The most powerful Maglite mods list

[JimmyM]

http://www.ortodoxism.ro/datasheets2/8/0i9swzj4af7rouwjs9o64lx1egyy.pdf

I think this one has higher amp ability. What do you think?

Jim

This is a P-Channel MOSFET not N-Channel. It has a continuous current rating of 47A and a Pulse rating of 188A. The IRF1324 is rated at 429A continuous (~160A limited by the package). It has a pulse amperage rating >1000A.

The MOSFET you linked to has on "ON" resitance (Rds(on)) of 26 mOhms. The IRF1324 has an Rds(on) of 1 mOhm.
I chose the IRF1324 because it has the Lowest Rds(on) I could find. If these 458 lights start reaching too close to 24V we'll have to switch to a different MOSFET. The IRF1324 is limited to 24V. There is another MOSFET I have that has a rating of 30V but its Rds(on) is 3.3 mOhm. It's still less than a Mag switch and rated at 110 Amps.

 

[LuxLuthor]

LOL...I'm like..."what's a mofset?" Are you thinking that MadMaxabeam put a mofset in this light I have, or did he just use a simpler setup? I can disassemble this, but not sure if you guys are talking about something else? Sorry for being such a noob about that mofset stuff and not knowing why you guys are talking about using it. I like to learn though.

 

[Action]

Now this should be a really good discussion! Please guys post some pics and info of what you have done. Could you also throw in some discussion of PWM and how its related but different to the Hotdriver? I don't quite understand the benefits of the mosfet under discussion when compared to the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation?) when compared to the Hotdriver concept. I get them sorta mixed up.

My limited understanding of what is happening is that the mosfet under discussion is used to bypass the Kiu switch (or it is used solely to turn the mosfet on/off) and both offer less resistance and have some softstart capability to keep from hitting the cold bulb with a massive rush of amps + the overvolt and instaflashing. Then again I could easily be wrong...

LOL...I'm like..."what's a mofset?" Are you thinking that MadMaxabeam put a mofset in this light I have, or did he just use a simpler setup? I can disassemble this, but not sure if you guys are talking about something else? Sorry for being such a noob about that mofset stuff and not knowing why you guys are talking about using it. I like to learn though.

 

[JimmyM]

LOL...I'm like..."what's a mofset?" Are you thinking that MadMaxabeam put a mofset in this light I have, or did he just use a simpler setup? I can disassemble this, but not sure if you guys are talking about something else? Sorry for being such a noob about that mofset stuff and not knowing why you guys are talking about using it. I like to learn though.

No sweat, LUX. I'm pretty sure he just did the "standard" Mag switch upgrade. It can handle plenty of amps, but it has relatively high resistance. A MOSFET modified switch has a fraction of the resistance of even the best modified Mag switch.
I've been messing around with a few MOSFET switch designs for the D and C switches. Once I solidify a design, I'll "publish". There have been previous threads on MOSFET switches here so some info can be found by searching. I also managed to MOSFET mod a C cell mag switch for my ROP-Hi LE using AWs C Cells. 3.3 mOhm. Nice and bright.

 

[JimmyM]

Now this should be a really good discussion! Please guys post some pics and info of what you have done. Could you also throw in some discussion of PWM and how its related but different to the Hotdriver? I don't quite understand the benefits of the mosfet under discussion when compared to the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation?) when compared to the Hotdriver concept. I get them sorta mixed up.

My limited understanding of what is happening is that the mosfet under discussion is used to bypass the Kiu switch (or it is used solely to turn the mosfet on/off) and both offer less resistance and have some softstart capability to keep from hitting the cold bulb with a massive rush of amps + the overvolt and instaflashing. Then again I could easily be wrong...

You're close...
A "plain" MOSFET switch is just ON and OFF. It resides on a circuit board under the KIU socket base. The stock Mag switch no longer carries any real current. It just provides a milliamp or two of current to turn the MOSFET on. When the switch is turned off, it no longer connects the MOSFET control pin (gate) to the B+ side of things and it shuts off via a small resistor from the gate to B-. Sweet and simple. Unless you're trying to REALLY push the envelope of a bulb.

