lewong
Newly Enlightened
When I bought my first Surefire, a 6P, I found, through researching CPF, that the Malkoff M60 was one of the best P60 drop-ins. I really like the beam profile produced by the optic of Malkoff M60, but for my situation, something other than 100% brightness is sometimes more useful.
One of my favorite mods is using the DX 7612 circuit board. Though it offers 16 modes in 3 groups, I like it because one of the groups has only low-med-high, with no strobe. I've modded my Lumapower D-Mini, an Ultrafire C2 and a few P60 drop-ins with this board.
I recently bought a bored 6P body, and I thought the DX 7612 would be a good mod for a Malkoff M60. It was kind of difficult to get up the nerve to try to mod it, with the possibly destroying a $55 drop-in, but I decided to try it today.
I read about the potting material used in the M60. The rear of the drop-in is sealed with this material. I thought it would be hard but I found the material was actually soft and rubbery. I used a jeweler's screwdriver as a chisel to start removing it. As I got close to the circuit board, I used a little lacquer thinner to soften the black sealing material. When I removed all the material from the top of the board, I used some more lacquer thinner to soften the material in the gaps in the side, and I was able to pry the board up and remove it.
The diameter of the DX 7612 board is about 17mm. The Malkoff had about 16.5mm for the board, so I used a Dremel sanding band to reduce the diameter of the 7612.
The other significant thing I realized as I disassembled the Malkoff, was how well the housing works as a heat sink. When I desoldered the Malkoff board from the housing, I could tell from the way it retained the heat (because of its mass), how well it worked as a heat sink.
With the DX 7612 on high and a 18650 battery, the modded Malkoff output looks pretty much the same as the stock Malkoff M60 on high with two RCR123s. I haven't taken any measurements, but the specs for the 7612 says it puts out 1000ma @ 3.7v, and since I didn't move the LED or the optic, it seems like my modded Malkoff M60 is just like the stock one but with different levels.
M60 with potting material and contact spring removed:
M60 with circuit board removed and potting material on top of the LED and optic:
M60 with DX 7612 circuit board:
One of my favorite mods is using the DX 7612 circuit board. Though it offers 16 modes in 3 groups, I like it because one of the groups has only low-med-high, with no strobe. I've modded my Lumapower D-Mini, an Ultrafire C2 and a few P60 drop-ins with this board.
I recently bought a bored 6P body, and I thought the DX 7612 would be a good mod for a Malkoff M60. It was kind of difficult to get up the nerve to try to mod it, with the possibly destroying a $55 drop-in, but I decided to try it today.
I read about the potting material used in the M60. The rear of the drop-in is sealed with this material. I thought it would be hard but I found the material was actually soft and rubbery. I used a jeweler's screwdriver as a chisel to start removing it. As I got close to the circuit board, I used a little lacquer thinner to soften the black sealing material. When I removed all the material from the top of the board, I used some more lacquer thinner to soften the material in the gaps in the side, and I was able to pry the board up and remove it.
The diameter of the DX 7612 board is about 17mm. The Malkoff had about 16.5mm for the board, so I used a Dremel sanding band to reduce the diameter of the 7612.
The other significant thing I realized as I disassembled the Malkoff, was how well the housing works as a heat sink. When I desoldered the Malkoff board from the housing, I could tell from the way it retained the heat (because of its mass), how well it worked as a heat sink.
With the DX 7612 on high and a 18650 battery, the modded Malkoff output looks pretty much the same as the stock Malkoff M60 on high with two RCR123s. I haven't taken any measurements, but the specs for the 7612 says it puts out 1000ma @ 3.7v, and since I didn't move the LED or the optic, it seems like my modded Malkoff M60 is just like the stock one but with different levels.
M60 with potting material and contact spring removed:
M60 with circuit board removed and potting material on top of the LED and optic:
M60 with DX 7612 circuit board:
Last edited:
