how you made the drivers, but can you take pictures of the pill, that is if you did use the stock pill, if not I'm screwed, Thanks!:twothumbs


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## StefanFS (Jul 18, 2008)

04orgZx6r said:


> Hey Stefan, I've been wanting to do a P7 mod for a while and I think this might be just the light to do it to. I think I understand how you made the drivers, but can you take pictures of the pill, that is if you did use the stock pill, if not I'm screwed, Thanks!:twothumbs


 
There's no pill with the MRV, the driver is soldered to a contact ring made of brass that's pressed into the middle module/heatsink. I just replace the stock driver, then I solder it to the ring and then solder the little spring from the original driver to the new driver. 
I'll post some pics of the process in post #1 later today.
Stefan


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## 04orgZx6r (Jul 18, 2008)

StefanFS said:


> There's no pill with the MRV, the driver is soldered to a contact ring made of brass that's pressed into the middle module/heatsink. I just replace the stock driver, then I solder it to the ring and then solder the little spring from the original driver to the new driver.
> I'll post some pics of the process in post #1 later today.
> Stefan



Thanks for the info, I don't have an mrv yet but am looking to buy or trade for one, should be fun, Thanks!


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## StefanFS (Jul 18, 2008)

*Re: MRV SSC P7s by SFSS*



Bimmerboy said:


> Ha! Just realized the best beamshot of the litter...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Ha! Indeed. He often gets cranky when I spend time with fixing cars/houses or are messing with lights/other stuff. In his opinion time should be spent running in the forest chasing roe deer, or in training, which he finds to be the most fulfilling pastimes. Looks massive doesn't he? I need to assert my authority with Ricko all the time, but in return I guess he will do anything in his capacity for me and my family. The dog is always the lowest ranking member in the family, and they need to know that.


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## julesb (Jul 26, 2008)

Thanks for an excellent idea, Stefan. I have copied your design, and the results are quite excellent. The beam is excellent in use, ideal for a MTB headlight.


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## LuxLuthor (Jul 30, 2008)

Stefan, don't know how I missed this thread....probably the LED focus in title. Excellent beamshots all around. Thanks very much. :thumbsup:


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## 04orgZx6r (Aug 8, 2008)

julesb said:


> Thanks for an excellent idea, Stefan. I have copied your design, and the results are quite excellent. The beam is excellent in use, ideal for a MTB headlight.


You have any pictures?
I am working on mine now and am getting excited waiting for all the parts, I would love to see some pics


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## toby_pra (Aug 8, 2008)

Very very very great Beamshots! Incredible!


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## julesb (Aug 9, 2008)

I've been testing mine tonight. Direct drive from and 18500 to the P7 I bought from CPF pulled only 2.7A fully charged so I thought a regulator would be a waste of energy and just went for direct drive. The output was phenomenal and has dimmed very gradually for the first 50 minutes or so. For the first 3/4 hour the heat built up rather fast and I ran the torch under the tap every five minutes to get it cool. I will test it soon on my bike to see if the airflow cools it sufficiently. After an hour the current draw was 1.27A, with the cell at 3.61V. The light output was still very good, certainly beating my wolf eyes q5 HO on a new battery. After 1hrs and 20 mins the current had dropped to 0.25A and the output was dropping markedly. The cell was at just over 3v...time for a change. I am well pleased with the way this works on direct drive. This with a couple of spare 18650 cells will will make a most excellent bike light.


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## waTom (Oct 28, 2008)

Hi,

Have you already used a MC-E LED in one of your mods?


I would love to see this


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## StefanFS (Oct 28, 2008)

waTom said:


> Hi,
> 
> Have you already used a MC-E LED in one of your mods?
> 
> ...


If it's me you are asking; I'm waiting for M bin MC-E.


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## bluecrow76 (Oct 29, 2008)

Great mod Stefan! I am contemplating it but only have the smooth reflector. Have you tried it with the smooth reflector? If so how does it look?


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## StefanFS (Oct 29, 2008)

bluecrow76 said:


> Great mod Stefan! I am contemplating it but only have the smooth reflector. Have you tried it with the smooth reflector? If so how does it look?


 
With a smooth reflector it's 'really bad'. But even with an OP there is still a hint of a donut. I don't mind that as it throws a wall of light a very long way. It's not noticeable in everyday use. It makes the stock CREE X-RE MRV look like a joke...

The 'really bad' part with the smooth depends on how sensitive you are to white wall artefact hunting.


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## bluecrow76 (Oct 29, 2008)

StefanFS said:


> I don't mind that as it throws a wall of light a very long way.



That's why I'm interested in doing the mod. The light being thrown in your beam shots is more impressive than any P7 beam shots I've seen yet... especially in the MRV package!


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## bluecrow76 (Nov 12, 2008)

I just started tearing apart my LE in preparation for my emitters arriving. Were you able to get the original emitter out without destroying it? Mine is stuck on REALLY WELL!!! :thinking: I was able to get the original driver out with only one SMT capacitor being damaged in the process.


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## StefanFS (Nov 13, 2008)

bluecrow76 said:


> I just started tearing apart my LE in preparation for my emitters arriving. Were you able to get the original emitter out without destroying it? Mine is stuck on REALLY WELL!!! :thinking: I was able to get the original driver out with only one SMT capacitor being damaged in the process.


 

If the star overlap the holes for the emitter leads you can put the heatsink/LE upside down in a vice to tap it out carefully.

Stefan


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## bluecrow76 (Nov 13, 2008)

After much tribulation, what ended up popping it off was the use of a flat head screwdriver. I placed it between the body wall and the star and "turned" it until it popped off. Although the star was a bit scarred (from my previous attempts to dislodge it with other tools) it is in fact intact and reusable... yeah!


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## bluecrow76 (Nov 21, 2008)

I finished building mine tonight! Yeah! I used a DSW0J emitter from PhotonFanatic (looks like I bought them just in time!) and two 4x7135 drivers stacked. I love the tint of this emitter. The hot spot is a bit blueish but the spill is warm. It gives surprisingly good color rendition. I bored out my reflector more than StefanFS did, so you can see more than just the dome. It's amazing how bright this thing is! It was pulling 2.06 amps using an 18650 cell that at 4.10 volts with no load. I tested the sandwich on a old sacraficial Cree and it was putting 2.6 amps through it, so I'm assuming that the emitter is getting close to 2.8 amps without the cheap DMM inline and all the extra wire.

Thanks again for this post Stefan. It's what gave me the idea to mod mine. Now I'm looking for another OP reflector to mod my other MRV with a CSX0I P7 and a tri-flupic.


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## PlayboyJoeShmoe (Jan 20, 2009)

That MRV is SWEET!

But somebody tell me more about a 3A Mag P7! How do I get there?

The one with the OP reflector is also SWEET!!!!


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## 3D black mag (Apr 14, 2009)

Hi I was wondering something I am making a P7 3D mag if I use the stock reflector what will the beam look like? Will it have a donut hole?


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