cheap beginner level mod on a 2d MAG

[blacksmithtech]

ok - I'm sure this has come up before so be gentle. I'm looking for a cheap beginner level mod for an old 2d mag that will amaze and impress. Any suggestions would be great - Thanks!

 

[hawkhkg11]

Drop in an EverLED...

 

[4x4Dragon]

elektrolumens.com

he has the new 3aa-to-D holders that will allow you to put 6 AA batteries in place of the 2 D cells. Hince you will be getting 9 volts versus the 3 volts you'd be getting with just the 2 D cell batteries. you will then of course need to find a matching bulb such as a 6D M@glite bulb. You'll probably want to slightly overdrive the bulb(ex. 7.2v bulb might work).

battery life will of course be much shorter but it should impress others around you who have normal D cell powered lights.

 

[Roy]

A UCL lens will gain you 8%-10% in light transmission right off the bat! Next, go to Radio Shack and get a HPR52 Halogen bulb. Then stop by any store that sells PDA's and get some Writeright.....goes on the lens and acts as a difusser....the UCL source also has a difussion film for the lens. The film smooths out the beam pattern of the Maglight. There you go, a no tools upgrade! Probably cost less than 25$.

 

[kakster]

Easiest way to impress non-flashaholics would be to drop a white Luxeon star LED in there. The everLED is the easiest way to do this, it just goes into the bulb socket in your mag.

 

[jtice]

How does the everLED's brightness compair to the stock 2D M*g?

 

[LightofMine]

At work I had a cheap China made knock off of the 2D Mag. It was an $8.00 light that came from a Dollar General store. I believe you can do the exact same thing to the Mag that I did to this light. I started with a scrap piece of 1 inch PCV pipe 7 ½ inchs long. If you don’t have any PVC laying around you can get a 10 foot length of it from Home depot for about $4.00. Take every thing out of the tail cap. You will not have room for the old spring or the spare bulb holder. Put the 7 ½ inch long PVC into the flashlight. The pipe will be too long. You put the tail cap on the end of the PCV pipe to give you an idea of how much to cut off. Cut a little of the pipe off at time until it is just short enough to let you screw the tail cap all the way on. I then went to a True Value hardware store that had a bin of various size springs. Find you a spring that is not real stiff and that will compress all the way down to 5/16 inch. The spring cost me 50 cents. From Home Depot pick up one of the new 3 cell Xenon Mag bulbs. They have them for $2.97.

How put the new 3 cell Mag bulb in the flashlight. Put the PCV pipe in the flashlight. Put 3 C size Energizer Alkaline batteries into the PCV pipe. Put the spring you got at the hardware store into the tail cap and screw cap onto the flashlight. Test the light. If it does not come on take the cap off and make sure you have scrapped the area where the spring touches the cap to the bare metal.

You now have a light that is a lot brighter that a normal 2 D cell and you should have less that $10.00 invested in it. Since I already had the pipe my investment was less than $5.00.

All of the suggestions I read here will work. However, some of them will cost you more than a Mag light is worth. Some have told you to get an EverLed. An EverLed will cost you $38.00. You can take that same $38.00 and buy a flashlight that is far superior to any Mag light. Want an example? Streamlight Scorpion can be had from BrightGuy for $35.00.

James

 

[PaulW]

blacksmithtech,

Welcome to CPF. Glad to have you with us. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

James' suggestion for turning a Mag 2D into a covert Mag 3C ought to be a satisfying mod. If you then feel ambitious enough to go a little further you might try a KPR-112 bulb using 3 CR123 batteries. It can be done in a Mag 2D or a Mag 2C. I've done this one -- really bright. It will give you a 6 watt light, compared with the EverLED's 1 watt. Details are HERE.

Have fun at CPF!

Paul

 

[StoneDog]

First, buy the UCL mentioned above, no matter what.

Then go with the 3-to-D adapters and 6 cell bulb if you want to get the brightest "easy" mod. Some would even say to overdrive a 5 cell bulb, just keep extras handy because they won't last long.

But, the route I'd take is to just purchase an EverLED replacement and drop it in. You can keep the 2D batteries or do the PVC mod to make better use of the dead space in the mag's tailcap that is normally used to store an extra bulb. This won't be as bright as the first mod, but it will last a heckuvalot longer on one set of batteries AND you'll never blow the bulb. Should make for an outstanding (and indesctructible) general purpose/utility light. It will be a whiter, better quality beam that should be roughly comparable to the stock bulb.

The next step up would probably involve some basic soldering skills and the purchase of a "hotlips" heatsink, "bad boy 700" or "mad max+" converter and a 1 watt luxeon star (driven by the 2D cells). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Jon