Maglite modding problems. With pictures of my failures!

[Justin Case]

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[LivingDaylight]

More good info.

Let's say I wanted to make a maglite Mod with similar performance as the Fenix TK41.

I understand that light uses 8 AA batteries in two banks, which would be 4.8V. The current to the LED would top off at around 2.8A, so I plugged those stats into the driver list and got these results. Only two of those show 2.8A, and come with a "buyer beware" warning. So I'm not sure how to proceed.

Here is the XM-L I am looking at.

Also, where can I get an 8 AA to D size adapter?

[yazovyet]

you can try to put 1 or 2 Dcells in a D mag, then try putting 4 AAs in place of the last cell. don't jam them in or put the tail cap on since you will need to take them out. depending on the maglite and AA width you may be able to or may have a lot of trouble or they may just not fit at all. if the AAs get stuck hopfully the mass of teh Dcells already in it can help get the AAs out.

So to summerize, you may find 4AAs don't fit so the only way to make them fit is to bore the body of the light.

[Justin Case]

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[Justin Case]

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[LivingDaylight]

Would it be doable with 4 D alkalines?

Edit: Something like this, but with 4 D alkalines instead of 3 C NiMH.

Would this Driver and an XM-L do the trick?

[moderator007]

That driver is what we refer to as the shining beam driver. Its a amc7135 based driver. I have used several and so have alot of other members. 4 Nimh's batteries should work better than 3 with that driver. With out have to worry about try to lesson the resistance in the connections or switch. 4 Alkalines may or may not work good, depends on voltage sag and current they can provide. The starting voltage of 4 alkalines would be 6v or higher but voltage sag under load may bring that way down. I have never tested a D alkaline to see how well it performs at high currents but have read several other peoples comments stating that they do not work good at high currents.

[LivingDaylight]

Thanks! I am going to try it out and see what happens. If I'm not happy with the results I can just try a different mod.

Thanks to everyone for all your help!

[Justin Case]

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[LivingDaylight]

I don't have a Lux meter but I will probably be able to rig up something with my camera. Thanks for all the info!

[Justin Case]

If you have a supported Canon digital camera, you can use the firmware hack CHDK to use the camera as a lux meter.

[moderator007]

With 3 D 9000mah Nimh's it would take 1 1/2 hours just to be some where in the middle of the run time. It would take some where around 3 hours for the batteries to be drained. Maybe longer depending on when the driver loses regulation.

[yazovyet]

If you have a supported Canon digital camera, you can use the firmware hack CHDK to use the camera as a lux meter.

I put a new ver of chdk on my camera today (a560). i will check run times and brightnesses (of my xm-l 3 NiMH mag) tomrrow or maybe the day after. thanks for mentioning this to me.