It's coming up on two years ago pretty soon that the Skunkworks guys released the McLux lights. These lights all came with 1w Luxeon LEDs which were pretty much the state of the art at that time. I was fortunate enough to have gotten a turn key unit, #091, and I thought at the time how great of a light it was. The only thing wrong with it was that I had lost the Luxeon Lottery and had gotten a crappy cat pee green tint with purple artifacts. Quite unappetizing! So after carrying it for a few weeks it was relegated to my desk drawer where it sat for a long time and ocassionally fiddled with. I tried Fraen Optics, NX-05 and various reflectors but nothing really made the light stand out compared to other great pieces that were coming out every week it seemed. Except for one thing, and that is the fabulous LightSabre-ish outside design of the McLux.....
A few weeks ago I was reading about mods on CPF and I suddenly decided that the McLux is too wonderful of a light to be wasted in a desk drawer with the likes of an old CMG Reactor, a decrepit Mini M*g, a Princeton Tech Blast and tons of other relics that have seen better days.
Now, I'm like the equivalent of a drooling idiot when it comes to electronics and I don't have a lathe or the know how to run one. So after asking around for modders who could do the job I settled on CPFer Chop, Tony Angelette down in La. Tony was very up front with what he could do on it and really took the time to find out what I needed the light to do for me. He quickly ascertained what the best options were and we got a deal going.
I sent the light to him and literally about a week later it came back with nearly a total internal makeover. The only thing we kept was the Kroll clickie.
The project started with boring out the old BB sandwich which was potted in glowpowder infused epoxy. A nasty job and a damned good thing I didn't mention the epoxy beforehand or he might not have undertaken it at all! 
He then installed a next generation board set at 667ma and a 3W TX1J Luxeon. The old McFlood reflector went out the door and a new dimpled one went in. Hopefully he'll chime in here and straighten me out on the numbers and such as I can never remember all the details on this stuff.
Anyway, suffice it to say I am absolutely thrilled with this light. It has edged out my TNC AA as my favorite carry piece (I'm still EDCing the TNC too) and it has not left my pocket for the last couple of weeks. This is a light that I can see carrying for years now. Even if the luxeon technology changes again this light will still be good to go just as it is.
A huge thanks to Tony for being patient with me and giving me such great service! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif And three cheers for the Skunkworks guys, you designed a hell of a nice light! 
Here's some pics:
With SF L4 5W on the left, McLux 3W on the right.. You can see it has a sweet hotspot and great color with plenty of side spill.
Down the hallway shows the sidespill nicely even if it is terribly out of focus…..
Another slightly out of focus shot. All the way across the dining room, through the kitchen, through the back door and lighting up the garage door behind the car. A span of about 75 feet.
A few weeks ago I was reading about mods on CPF and I suddenly decided that the McLux is too wonderful of a light to be wasted in a desk drawer with the likes of an old CMG Reactor, a decrepit Mini M*g, a Princeton Tech Blast and tons of other relics that have seen better days.
Now, I'm like the equivalent of a drooling idiot when it comes to electronics and I don't have a lathe or the know how to run one. So after asking around for modders who could do the job I settled on CPFer Chop, Tony Angelette down in La. Tony was very up front with what he could do on it and really took the time to find out what I needed the light to do for me. He quickly ascertained what the best options were and we got a deal going.
I sent the light to him and literally about a week later it came back with nearly a total internal makeover. The only thing we kept was the Kroll clickie.
The project started with boring out the old BB sandwich which was potted in glowpowder infused epoxy. A nasty job and a damned good thing I didn't mention the epoxy beforehand or he might not have undertaken it at all! 
He then installed a next generation board set at 667ma and a 3W TX1J Luxeon. The old McFlood reflector went out the door and a new dimpled one went in. Hopefully he'll chime in here and straighten me out on the numbers and such as I can never remember all the details on this stuff.
Anyway, suffice it to say I am absolutely thrilled with this light. It has edged out my TNC AA as my favorite carry piece (I'm still EDCing the TNC too) and it has not left my pocket for the last couple of weeks. This is a light that I can see carrying for years now. Even if the luxeon technology changes again this light will still be good to go just as it is.
A huge thanks to Tony for being patient with me and giving me such great service! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif And three cheers for the Skunkworks guys, you designed a hell of a nice light! 
Here's some pics:
With SF L4 5W on the left, McLux 3W on the right.. You can see it has a sweet hotspot and great color with plenty of side spill.
Down the hallway shows the sidespill nicely even if it is terribly out of focus…..
Another slightly out of focus shot. All the way across the dining room, through the kitchen, through the back door and lighting up the garage door behind the car. A span of about 75 feet.
