DIY Mini Mag Mod Guide

[old4570]

Ok here we go , I dont know if there is a simpler mod , but the idea here is both : To be cheap , and to be simple .

You can use any LED that will fit , Ive used a Cree XR-E Q5 , because its a mature LED and its flexible and can take some abuse .

So for the most basic part of this mod , you need the LED [ 15mm or smaller ] , some thermal epoxy , or Devcon , a soldering iron , and the odd file ..

For the first part , I will show you how to install the Q5 ..



First things first , dis assemble the light ..

Use a flat head screw driver to separate the two part plastic assembly that the bulb goes into ,



This is what were after ,



Pull out the negative tab



We then feed into the positive tab some wire , you can do this without soldering , but I would strip both ends of the wire first when you have worked out the correct length



Now we must work out negative and positive for the top part .. I cut in some slots and a grove for the positive wire ..


Here you can see from the other side , and in this picture I have glued on the LED already .. [ When gluing , do your best to center it ]


After the led is glued in , we solder on the negative wire , I hope these pictures explain it .







Here I am test fitting before doing any wiring ...





When the positive wire is in place , feed the bottom assembly into the body , and use some AA's to keep it in place , then lay the wire so it runs in the grove when you snap the top part in place ..

Then feed it to the positive tab on the LED and solder ...





And before I forget , file the anodizing of the face of the body so the negative wire can complete the circuit .. Also this gives us our twist on of .


Ok so Ive done the pictures , now ill try and explain it without having to worry about pasting pictures ..

1. Dis assemble the light ..
2. Pull apart the two part bulb holder
3. Remove the negative tab from the bottom one
4. Attach wire to remaining positive tab in bottom assembly
5. Glue LED to top assembly
6. Cut 3 slots + Grove for positive wire
7. Attach the negative wire to LED and feed it through the slot and around the base of the assembly and back up through the middle slot
8. File the anodizing of the front of the body
9. Assemble the two part assembly feeding the wire along the grove and then to the positive tab on the led
10 . Now you can test to make sure it works , just push the led down and it should turn on ..
11. You need to increase the size of the hole in the reflector to allow it to easily slip over the lens+retaining ring ..
Once thats done correctly [ Dont allow any binding , it must be a lose fit ]
You have a moded mini mag ...

Remember , to be aware of negative and positive on the LED ..
Fit and refit to make sure wires are correct length , and trimmed etc to correct length ..

Now , there is still more you can do ..

Glass lens from DX/KD , tail switch ,

This mod will run 2xAA

Also you can run 14500 + Dummy cell ..

You can buy a AA dummy from the market place , or make one from a AAA to AA adapter , use a spring [ soft ] internally to complete the circuit , and dont trim the spring too much , as it will offer resistance to current ,

I will do some beam shots tonight ..

With this one , I did put in a Lens , to get rid of the cree rings , and the black hole in the center .. A glass lens would be better , as would be a orange peel reflector ..

Anyhow - This light can be yours !

Yes Im giving this one away , I dont want anything in return ..

If you want it : ???

Just post a reply in this thread saying = "I want the MM mod"

And I will put you in the draw , sorry no reserved numbers , and only a single entry , and the draw will be AKA Lucky dip ..

If your name/number comes up , I will PM you asking for Snail mail so I can ship it to you .. Usual disclaimer about posting stuff ...
This is 100% Free and open to all ... :thumbsup:

 

[old4570]

Reserved for future use :



Win this Mini Mag I will end this Sat Local time [ Fri for you guys in the states ] and then do the draw , and hopefully post it Monday .


Q5 reverse twisty + acrylic lens [ twist to tighten / to turn on ] Will run 2xAA or you can run 1x14500 + Dummy Cell .

With 2 Duracells = 0.150mAh
Varta Heavy duty = 0.180mAh


Draw :

1/ wolfstyle
2/ Volny
3/ d1337
4/ KD5XB
5/ Tmad
6/ bshanahan14rulz
7/ Fender
8/ linty
9/ Pekka
10/ dealgrabber2002
11/ DoctaDink
12/ dubweiser
13/ J.C.F.
14/ zozo
15/ gunga
16/ 3D black mag
17/ raven1911
18/ lonesouth
19/ Ty4752
20/ dd61999
21/ RAGE CAGE
22/

 

[Hack On Wheels]

Too bad, I was interested to see this mod, but the heatsinking (or lack thereof) would definitely be a problem.

