Everything you ever wanted to know: BADBOY, MADMAX Update

[sodakar]

Thanks for the super-digest of info on both modules!

Of course, the last question I forgot to ask here (though I e-mailed you), is... are you still taking orders, and if so, are the payment instructions more or less the same from your other thread?

I'm quite impressed with your handiwork, and naturally, I'd want something brighter than the Mini-Mag bulb, and the Opalec takes me the other way... (in exchange for battery life, of course)

Many thanks,

 

[dat2zip]

geepondy,

There are many factors that can affect the flashlight temperature.

Running it continously it is highly recommended to keep the flashlight moving. Air current around the flashlight helps move the heat away from the flashlight keeping it cooler.

For the 1st batch of Madmax and Badboy the E6000 reheats at a low temperature and can leak out and glue the module to the side of the barrel.

For the 2nd batch Shoe goo was used which reforms around 150F. It's rather important on either batch to try to keep the flashlight as cool as possible.

Future boards will be using a board to board connector arrangement and will not have any of the goop or glue temperature issues.

 

[treek13]

Received my BadBoy-Yellow sandwich today. It worked very quirkily after initially installing it. It wouldn't always turn on and sometimes it seemed to turn itself off.

So I took it back apart, wiped the module off, re-installed it and now it works great!

Turns on as expected, turns off as expected, has a nice beam. I am very pleased with this light.

Just want to say thanks Wayne (Dat2Zip), you do excellent work!

Pat

 

[sstrauss]

I got the madmax running it in a minimag with a streamlight jr clickswitch. I have to say it is the light that I wish all my others were. LS1,e2e etc.

 

[N162E]

Hi Wayne,

Are the Mad Max boards with variable resistor still available for those of us that want to TRY to get creative on our own?

 

[Alan]

Geepondy, thanks for the great review comparing badboy and ArcLS. While I am very happy with Badboy's peformance, I was led to believe that badboy's current regulator gives out pretty constant output regardless of battery type and be it lithium, alkaline or NiMH. It seems otherwise based on your review. Its behavior sounds like it is Madmax instead of badboy. You did mention that you *received Madmax Badboy Yellow*. Would you clarify either the one you tested is Madmax or Badboy Yellow?

TIA

Alan

 

[sodakar]

Let me try this again:

Of course, the last question I forgot to ask here (though I e-mailed you), is... are you still taking orders, and if so, are the payment instructions more or less the same from your other thread?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">

 

[Doug Meister]

I just hafta tell what I did. Several years ago I owned a Harley-Davidson (now regrettably sold). I bought a new black Mini-Mag for its metal tool box. Over the miles all the stuff in there vibrated against the MagLite - making a lot of scratches - with one almost wore thru. The light looked like hell. Later I found that it didnt work - the part where the bulb fits was broken internally.

Then when I got the BADBOY I put it in a different MiniMag. But the other day I thought I would switch the BADBOY sandwich to this beat up but new Mag. I couldnt get the bezel off. So I decided a piece of metal was not going to get the best of me. I vised it up and used my plumbers channel locks and was able to eventually pursuade the bezel to turn - in the vise. After tightening the vise even more and really gripping the pliers - it finally broke loose.

The threads looked galled. So scraping with my jacknife helped only a little. At work we would use a trick to make parts fit. We used one micron alumina and lapped parts together to make them fit.

I pinched the bezel in the opposite direction that the vise did to get it more round. I didnt have any alumina, so I tried cleanser. That didnt work too well, so I tried Brasso. After a few twists both parts fit very nicely. Then I un-mounted the BADBOY stuff from its good MiniMAg and re-mounted it in my repaired but badly beat-up MiniMag. So its a BADBOY in a badboy.

The scratches I put on can hardly be noticed over the other scratches. I have wanted to save this beat up light for years and now I finally did it. Thanks for reading this.

<font color=blue>--Ðøug

™</font>

 

[MR Bulk]

I did a temperature and brightness test with the BadBoy Yellow inxtalled in a new Legend 2AA body with fresh Energizer alkalines.

Start of the test showed the outside case temp at 85F, with lux at one meter = 209.

After 22 minutes, the light began to turn off for approximately one second then turn back on, exhibiting this behavior at a rate of about once per minute. Case temp was now at 108F, and I ended the test.

 

[dat2zip]

Mr Bulk,

Please remove the Badboy and clean the top contact surface around the LED. Inspect and remove any green flecks and re-install. Your symptons are a poor contact to the barrel and the board and LED are overheating. Also, if the sandwich is not 0.3" thick, try stretching the spring a bit to get more pressure applied to the board.

sodakar
Please email me again. I'll reply to your email.

WayneY

 

[sodakar]

Wayne,

e-mail sent. Thanks for your time!

 

[BuddTX]

dat2zip,

How does the Madmax compare to the BadBoy Violet?

Any thoughts as to when you might start accepting orders for the Violet?

Any thoughts of doing a 3AA "no holes barred, bright as can possibly be" version? (Or maybe a multiple LS in a Legend LX!!!!!!!)

I mean, hey, it's either buy lights from you and the other excellent mod'ders here at CPF, or put the money in the bank, and, hey, how much fun is that!

 

[dat2zip]

Many of you may be thinking I'm holding back. Won't let the bright buggers out.

All I can say is I'm going at warp speed to provide large quantities. The timing of this will be determined this week. We will be expediting out badboys for full fab and assembly this week. And, if there are no component lead time issues, possibly can expect 2-3 week delivery. (Could still be 6-8weeks)

I've narrowed it down to just Yellow (400mA) and Green (500mA).

As for violets, I have yet to decide to release the HS model for a 1W HS. This if I did would be an exclusive mod kit only requiring aluminum disc and some assembly to maximize the heat transfer to the battery case. It would also require a waver of some form from liability.

I won't consider that till I've got the production started on yellow and the green models and have finished the new design(s) I've got on my plate.

Assume the LEDs lead time were not an issue. Heat is still the primary concern if we all had the new Lambertian HD and the 5W LEDs. My McGuchi (Thanks Don!) is underdriven 5W Green LED with a Badboy 666mA (Violet). It has a large extensive aluminum core added to provide more mass to help absorb the heat. This is a M2 body with many reliefs and exposed surfaces. Even still the sucker shuts down near the depleted battery condition which is by far the worst condition. So, there is no perfect absolute solution. If this sucker melts down and has thermal issues there is no freakin way I'm letting other modders do this in a minimag.

So, I will be releasing violets or violet development boards to those who are going to be making custom flashlights that have the necessary machining capability and electronic savvy to deal with the heat and electronics issue. I personally cannot do this and can only provide the brains or heart portion of the flashlight. It may be these other modders that will be able to tackle this, determine the best flashlight to mod whether that be a 3D maglight, Brinkmann Legend LX or whatever... I personally do not have the time to invest in modding these, testing and characterizing them.

What I have is a special badboy_750 board that has a trim pot on it. The trim pot allows adjusting the output regulated current for about 20% to 100% full current. Full current will still be set by a low value current sense resistor.

So special badboy_750 could be made to have top limits like yellow (400mA), green (500mA), Violet (666mA).

You can then adjust the output current and start out dim and later crank it up.

Also, Badboy_750 is the ideal driver for multiple white Nichias in series and parallel combination since most combinations require some oddball value of current that will typically not match one of the existing configurations.

Also, I'm still waiting for my proto run of my new Madmax boards that will accomodate the new emitter board.

The Badboy and emitter board work great. When I get the Madmax board it too should work with the same emitter board.

So, this week will be very busy for me. Top priorities for this week are to get badboy and emitter boards out for quote and production started. Design the new step down regulator, Test Madmax boards if they arrive.

This is my focus.

I know there is a lapse or dead time right now. I know you all are anxiously waiting. But, I think you will be pleased with the final results and we will all be able to get the quantities we want. That includes me. Really, I have almost sold everything I've made and co-workers and friends keep buggin me for some of them. Imaging that!

So, Yes, My arm is totally bruised too from people punching my arm.

WayneY

 

[BuddTX]

Dat2Zip (WayneY)

Thanks for the info.

I don't have the necessary machinery skills and electrical skills (unless we are talking about a solder point or two), so I will have to wait until you pair up with someone who has these skills and can do mod's on a somewhat quantity level.

Thanks!

 

[PsycoBob[Q2]]

Dat2Zip,
If you decide to start making and selling those special badboy_750's, I'll gladly take 2- I think that board would rapidly become your most popular board. Amperage reg AND adjustable? [Cartman]Kick ***![/Cartman] The biggest downside of regulated-amperage boards has been that they can't be adjusted easily.

A waiver would be a good idea for that, and any similar high-power boards (like the violet)- protection is always a happy thing, especially when someone dosn't read the instructions on your page, and plugs a 1w w/o a heatsink into it, and gets pissed at you when it dies.

 

[yclo]

Better not let Darell hear about the 750..

 

[Doug Meister]

I think I am going to hafta buy a MadMax next for my now empty MiniMag.

<font color=blue>--Ðøug

</font>

 

[MR Bulk]

Originally posted by dat2zip:
Mr Bulk,

Please remove the Badboy and clean the top contact surface around the LED. Inspect and remove any green flecks and re-install. Your symptons are a poor contact to the barrel and the board and LED are overheating. Also, if the sandwich is not 0.3" thick, try stretching the spring a bit to get more pressure applied to the board.

sodakar
Please email me again. I'll reply to your email.

WayneY

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">dat2zip,

Thanks, I'll try that again (did it once upon initial installation because it would not light) since the climate and humidity here might have accelerated oxidation of the copper surface...

And of course you know I'm always good for the next line up, the one for the custom badboy_750 board for my own homemade mods (I'll sign any waiver you put in front of me)...

Thanks again.

 

[geepondy]

Originally posted by Alan:
Would you clarify either the one you tested is Madmax or Badboy Yellow?
TIA
Alan

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I had ordered badboy yellow, I assume that's what I received. The light output seems to stay constant unless you leave the light alone for extended periods of time and it gets really warm then the light output dims a little bit. Once the light cools down, the output is back to normal until of course the end where it goes dim in a hurry. Based on Wayne's response, I won't be repeating that, I don't want to fry my luxeon or melt the glue. Total bright output is approximately two hours I'd say. Not scientific as I shut it down once during the operation. This I'm surprised at. The Arc LS although only partially regulated gives a much longer runtime of relatively bright light output by that I mean within 75 percent or so of new level brightness. Is lower runtimes the price you pay for a flat output? I'm not complaining, the badboy yellow is a great light and I'm looking forward to some of Wayne's high dome modifications.

 

[Mr. Blue]

How did you fit the BB into a Legend? Did you go through the battery compartment or through the head to place the module? How do you get the white thingy out?