BugLightGeek
Flashlight Enthusiast
Coooollll....
285 Lumen Mag 2C
- Thread starter lemlux
- Start date
PlayboyJoeShmoe
Flashaholic
I think as far as beam smoothness goes there are three possible things at work. A: Quality Control is letting some very nice and very not nice reflectors out. B: Bulbs have widely variable specs. (I mean I have looked at some bulbs that have the filament NOWHERE NEAR the center).
C: When you overwhelm a refector with light (Example Brinkmann LX) it just gets smoother.
It's FUN to stuff more batteries in a light!!!!
C: When you overwhelm a refector with light (Example Brinkmann LX) it just gets smoother.
It's FUN to stuff more batteries in a light!!!!
KZ100S1:
I used the aluminum foil wad in both the 3 * CR123 and 4 * CR123 setups. I feel no need to change. The batteries are firm in each.
The main concern is not to put so much foil into an unsprung flashlight that the battery terminal ends get pushed in. A minor secondary concern is they system electical resistance added by the two additional aluminum foil junction contacts.
I used the aluminum foil wad in both the 3 * CR123 and 4 * CR123 setups. I feel no need to change. The batteries are firm in each.
The main concern is not to put so much foil into an unsprung flashlight that the battery terminal ends get pushed in. A minor secondary concern is they system electical resistance added by the two additional aluminum foil junction contacts.
StoneDog
Flashlight Enthusiast
Now that you mention it, my standard Mag 3D with Radio Shack's Xenon bulb (the 3-cell version, forgot the #) is noticeably smoother than the crappy bulb it came with. The bulb itself has a more truncated shape vs the std bulbs slightly tear-drop shape.
I think bulb quality/shape has a lot to do with it.
Jon
I think bulb quality/shape has a lot to do with it.
Jon
BeamChucker
Newly Enlightened
Lemlux,
How did you get your ceramic PR base-potted #808 Carley 9.6 V 1.2 A 285 Lumen 20-hour life T-2 1/2 Xenon bulb? Was it a group buy or can anyone get one from Carley? Is there a next best thing?
StreamChucker
How did you get your ceramic PR base-potted #808 Carley 9.6 V 1.2 A 285 Lumen 20-hour life T-2 1/2 Xenon bulb? Was it a group buy or can anyone get one from Carley? Is there a next best thing?
StreamChucker
StreamChucker:
I purchased a lot of bulbs and reflectors from Carley that became a partial group buy with a small number of bulbs for Ake and Klaus.
Carley currently has no minimum order requirement on direct purchases. They do have a 5-bulb minimum requirement for potting.
I think it would be a good risk to buy the # 808 T-2 1/2 bipin bulb along with a #912 bipin to PR base adapter. This adapter is not ceramically potted (it is plastic filled) and is only rated to 1.0 Amp. Patty Taylor at Carley advises, however, that many customers report that they have run 1.1 A and 1.2 A Carley bulbs in this # 912 adapter without problem. This adapter has a $3.35 single unit price.
The problem, were it to occur, is that the plastic would soften and deform from the heat running through the pins, not the heat of the filament in the glass envelope.
I potted other bulbs that were in the 1.6 A and 1.7 A range so I had the #808 potted.
A less aggressive and commercially available 9.6 V option would be to buy some Makita 9.6 V PR base bulbs. I think they are either Krypton or Xenon and are about 0.60 A. You could probably get these at a tool store or at Home Depot.
I purchased a lot of bulbs and reflectors from Carley that became a partial group buy with a small number of bulbs for Ake and Klaus.
Carley currently has no minimum order requirement on direct purchases. They do have a 5-bulb minimum requirement for potting.
I think it would be a good risk to buy the # 808 T-2 1/2 bipin bulb along with a #912 bipin to PR base adapter. This adapter is not ceramically potted (it is plastic filled) and is only rated to 1.0 Amp. Patty Taylor at Carley advises, however, that many customers report that they have run 1.1 A and 1.2 A Carley bulbs in this # 912 adapter without problem. This adapter has a $3.35 single unit price.
The problem, were it to occur, is that the plastic would soften and deform from the heat running through the pins, not the heat of the filament in the glass envelope.
I potted other bulbs that were in the 1.6 A and 1.7 A range so I had the #808 potted.
A less aggressive and commercially available 9.6 V option would be to buy some Makita 9.6 V PR base bulbs. I think they are either Krypton or Xenon and are about 0.60 A. You could probably get these at a tool store or at Home Depot.
