I have a big ole 6-d mag with the Mag Xenon bulb and a UCL glass lens and 6 NICAD Batteries. Has pretty good output all in all and most non CPF people are impressed by it. BUT I would love to push a few more photons out the front. I am however on a tight budget and would love some relatively cheap suggestions for the next step. Looking forward to hearing some ideas. Thanks in advance!!!
Mag 6-D hopup!!!
- Thread starter LVE2RIDE
- Start date
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R@ndom
Enlightened
Al reflector = $10
ROP bulbs = $10
ROP bulbs = $10
StarHalo
Flashaholic
Keep in mind we have single-cell ~3" LED lights that are actually brighter than the 6D Mag; these are the serious crowd-pleasers, as non-flashaholic folk don't expect so much from a tiny little light..
Chrontius
Flashlight Enthusiast
You've already paid for the most expensive parts of a ROP. As R@ndom says, you'll need an aluminum reflector ($10-15) and a pack of Pelican 3854 bulbs (which come in 2-packs, the ROP-hi and ROP-low). He forgot to mention a glass lens, but that's only a few bucks. You'll either double or quintuple your output, depending on whether you've got the low or high beam in. Your configuration is a ROP-ER or ROP-XR (Extreme Runtime? Extended Runtime?) with the D rechargeables; most ROPs will run for a half-hour, but yours should be pushing an hour and a half, with good batteries.
Trust me, you'll like it.
Trust me, you'll like it.
angelofwar
Flashlight Enthusiast
Or drop a 5-Cell white-Star xenon...not nearly as bright, but brighter than the 6-cell bulb, as you'll be overdriving it...
KevinL
Flashlight Enthusiast
ROP bulbs, absolutely
With so much NiCad behind it, you don't have to worry so much about runtime and can afford to throw the extra lumens around..
With so much NiCad behind it, you don't have to worry so much about runtime and can afford to throw the extra lumens around..
lolzertank
Enlightened
You have just got to make a ROP.
He already said he had a UCL which should be fine with just a ROP.
If you want to go extreme, try a 5761, a bi pin socket and a reflector.
You've already paid for the most expensive parts of a ROP. As R@ndom says, you'll need an aluminum reflector ($10-15) and a pack of Pelican 3854 bulbs (which come in 2-packs, the ROP-hi and ROP-low). He forgot to mention a glass lens, but that's only a few bucks. You'll either double or quintuple your output, depending on whether you've got the low or high beam in. Your configuration is a ROP-ER or ROP-XR (Extreme Runtime? Extended Runtime?) with the D rechargeables; most ROPs will run for a half-hour, but yours should be pushing an hour and a half, with good batteries.
Trust me, you'll like it.
He already said he had a UCL which should be fine with just a ROP.
If you want to go extreme, try a 5761, a bi pin socket and a reflector.
NotRegulated
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2004
- Messages
- 1,358
I have a 6C Mag set up as a "ROP". The advantage to such a large light such as the 6D and 6C is OUTPUT with RUNTIME!
As already stated, the most expensive part of this setup is buying the 6 nicads!
Usage story!
I used this setup camping one year with the low output bulb and with a wider flood aluminum reflector I had lying around to illuminate an outdoor stage. It was pitch black out but this ROP setup lit the entire stage up and ran for at least an hour and a half before I shut it off.
As already stated, the most expensive part of this setup is buying the 6 nicads!
- six nicads
- one aluminum reflector (med orange peel for a smoother beam)
- one UCL glass lens
- using Pelican 3854 bulbs
Usage story!
I used this setup camping one year with the low output bulb and with a wider flood aluminum reflector I had lying around to illuminate an outdoor stage. It was pitch black out but this ROP setup lit the entire stage up and ran for at least an hour and a half before I shut it off.
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Chrontius
Flashlight Enthusiast
You have just got to make a ROP.
He already said he had a UCL which should be fine with just a ROP.
If you want to go extreme, try a 5761, a bi pin socket and a reflector.
Missed that. The UCL should do fine.
Thanks for all the help guys, I was really suprised that the rop low with nicads had 1.5 hour runtime:huh: As for the lens I picked it up from flashlight lens place. For the nicads they are Panasonic 4000 mah I bought from the evil bay for a whopping 3 bucks plus change 10 for less than 40.00 bucks. Only thing I dont like about the Panasonic batteries they have extremely low profile positive ends. At first they wouldnt make contact inside the light but I fixed that by putting an old real copper penny in the head of the flashlight..works like a charm. Where is the best place to buy AL reflector and bulbs? FM seems to be sold out. On another note I know there are bright small lights but I really like the stares when I pull out that monster...kinda like the scene in crocodile dundee but with flashlights..LOL "thats not a flashlight...THIS is a flashlight!!!" Now just need to give it more bite to go with the bark..this ought to be fun!!
I just posted this in another thread:
You can gently stretch the positive spring on the rear of the D Mag switch so it makes reliable contact with flat top cells.
The spring is just a snug fit. You can hold it in place while giving a gentle stretch. If it pops out , finish the job and put it back in. It will now work reliably with button top and flat top cells.
It only needs a little more length.
lolzertank
Enlightened
Kaidomain has some reflectors which IIRC can't tolerate all the heat from higher wattage bulbs, but with a just a ROP you should be fine. You can get at Lighthound.
KevinL
Flashlight Enthusiast
ROP low is 2+ amps, I think 2.2.
4AH batteries should give you at least 1.5 to 1.75 hours runtime.
ROP high is 4.15 amps. 50 minutes easy. I used to get at least 45 minutes on my 6 x 3600mAH Sub-C NiMH pack. If you want serious bite, then I recommend the ROP high. Either way, you will receive two bulbs in one package (a low and high) so you can experiment and see which one you prefer.
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I also have a 6-D cell mag, and would like to try this mod. All that is required is:
Besides the batteries, is there anything else I would need? I thought I read somewhere about a resistance mod to help the bulb not to go
.
Am I thinking of a different setup?
Besides the batteries, is there anything else I would need? I thought I read somewhere about a resistance mod to help the bulb not to go
.Am I thinking of a different setup?
lolzertank
Enlightened
I also have a 6-D cell mag, and would like to try this mod. All that is required is:
Besides the batteries, is there anything else I would need? I thought I read somewhere about a resistance mod to help the bulb not to go
Am I thinking of a different setup?
Resistance won't make a bulb go poof. Resistance will just make it dimmer. Less resistance increases the brightness and also the probability of
With 6 fully charged NiMH D, you probably want to keep the resistance and also rest your cells for a few hours to let the voltage fall so you don't blow the bulb.I think we forgot to mention to LVE2RIDE that he needs to rest his NiCads before turning it on...
Resistance won't make a bulb go poof. Resistance will just make it dimmer. Less resistance increases the brightness and also the probability of
I think we forgot to mention to LVE2RIDE that he needs to rest his NiCads before turning it on...
Thanks! When I said resistance mod, I thought that I saw someone do something to the switch of the maglite that increased the resistance to decrease the probability of the bulb instaflashing. Maybe that was on a different bulb / battery setup where there was not enough resistance for that specific setup.
Chrontius
Flashlight Enthusiast
Besides the batteries, is there anything else I would need? I thought I read somewhere about a resistance mod to help the bulb not to go
Am I thinking of a different setup?
Actually, another nice touch is the Golden Shorty tailcap spring by Kaidomain. Lowered resistance, and lower profile so it's easier to get the tailcap on without squishing the battery.
What you're thinking of here is the soft-starter; its resistance goes from high to low over the course of a fraction of a second when the light turns on. Some work has been done with NTC resistors (Negative Thermal Coefficient; they resist a lot when cold and a little when hot, and when the light is fired they heat up). Consensus is that solid-state soft starters work much better and are much more reliable and consistent. Also, NTCs only work right when flat cold, or the first time you fire the light in any half-hour or so period. In my experience, I've yet to pop a ROP that way, but my configuration is plenty different from yours.
Problem with solid-state soft-starters is they (right now) only work on bi-pin bulbs, and there's no cheap chinese boards being made, only a very few configurations made nearly bespoke by CPF's electrical engineers. Putting one in my ROP would more than double the amount I have invested in it.
KiwiMark
Flashlight Enthusiast
Lux Luthor has tested the 3854 & 3853 bulbs the results are all here: http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=179748
The 3854L is a great bulb - at 7.2V it pulls about 1.9A, it should run for about 2 hours off freshly charged 4000mAh NiCads. The measured Lux at 1M is 28 for 7.2V
The 3854H is noticeably brighter but pulls 4.4A at 7.2V - you will still get about 1 hour run time. The measured Lux at 1M is 87 for 7.2V.
My 6D came with standard Maglite krypton bulbs - truly pathetic compared to anything good!
My 6D now has 6 x 4000mAh NiCad cells, 3854H (ROP High) bulb, UCL Lens, KD OP Al reflector. It didn't cost all that much - I bought this torch 2nd hand from our local equivalent to Ebay and I already had the 6 NiCad cells. I like the ROP Low bulb and have one in a 2D torch running from 2 x Protected Li-ion cells, but I went with the ROP High bulb in the 6D because the torch is too big and heavy to use for 2 hours (so the 2 hour run time isn't important) and for the size of the torch it SHOULD be bright. The ROP High bulb can take about 8.4V before
which generally is higher than fresh Ni-Cad cells will deliver. I haven't blown a bulb in my 6D yet anyway. I say go for the ROP high bulb and Al Reflector - it should make the big torch much more impressive and take away the chance that you will show off the torch and have someone compare it to his little LED and find the LED brighter.I say again - ROP High! (3854H) Do it!
mdocod
Flashaholic
If you like that 6D platform, you're going to love the ROP mod in it. You'll have a strong performer that actually has reasonable runtime, which smaller hosts don't offer. Down the road, when you want another "upgrade" you can swap up to some 10AH NIMH D cells and basically double+ your runtime.
