Hi,
New poster - I've read around the forum a lot and didn't find the answers I'm after. If I missed something, I apologise and would appreciate a friendly pointer to the right place.
Amazing forum in any case - I've kept coming back here when searching for information, so here we go!
I've recently bought a Maglite 5D incan, Tenergy Premium 10Ah NiMH D cells, and a 4D Magnum Star II replacement bulb.
The idea being that 5 NiMHs should give about the same voltage as 4 alkalines, i.e. 6V.
Seems to be a tad more - the Tenergys seem to settle in at about 1.37V. So far, the 4D bulb works fine, and gives better light than the original 5D one, but I still find it underwhelming overall. Brightness is very similar to a $5 LED flashlight I bought on eBay a while ago that runs on one 18650, though that one gives much more even light.
I'd like to stay with incandescent as I'm after a continuous spectrum for photography, but I'd like a lot more light.
I have looked at the ROP and other mods, but am looking for a cheaper and less involved solution - which will obviously be inferior, but hopefully still better than what I have now.
I've already spent more than I initially intended - not much of a market here in Oz, and postage is expensive.
Meaning I'd really like to make the best use of what I already have, as in the lamp itself and the batteries, rather than having to buy different ones.
So my questions are:
* are there any drop-in bulb replacements with higher light output that I could use?
If so, where should I look? I don't know what the socket is - seems the pins are 2.5mm apart.
* how far can I go in terms of bulb wattage before I need to replace reflector, window, socket, switch, or any other parts?
* are there any easy/affordable mods that would significantly improve any of the above? (E.g. replacing the socket - not sure if that's even possible - or just the window, i.e. the cheaper bits.)
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Cheers from Oz
rj
New poster - I've read around the forum a lot and didn't find the answers I'm after. If I missed something, I apologise and would appreciate a friendly pointer to the right place.
Amazing forum in any case - I've kept coming back here when searching for information, so here we go!
I've recently bought a Maglite 5D incan, Tenergy Premium 10Ah NiMH D cells, and a 4D Magnum Star II replacement bulb.
The idea being that 5 NiMHs should give about the same voltage as 4 alkalines, i.e. 6V.
Seems to be a tad more - the Tenergys seem to settle in at about 1.37V. So far, the 4D bulb works fine, and gives better light than the original 5D one, but I still find it underwhelming overall. Brightness is very similar to a $5 LED flashlight I bought on eBay a while ago that runs on one 18650, though that one gives much more even light.
I'd like to stay with incandescent as I'm after a continuous spectrum for photography, but I'd like a lot more light.
I have looked at the ROP and other mods, but am looking for a cheaper and less involved solution - which will obviously be inferior, but hopefully still better than what I have now.
I've already spent more than I initially intended - not much of a market here in Oz, and postage is expensive.
Meaning I'd really like to make the best use of what I already have, as in the lamp itself and the batteries, rather than having to buy different ones.
So my questions are:
* are there any drop-in bulb replacements with higher light output that I could use?
If so, where should I look? I don't know what the socket is - seems the pins are 2.5mm apart.
* how far can I go in terms of bulb wattage before I need to replace reflector, window, socket, switch, or any other parts?
* are there any easy/affordable mods that would significantly improve any of the above? (E.g. replacing the socket - not sure if that's even possible - or just the window, i.e. the cheaper bits.)
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Cheers from Oz
rj