mag 2c on a diet

[Rothrandir]

me and a friend were talking on cpf chat today, and he mentioned it might be nice to have his mag 2c head turned down so it wasn't so bulbous. i said it was a good idea, and procedeed out to the lathe.

here is the result:

i think i might end up making one of these for myself also...it is about half as light, making it extremely nice to hold, the balance is greatly improved.

also, the groovyness of the surface makes it easy to screw the top bezel on and off.

 

[Otokoyama]

I'm a fan of C-sized lights, and this looks like a big improvement. I just spent a few hours today doing something similar.

I was talking about flashlights with a friend who is a deputy. He stated that a large reflector housing actually provides a nice gripping surface when using a flashlight for defensive purposes, and believed that many deputies preferred their flashlights to their batons for this reason.

Do you know how the housing was held while turning it?

 

[Rothrandir]

first, i took the body and the top bezel and lens and orings off of it.

then i used the inside jaws, and chucked it in so the bodyside faced out. i made the small angle.

then, i reversed the head, and used the inside jaws to hold it with the lensside facing out.

i angled the compound to an approximate angle, and took several passes until it was just right.

this head is much grippier than the standard head...i think your deputy friend would like it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

please, post pics of what you've done /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Nerd]

Roth! you said you won't type out the name as it is in the other thread because of you disliked the company! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif

 

[Otokoyama]

My project is more starvation than a diet.

I removed just about all of the aluminum from the reflector housing, leaving only the part that threads onto the body.

After the arrival of a few tools and components (estimate 1 week), I'm going to put optics into the body (the "30mm" fits when trimmed to an actual 30mm) and drive a 1W LD by 2Cs. It resembles an Elektrolumens Blaster, maybe a "Mini-Blaster", and should perform similarly.

My ultimate goal (estimate 2 weeks) is to try a 5W HD in a P90 or Stinger reflector driven by 3 123s. Due to reflector geometry, this may end up capturing almost as much source lumens as a Mag-Lite reflector, with the added benefit of the SureFire reflector texture.

I would like to find a regulator that would drive a 5W at max brightness off 2 C cells, but total voltage is below the minimum of the regulators that I've looked at.

 

[Illuminated]

Otokoyama,

Have you considered using (4) of the 1/2C NiMH cells for 4.8 volts?

John

 

[Rothrandir]

man otok! you are cruel!
i'm going to do something similar once i get my fraen optics, but i won't be using a head at all.

nerd, you mean mag? i figured, what the heck, if i could say dominic, i could say mag /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Otokoyama]

Hmmm. The rechargeable 1/2C NiMH is an interesting idea, since it probably would pack the available battery tube with maximum power, but I'd also like to use standard C alkalines.

I haven't researched regulator options thoroughly yet. I've seen that some drive their 5Wers with 3x123 directly, while some recommended that through resistor of roughly 2 ohms.

I'd ideally like--though it may not be electronically possible--is a regulator that can utilize various combinations of cells (2xC alkaline, 4x1/2C NiMH, 3x123 lithium, and the Pila rechargeables) ranging from 3 to 9 volts, being able to drive a 5W at regulation for at least one hour in the 2-C configuration. The Lambda Micro Illuminator suggests to me that this is possible.

Maybe I'll need a 3C tube if I really want to utilize alkaline Cs, but one of my goals is something not much longer than a hand is wide.

 

[MR Bulk]

Otok,

If you must expend money to get the LS into a P90 LA, save it. I have one already completed in front of me now, and the lumen capture as well as throw is nowhere near the Mag reflector's capabilities. Have not tried the Stinger though, although I do have two sitting in my car...

 

[Otokoyama]

I've got a number of P90s to experiment with (they'll be obsolete when the KL5 is out), and have determined a fairly easy way to mount the emitters at the optimal focal point.

Initial tests with 1W HD and SE emitters in the P90 reflector were quite adequate. The Mag reflector seemed like it would out-throw a spot, but wasn't as smooth. My goal is somewhere between flood and spot, biased toward spot, with smooth being mandatory.

I'm sorry, but I meant to say Scorpion not Stinger previously. The Stinger reflector is somewhat too big. In any case, I haven't yet figured out a clean way to separate the Scorpion or Stinger reflectors from their bezels.

 

[Otokoyama]

I tried a 1W cyan HD positioned in a P90 for tightest focus at infinity (i.e. farthest wall). It completely outclassed a 1W cyan SE in the same reflector. The focal point requires that the emitter base extend well into the reflector.

For reference, here's a KL1 at 10 feet: fuzzy hotspot fading into a decent spill area.

Here's the 1W cyan HD in the P90. Very intense, well defined hotspot with very broad but faint spill area.

Granted the cyans put out more lumens than the white, but this is one very intense hot spot. I'm very anxious to try this with a 5W white HD.