Questions about Maglite P7 mod

[edkoster]

hi,

After a lot of reading on CPF i decided to mod my 3D maglite with a SCC P7.

i spent several hours finding out which parts to use. i think i have a complete shoppinglist now... But since this is my first mod i'm not completely shure about it.

Can soneone tell me if it's gonna work with this parts:

- P7 Led (DSXOJ) http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=5211
- Heatsink (from H22A) http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=203235
- Driver http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=1770
- Dimmer (D2DIM) http://taskled.com/d2dim.html
- 2xAA to D cell adapter http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7031

i want to use the d2dim because i like the user interface. Since the D2DIM has no regulation i want to use the driver from kaidomain to get regulated 2.8A.

i prefer to use AA cells in stead of D cells so i dont have to buy D cells and a new charger.. therefore i want to use the AA -> D cell adapters.

Do you guys think this will work?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Greg G]

I would nix the battery holders from DX. You're adding unneeded resistance to the system.

I think you might be better served with a battery holder that has 9 AA's set up 3 in series x 3, which would be the same as 3 D NiMH's. You could run it direct drive then, or have the D2DIM for dimming. A battery holder like this would be easy to make, or maybe a Five Mega 9AA-3D holder could be changed to provide 3.6 volts.

 

[Mettee]

greg is spot on. I would add to get your P7 from photonphanatic on the marketplace, it will actually get to you and it will be a real D-bin.

With the FM holder that will be a very nice set up

 

[edkoster]

@Greg G: Thanks for your info, but it's not completely clear to me:
The battery holders from DX are parallel so each holder would function in the same way as a regular D cell. (so the total voltage will be 3.6v)
Why should this add extra resistance?

your suggestion for "a battery holder that has 9 AA's set up 3 in series x 3" is in my eyes almost the same as the DX holders. except that they have only 2AA's in stead of 3 which will result in less mAh. but that should not be a problem.. or am i wrong?

i'm not sure if i will direct drive it or use the driver from kaidomain (http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=1770)
what are the (dis)-advantages of both methods?

@Mettee: Thanks! If kaidomain is selling C-bins in stead of D's i can understand why he is so cheap I will buy from photofanatic (or Litemana which makes no real difference i think..)

So: anyone who can give me info about the battery holder suggestion from Greg G and if i should use a driver or direct drive?

Thanks!

 

[M@elstrom]

You might want to keep this mod as simple as possible (seeing as it's going to be your first) and just go with 3 D cell Nimhs, the D bin P7 & H22A's heatsink (initially)... you can always add, subtract or mod further still down the track eh?

 

[StefanFS]

Your choice of emitter bin will not work well with the driver you propose. Try to find an SSC P7 D***I emitter insted of D***J as the one that ends on I have lower forward voltage, the voltage that the led drops. Simply put the one ending with I will run longer with that driver.

A good battery solution with that driver is 4 C-size NiMH in your 3D Mag, use some PVC tubing as a sleeve and deanodize the tailcap and cut down the spring, put the spring down into the tailcap.

 

[Mettee]

D bins run off more voltage....So I run my D bin light with 3 D's and it is not as bright as it could be, but still bright

With 9 AA batteries your voltage will be 10.8 or so, give more if freshly charged. That is obviously too much for the P7. So.....you would have to dump excess voltage, the best way I know how to is the derwichtel driver. You can fine tune the voltage to the to the emitter you chose(bin) to get the most from it.

Now you could cut your mag down or have it done and or buy a 2D and use less battery? Say maybe 6 AA batteries at 7.2v. I am building one that way now for a friend. With the derwichtel electronic you can couple that with the D2dim.

You really can not direct drive with this setup unless you use 3 D size batteries(nimh).

As far as the battery holders, I would get a good one. Have you looked at the ones from FiveMega? Both of the combos either 9 AA or 6 AA can be done with the FM holders but you really only need 6 AA to do this.

What do you think is best for you?

Edit: stephan is who started all this madness for me so yeah listen to him too. Just find what works best for you.

Just thinking, its really hard to avoid buying something in this case, because you want to retain your AA configuration so you dont have to buy a new charger. Right? That is why I recommend the FM holders.

