Looking for a large, bright flashlight

[StarHalo]

StarHalo, do you know who I should ask about machining costs? I wouldn't need anything fancy. I would prefer it knurled to look similar to stock and the same black color, though. And another reason I'd prefer to avoid spacers or dummy cells is that if it's opened

Put up a post over in the Custom & Mod section requesting what you want, the builders will see it and deal with you directly there.

You can make spacers very benign, they're usually just a plastic tube with a contact on each end, or another popular design is wooden sewing thread spools that have a threaded metal dowel running through them, with a nut on each end. Nothing heinous-looking.

 

[jimmy1970]

Then when you're ready, we can give you a recipe that will make your Maglite so bright you could knock out a drive-in movie screen from 1/2 a mile, which could come in handy if you're forced to see Mama Mia./quote]

Non flashlight related quote of the year!! I absolutely hated that bloody movie! Everyone I have spoken to since loved it - finally someone agrees with me. I was spending the whole 6 hours of this movie trying to sleep but ever time I started to nod off, they would start singing another ABBA song!!

Sorry to take this thread off course but those words 'Mamma Mia' just hit me like a sledge hammer.

James....

P.S. Consider a Mag ROP. One just sold on the Market Place for only $80.00!

 

[b1029384756]

Alright, made a thread there to see what it would cost or if anyone could do it. What is a Mag ROP?

 

[Alan B]

ROP stands for Roar of the Pelican. It is a Pelican bulb that is frequently used in other lights. It is very bright, especially when overdriven. If you search the forums here you'll find a lot more about it, and other overdriven Hotwire lights.

 

[jimmy1970]

ROP stands for Roar of the Pelican. It is a Pelican bulb that is frequently used in other lights. It is very bright, especially when overdriven. If you search the forums here you'll find a lot more about it, and other overdriven Hotwire lights.

Yeah what he said...

You find they replace the standard D cell batteries and replace them with special battery holders designed to carry smaller AA sized cells that allow combined higher voltages so they can utilise higher voltage bulbs such as the Pelicans to produce more light - so much light and heat in fact that upgraded glass lenses and metal reflectors are used to avoid a melt down.

Most of the ones I have seen for sale a home made jobs but look very well done. 2D & 3D hosts seem the most common.

Good luck with it,

James....

 

[Marduke]

A ROP is usually done with 6xAA NiMH in a 2D. However, you could easily do one with 6xD NiMH in your 6D for mega brightness and mega runtime. It will also make the light a bit heavier, which could be what you want for swinging purposes.

 

[b1029384756]

I see, so you're suggesting I try that when I have the higher voltage available with a 10-12D tube? I'm sure that'd work a lot better than trying to cram in a bunch of AA's in series?

 

[Alan B]

I see, so you're suggesting I try that when I have the higher voltage available with a 10-12D tube? I'm sure that'd work a lot better than trying to cram in a bunch of AA's in series?

LuxLuthor has a chart of bulbs and the voltages they like to be overdriven with. These are very bright, some beyond what LEDs can practically do. Over about 10 watts the reflector and lens need to be upgraded or melt...

Here is his thread:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/179748

 

[b1029384756]

Alright, so if I upgrade the reflector and lens, are the Hikari halogens too much for regular batteries to handle?

 

[jimmy1970]

I see, so you're suggesting I try that when I have the higher voltage available with a 10-12D tube? I'm sure that'd work a lot better than trying to cram in a bunch of AA's in series?

Standard D cells won't handle the huge rate of drain from some of these high output bulbs.
Most information requests this site receives are from people wanting more light from a smaller package.

Requests for a metre long light weighing a few kilograms that runs D cells and a low pressure Xenon bulb are few and far between. You would have a very long run time - so long in fact that by the time you would think to replace the cells, one of the dozen or so it contains would have leaked and destroyed the light anyway.

You requested a light like this for, amongst other things, defending yourself from attacking animals such as bears. I don't know how effective this tool would be for bear wacking but as a light for general use - it would definately be, for me, a shelf queen (on a very long and strong shelf).

If I was to store it in my car, I would have to think very hard of a suitable spot to put it considering it's weight and size.

It funny thou, after considering what such a light would look and feel like to use, having one of these in your collection would be pretty cool - imagine a 12D sized light, jammed with AA cells running a mega volt bulb! What sort of numbers would you see?

If you do construct such a beast, don't forget to do some outdoor beam shots etc and post them here.

James...

 

[Alan B]

Alkalkines won't handle high current, but NiMH will.

One way to do it is to select a high powered bulb, then build the M@g the right length to carry the D NiMH cells required to drive that bulb. There are some very nice bulbs for 9-12 NiMH cells.

 

[jimmy1970]

Alkalkines won't handle high current, but NiMH will.

