tkgear
Newly Enlightened
Today, I made my first ever mod.
Nothing fancy, just lots of measuring, cutting, bending, bleeding and financial pain.
I worked on it from 4am till 8am, slept for 4 hours and finally just completed it at 1am.
Basically, I had a 4D Mag lying around so I thought I'd mod it into something more useful than a big stick.
I measure up the internal length of the 4D and I figure I'd use 5x PILA 150S in series for 18.5V.
I cut down the reflector and the switch part to fit a cut down Surefire MN assembly.
Here's the stupid part.
I thought the SF M6 lamp assemblies ran at 18V cause there are 6 CR123As in there. Afterall, thats how they get it so bright right? (Wrong!!!)
I had a spare MN20 so I tried it first. The light was upside down and while inserting the batteries, I hear a "zap" as the tailcap spring touches the side. I look at the lamp and its black.
Hmmmm, I thought maybe I shorted it somehow, or maybe the extra .5V is too much, or the PILAs haven't dropped to 3.7V yet.
So I take my MN20 from my M6, this time instead of using PILAs, I use 6 CR123As. When I flick the switch, quick flash and another bulb is gone.
So I get out the MN21, thinking it can sustain a greater voltage than the previous MN20s.
It gives an even brighter flash, and burns out too.
I don't believe it. I just burnt out my last "18V" lamp assembly.
They ain't cheap, especially here down under.
By this time its dinner time. I skipped lunch to work on the light so i'm really hungry and frustrated so I pack everything up.
So I go eat dinner, watch a bit of mythbusters on telly, and reply to a PM on CPF. Then it dawns upon me that maybe 18V is a bit high since it blows everything.
So I run a search on CPF, and lo and behold, I find out that the M6 LAs run on 9V.
How STUPID is that eh? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/stupid.gif
Finally, I realise why they're so bright but only for a fraction of a second.
Good thing I've got a spare MN60 for my M4.
So I pull out the 150S, stuff in 3 PILA 168S for 11.1V and cut the MN60 to fit.
Finally, a bright light that lasts for more than a second!
I also shaved a piece of skin off my hand somewhere in between burning out the 2nd and 3rd bulb. I forgot my leatherman blade was open when I grabbed it. It bled much more than I thought it would.
Had to cancel golf later this week cause it hurts to grip the clubs.
In the end, I end up with:
A 4D Mag with MN60 running off 3 PILA 168s,
2 blown MN20s, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif
1 blown MN21, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif
1 expensive M6 paper weight till I get a new lamp for it.
Lots of red tissue
No golf this week /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Just wondering if anyone has heard of putting SF MN assemblies in Mags being done before?
I'm sure if it has, it's probably been done in a much easier method than mine. Most of my time was spent bending springs and sawing piping. The tailcap spring of the 4D is really hard to bend.
Its also hard to bend the MN springs without breaking the contacts.
Anyway, last question. I took a beam shot of the 4D against my M4. Both running MN60s, the M4 with a fresh set of batteries.
The M4 is on the left, and the 4D on the right.
Why is it that the 4D, although running at 11.1V is brighter than the M4 at 12V?
Both have same lamp assembly, and the 4D is slightly more concentrated, but the surrounding area of the 4D seems to be just as bright as the M4 centre.
This has me stumped.
What a long day. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif
Nothing fancy, just lots of measuring, cutting, bending, bleeding and financial pain.
I worked on it from 4am till 8am, slept for 4 hours and finally just completed it at 1am.
Basically, I had a 4D Mag lying around so I thought I'd mod it into something more useful than a big stick.
I measure up the internal length of the 4D and I figure I'd use 5x PILA 150S in series for 18.5V.
I cut down the reflector and the switch part to fit a cut down Surefire MN assembly.
Here's the stupid part.
I thought the SF M6 lamp assemblies ran at 18V cause there are 6 CR123As in there. Afterall, thats how they get it so bright right? (Wrong!!!)
I had a spare MN20 so I tried it first. The light was upside down and while inserting the batteries, I hear a "zap" as the tailcap spring touches the side. I look at the lamp and its black.
Hmmmm, I thought maybe I shorted it somehow, or maybe the extra .5V is too much, or the PILAs haven't dropped to 3.7V yet.
So I take my MN20 from my M6, this time instead of using PILAs, I use 6 CR123As. When I flick the switch, quick flash and another bulb is gone.
So I get out the MN21, thinking it can sustain a greater voltage than the previous MN20s.
It gives an even brighter flash, and burns out too.
I don't believe it. I just burnt out my last "18V" lamp assembly.
They ain't cheap, especially here down under.
By this time its dinner time. I skipped lunch to work on the light so i'm really hungry and frustrated so I pack everything up.
So I go eat dinner, watch a bit of mythbusters on telly, and reply to a PM on CPF. Then it dawns upon me that maybe 18V is a bit high since it blows everything.
So I run a search on CPF, and lo and behold, I find out that the M6 LAs run on 9V.
How STUPID is that eh? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/stupid.gif
Finally, I realise why they're so bright but only for a fraction of a second.
Good thing I've got a spare MN60 for my M4.
So I pull out the 150S, stuff in 3 PILA 168S for 11.1V and cut the MN60 to fit.
Finally, a bright light that lasts for more than a second!
I also shaved a piece of skin off my hand somewhere in between burning out the 2nd and 3rd bulb. I forgot my leatherman blade was open when I grabbed it. It bled much more than I thought it would.
Had to cancel golf later this week cause it hurts to grip the clubs.
In the end, I end up with:
A 4D Mag with MN60 running off 3 PILA 168s,
2 blown MN20s, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif
1 blown MN21, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif
1 expensive M6 paper weight till I get a new lamp for it.
Lots of red tissue
No golf this week /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Just wondering if anyone has heard of putting SF MN assemblies in Mags being done before?
I'm sure if it has, it's probably been done in a much easier method than mine. Most of my time was spent bending springs and sawing piping. The tailcap spring of the 4D is really hard to bend.
Its also hard to bend the MN springs without breaking the contacts.
Anyway, last question. I took a beam shot of the 4D against my M4. Both running MN60s, the M4 with a fresh set of batteries.
The M4 is on the left, and the 4D on the right.
Why is it that the 4D, although running at 11.1V is brighter than the M4 at 12V?
Both have same lamp assembly, and the 4D is slightly more concentrated, but the surrounding area of the 4D seems to be just as bright as the M4 centre.
This has me stumped.
What a long day. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif
