Two more 1200 Lumen Mag mods. (Plenty of pics)

[The_Police]

Wow nice looking upgrades.

Do you mind if I ask a couple of Q's?


1. The mode switching, does it switch modes every time you turn it on, or does it reset after a while? e.g. if you leave it in low and go back 30 mins later, what mode would it turn on in?

2. I'm fairly new to this modding lark, if I wanted to do something like this what would I need? I'm guessing the drop in, something to cut the drop in down to fit and then simply solder on the wires from the switch, or do I need some sort of control/driver board too? I suppose related to this, is the drop in being direct driven or regulated.

3. Are you still running regular alkaline D cells or something else?


Thanks ever so.

Thanks, and I'd be glad to answer your questions!

1. The modes always stay the same after it is turned off. So if I have it on the brightest mode, turn it off. Then come back to it whenever and turn it on, it will still be on the brightest mode. I also posted a video up a ways in this same thread that went over the mode switching. Not sure if you watched it yet, but if you haven't, it may answer these questions as well.

2. First off, yes you need this (or similar model) drop-in from DX, and it comes with the 5-mode driver installed. As far as fitting the drop-in in the head, It will fit in the head as is, but the bezel of the mag does not thread on all the way (that looks bad to me) and the head also will not screw down all the way because the drop-in will hit on the battery tube of the light. (that's why I machined mine to fit inside the battery tube) You can use a grind wheel for these tasks, but I recommend using a turning lathe if you have access to one.
-Then you can use a hacksaw, dremel with cutting wheel, or a turning lathe to remove the lamp post from the switch assembly.
-Two wires (about 5 inches long is more than enough)
-Soldering iron and solder (be careful about how long you hold the soldering iron on the driver to remove the contact springs! I already burned one up on accident)

3. Yes, I am using four Duracell "D" batteries in the 4D, and six Energizer "AA"s in the red 2D (I prefer Duracells, but I only had energizers at the time I needed batteries)

I hope that answers all of your questions, and as always, feel free to ask any others you may have.

 

[The_Police]

hey mr law man, if i was to put this in my car headlights would you pull me over?

Yeah I'd pull you over, not to ticket you, but to find out what the hell you did to your headlights. :lolsign:

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

Thanks. Yeah I did watch the vid too, very helpful

One last thing, in the 2D with the AA's, are they parallel or serial? Is 3v enough to power this drop in?

Ta.

 

[The_Police]

Thanks. Yeah I did watch the vid too, very helpful

One last thing, in the 2D with the AA's, are they parallel or serial? Is 3v enough to power this drop in?

Ta.

The 2D light has two 3AA to D converters from kaidomain.com, and they are wired in series.

No, 3V is not enough, the drop-in has low-voltage protection, meaning it won't turn on until it gets about 4.5V, and the max voltage is 8.4V.

*Important*
If you use regular alkaline batteries, you'll need to solder a wire in place of a battery (a piece of wire from positive to negative) on the adapter so it only runs off 5AAs. This is because alkaline battery voltages are generally slightly over their rated 1.5V, and when you get six of them in series like that they put out over 9V.

Otherwise, if you use rechargeable batteries you can just run six AAs without a problem because they generally put out around 1.2V a piece.

If you're not sure on the voltage, you can always use a multimeter (some call it a voltmeter) and check the voltage of the batteries to see their output.

 

[Gtamazing]

I really like the mod. So much so that I've ordered the parts to make it myself.

 

[The_Police]

That's great! Glad to see I have inspired someone to join the modding world. BTW :welcome:

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

Not just one person The Police. I bought a 2D Mag this week with the purpose of doing this too. Mag arrived yesterday, just need to order the drop in now.

 

[The_Police]

Not just one person The Police. I bought a 2D Mag this week with the purpose of doing this too. Mag arrived yesterday, just need to order the drop in now.

Happy modding!

I'm anxious to see threads on these builds! I enjoy seeing how others make this work as well.

 

[Gtamazing]

That's great! Glad to see I have inspired someone to join the modding world. BTW :welcome:

You had enough pictures for me too follow and the info was clear. Having not built a light for 7 years, the technology has changed alot and I was getting lost with the abbreviations and acronyms.

 

[pyro1son]

Having real problems finding this drop in could you post a link so i could order one to mod my 4d mag?
Thanks

EDIT: Found it!

 

[The_Police]

Having real problems finding this drop in could you post a link so i could order one to mod my 4d mag?
Thanks

Sure! I've also noticed that certain things are difficult to find on DX.

Take your pick --> http://dx.com/s/6+Cree+1200+Lumen+LED+drop+in