The Hotdriver is a true regulator. It reads the output voltage and adjusts the resistance of a MOSFET onboard to vary the voltage. Since the MOSFET is acting as a variable resistor, it has to dissipate the power that is "burned up" in the MOSFET. The MOSFET can only dissipate so much power before it goes poof.

The PWM soft-starter I mentioned, is NOT a regulator. What it would do is turn a MOSFET on and off several 10s of thousands of times per second. Once the light switch is turned on, the amount of time the MOSFET is ON during each "pulse" goes from almost 0 to 100%. At almost no time is the MOSFET acting like a resistor and dissipating energy as heat. The Bulb would just see an increasing amount of average power as the MOSFET goes to 100% duty. As long as you don't exceed the voltage that the MOSFET and controller chip can take, you could soft-start a 24V bulb pulling 60 amps over the course of a minute if you want.
A PWM regulator is a PWM circuit that reads the output voltage and varies the "duty cycle" of the MOSFET to keep the average voltage that the bulb sees at a certain value. This is a more complex issue and could be a thread of its own. Winny built a PWM based regulator called the PIR. They are rare and expensive and complicated.

 

[LuxLuthor]

OK, but what is the basic "punch line" of what a mofset does, and why you are trying to use it instead of the basic switch mod that MM likely did on this? Like with the mofset, can you now make English Muffin toast? LOL!

 

[jimjones3630]

Thanks,

Well now that is cleared up.

I posted the wrong one, the other is n-channel, 150v, 250a pulsed, 60a continous, 220w, Rds(on).032Ohm. Starting to wrap my head around it.

This is a P-Channel MOSFET not N-Channel. It has a continuous current rating of 47A and a Pulse rating of 188A. The IRF1324 is rated at 429A continuous (~160A limited by the package). It has a pulse amperage rating >1000A.

The MOSFET you linked to has on "ON" resitance (Rds(on)) of 26 mOhms. The IRF1324 has an Rds(on) of 1 mOhm.
I chose the IRF1324 because it has the Lowest Rds(on) I could find. If these 458 lights start reaching too close to 24V we'll have to switch to a different MOSFET. The IRF1324 is limited to 24V. There is another MOSFET I have that has a rating of 30V but its Rds(on) is 3.3 mOhm. It's still less than a Mag switch and rated at 110 Amps.

 

[jimjones3630]

Maybe if you connect them in series.

My rudimental understanding is a Mosfet can handle higher amps depending on the rating of the Mosfet, 100's of amps. While the stock mag switch is use only to turn on and off the Mosfet.

Jim

OK, but what is the basic "punch line" of what a mofset does, and why you are trying to use it instead of the basic switch mod that MM likely did on this? Like with the mofset, can you now make English Muffin toast? LOL!

 

[LuxLuthor]

Maybe if you connect them in series.

My rudimental understanding is a Mosfet can handle higher amps depending on the rating of the Mosfet, 100's of amps. While the stock mag switch is use only to turn on and off the Mosfet.

Jim

Like how many amps are you saying a modified mag switch can handle, and what kind of bulb are you saying will need more than that ? I'm just trying to get a simple practical idea of why you and Jimmy are looking into this for these kinds of lights....since it appears that the 64458 flashes at 24V anyway. Thanks!

 

[JimmyM]

Essentially a MOSFET is a relay. Use a tiny amount of current to control a very large one. Also, and most importantly, a MOSFET has extremely low resistance.
The switch will work for ~10A, but it's resistance drops voltage that would have gone to the bulb.
10A going through a Mag switch (~100 mOhm) will lose 1 full volt.
10A going through a MOSFET switch (1 mOhm) will lose 0.01 volts.

jimjones3630,
That MOSFET has 0.032 Ohms. The International Rectifier IRF1324 has 0.001 Ohms. That's 1/32 of the resistance of the one in your post. It's not just about amperage. It's also about resistance.
Good effort. Keep looking. If you find one with lower resistance, definitely post it here!

