3D Mag - Worth Modifying?

[Thundar]

I am an LEO and work the night shift. I recently modified my SF M3 with a Cree R2 and have been pretty happy with it. As that light combo has a pretty tight beam now, I would like to mod one of my other lights to have a lot more power and be more of a flood light. I have a few lights that I can mod.

Maglite 3D
Streamlight SL20X
Streamlight Stinger XT/HP
Streamlight Stinger HP

If Terralux came out with a version of the TLE-300 for the SL20X, I would get one in a heartbeat. My buddy put the TLE-300MR into his Magcharger and it is BRIGHT! It seems from other posts that this LED won't fit or work in the Streamlight head, however, so this option is probably out.

The LED options for the HP's and SL20X don't overly impress me so I feel I am left with the 3D option. From reading other posts I am confused whether 3 alkaline D cells will be enough to run this LED. Are 3 D cells enough? If not, is there another battery type that will increase the voltage without resorting to putting in new spacers, battery sleeves or other technical hardware?

 

[Thundar]

... if 3 D cells are enough to run the light with the TLE-300 LED, what will be the runtime and how fast with the lumen output drop?

 

[Barbarin]

Re: 3D Mag - Worth Modifying?

In fact some may say that it MUST be moddified.

I think it is one of the best, if not the best one to be worked. You can find here on CPF probably near 1000 mods performed on Mag hosts, some of them amazing.

The quality of the alloy, machining and anodizing is great. The switch is very reliable... what else can i say about this light? If I had time enough I would modify it with a regular dicroic MR16 35 Watt 10º, overdriven by 3x18650 (I'm not sure if they will fit if you remove the tail spring).

But if you use the search function of the forum you will find many options, from simple to really advanced skills.

Javier

 

[tx101]

If you want to stick with alkaline D cells, I would recommend the Malkoff
dropin.
Malkoff dropins, whether for Surefire or Maglite are the best you can buy

For your Mag 3D, the Malkoff will give you 240 lumens for 6 hours

You can find Malkoff here

 

[Gunner12]

I'd suggest checking out this thread.

 

[Justin Case]

I am an LEO and work the night shift. I recently modified my SF M3 with a Cree R2 and have been pretty happy with it. As that light combo has a pretty tight beam now, I would like to mod one of my other lights to have a lot more power and be more of a flood light. I have a few lights that I can mod.

Maglite 3D
Streamlight SL20X
Streamlight Stinger XT/HP
Streamlight Stinger HP

If Terralux came out with a version of the TLE-300 for the SL20X, I would get one in a heartbeat. My buddy put the TLE-300MR into his Magcharger and it is BRIGHT! It seems from other posts that this LED won't fit or work in the Streamlight head, however, so this option is probably out.

The LED options for the HP's and SL20X don't overly impress me so I feel I am left with the 3D option. From reading other posts I am confused whether 3 alkaline D cells will be enough to run this LED. Are 3 D cells enough? If not, is there another battery type that will increase the voltage without resorting to putting in new spacers, battery sleeves or other technical hardware?

If you want to run with 3xD alkalines, then I suggest underdriving a Seoul P7 at 250mA per core using a GD1000 boost-buck driver or at 300mA per core with a GD1200 (actually a GD1227). You'll get over 300 emitter lumens with relatively low power draw and long run time. I measured a Vf of 3.07V driving a P7 DSW0I-bin at 250mA per core.

If you are willing to go for Accupower low self-discharge D NiMH cells, then I would suggest direct drive with a TaskLED d2Flex PWM controller for multimodes and longer run time by choosing a lower power mode for general use, with the availability of a max mode when you need a lot of lumens. Here, I would use a DxxxJ-bin P7.

I would try the stock Mag reflector first to see if it gives a sufficient beam for you. If not, then get a KD 15mm opening orange peel reflector. Regardless, I would get a toughened Borofloat lens from flashlightlens.com.

 

[Thundar]

I would really like to have a light with a similar lumen output to my buddy's TLE-300MR. It seems that the Malkoff Drop-In Module would be a lot less.

