How to build a 10a M*g switch?

[Lumencraft (Matt)]

I have heard of a few people putting a 10a switch in a mag switch body for 100w osrams etc. Does anyone have suggestions, or available threading on this subject? I have a switch that is rated at 12a and would probly fit with some work but if there are some ready made designs out there it would sure help.

 

[sylathnie]

I'm running 13A at 42V through a slightly modified one of these
It works very well. No arcing or any problems like I had with my unmodified switch.

 

[2xTrinity]

Second on the MOSFET recommendation. I'm currentyl using one of those in a direct drive tri-MCE 2c maglite. The stock maglite, while it can easily survive a ~5A load, still causes some substantial resistance/voltage drop.

Another advantage of using the mosfet for electronic switching is that you can use other custom circuits like low voltage protection or thermal protection to turn OFF the light using the mosfet once it's already on. For exampel, I have a small integrated circuit that acts as a thermal circuit breaker -- when its temp goes above 57C( about 140F), it opens. I can place this in series with the mag switch (acting as a gate control for the transistor) and use it as a safety feature to turn OFF a light once it's already on.

This is a great feature both for incans and high power LED lights, as I once had a guest nearly start a fire by setting one of my incans on a table inadvertently bezel down (thinking it was off). So I'm a bit paranoid to have high power light leave my hands without safeties like this.

 

[Lumencraft (Matt)]

I'm running 13A at 42V through a slightly modified one of these
It works very well. No arcing or any problems like I had with my unmodified switch.

Thanks to you both sylathnie, and 2xTrinity,

I still have a couple of questions though. What exactly is that copper disc cut from? ( I dont know what he means by a "PCB") And where do you get it?


This is one good suggestion, if anyone else has others they are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[sylathnie]

PCB is short for printed circuit board. (I think... :thinking. It is made up of a thin layer of copper on top of a fiberglass or resin. The one used for that switch is a double sided board meaning it has a thin layer of copper on both sides. The dremeling that is done in the how-to is to remove the copper from the PCB in certain areas down to the fiberglass. They can be found at most electronics shops.
Here is a link to a radio shack board although it is a bit overpriced.