Hi all
This is my first Mag mod, the aim of this mod was to get the maximum possible throw out of a standard Maglite host while keeping the size, runtime and costs reasonable, I decided to go HID as it has 2-5 times the candlepower of a 52mm aspheric while having similar efficiency, good colour rendering and a more usable beam pattern with spill.
My main inspiration for this project was Ra’s 10w mini HID monster found here
My lights main components are:
3D Maglite host
Solarc hid bulb and regulated 14/9.5w ballast
High quality electroformed reflector
3 dimensional bulb focusing mechanism
Anti reflective glass lens
12 eneloops in a battery holder
Its specs are:
Calculated 800 OTF lumens on high or 400 OTF lumens on low
Over 1.5 hours on high or over 2 hours on low
Amazing throw! (I have ordered the DX lux meter so I will have some numbers within a few weeks, I am hoping for 200,000-300,000 lux @1m!)
The total cost is around £140 ($225) excluding batteries.
Weighs about 870g
Update:
My luxmeter has arrived🙂
I have measured the lux at 15m and then converted it back to 1m. I then added 20% on to the value as the DX meter reads consistently 20% too low.
At the middle focus I managed to get an impressive 205,000 lux 🙂
The anode hotspot focus gave me 324,000 lux while the cathode hotspot focus gave me an amazing 330,000 lux@1m:rock:
This means it can light up an object 575m away with 1 lux.
This was above my expectations so I am very happy as this puts it up with the higher powered HID and very large reflector incandecent spotlights.
The very small difference between each hotspot surprised me but my meter is calibrated for incans so the bluer anode hotspot could indeed be brighter than the warmer cathode hotspot.
The original Maglite switch turns the light on and off. The two LED’s tell me when the batteries are getting low or they are almost dead, a comparator controls them. The small tactile switch changes the ballast from high to low, it is controlled by a 4017 counter.
12 AA eneloops in a homemade battery holder power the torch for a calculated 1.5 hours on high (1000 bulb lumens) or over 2 hours on low (500 bulb lumens). I decided to use eneloops rather than Li-ions mainly because of safety and also the capacity difference is relatively minor unless I was use 3 unprotected 32600s, also I have the option of using alkalines if necessary. One thing I found that was a big advantage is that 4 eneloops can fit in a Maglite without boaring but it is a very tight fit and the batteries must be positioned so the place where the label overlaps is facing into the centre.
In order to get maximum throw out of a HID bulb you need to focus on the hotspots inside the arc formed next to each electrode. These 0.03mm big hotspots have a significantly higher luminance/surface brightness than the rest of the arc, this allows you to get significantly higher throw but this can only be done effectively with a high quality reflector and no protective bulb cover that causes "optical arc displacement". The hotspots are clearly shown in this picture of the arc projected onto paper using a small lens. The different colours in the arc are caused by the overfilling of the bulb. The arc gap of this bulb is about 1.4mm
In order to accurately focus on a hotspot I decided to buy a high quality 2” electroformed reflector by Phoenix. When I was ordering from them they accidentally got the shipping cost wrong so they kindly sent me a similar reflector for free. I have decided to use this one, as it is shallower so it has given me more room behind the reflector for the bulb and focusing mechanism. I needed to file it down a bit as it was too wide to fit in the bezel. The Maglite head was quickly spun on my schools lathe so the reflector sits deeper and the bezel can screw down completely.
I have also designed a focusing mechanism to move the bulb from side to side to gain perfect focus on the hotspot. It was inspired by the Eznite 10w HID’s focusing mechanism except I move the bulb in a aluminium ring instead of the ballast. The low friction Teflon plumbers tape on the thread stops the head wobbling while still allowing the head to be screwed on and off.
Here is an underexposed white wall shot showing the brighter central <0.5º spot formed by the tiny hotspot next to the anode, it is surrounded by the dimmer corona from the rest of the arc. This corona stretches out quiet far, (wider than in this picture) making this beam pattern very useful as it has a very bright hotspot along with a wide corona surrounded by a very wide spill! The very bright hotspot is capable of hitting low clouds or illuminating objects at well over 500m! The colour of the beam isn't as blue as in the pictures, in real life it looks to be around 5500k on high.
This beam shot is focused in the centre of the arc.
Cool reflector shot😎
Any questions?
