JamisonM
Enlightened
I've had one of Gene's old maglite drop-ins that has a copper heatsink in a 3D maglite for a while now. It's been the light I go to when the dog in my avatar need to go on her nightly outing. Today, I've replaced it with parts from a light I built earlier in the year. I tried selling it and had no takers so I used it with the last of two XP-Gs I got from nailbender.
The heatsink, being a litemania from fenix store, had to be modified for use with the rebel maglite reflector. I filed down the lip that prevents the heatsink from going farther down the battery tube, drilled two holes like Gene's old drop-in had, and sanded down the positioning ring on the pedestal for use with the 10mm board the LED comes mounted on.
The hardest part was centering the LED before the thermal epoxy cured. It's still a little off, but it's slight. Still, I think it all came together pretty good. An SOB1000 from sandwich shoppe drives it, 4AA eneloops power it and a UCL lens from flashlight lens.com finishes it.
How does it perform? It throws like Gene's drop-in and has a larger hotspot. What the old drop-in lit up, this lights up better. The tint is also much better. Instead of a very cold white, this is a bit warmer without crossing the line. Looks like my old standby LED for modding maglites has been replaced. I'll try and have some comparison beamshots up later in the week. Anyway, here a some photos. I still need practice soldering.
[EDIT]
You know, I've been playing with this light since I put it together. I've seen you can get these mounted on 8mm boards; I think these things are a real replacement for SSC-Ps. They don't consume as much energy, they have a better tint than many P4s I have, they are quite a bit brighter, and they match the throw of my P4s. Looks like these will be my go to LED for maglite modding.
I don't know if this has been posted, but to use the new rebel maglite reflectors, the LED has to sit around 1cm inside the battery tube. This will get the head to hit and just go past the o-ring.
All right guys, here some white wall shots. Tell me what you think. Everything was taken with my C533's auto setting except that I used the exposure compensation. The light on the left is One of Gene's newer aluminum drop-ins with a SSC-P4. It's running on 4AA eneloops. The light on the left is the one I modified up above with an XP-G. It's also running on 4AA eneloops, but has the newer rebel maglite reflector. Lets See how it does.
Standard Maglite reflector vs. Rebel Maglite reflector with 0 exposure compensation
Standard Maglite reflector vs. Reabel Maglite reflector with -1 exposure compensation
Standard Maglite reflector vs. Reabel Maglite reflector with -2 exposure compensation
Alright, now for the Lets see how an XP-G works with the standard maglite reflector.
Standard Maglite reflector vs. Standard Maglite reflector with 0 exposure compensation
Standard Maglite reflector vs. Standard Maglite reflector with -1 exposure compensation
Standard Maglite reflector vs. Standard Maglite reflector with -2 exposure compensation
The heatsink, being a litemania from fenix store, had to be modified for use with the rebel maglite reflector. I filed down the lip that prevents the heatsink from going farther down the battery tube, drilled two holes like Gene's old drop-in had, and sanded down the positioning ring on the pedestal for use with the 10mm board the LED comes mounted on.
The hardest part was centering the LED before the thermal epoxy cured. It's still a little off, but it's slight. Still, I think it all came together pretty good. An SOB1000 from sandwich shoppe drives it, 4AA eneloops power it and a UCL lens from flashlight lens.com finishes it.
How does it perform? It throws like Gene's drop-in and has a larger hotspot. What the old drop-in lit up, this lights up better. The tint is also much better. Instead of a very cold white, this is a bit warmer without crossing the line. Looks like my old standby LED for modding maglites has been replaced. I'll try and have some comparison beamshots up later in the week. Anyway, here a some photos. I still need practice soldering.
[EDIT]
You know, I've been playing with this light since I put it together. I've seen you can get these mounted on 8mm boards; I think these things are a real replacement for SSC-Ps. They don't consume as much energy, they have a better tint than many P4s I have, they are quite a bit brighter, and they match the throw of my P4s. Looks like these will be my go to LED for maglite modding.
I don't know if this has been posted, but to use the new rebel maglite reflectors, the LED has to sit around 1cm inside the battery tube. This will get the head to hit and just go past the o-ring.
All right guys, here some white wall shots. Tell me what you think. Everything was taken with my C533's auto setting except that I used the exposure compensation. The light on the left is One of Gene's newer aluminum drop-ins with a SSC-P4. It's running on 4AA eneloops. The light on the left is the one I modified up above with an XP-G. It's also running on 4AA eneloops, but has the newer rebel maglite reflector. Lets See how it does.
Standard Maglite reflector vs. Rebel Maglite reflector with 0 exposure compensation
Standard Maglite reflector vs. Reabel Maglite reflector with -1 exposure compensation
Standard Maglite reflector vs. Reabel Maglite reflector with -2 exposure compensation
Alright, now for the Lets see how an XP-G works with the standard maglite reflector.
Standard Maglite reflector vs. Standard Maglite reflector with 0 exposure compensation
Standard Maglite reflector vs. Standard Maglite reflector with -1 exposure compensation
Standard Maglite reflector vs. Standard Maglite reflector with -2 exposure compensation
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