BeamChucker
Newly Enlightened
Thanks Lemlux,that's very helpful. I was wondering if the #912 adaptor would work.
Would you use the 3 or 4 cell mod for the Makita bulb?
StreamChucker
Would you use the 3 or 4 cell mod for the Makita bulb?
StreamChucker
BeamChucker
Newly Enlightened
Also,what would be best choice of lamp for the 2D to 3C mod? Thanks.
StreamChucker
StreamChucker
Streamchucker:
The Makita 9.6 V bulb appears to be 0.60 A based on the 2 hour run time on 1.2 Ah or 1.3 Ah battery packs. I'd use 4 @ CR123's and expect to overdrive at about 10.2 to 10.4 V. This should shorten bulb life by around 50% and increase brightness by around 20% to 25%.
Are you going to run alkalines or NiMH's with 3C's, regardless of what light you put them in? I'd use the Xenon star for 3 Alkalines for alkalines. Your best run-time / brightness bet for NiMH's is probably the #805 3.7V 1.6 A Xenon T-2 1/4 bulb potted into a PR base. If you use the #912 base, You probably should use the 3.7 V 1.2 A Xenon #804 bulb. This bulb uses 75% of the wattage of the 805 but only delivers 59% of the lumens. I use potted 804's in my 3C applications. I use potted 3.5V 2.30 A Halogen bulbs both with 3 sub C's that have very little voltage drop under load and with 4AA's which experience voltage drop down to the 0.95 V to 1.0 V range at 2.30 Amps which = roughly 1.3 * C.
The Makita 9.6 V bulb appears to be 0.60 A based on the 2 hour run time on 1.2 Ah or 1.3 Ah battery packs. I'd use 4 @ CR123's and expect to overdrive at about 10.2 to 10.4 V. This should shorten bulb life by around 50% and increase brightness by around 20% to 25%.
Are you going to run alkalines or NiMH's with 3C's, regardless of what light you put them in? I'd use the Xenon star for 3 Alkalines for alkalines. Your best run-time / brightness bet for NiMH's is probably the #805 3.7V 1.6 A Xenon T-2 1/4 bulb potted into a PR base. If you use the #912 base, You probably should use the 3.7 V 1.2 A Xenon #804 bulb. This bulb uses 75% of the wattage of the 805 but only delivers 59% of the lumens. I use potted 804's in my 3C applications. I use potted 3.5V 2.30 A Halogen bulbs both with 3 sub C's that have very little voltage drop under load and with 4AA's which experience voltage drop down to the 0.95 V to 1.0 V range at 2.30 Amps which = roughly 1.3 * C.
Deleted member 684
Flashlight Enthusiast
Lemlux... assuming I have wired up the DB6AA in series like the last time you taught me to, and I insert 8 CR123A cells inside.... what bulb do you recommend me to use?
Such that the reflector won't melt..... I wanna push the limits on wattage.... run time is not an issue, it's mainly used for pin pointing long range stuff.... or for blinding people......
Nerd:
W/A only makes S-based bulbs that fit the DB up to 14 Volts. You only want to run 9 watts max anyhow. So, running a 24V setup wouldn't accomplish anything that is immediately obvious to me.
In parallel, my nicest non-rechargeable DB6AA's use 3 @ CR123's and 1 @ lithium AA in each barrel. I run a W/A 01278 9.0 V 1.10 A 244 Lumen bulb, and figure that it pulls a tiny bit over 9.0 V. The 0.55 A per cell allows for > 2 hours of run time.
In serial, you can run 5 @ NiMH AA's with a dummy and a W/A 4.8V 1.95 A 204 Lumen #01319 bulb. This should run at about 5.0 volts (1.0 V per cell)and 234 Lumen. 1800 mAH NiMH's should run this for 45 minutes, although I wouldn't run it for too long for heat reasons.
W/A only makes S-based bulbs that fit the DB up to 14 Volts. You only want to run 9 watts max anyhow. So, running a 24V setup wouldn't accomplish anything that is immediately obvious to me.
In parallel, my nicest non-rechargeable DB6AA's use 3 @ CR123's and 1 @ lithium AA in each barrel. I run a W/A 01278 9.0 V 1.10 A 244 Lumen bulb, and figure that it pulls a tiny bit over 9.0 V. The 0.55 A per cell allows for > 2 hours of run time.
