Durable Mag lens for a cop

[James35]

I'm building a Mag 3D P7 light for a cop friend of mine. What lens would be durable enough for him? Wouldn't the glass lenses shatter? Should I stick with the stock plastic lens? Or is there something better yet durable?

 

[LukeA]

I would stick with the stock lens.

 

[yaesumofo]

I would go with a heat treated UCL from Flashlightlens.com
They are durable and transmit MORE light than the stock plastic "lens".
If they are doing the kind of work where the "lens" gets broken then it is easily replaceable.
It actually takes a whole lot of force to break one of these.

Flashlight lens has a number of choices. Including polycarbonate choices.
Have fun.
Yaesumofo

 

[darkzero]

I've dropped & banged my Mag3C that has a Borofloat glass lens from flashlightlens.com but I'm sure it wasn't as much abuse an officer could but it through.

Borofloat®- Manufactured by Schott, this glass is Flashlightlens.com's workhorse. This glass is similar to Pyrex® in that it is a borosilicate type of material and able to withstand extreme thermal shock. That's where the similarities end. Unlike Pyrex®, this glass is manufactured using Schott's Microfloat process. This produces a piece of glass that's virtually flawless and has mirror-like surface quality.

 

[baterija]

He may not know the intricacies of flashlight options, but I bet you friend could make a good decision of what would best suit his needs. Just lay out what seem to be his best options with the pros and cons of each. He has the best idea of the nature of his duties, and knows what he wants in a light.

 

[Illum]

Borofloat and UCL are the most common choices for custom windows...

UCL is more transparent.
Borofloat will not crack after the light is left on and rapidly cooled by water [say your friend is doing some field work and a storm passed over head, for that sort of occasions I'd recommend borosilicate]

thats all I know about these type, personally I've converted all my service mags to use Borosilicate windows:candle:

 

[James35]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. He doesn't know I'm building a light for him. I want to support my law enforcement friends, and this is one way I can do that. He's currently using a Streamlight SL20, and I know I can do better for him.

To keep the size about the same, my current thoughts are:
Mag 3D
9AA > 3D in parallel
P7
Elektrolumens Moat-Sink heatsink
Still need to decide:
Some kind of multi mode driver (with strobe).
Charging jack
User friendly charger
Wall mount holder

 

[Norm]

Some kind of multi mode driver (with strobe).

I have built a couple of these and they work well, you may only see about 2.4 Amps drawn from the batteries but you won't notice the difference running 2.8A, the run time will be a little longer and it will run nice and cool.
Norm

 

[ElectronGuru]

Polycarbonate is ideal, but there aren't any Mag fitable units that I've found. Here's one that's close if you can find a way to cut it down:

http://www.flashlightlens.com/str/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=poly_55_2side


Perhaps bring it (and a Mag head) to LensCrafters...

 

[Aussie Cheese]

what about one of KD's lenses?

 

[Mike Painter]

Some kind of multi mode driver (with strobe).

You should also plan on a 12 volt car charger.

I'm adamantly in favor of an on/off switch and a pot to adjust light level.
That way you can decide what level you want *before* turning it on and also go from dimmest to brightest in way less than a second.
Very handy for getting the right amount of light on something in an instant.
I've used such a setup as a firefighter, mostly with medical and traffic situations.

It also is a lot of fun when you start on dim and they tell you that, ho-hum, it's a nice light.
Then you light up the entire scene and their beams can't be seen anymore.
(And thats with "ancient" early Luxions.)

 

[kosPap]

if this is of practicla quequences how about finding a clear plastic bottle that fits over the head as a protector when not in use?

This is how I keep my Mag in the car. drops-off easily and you can still use the flashlight in an emergency as is...

 

[Fulgeo]

Hey James35,

I wanted to make a suggestion. You mentioned that you were thinking of going with a 9AA > 3D parallel battery holder for your mod. Since you are using a Mag 3D as your base why not just use 3 of the new 10000 - 14000 MaH Ni-MH D batteries that are available. Here is a link.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/dnireba.html

For the cost of what the 9AA > 3D battery holder would cost, you could buy him 3 rechargable D batteries. If you went with the cheapest 10000 MaH D batteries he should still have a run time of 3+ hours. There are new low discharge D batteries of 10000 MaH available also. Nice thing about staying with feeding it 3D batteries is that in a pinch he could pop in some alkalines if he found himself in the field without a charge.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. He doesn't know I'm building a light for him. I want to support my law enforcement friends, and this is one way I can do that. He's currently using a Streamlight SL20, and I know I can do better for him.

To keep the size about the same, my current thoughts are:
Mag 3D
9AA > 3D in parallel
P7
Elektrolumens Moat-Sink heatsink
Still need to decide:
Some kind of multi mode driver (with strobe).
Charging jack
User friendly charger
Wall mount holder

 

[tebore]

Coated polycarbonate lens would be best. It can take the shock load and transmit more light than your stock poly lens.

 

[James35]

There are new low discharge D batteries of 10000 MaH available also.

I was thinking of 9AA > 3D adaptor because I want to use Eneloops since they have a low self discharge. Are there any D's similar to Eneloops (or even halfway close)?

Coated polycarbonate lens would be best. It can take the shock load and transmit more light than your stock poly lens

Who sells the coated polycarbonate lens?

I'm adamantly in favor of an on/off switch and a pot to adjust light level.
That way you can decide what level you want *before* turning it on and also go from dimmest to brightest in way less than a second.
Very handy for getting the right amount of light on something in an instant.
I've used such a setup as a firefighter, mostly with medical and traffic situations.

Yes! Please teach me how I can do this!

 

[tebore]

http://www.flashlightlens.com/str/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=poly_55_2side

That's a scratch resistant coated poly lens.

Hmm I could have sworn that FLL had them before. Or DX or KD.

Looks like borofloat or a coated borofloat would be the best choice.

 

[Fulgeo]

Yes. There are ACCUPOWER Evolution D 10000MAH NIMH Low Discharge batteries available. They will have 4000MAH more capacity than three Eneloops in parallel. There might be better deals on the web but here is a link.
http://thomasdistributing.com/shop/...41_403.html?osCsid=365iv6jj6p74p48lf3d7takqa6

I was thinking of 9AA > 3D adaptor because I want to use Eneloops since they have a low self discharge. Are there any D's similar to Eneloops (or even halfway close)?


Who sells the coated polycarbonate lens?


Yes! Please teach me how I can do this!

 

[Mike Painter]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Painter
I'm adamantly in favor of an on/off switch and a pot to adjust light level.
That way you can decide what level you want *before* turning it on and also go from dimmest to brightest in way less than a second.
Very handy for getting the right amount of light on something in an instant.
I've used such a setup as a firefighter, mostly with medical and traffic situations.

Yes! Please teach me how I can do this!

My light came from Modamag and I think he has a tutorial on line. If not, this is a three LED setup using a fatman driver and a pot.
here is a picture.
The pot is mounted right above the switch. I hold it so a bent thumb turns it on and a straight thumb rests on the side of the knob on the pot. I use a small sink washer for that (mainly becasue I had one and it force fit nicely) It is perfect as the friction makes flicking the light from dim to high very fast.

Here are some fuzzy picture of the light.

I would argue that a real "tactical" light must have the ability to select level before turning it on. A tactic may mean blinding teh person but it may also mean lighting your way in manneer that will not call attention to your self.