 

[LuxLuthor]

Jimmy, do you know how much 10A going through the modified mag switch drops the voltage to the bulb? Just trying to see how much that helps over the 1V drop with stock. Thanks

 

[JimmyM]

Jimmy, do you know how much 10A going through the modified mag switch drops the voltage to the bulb? Just trying to see how much that helps over the 1V drop with stock. Thanks

I'm not sure. BUT I've got a Mag623, a stock switch, a modded switch, and will have another MOSFET switch soon. When I have some time I'll do a comparison.

edit: Hey I found this...
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/99710

 

[jimjones3630]

Thanks for bringing this into this thread.

edit: Hey I found this...
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/99710[/QUOTE]

This is one of the first treads I started to study along with the USL threads has great stuff.

Jim

 

[jimjones3630]

Lux,

at 22.v the 64458 has the about the same lumens as this

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=159436

and with a mag like form factor instead of spot light lantern size is why I'm excited about it.

Push it to the smallist, brightist, most effecient wouldn't that be the....


What are we doing here? There is some science, technology available to be learned and applied but why is a deep question.

Jim

Like how many amps are you saying a modified mag switch can handle, and what kind of bulb are you saying will need more than that ? I'm just trying to get a simple practical idea of why you and Jimmy are looking into this for these kinds of lights....since it appears that the 64458 flashes at 24V anyway. Thanks!

 

[LuxLuthor]

That is amazing Jim....it was interesting to read AWR's measurements of the various Ohm readings of each of the fixes in that link you gave. And the overall change of:

The end result.. the switch i started with measured 500mV drop at 3A.. or 167mohm... after i was done with the modification.. it measured 27.3 mohm.

 

[jimjones3630]

More bulbs arrived today from bulbconnection.com. I don't work for them but found them easy to order from and they deliver FedX which I do like.

In the pursuit fun hooked up one more 64458s this time at the pins with DMM, Kiu socket and old analog EMI 72v, 13a supply. Again FM 3" reflector pointed at the ceiling.

Flashed at 21.6v, about 11.5amps. Previously they flashed at next increase from 22.5v but measured with DMM piggyback at supply. Seams like the number should be reversed but maybe the first bulb was hardy and this last punny??

Plan to fry one more tomorrow.

Jim

 

[jimjones3630]

duplicate post

 

[LuxLuthor]

Yeah, that doesn't make sense unless the bulb was defective. Now you got me curious to check the bulb voltage. Heck, now that I have my new DMM, I will have to check the current too. This weekend.

 

[Action]

Just wondering, was there any attempt at a soft start to minimize the chance of instaflashing? I assume that you started at something quite a bit lower than 21V and then moved up in power?

More bulbs arrived today from bulbconnection.com. I don't work for them but found them easy to order from and they deliver FedX which I do like.

In the pursuit fun hooked up one more 64458s this time at the pins with DMM, Kiu socket and old analog EMI 72v, 13a supply. Again FM 3" reflector pointed at the ceiling.

Flashed at 21.6v, about 11.5amps. Previously they flashed at next increase from 22.5v but measured with DMM piggyback at supply. Seams like the number should be reversed but maybe the first bulb was hardy and this last punny??

Plan to fry one more tomorrow.

Jim

 

[LuxLuthor]

More bulbs arrived today from bulbconnection.com. I don't work for them but found them easy to order from and they deliver FedX which I do like.

In the pursuit fun hooked up one more 64458s this time at the pins with DMM, Kiu socket and old analog EMI 72v, 13a supply. Again FM 3" reflector pointed at the ceiling.

Flashed at 21.6v, about 11.5amps. Previously they flashed at next increase from 22.5v but measured with DMM piggyback at supply. Seams like the number should be reversed but maybe the first bulb was hardy and this last punny??

Plan to fry one more tomorrow.

Jim

I have a stupid question. This new Triplett DMM (and most of the Fluke's that people were talking about) has a 10A current measurement limitation. How are you measuring above 10A ?

When I try to complete the circuit with this one set on 10A it won't turn on the light. Surprised it doesn't give me an OL reading though.