Just start with a good light instead of modding

[protein_man]

Hell everybody, I've read a fair bit of reading on mag modding etc. Well, I cant really see why you would bother. I bought a WF500 for $25 from the usual place and couldn't be happier! It takes 2 18650 battery's, has a glass lens, aluminum reflector all stock! I reckon this light is underrated here on cpf, its unreal and my current favorite.

I haven't had any problems with switch or bulbs blowing and I even soldered in my own custom bi-pin into the bulb assembly. Basically this thing is a rop straight out of the box.

I understand a mag mod is great for absolutely ridiculously bright and high watt bulbs but why bother with a standard rop for unless you want more runtime then 40 mins you get out of 2 18650 li-ions.

When available I will order 2 18650 a123's cells (lifepo4) and put them the wf500 along with a high watt bi-pin.

 

[Coop]

Why modding?

- Because we can
- Because it's fun
- Because it gives you the option to make a light exactly to your preferred specs
- Because the 'why is your flashlight so much brighter than mine'-looks on peoples faces are priceless

 

[Paul_in_Maryland]

I'm with protein_man. When someone asks where they can get a light like yours, they're much more likely to follow up on it if they learn that it's something that will simply work as-ordered.

 

[Hog]

I understand both side of this, I like to tinker & experiment.
A friend who is now into good modern lights ( thanks to me & my lights) would not dream of going to the trouble with any mods.
So his wife asked me to Christmas shop for him in 2007.
He is now very flashlight/headlamp happy. I bet most people who mod lights also mod & tinker with other projects as well. If like me it's kind of a sickness..everything has to be hot rodded up a little.
Hog

 

[Coop]

When people ask me where they can get a light like mine, they usually go when they hear the price. Mod or no mod, and my most expensive light is like $150. But usually a situation like that is a great conversation starter to give them some flashlight advice for something that suits their needs, as the lights many of us play around with are complete overkill for most 'normal' people.

 

[jugg2]

I like the idea of a standard mag being ridiculously (sp) bright. Then people go "why is yours brighter than mine?" and that's a lot of fun for me.

 

[Icebreak]

Experimentation causes true knowledge based on empirical evidence. Many companies learn from what we on CPF do to optimize our lights. It's good that there's a forum where individuals reveal their hot rodded lights to the world.

Hell everybody, I've read a fair bit of reading on mag modding etc. Well, I cant really see why you would bother.

Hell protein_man, the incan modders can be really unclear so maybe that's why you don't understand the bother.

I bought a WF500 for $25 from the usual place and couldn't be happier!

That's great. Different strokes for different folks.

I see no UltraFire or WishaFire anything becoming part of my torch arsenal.

Basically this thing is a rop straight out of the box.

Basically that would be an incorrect statement. I don't have this $25.00 light with the crappy LA in my possession. I don't have to own it to know it couldn't hold a candle my HotWires.

I haven't had any problems with switch or bulbs blowing

Hope your luck holds out.

I even soldered in my own custom bi-pin into the bulb assembly.

When available I will order 2 18650 a123's cells (lifepo4) and put them the wf500 along with a high watt bi-pin.

You are modifying your Ultrafire? Well, I can't really see why you would bother.

 

[cernobila]

None of my friends or people I know are into flashlights, so its fun to confuse them a little.....oh yeah, a Maglite.....WOW that bright, can I try?.......yeah, brings out the kid in me........enjoy

 

[fugleebeast]

Maglites are THE lights for me.

Why? Because I grew up with them. My dad used them exclusively and I have tons of childhood memories of running around with mags for power outages, flashlight tag, running around the woods, pretty much anytime the lights weren't on. I also love the design of the mags.

What I don't like about them is how they are so dang dim. I found this place and realized out that I could modify the hell out of a maglite. I happily now own a ROP, a Mag 85 and have a couple more mods in the works.

I had one friend ask me how the hell I got a maglite so bright and how much it cost. When I told him how much it cost to build a ROP, he immediately got his checkbook out and had me make him one. He couldn't be happier.

So why do I like it?

It's a sleeper, as most others have mentioned. Don't quickly dismiss the fun of that. It's the reason why when I was heavily involved with drag racing, my car looked completely stock. It's fun as hell to see the look on people's faces.

I made it. I'm proud of that. I'm not that handy of a guy and haven't made a whole lot of things.

I can completely disassemble it and put it back together. I can fix anything that breaks on it in a matter of minutes. I can keep it running forever. I know exactly what shape it's in and the quality of it. I can't say the same for some of the imports.

I can adjust it to suit my needs. Different bulbs, reflectors, heads, batteries, etc. The number of different possible combinations is staggering.


Why do people modify cars when it's usually cheaper to just buy a faster car? You NEVER get all the money out of your mods when you sell the car. Plus, the factories do a better job than most people, they give you a warranty, etc etc. Because it's fun! It's a hobby! Sentimental value, an itch you just gotta scratch, there's a ton of reasons.

