2,272 foot throw from my MagCharger!

[Northern Lights]

I lit up a building 2,272 feet away!

Recently I have been intrigued with the potential of the Phillips 5761. It was AWR that had the insight as to this bulb's potential for lumens on 7.4 volts so he influence me to go off onto a quest with a few ideas and projects based on these prospects.

It was FIVEMEGA who enlightened me from a post in a thread I started about what could be done with a MagCharger. I took my very old MagCharger, I got it when they first were made, over 20 years ago, and I have fed it WA 1160's, WA 1111's and recently figured how to insulate the reflector and put it on the Phillips 5761. Having re-wired the switch and hardwired a soldered NiMh pack into the thing after boring I got a 5.4 Ah rated pack with a low resistance system so the calculated torch-lumens is just under the 900L mark (Over 1330 bulb-Lumens, as I see some still rate lights this way).

Tonight, near midnight, I was teaching a student for his certification the appropriate application and use of an infrared Gallium Arsenide laser equipped measuring device that is certified to measure distances within 1 foot +-.

Being the flashaholic I have turned into, working night shifts has a new entertaining twist for me. I had at least 5 lights with me! (And a couple of dozen key chain lights and some UV lights and, well sometimes people ask me for these and I peddle them while I got them) We were in an urban industrial neighborhood, across several vacant fields and parking lots stood a building with shrubbery and one exterior light on. I opened fire with my MC and to my surprise (although I was composed enough to act like I expected it) I saw a noticeable increase in illumination and now apparent details of the front of that building and shrubbery that would fade from view when we cut the light. The range measurement was 2,272 feet. I actually went and re-checked the calibrations of the device because I was astounded. Not quite a half-mile.

 

[SkinlessMonkey]

I would like to see pictures.

 

[Northern Lights]

No pictures, I was working not playing flashlight guru, it was something astounding though. I think it shows that these hotwire 1185s, 1164s and such put a lot of light down range, more than you usually see in beam shots or expect but enough to bring out otherwise unavailable detail.
Some posts in the spotlight forum have folks addressing these long-range issues and they are amazing as to how far that light can be discerned on targets.
In my case you could not see a "beam" going that far out that distance is beyond that; you do not get HID effect at all. The MC deep reflector does give a good tightness. So at that distance a target in the dark does show some illumination. Anymore ambient light and we would not have noticed it. That distance is far enough you would not notice anyone there unless they moved. The best way to describe the effect is to say you could see building out line and a darker shadow that was the shrubbery but you would not have know that. The light that got there from the MC allowed you to see that the shadow was a shrub and the wall of the building was a wall without windows and doors but you did not percieve that until the shadows were weakened. The exterior light on the building illuminated the wall some. The shrubs being to the side and in front of that light had the effect of a backlight. The MC just overcame the backlight enough to let you see some detail.

 

[Icebreak]

Excellent real world description, Northern Lights.

Throw is any easy word to use but image return is what it's all about.

You've built a great light.

I get a good enough image return from my best Mag85 to tell the difference between a bird's nest and mistletoe on a leaf stripped winter tree at around 1400 feet. I don't think I'd get much image return or increased illumination in an industrial park with ambient light at 2,272 feet.

Again...great description. McGizmo and Doug S. would enjoy it.

 

[mooman]

What method did you use to insulate the reflector? Can you run this mod for over a minute or two without melting the plastic under the reflector?

 

[ZeissOEM2]

[QUO5189[/url]

 

[Northern Lights]

