Sibling P7 Mag's (4C and 3D, w/ pics and beamshot comparisons)

[Supernam]

Here are 2 more P7 mags that I made using PhotonFanatic's newest batch of Seoul P7 CSWOI emitters. I love the tint on these! No annoying blue/purple/green tints.

The inside of the mag's body above the switch was stripped of anodizing and the driver's were Arctic Silver epoxied chip side out to the body.

Charging jacks were added for easy charging with my R/C peak charger.


Parts list:
4C and 3D host
H22A "DHS" heatsinks (posts dremeled down and holes enlarged)
Double AMC7135 1.4A linear drivers
External charging jacks
Hand sputtered reflectors
Glass lenses
4 Accupower LSD C cells

And now for the pictures! (All pics in full manual mode with my Canon 20D)

Novatac 120T on High

Streamlight TL-3 w/17500's

Mag P7

Same order

Look Ma... no donut!

Bathroom ceiling bounce (same order)

I had to wear 2 pairs of sunglasses for this one!

I hope you like these!

 

[KRS1]

WOW

very bright

first one to see the post :naughty::twothumbs

Any reason people use Maglite to host?

(i never own a maglite)

Out door pic any chance?

 

[Supernam]

Mags are great hosts because they have big heads that can dissipate heat better than smaller lights. Also, it is easy for custom modder's to produce custom parts for them such as heatsinks, lenses, and battery holders. There's also the added benefit of having a lot of space under the head which leaves room for circuit boards. They can handle a lot of different battery set ups too.

I can't really take interesting outdoor pictures since I live in a suburban area with A LOT street lighting (Irvine is the safest big city in the nation!)

 

[zelda]

Nice work! Have you got some more details about the "Hand sputtered reflectors"?

thanks,
Zelda

 

[Norm]

Nice work! Have you got some more details about the "Hand sputtered reflectors"?

thanks,
Zelda

The only time I every tried they looked nothing like supernam's. The picture of supernams reflectors look like the real thing, mine just came out dull and frosty. I think I had the process right but I was using the wrong product. Tell us more please.
Norm

 

[toby_pra]

These Pictures are really nice!

Good work! Nice and clean...

I am really impressed.

 

[rizky_p]

loves the sputtering work. Really nice.

 

[Nitroz]

Nice work on the sputtering!

The camera work was great also, it really shows the power of the P7 well. I am going to build one of these soon.

 

[ace0001a]

Nice work dude! Yeah I did my one, sold it (not a fan of the SX0 tint) and now waiting for Litemania or H22A's newer P7 heatsinks to come out. I just got one of Photonfantic's SW0 tinted P7 emitters. Also got a couple of Kaidomain's MOP aluminum reflector's to come in. Like Elektrolumens in a 3D configuration, I didn't feel the need for any sort of regulation circuitry as I had no plans to use 4Cs. I have a crap load of LSD AAs, so I had MDOCOD make me some of his custom AA adapters in parallel...basically fitting 9AAs in a standard 3D Mag and it works great. My next idea was to go with a 2D Mag, a pair of 1.5A buck drivers in parallel and MCODOD's 6AA-to-2D series adapter. Man, got to love how perfect Mags are for P7 modding! :thumbsup:

 

[houtex]

:thumbsup:Some of the coolest coparo pics I've seen.

 

[roadie]

:goodjob:

 

[TallNHairyDave]

:goodjob::kewlpics:

 

[Firecop]

Nicely done. I love the ceiling bounce shots...informative *and* funny!

How did you hook up the charging jacks? Did you keep the stock switch (cut down)?

I have yet to run my 2D (3C jammed in) for any length of time. How does the heat build-up compare to say, 3 or 4 crees?

Congrats!

 

[husky20]

those charging ports were very cool nice pics dood nice camera to:thumbsup:

 

[Supernam]

Thanks for the compliments friends.

The sputtering is done with clear gloss spray paint. I start by cutting off the cam and then place it facing up on some cardboard or newspaper. I then spay a light mist high up from the reflector, about a meter high and let it rain down. I let that layer settle for about a minute until it is tacky. Next comes the final layer. It must be thick enough to coat the entire lens instead of misting down on it like the first layer. However, it can't be so thick as to make it run and pool. Most of my bad reflectors have been because I didn't do the second layer thick enough. If it's too light, there will be little tiny gaps and air bubbles in the gloss. If you mess up, and this happens, let it dry then give it a fatty dose the next time. Pick it up immediately and rotate it in every direction for the next minute so it doesn't run or pool up. Practice makes perfect!

As for the charging jack, the radius of the charging jack is 6mm, so i measure 7mm lower than the bottom of the head and make a dot (make sure the head is all the way down!). This where I'll drill. Notice that the charging jack on the D mag is 90 degrees to the switch. This is because material must be removed from the switch. Basically a half cylinder shape. I used a Dremel. The negative tab of the jack is cut off since the outter body of the jack is already grounded by the hole it's sitting in. The positive terminal has a wire that goes trough holes I made in the switch assembly and soldered directly to the positive terminal of the switch where the battery meets it.

I ran the light for a good 15 minutes just sitting at ambient temperature (about 73 degrees F). I believe it hit it's max temperature at that point, as it didn't get any hotter after that. It was hot, but not too hot to touch to my cheek. I wouldn't have any fear about running down a full charge of the batteries which should be around 1.5 hours. I can't compare the heat to a multiple emitter light as I never got around to building or acquiring one. That's why I like P7's so much, they are very easy and cheap to build (emitter $30, heatsink ~$12, and batteries).

My next P7 will have a fluted head by Mac, and the other a FM host with a finned head. These should cool even better than regular heads.

 

[copperfox]

Supernam, those mag mods are very nice. Are the accupower C's NiMH?

Also, your sputtering is top notch, so I've got a couple more questions about it. What brand spray paint do you use, and is it acrylic or enamel? How long is the duration of your first "mist," and how long is the second? Do you shake the can at all? Do you hold it upright like a regular can, or do you point the nozzle downward at the reflector? Do you modulate finger pressure applied to the nozzle, or do you just press down fully like a normal spray can?

 

[f22shift]

Supernam, those mag mods are very nice. Are the accupower C's NiMH?

Also, your sputtering is top notch, so I've got a couple more questions about it. What brand spray paint do you use, and is it acrylic or enamel? How long is the duration of your first "mist," and how long is the second? Do you shake the can at all? Do you hold it upright like a regular can, or do you point the nozzle downward at the reflector? Do you modulate finger pressure applied to the nozzle, or do you just press down fully like a normal spray can?

same question.

2 reflectors of mine came out like crap in comparison. i'm clueless

 

[Supernam]

Spray directly downwards for 1 second from a height of 2 feet, enough to look like it got sprayed by one squeeze of windex, but not enough to fully wet the reflector. Wait for 1 minute.

Spray once again from the same height for about 2 full seconds. It needs to FULLY coat the reflector. Don't underspray! No part should be dry. The reflector will turn white from the little air bubbles. It will go away as it dries. Turn the reflector from facing up to down every 5 seconds to keep it from pooling.

If you messed up a reflector from under spraying, give it a fat spray again. You might be able to save it. If you over sprayed, there's not much you can do.

 

[f22shift]

thanks supernam for the post. i was actually still up at the time of your post trying to figure out how to stipple. i know crazy.

the weird thing is that i did you were saying. it pretty much what you explained earlier in the thread. i can't get the clear coat to ripple.
it's maybe the product? maybe your product dries slower and you can alter the coating with the movement.
i'm using krylon clear coat acrylic(walmart 3 bux pn1301) which i saw recommended by threads in searches. even and blasting at closely range didnt seem to make the acrylic run.

this is what i did with that product finally.
1)light spray about a meter up. 1-2 sec. it'll make the reflector frosty. let it dry.
2)i then at about a foot high partially pressed the nozzle with the nozzle facing down. this let the acrylic pool up at the nozzle and drizzle down like rain drops. so now the reflector looks like frosty with clear streaks from the drops. let it dry.
3)i then at about 6 inches gave a close blast. 1-2 second blast while going side to side. rotate reflector. blast side to side. til the whole reflector is covered. this will make the frosty parts clear again while adding to the texture the "rain drops" made. let it dry.

that's it.

i would recommend practice spray in the steps before actually spraying/dropping. the partial nozzle press is hard. you might have to use 2 hands.

i dont know if this procedure is right. yours looks boatloads better.
i'm going to take a pic to show the results

 

[Supernam]

That's great! You found a way that works best for you so stick with it! I'm no expert, I just happened to get lucky the after the 3rd try.

It does appear though that yours doesn't look as textured as mine. I'm sure this comes down to the spray itself, and possibly the ambient temperature. For some weird reason, might just be in my head, I got best results when it was cold outside, around 55 degrees F. When it's colder, the paint should be a little thicker.

I tried to minimize the amount of spray I used overall. Because although clear, it can't be 100% clear which I assume some of the light will be absorbed/reflected/refracted.

Here are pictures of 2 reflectors that turned out the best for me:

Closeup of charging jack, I sanded down a flat spot to get the jack a little more close to flush with the body. The mag's body is surprisingly thick.

Teaser of next 2 P7 builds