 

[RoyJ]

I understand a mag mod is great for absolutely ridiculously bright and high watt bulbs but why bother with a standard rop for unless you want more runtime then 40 mins you get out of 2 18650 li-ions.

When available I will order 2 18650 a123's cells (lifepo4) and put them the wf500 along with a high watt bi-pin.

Although a very nice light for the money, I doubt a standard WF500 can come close to a ROP, which is probably the least power hotwire.

For me it goes like this - since the WF500 is too big to EDC anyways, why not just go all out and have a Mag2D with either a much brigter lamp, same lamp with much longer runtime, and cheaper parts?

With a Mag, you can have C/D li-ions, or stuff it with 8 AAs and have a much higher energy capacity than the WF500, or even SF M3/M6.

 

[greenLED]

I'm with protein_man on this one, mostly because the tinkering is the highlight of this crazy hobby of mine.

Also, it's always fun to have "sleeper" lights. I cherish the memory of my neighbor and good buddy'o mine trying to figure out why his minimag was so dim compared to mine. ("But I just put new batteries in it...") He had no clue I was using and AuroraLite hotwire kit. :devil:

 

[daBear]

I am with greenLED. I have one ambush light in particular. It is a 20 year old black 3DMag which has the old wide body. I have 12 high discharge 1700 MiMH cells in it driving a Osram 64623 100 watt bulb. The body of the light looks like it's been in an a-- kicking contest.

When someone picks this light up and turns it on the usual reaction is not quite printable here. But I like it. Just because I can tinker.

 

[Valolammas]

I'm with Coop, modding is FUN! I like to tinker with lights, planning all sorts of battery/bulb configurations and trying to implement some of them. Now I have FM cell adapters, reflectors and borofloat lenses etc., but I remember building my first Magmod with home-made parts. I made my own G4-to-PR-base adapter, 6AA-to-2D adapter, ground down an MR16 bulb for its reflector and lens etc. It wasn't as nice as FM's creations, but I felt really good about having done all that myself! It didn't make me smile, it made me grin and hop up and down, and I couldn't stop until the batteries ran out. :laughing:

As for sleepers, yeah it would be fun to impress someone with my lights, but I suppose most people would just think "oh, those Maglites are really bright" if they saw mine. I don't think they'd understand that they aren't normal Maglites.

 

[Icebreak]

I'm with protein_man on this one, mostly because the tinkering is the highlight of this crazy hobby of mine.

Also, it's always fun to have "sleeper" lights. I cherish the memory of my neighbor and good buddy'o mine trying to figure out why his minimag was so dim compared to mine. ("But I just put new batteries in it...") He had no clue I was using and AuroraLite hotwire kit. :devil:

Migs -

Maybe I'm not understanding the OP. There is an indication of not understanding why folks would "bother" tinkering with a MagMod, hence the title of the thread Just start with a good light instead of modding

Yet the OP mods his torch apparently because this has been determined to be a worthwhile endeavor unlike tinkering with a MagMod. Maybe I read it wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. It Shirley won't be the last.

- Jeff

 

[tussery]

As stated here already it is the joy of tinkering and the joy of having a light that looks like nothing special and will put out more light than a Surefire M6 with HOLA.

 

[cat]

Why do people modify cars when it's usually cheaper to just buy a faster car? You NEVER get all the money out of your mods when you sell the car. Plus, the factories do a better job than most people, they give you a warranty, etc etc. Because it's fun! It's a hobby!

Factories don't do hot-rod V8's. Extreme mag mods like Osram 64*** and so on are the equivalent.

a light that looks like nothing special and will put out more light than a Surefire M6 with HOLA.

That's why I started. I wanted to outdo my friend's M6, for less $$$.
Never mind that I've spent more than that on more mag mods.

When someone picks this light up and turns it on the usual reaction is not quite printable here.

 

[adamlau]

Just start with a good light and then mod that is what I say :naughty:

 

[mr.squatch]

I even soldered in my own custom bi-pin into the bulb assembly.

I understand a mag mod is great for absolutely ridiculously bright and high watt bulbs but why bother with a standard rop for unless you want more runtime then 40 mins you get out of 2 18650 li-ions.

When available I will order ...along with a high watt bi-pin.

Sooo............. You love this light as is, but you modded it and are hoping to make it even better..., and now you're asking why people would bother modding lights?

Maybe I'm missing something here


g

 

[AMD64Blondie]

As stated here already it is the joy of tinkering and the joy of having a light that looks like nothing special and will put out more light than a Surefire M6 with HOLA.

This is exactly right.. you should've seen the startled look on my mom's face when I turned on my new Mag85!! (For a minute,I thought she was going to faint..). Quite evilly fun to take what looks like a stock Maglite,and then turn off the room lights.After turning off the room lights,turn on Mag85.You'll swear that somebody secretly turned the room lights back on..but after looking at the ceiling..the ceiling light is still off.(I swear,I didn't mess with the room lighting..)