Trying to get a FM SMO for the Mag Charger is difficult. He makes such great stuff and they sell out quickly.
Here is where I started. I will write about Torch-lumens not Bulb-lumens. In any case the MagCharger stock reflector seems to be designed for a tight spot which can be used for throw.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1774041#post1774041
I improved the resistance in the switch and socket by jumping all friction contacts with jumpers, from the slug to ground, from positive pin to the positive on the switch.
I went further and directly wired the positive imput terminal in the switch through to the battery positive terminal. I had to wire through the charging connection section of the tube. Resistance is zip for this system which means more volts to the bulb, brighter ouput. Search AWR posts for instructions and pictures for this technique on standard mag switches.
I need maximum throw so I use Smooth reflectors and frost the lower 2/3 of bulbs. I used the WA1160 for 376 TorchLumens.
Then I changed from the OEM battery pack to a 7.2 volt NiMh pack. There are a variety of configurations to achive this from using 4/5 As like the GP2000, or 1650s but I chose to 4X bore my light and use Sanyoo 2700s.
If I did it again I would go to Maha Powerex 2700 as reviews give them a slight edge.
The pack is shrinkwrapped and soldered 4 accross by 3 deep, 12 batteries, 6s,2p which is 7.2 volts and 5.4 mAh. I wired this soldered pack to a connector on leads. and I soldered a connector on leads to the light's positive terminal and put in a ground screw on the light's ground line. I added a 10amp automotive mini fuse to the battery pack leads and got rid of the tailcap spring. I store in sponge a spare fuse and bulb between the tailcap and battery pack. I added a universal charger to supply the charger cradle, Alin10123 sells these.
I stuck in a WA1111 for 542 torch-lumens. Both these bulbs I obtained from Litho123, Greg.
I was wisely told that higher amperage bulbs could melt the plastic support in the Mag Charger factory metal reflector. WA1111 was my limit for temperature.
I did a search in CPF for Mag85, MC85 and MagCharger 85 and Mag Charger 85. I was looking for a high 800-900 torch lumen solution. Let's face it the WA1185 produces those results with a reasonable power consumption at 10.8 to 11.1 volts.
But I think a lot of folks have missed the Phillips 5761. AWR didn't and he put me on to it. It is the diameter of a Pelican 3854, ROP, .377, you must open the hole in the reflector by using a dremel type round or cone shaped grinding stone from the rear. It puts out over 1330 bulb-lumens, just under 900 torch-lumens on 7.2 volts. It has a higher power consumption than the 1185, it runs 5.46 amps, 38.4 watts in a light and that is hot enough to damage the plastic. Notice my pack is 5.4 Ah and the bulb uses 5.46 A? One hour of light. Can you do that with an 1185, consider the room you need in the tube and that the 1185 is 10.8 volts? Maybe with lithium you could.
The lower voltage allowed more batteries in parallel, a higher capacity therefore and that gave me a long burn. That is why I chose the 5761. It is brighter than a 1185 which is brighter than a ROP anyway;
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/127925
The success of this light is the high lumen output, that can be done in a variety of ways and bulbs. To get bulb out put data you can use the data and equations from www.walamp.com. AWR posted a hotrater, search CPF hotrater. His excell calculating spread sheet uses these equations. If you know how to program Excel you can just cut and paste individual listings and input specs for a new bulb like the 5761 and get comparison data.
I use a mica heat shield on the socket. I read enough on the 1185 conversion to see the reflector manages heat well but extended burns could damage it.
The factory reflector is held to the plastic frame these days with a high temperature brown silicone automotive sealant which was designed as a gasket not a glue; those dummies at Mag Instrument... So you just pop the reflector free and clean off the old silicone. I made four pads of fiberglass felt from fiberglass felt sold for automotive body work. I place these pads around the top diameter of the reflector support and then put the reflector on top of that. That created enough air space between the reflector and plastic to insulate it. I put it together with super glue but that fumed when I first turned on the light. Cleaning a reflector without touching it, do not touch the shiney surface, so as not to ruin it was a challenge. Got to be a better adhesive but you can find it and let me know for my next one. You could also experiment with the size of the insulating pad. There is nothing special with this mod. 800 lumens+ out the front of a deep reflector and my observation is we get more useable light down range than we have been using in wall shots and beam comparisons.
I thing the folks in the spotlight forum know this.
Last night I compared this light to a spotlight in a police patrol car. The officer that used it told me today how impressed that this MC was a better spot in brightness and distance than the bulb in his unit! Hotwires have me hooked.

 

[LuxLuthor]

I'm glad someone linked this thread, because it is very well done with lots of details...and I too missed this bulb. Not for long. Thanks Northern!!!

 

[Northern Lights]

You are very welcome, LL, mutual respect, I have learned so much from your posts and discussions too.