 

[fatts]

I agree. Heatsinking would be a big problem with this mod, especially given how this setup is direct-drive, so the current to the LED isn't regulated.

I'm not sure how much runtime you'll get before the LED overheats.

 

[old4570]

It could be ..

So far no problem , but Ive kept the runs to 5 minutes or less ..[ 14500 ]

If you ran it for 30 minutes it could be a problem .. But if you run 2xAA I dont see an issue .. 14500 with not enough resistance could be an issue , but then the simplicity goes out the window .

 

[old4570]

Well , I just did a 20 minute run with my 14500 Mini mag Q5 mod [ not the one here ] and no problems ... Moded the same way .

Nothing melted , and it seemed to heatsink to my hand just fine ..
And if your worried , you can always go with the IQ tail switch witch will give you 3 modes ...

Again , I dont see a problem with 2xAA ..

If you were to leave the light on with a 14500 and it had nothing to heatsink to like your hand , Ok , it would probably get real hot ...

Mine runs 600 - 700mAh due to the resistance from the dummy cell ..
With the 14500 .. And it seems to be very manageable .

Just tested the light with 2xAA [ The one I moded here and is on offer ]

With 2 Duracells = 0.150A - 0.170A
Varta Heavy duty = 0.180A - 0.210A
With the 14500 + dummy cell = 0.55A

Sorry guys .. I dont see a problem with AA's / The 14500 would obviously require some care , but I ran mine for 20 minutes with no issues .. Again mine is regulated to 600-700mAh with the dummy cell .

 

[wolfstyle]

"I want the mm mod."

wolfstyle

 

[bstrickler]

Couldn't you use an XP-E with a 10mm board (and probably a small heatsink that will touch the head of the light), instead? I might have to figure out a way to do that, and see if it will be functional.

~Brian

 

[Volny]

"I want the MM mod"

 

[old4570]

If I had a lathe , I would go nuts .. and build a SSC P7 Mini Mag ..
Yes its do-able ..

As is , I think its fine , for $5 you can make the old incan very usable .
And as I mentioned before , Go IQ tailswitch for multimode .

Going outside for beamshots

 

[Alistair]

Thanks 4570, for a nice explanation. I live in South Africa so will have to order the parts from USA. Can't wait to have a go.

 

[old4570]

Incan with 2xAA Duracell /\




Q5 with 2xAA Duracell /\




Q5 with 1x14500 and dummy cell @ 0.55A

 

[d1337]

Great mod. I'm surprised we don't see more mods like this with so many MM around. Please enter me in the drawing. :thumbsup:

 

[old4570]

Thanks 4570, for a nice explanation. I live in South Africa so will have to order the parts from USA. Can't wait to have a go.

This is the second one i've done , and Im very happy with the mod ..
About 2 hours of your time , and you end up with a very usable light , and if your worried about melting it , just run AA's , I was very pleased with the low current draw o.2A and lower , so should give good run time on AA's .

 

[KD5XB]

I'd like to be in the drawing, too -- so.....

"I want the MM mod"

Tnx

 

[Tmad]

Looks good. Really liked to see the difference in the batteries. I've got a good buddy who works at a machine shop and I'm gonna see if he'll make a heat sink or two for me.

I'd also like to be in the drawing please.

 

[Tmad]

Great information. I really liked to see the difference in the battery beam shots. Nice.

Please enter me into the drawing.

 

[bshanahan14rulz]

I want the MM mod!!!

I'm trying to do a 2xAAA MM mod myself, just a matter of logistics. Right now I will be mounting an xp-e to an 8mm board (fits perfectly in the hole at the head of the body), it will be glued to the inner diameter of that hole, plus an aluminum slug to act as the heatsink and spacer for the single AAA-sized li-ion (10440?). Switch I'm thinking of just taking out the battery. I need to check and see if I got any replies to my other post about switch ideas.

For optics, I am using a ledil iris. I had a P3 7C, beautiful color. while half-asleep, I 'd it.

Anyways, nice work

 

[IceRat]

Great Job!! :thumbsup:

I have a Brinkman (MiniMag clone) that I wanted to upgrade for a long time. Where did you order the emitter and how much was it? I would like to order a few and do this upgrade on a few lights.

Thanks Again!

 

[^Gurthang]

Nice DIY How-to-Mod.... I ordered a Q3 from SB just for my MM. I'm going to machine a small Al slug for sink. What sort of draw can NiMHs or 'loops source?