In serial, you can run 5 @ NiMH AA's with a dummy and a W/A 4.8V 1.95 A 204 Lumen #01319 bulb. This should run at about 5.0 volts (1.0 V per cell)and 234 Lumen. 1800 mAH NiMH's should run this for 45 minutes, although I wouldn't run it for too long for heat reasons.
Deleted member 684
Flashlight Enthusiast
Ah... time to find a new torch with a alu reflector..... and do some really crazy mods.... it's just not enuff lights some times... be it for fun or for work....
... of cos it's always not enuff cash......
moraino
Enlightened
Lemlux & Nerd,
I saw the lamp module sale for $13 at Tigerlight website. That make me think if that would fit in the Mag C or D haed.
I can alway stuff in 6 AA or 6 A in the tube and modify the switch if the module will fit the Mag head.
And even if that works out, I wonder how does it compare to the 5W LS mod in terms of brightness and throw...
Henry
I saw the lamp module sale for $13 at Tigerlight website. That make me think if that would fit in the Mag C or D haed.
I can alway stuff in 6 AA or 6 A in the tube and modify the switch if the module will fit the Mag head.
And even if that works out, I wonder how does it compare to the 5W LS mod in terms of brightness and throw...
Henry
I’m very curious about this mod and am seriously considering doing it, but I was wondering if there is not a cheaper and more easily obtainable bulb to use than the Carley #808. $8.64 is a lot to pay per bulb and the fact that you have to order a minimum of 5 bulbs in order to get them potted is more than a bit extravagant. With shipping, that would come to same as $50.00 just for the bulbs to do this mod. That is the reason that I’m posting is to ask around because there must be an equivalent bulb made by some other manufacturer that is less costly and more easily obtained. So what do you guys think? Is the Carley bulb pretty much all there is to get this level of light out of this mod? What about Radio Shack? Has anyone checked there yet? Thanks in advance for any info or ideas. This mod sounds very exciting.
Deleted member 684
Flashlight Enthusiast
Not many places stock up high power bulbs.
Tigerlight lamp module ought to be much brighter than any 5 watt LS mod and throw much furthur because it's much higher in wattage...
Tigerlight lamp module ought to be much brighter than any 5 watt LS mod and throw much furthur because it's much higher in wattage...
kalengkong
Newly Enlightened
anyone knows how to get those Carley bulb in australia?
Carley's web page?
Oh.. i live in a far away continent.
Thanks for any info.
Carley's web page?
Oh.. i live in a far away continent.
Thanks for any info.
Ross
Enlightened
What about any help for us in the UK? I can source a magcharger bulb fairly cheaply and I was wondering how this would work with the set-up described above? Can anyone help?
Illuminated
Enlightened
Kalenkong & Bowser,
Try this Link:
www.carleylamps.com
or call
[EDITED#] - Telephone: 001(310)325-8474 (Torrance, CA, USA)
Talk to: Patricia Taylor (She's very helpful)
Good luck!
John
Try this Link:
www.carleylamps.com
or call
[EDITED#] - Telephone: 001(310)325-8474 (Torrance, CA, USA)
Talk to: Patricia Taylor (She's very helpful)
Good luck!
John
In regard to the questions of why the reflector on the Mag 2C seems to be better than the reflector on the 2D, I found something interesting to add to the conversation. I ran across this as part of a Mag sales pitch when I was searching the net to try to find the cheapest place to buy a Mag 2C. Here is the paragraph that I’m referring to:
“Unlike other companies, Mag takes the extra step to plate their contacts with the finest metals to enhance conductivity, reduce oxidation, and increase durability. Every reflector is computer designed to work with a specific lamp and power supply to achieve maximum brilliance and efficiency.”
According to this sales pitch, it appears to be saying that there should be a difference between a C and a D Mag reflector. Perhaps the angle is so subtly different that the eye does not notice it but it is still enough to change the beam quality. What do you guys think?
“Unlike other companies, Mag takes the extra step to plate their contacts with the finest metals to enhance conductivity, reduce oxidation, and increase durability. Every reflector is computer designed to work with a specific lamp and power supply to achieve maximum brilliance and efficiency.”
According to this sales pitch, it appears to be saying that there should be a difference between a C and a D Mag reflector. Perhaps the angle is so subtly different that the eye does not notice it but it is still enough to change the beam quality. What do you guys think?
Deleted member 684
Flashlight Enthusiast
The strange part is that they sell the same reflector for the C M*gs and the D M*gs at my area.