This is my first Mag mod, the aim of this mod was to get the maximum possible throw out of a standard Maglite host while keeping the size, runtime and costs reasonable, I decided to go HID as it has 2-5 times the candlepower of a 52mm aspheric while having similar efficiency, good colour rendering and a more usable beam pattern with spill.
My main inspiration for this project was Ra’s 10w mini HID monster found here
My lights main components are:
3D Maglite host
Solarc hid bulb and regulated 14/9.5w ballast
High quality electroformed reflector
3 dimensional bulb focusing mechanism
Anti reflective glass lens
12 eneloops in a battery holder
Its specs are:
Calculated 800 OTF lumens on high or 400 OTF lumens on low
Over 1.5 hours on high or over 2 hours on low
Amazing throw! (I have ordered the DX lux meter so I will have some numbers within a few weeks, I am hoping for 200,000-300,000 lux @1m!)
The total cost is around £140 ($225) excluding batteries.
Weighs about 870g
Update:
My luxmeter has arrived🙂
I have measured the lux at 15m and then converted it back to 1m. I then added 20% on to the value as the DX meter reads consistently 20% too low.
At the middle focus I managed to get an impressive 205,000 lux 🙂
The anode hotspot focus gave me 324,000 lux while the cathode hotspot focus gave me an amazing 330,000 lux@1m:rock:
This means it can light up an object 575m away with 1 lux.
This was above my expectations so I am very happy as this puts it up with the higher powered HID and very large reflector incandecent spotlights.
The very small difference between each hotspot surprised me but my meter is calibrated for incans so the bluer anode hotspot could indeed be brighter than the warmer cathode hotspot.
The original Maglite switch turns the light on and off. The two LED’s tell me when the batteries are getting low or they are almost dead, a comparator controls them. The small tactile switch changes the ballast from high to low, it is controlled by a 4017 counter.
12 AA eneloops in a homemade battery holder power the torch for a calculated 1.5 hours on high (1000 bulb lumens) or over 2 hours on low (500 bulb lumens). I decided to use eneloops rather than Li-ions mainly because of safety and also the capacity difference is relatively minor unless I was use 3 unprotected 32600s, also I have the option of using alkalines if necessary. One thing I found that was a big advantage is that 4 eneloops can fit in a Maglite without boaring but it is a very tight fit and the batteries must be positioned so the place where the label overlaps is facing into the centre.
In order to get maximum throw out of a HID bulb you need to focus on the hotspots inside the arc formed next to each electrode. These 0.03mm big hotspots have a significantly higher luminance/surface brightness than the rest of the arc, this allows you to get significantly higher throw but this can only be done effectively with a high quality reflector and no protective bulb cover that causes "optical arc displacement". The hotspots are clearly shown in this picture of the arc projected onto paper using a small lens. The different colours in the arc are caused by the overfilling of the bulb. The arc gap of this bulb is about 1.4mm
In order to accurately focus on a hotspot I decided to buy a high quality 2” electroformed reflector by Phoenix. When I was ordering from them they accidentally got the shipping cost wrong so they kindly sent me a similar reflector for free. I have decided to use this one, as it is shallower so it has given me more room behind the reflector for the bulb and focusing mechanism. I needed to file it down a bit as it was too wide to fit in the bezel. The Maglite head was quickly spun on my schools lathe so the reflector sits deeper and the bezel can screw down completely.
I have also designed a focusing mechanism to move the bulb from side to side to gain perfect focus on the hotspot. It was inspired by the Eznite 10w HID’s focusing mechanism except I move the bulb in a aluminium ring instead of the ballast. The low friction Teflon plumbers tape on the thread stops the head wobbling while still allowing the head to be screwed on and off.
Here is an underexposed white wall shot showing the brighter central <0.5º spot formed by the tiny hotspot next to the anode, it is surrounded by the dimmer corona from the rest of the arc. This corona stretches out quiet far, (wider than in this picture) making this beam pattern very useful as it has a very bright hotspot along with a wide corona surrounded by a very wide spill! The very bright hotspot is capable of hitting low clouds or illuminating objects at well over 500m! The colour of the beam isn't as blue as in the pictures, in real life it looks to be around 5500k on high.
This beam shot is focused in the centre of the arc.
Cool reflector shot😎
Any questions?
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