Can the TLE-300M run on 3D alkalines?

 

[wildstar87]

I modded a 3D for a friend, with P7 on DHS P7 heatsink, with 2 - 1400ma AMC7135 drivers.

It runs on alkalines just fine, it's even a bit brighter than the TLE-300 4D he has running on alkalines. Basically same or a bit brighter hotspot with spill.

A mod like that probably around $60

 

[Justin Case]

I don't own a TLE-300M so can't say what happens on 3xD alkalines. Folks on CPF claim that the TLE-300M needs 4V min, and 3xD alkaline cells seem borderline for that. Now you could get three of those FiveMega or mdocod 3xAA->D adapters. Using AA Eneloops, for example, would give you nominally 9x1.2V=10.8V. Fresh off the charger, you could start out at 9x1.45V~13V. The specs claim up to 12V input, so I can't advise you whether the TLE-300M will like a brief exposure to 13V or not. But this seems to be a relatively costly route, after adding in the extra expense for the battery adapters and the Eneloops. I think at that point, I'd probably consider the new Olight M30 or Eagletac M2.

You can also try fitting 3x18650 by mod'ing the tailcap spring. That might make the Terralux price competitive again, since you don't have to spend money on AA->adapters. But you start to bump into the 12V max voltage issue again.

The SSC P4 based Malkoff 2D/3D drop-in looks cost-effective and will work with 3xD alkalines. An SSC P4 using the stock Mag smooth reflector will be a very good thrower, and also give you a wide beam with reasonable spill brightness. I wouldn't sell the Malkoff short just because it is using a P4 rated at around 240 lumens, vs the Terralux's claimed 600 lumens. I would bet that the 600 lumens is bulb lumens, which already narrows the lumens gap significantly when you convert to out the front lumens. Also, CPF reviews seem to say that the TLE-300M quickly drops down to 500 lumens, which I assume is also an emitter lumen spec. Subtract the usual 20% or so, and you might have 400 lumens out the front. Certainly nothing to sneeze at, but it's not 600 lumens either.

If you want a lot of light, a direct drive, single mode mod using a P7 DxxxJ-bin will also do it for you. It'll cost you about $30 for the LED. A heat sink could be $15 or so. Battery Specialists has a 2-pack of Accupower LSD D-cell NiMH for $25 shipped, and you'll need two packs. If you have a AA NiMH charger, you can use that to charge the D cells. Go to Radio Shack, get some of their D cell battery holders for about $2 each, and cut a dowel rod to the length of a AA to hold the battery holder wires against the charger terminals. Total cost is around $95, plus your time to assemble the mod (and assuming you already have things like wire, solder, soldering iron, thermal epoxy, AA NiMH charger, etc). I would also get a glass lens. The optimum would be a UCL or Borofloat from flashlightlens.com for about $6.50 plus shipping. The low cost approach would be a 5-pack of glass lenses from KD for about $3.

A 3D DD P7 Mag mod will also run on AA Eneloops (shorter run time) and alkalines (shorter run time and less lumens since the alkalines just won't be able to deliver the amps). If you went with alkalines, then the DD mod cost could be as low as ~$50, again assuming you don't have to buy things like Arctic Alumina thermal epoxy and other related supplies.

 

[SR.GRINGO]

If you were up for buying a decent charger you could build a 5761. You can fit 4 of AW's IMR26500 in a 3d. Buy one of the new regulated drivers on cpf's BST. You will get a solid light with a big run time.

 

[Illum]

5761, WA1185, WA1164....I think theres a couple threads on hotwires already

 

[LukeA]

Direct-driving a P7 off of alkalines will get you what you need.

No glass lens will be nearly as tough as the stock polycarbonate lens you have in the 3D now.

 

[Benson]

If I had time enough I would modify it with a regular dicroic MR16 35 Watt 10º, overdriven by 3x18650 (I'm not sure if they will fit if you remove the tail spring).

3x18650 will fit, but so will 3x26700 Emoli, for more runtime. And they'd obviously handle more wattage, if you wanted to go that way.

