He he he... Freshly Minted Flash-o-holics!

matthewdanger

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Yesterday a few guys at my office commented about the light that I always have on my belt. I let them mess around with my A2 for a bit on lunch and by the end of lunchtime they all wanted one, until I told them the price.

I made them a promise that tomorrow on lunch I would show them how to build an even brighter light for about 25$. I brought in all of the parts to make a simple Mag 2C 3xCR123 w/6 cell MagStar bulb. I showed them how to put it together, gave them a shopping list of what they needed, and offered to share the clear plastic tubing that I have.

We put it together and then turned it on to compare to the A2. They didn't have a chance. They were instant flash-o-holics. If they only knew that this was just the gateway mod. :)

2 of them ran to Frye's and Home Depot on what was left of their lunchbreak! And the others have vowed to go after work.

Just thought I would share.
 

matthewdanger

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Oh and one more thing... they wanted to know how many lumens this mod puts out and I had to admit that I didn't know. I told them I thought it was about 230 lumens at the bulb according to Maglite, but I wasn't sure what actually made it out the front.

Anyone know for sure?
 

Lunal_Tic

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That's right, just give them a taste to get them hooked. Next you'll be dealin' Alephs out of the back of your car and Gatlights on the corner. Abandon hope all ye who enter here. :D

-LT
 

Brighteyez

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What kind of clear tubing are you using? Is this in lieu of heater hose? Actually sounds like an easy way of carrying a 'cartridge' type refill to drop into the light ;)

matthewdanger said:
and offered to share the clear plastic tubing that I have.
 

matthewdanger

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I don't remember what kind of clear tubing it is. I'll see if the tag is still on when I get home. It come in a 10 foot roll at Home Depot and works great.
 

scott.cr

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LOL, freshly minted flashoholics. I'm working on two myself: They saw my MN21-powered Surefire M4 and just HAD to have one. I also mentioned the CPF group buy for the Microfire HIDs and have at least one guy that's willing to sign up as a new member to participate.
 

matthewdanger

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Yup, the Surefires always get them, until they hear the price. :)

Anyone have an idea how many lumens get out the front of this set up?
 

Icebreak

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Good job mathewdanger!

Hook 'em and hook 'em good.

Brighteyes -

This is what I use:

3/8" ID X 1/2" OD acrylic tube from Home Depot. Split the tube.


 

Brighteyez

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Thanks! Given the dimensions, I gather the tube does not go all the way around the batteries.

Icebreak said:
Brighteyes -

This is what I use:

3/8" ID X 1/2" OD acrylic tube from Home Depot. Split the tube.


 

Icebreak

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True. After the tube is cut to length I split one side. With the end cap on there is no battery rattle, everything lines up just fine and nothing shifts position. The clear tubing is easy to work using a wallpaper blade knife.

The added benefit is being able to easily see that the cell polarity is correct.
 

Trashman

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I just got down to the last post (Sigman's), and he used my word -- pusher! (meaning, I was going to say the same thing) I was going to add, "the first one's cheap!"
 

nemul

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matthewdanger said:
I made them a promise that tomorrow on lunch I would show them how to build an even brighter light for about 25$. I brought in all of the parts to make a simple Mag 2C 3xCR123 w/6 cell MagStar bulb. I showed them how to put it together, gave them a shopping list of what they needed, and offered to share the clear plastic tubing that I have.

that was really cool of you!
 

matthewdanger

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One of them just called my house to see if he could drop by and get another length of tubing. It seems he found another bulb that he wants to try. :) He is so hooked.
 

matthewdanger

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The tubing that I have does not require a slit to fit the batteries. It is marked as not for pressure - ice maker line. The ID is just a hair bigger than the diameter of the batteries. You can shake the light all you want and you won't hear a thing.
 

schiesz

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I like the 5 cel krypton radioshack bulb for this setup. I've found it to be easier to find and cheaper than the 6 cel mag bulb, and its brighter in this setup. Of course, its life expectancy is going to be shorter as well.

If you haven't already, make sure to tell them to always used new batteries and never mix new with old or mix brands of cells. That is my number one worry with this mod as it introduces people to CR123s and given the cost of them people might try to cut the costs by using old cells.

schiesz
 
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