One way to do it is to select a high powered bulb, then build the M@g the right length to carry the D NiMH cells required to drive that bulb. There are some very nice bulbs for 9-12 NiMH cells.

True, imagine 12x 10,000mah D cells in one light. Runtime in the months!

James...

 

[b1029384756]

NiMHs are only 1.2V instead of 1.5V, or are there ones that are more? I'll look for the higher capacity ones, hopefully they won't be too expensive, I know the cheaper ones usually stick a AA inside of a D and sell them at a higher price.

 

[Alan B]

True, imagine 12x 10,000mah D cells in one light. Runtime in the months!

James...

Or perhaps just an hour runtime with a 150 watt bulb. :devil:

 

[Marduke]

NiMHs are only 1.2V instead of 1.5V, or are there ones that are more? I'll look for the higher capacity ones, hopefully they won't be too expensive, I know the cheaper ones usually stick a AA inside of a D and sell them at a higher price.

NiMH really aren't 1.2v. Alkaline aren't really 1.5v either. Alkaline voltages are peak, not under load. NiMH voltages are nominal under load.


In actual use, NiMH cells will maintain a HIGHER voltage than alkaline cells during discharge.

 

[Cydonia]

This is turning out to be a good thread...
b1029384756 (love the name :ironic: ) how much are you willing to spend?
NiMh or NiCd - the choice isn't so simple. There are Low Self Discharge (LSD) NiMh cells now - which don't drain away their charge so fast. Normal NiMh will drain away to virtually a useless level over the months. The LSD drain far slower. Cost more though. AND... and this is a big and - the LSD cells are fragile to drops and shocks. When they get shaken the special insulators degrade inside - making them basically revert back to a cheap regular NIMH that discharges faster. Some cells would get damaged from a hard knock or drop and start self discharging at different rates. Others wouldn't. It would get interesting :sick2:

I'm a NiCd disciple myself... those big premium industrial type Sanyo Cadnica D cells can be had for nearly half the price of LSD NiMh. They discharge slow by their nature. And they can take great shocks and drops (something you would need in a big light intended for impacts). The other bonus with NiCd is that they can last so long you'll have to put them in your will. And they can handle extreme cold better than all other chemistry cells. Oh, and they can be trickle charged for long periods of time. But then you need a good charger. Is this the only option for individual cell charging? Doesn't make too much sense... now you see why they use packs of AA's and charge them all at once with a hobby charger.

Could get a custom 9D light body and use the best Sanyo Cadnica D's.
Get fivemega reflector, boro glass lens, AW soft start driver and WA1185.
In other words do a big mag85! Charging the cells will be the main problem though.

Better off getting a custom "bored" Mag and load it with good AA NiMh's in a premium fivemega battery holder though...

 

[Marduke]

the LSD cells are fragile to drops and shocks. When they get shaken the special insulators degrade inside - making them basically revert back to a cheap regular NIMH that discharges faster. Some cells would get damaged from a hard knock or drop and start self discharging at different rates. Others wouldn't. It would get interesting :sick2:

I think several thousands CPF'ers would have to disagree with you there. Eneloops, for example, are by far some of the most robust NiMH cells available, tolerating extreme amounts of abuse.

They definitely suffer no ill effects by just shaking or dropping them.

 

[b1029384756]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BLI0DW/?tag=cpf0b6-20

That should be able to charge D NiMH, but not one at a time. I don't see why you'd need to do 1 at a time, though.

What would I want AA's in a battery holder for? Just higher voltage? Does a D holder hold 3 AA's? If so, that's easily close to 45V, would that much be helpful? I'm sure they wouldn't last long between charges in such a setup though.

 

[Cydonia]

I think several thousands CPF'ers would have to disagree with you there. Eneloops, for example, are by far some of the most robust NiMH cells available, tolerating extreme amounts of abuse.

They definitely suffer no ill effects by just shaking or dropping them.

Shaken by a sharp hard fall. There was a thread over in the battery forum where this was discussed recently. I was pretty amazed to learn an LSD cell can in fact degrade and start self discharging like a regular NiMh. What causes it? It was confessed that a drop could do it. I'll try and find the thread for you.


EDIT: I found the thread: Dropping NiMh batteries

 

[Marduke]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BLI0DW/?tag=cpf0b6-20

That should be able to charge D NiMH, but not one at a time. I don't see why you'd need to do 1 at a time, though.

What would I want AA's in a battery holder for? Just higher voltage? Does a D holder hold 3 AA's? If so, that's easily close to 45V, would that much be helpful? I'm sure they wouldn't last long between charges in such a setup though.

That charger will not charge true NiMH D cells. Something like this or this does.

Holders depend on how they are set up. You can get series holders, or parallel holders.

However, increased voltage only helps you with incan mods. LED's only require 3.7v, so anything above that does not typically increase brightness.