 

[Thundar]

I was considering the MCE-Drop-In-II, but the website doesn't list the price. Does anyone know if Elektro Lumens still sells this and how much it costs?

 

[Trashman]

I was considering the MCE-Drop-In-II, but the website doesn't list the price. Does anyone know if Elektro Lumens still sells this and how much it costs?

Is the Drop-In-II the one with 2 Cree MC-Es in there? I've got one of those and it's very floody and quite bright, but I don't see it on his website. I think, he's got one with 3 Cree MC-Es, also, which I don't see on there, either. However, I do see a 3D Maglite Drop-In with 3 SSC P7's, which should be pretty insane, especially if it's coming from Elektrolumens, and it's priced at $139.99. Here's the link: http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi

 

[Thundar]

Is the Drop-In-II the one with 2 Cree MC-Es in there? I've got one of those and it's very floody and quite bright, but I don't see it on his website. I think, he's got one with 3 Cree MC-Es, also, which I don't see on there, either. However, I do see a 3D Maglite Drop-In with 3 SSC P7's, which should be pretty insane, especially if it's coming from Elektrolumens, and it's priced at $139.99. Here's the link: http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi

Yes, that's the one. I got to it from the Maglite LED and incan mods and drop-ins, Overview thread. I can't get to it from there Elektro Lumens homepage, however, so I'm thinking it might be discontinued. I saw the Drop in with the 3 P7's and it looks amazing, but it's way out of my price range.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=193434

 

[Thundar]

I modded a 3D for a friend, with P7 on DHS P7 heatsink, with 2 - 1400ma AMC7135 drivers.

It runs on alkalines just fine, it's even a bit brighter than the TLE-300 4D he has running on alkalines. Basically same or a bit brighter hotspot with spill.

A mod like that probably around $60

OK, I'm a newbie, so where would I find those parts and is it a difficult mod?

 

[Thundar]

Is there a quick and easy reason why any of these companies do not have similar mods for the SL20X?

 

[Al Combs]

The regular MagLite takes a different TerraLUX module than the MagCharger. BatteryJunction has a TLE-300 kit for the regular 3D that includes the battery and charger. Alkaline batteries in a 3D won't give you full power from that module. They also sell a spare battery pack for 25 bucks. It's always nice to have a spare pack already charged. They are 3,500 mAh NiMH 1/2 D's, so it has more capacity than the MagCharger NiCad pack.

Here are two excellent posts on P7 MagLite mods (1 and 2) to give you an idea what that involves. I did a P7 mod to a 3D MagLite and it's not difficult. Lots of sources in the MarketPlace for LED's and heat sinks. I've never seen anyone directly compare the TLE-300 to the P7. The D binned P7's have 800-900 lumens. So they're brighter than the 500-600 lumen output of the TLE-300. Brighter hot spot with more spill would be my guess. Of course with a camless stock reflector you do get the donut. An MOP (medium orange peel) reflector can fix that but will kill the throw of the light.

TerraLUX makes the StreamStar20X. It only puts out 200 lumens so it's only 1/3rd as bright as the TLE-300M. I guess the only real advantage to these is theoretically they never burn out. That may be the answer to your question why on Streamlight. MagLites don't start out life very bright. But they have lots of room for modding.:devil:

 

[Justin Case]

Here are two excellent posts on P7 MagLite mods (1 and 2) to give you an idea what that involves. I did a P7 mod to a 3D MagLite and it's not difficult. Lots of sources in the MarketPlace for LED's and heat sinks. I've never seen anyone directly compare the TLE-300 to the P7. The D binned P7's have 800-900 lumens. So they're brighter than the 500-600 lumen output of the TLE-300. Brighter hot spot with more spill would be my guess. Of course with a camless stock reflector you do get the donut. An MOP (medium orange peel) reflector can fix that but will kill the throw of the light.

When I rotate the Mag head containing the stock smooth Mag reflector to optimum focus, I can get a donut-free beam for a P7. The beam isn't perfect, but there are no gross dark rings, weirdly-shaped hot spot, etc. Against real-world backgrounds, I don't notice any of the minor beam defects. They are visible only on a white wall.