 

[Greg G]

Stefan pointed out a mistake in my post. Thanks Stefan. My DD P7 lights are all I bin. You have a J bin, which doesn't work well in direct drive with 3D's or the equivalent.

Here is another way to do it:

FiveMega 9AA battery holder (12.6 volts fresh off charger)

Kaidomain multi-level "buck" P7 driver (5.5-15 volts input range)

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=180676

That should work for you. Forget about the DX battery holders you had listed. They're a joke.

 

[edkoster]

Hi,

I think M@elstrom has a point. for now i will try to get a single mode light with a decent output.
using 4 c cells and cut the spring sounds to complicated.. the battery holders from FiveMega look very nice but
40 dollar (and +/- 25 dollar for a charger) is a bit to much for this i think... (or am i wrong?)

are there no drivers around which function like the one on kaidomain (http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=1770) but then are built to drive a
DXXXJ binned P7?

if there aren't then i have to choose to use a C bin and use D cells (or maybe parallel 2AA to D cell adapters?)) or use AA's in series.. (by using the FiveMega holder or something similar and the driver from derwichtel)
but that will cost a lot more

so no drivers for a dxxxj bin around? (with only one level since i want to be able to add a d2dimm later)

thanks again..

 

[wildstar87]

You could use 2 of the 1.4A AMC7135 drivers, I'm doing that with a 4D mag Ni-MH setup, works great.. Actually I have it running with 2 of the 1.4A + one 1A multimode driver. But I did have it running before with just the two 1.4A drivers.

 

[edkoster]

wouldn't be two AMC7135's
work the same as this driver:
http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=1770 (as far as i know this is just two AMC7135's in one package...

and the site (and StefanFS) says it wont work nice with a DXXXJ bin P7

so any sugestions on a driver which can drive a DXXXJ bin from somewhere around 3.6 volts..

thanks!

 

[gpturner]

I am also new to this modding and building flashlights in fact I am thinking of my first, a P7 Maglite. for batteries I was thinking of getting some AA to D converters. And instead of AA using 14500 rechargables. I thought two in a 2D madlite would be a good level of power. That would be 7.4 which is under the (I think) rated 8.4 max for the P7.

What do you all think will that work?

I need to do some measuring but I was thinking of DX SKU 14413 for the solution for P7, reflector, and Driver.

 

[MWClint]

my opinion..skip the driver since you are considering a 3cell host. go direct drive 3D and a CxxxI p7 with the D2DIM. in my builds, the I bins still appear
brighter than the J bins. i've done quite a few for friends/coworkers
and that's a very popular combination. 3D nimh DD is very friendly and the
d2dim allows the light to become very versatile.


also instead of the kai driver, buy the kai $14 mop cam/camless reflector(not the 4$ one) and also buy the 2$ kai UCL. you will find that that the reflector and lens is 100x more worthwhile than the driver will ever be. fyi use the reflector camless with the H22A heatsink and keep the p7 leads bent close to the led when you solder the wires onto it. it will focus to a near perfect beam.

 

[edkoster]

hi MWClint,

since i don't want to use D cells i changed my mind and are now planning to use 9 AA's in series combined with the driver from Der Wichtel. (this should work or am i wrong?)

i've bought a reflector from DX (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12229) is the reflector from Kai better? and if so why?

i already have a ucl lens

Thanks for your toughts!

 

[MWClint]

hi MWClint,

since i don't want to use D cells i changed my mind and are now planning to use 9 AA's in series combined with the driver from Der Wichtel. (this should work or am i wrong?)

i've bought a reflector from DX (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12229) is the reflector from Kai better? and if so why?

i already have a ucl lens

Thanks for your toughts!

9AA's will work great with the Der Wichtel with or without a d2dim.

That reflector will clean up the beam just fine. it wasnt designed for a mag,
so you will have to grind away some of the material on the outside to make it
fit, but it will work. many people are using it. I just prefer the cam/camless as it retains the focus ability of the mag and has slightly better throw due to it.
If you lend it out or build a mag for someone, the first thing they do is twist the mag head. lol