Tutorial: this is how you build Aspherical Mag! w/pics

[Nereus]

I built Aspherical Mag with the following specs:

- Bored out 2D Mag
- Flashlight head and tailcap painted with transaparent metal flake paint
- Aspherical lense, 52 mm diameter, 37 mm focal length (from Surplus Shed)
- 2D-to-8AA battery adapter
- Downboy 1500 converter
- Anodised Hotlips D heatsink
- Cree XR-E led, bin Q5
- Runtime is some 4 hours

The modding starts in a very conventional way: first, buy a 2D Maglite and disassembly and bore it out following the guidance in this tutorial.

Next, shorten the flashlight head by some 3 mm (intact flashlight head on the right for comparison):

This is how the lense sits on the flashlight head:

Here is the bezel installed. You can also see the metal flakes:

Remove the "lip" of the heatsink (intact heatsink on the right for comparison):

Use Arctic Silver epoxy to glue the emitter:

Mix clear epoxy with glow powder and apply around the emitter:

I used a hex screw to prevent the heatsink from moving:

Install the converter to the back side of the heatsink and connect it to the emitter and the Maglite switch. I left also some extra length to the wires in case I want to upgrade the emitter:

This is what the finished mod looks like:

Nice signature, isn't it?

The beam can be fully adjusted from a very tight hotspot to a wide, even flood. Here is the beam at its widest. At the distance of 1 m the flood area has some 50 cm diameter:

Here is the beam at its narrowest: At the distance of 1 m the hotspot has some 5 cm diameter:

I'll provide you with outdoor beamshots when I get to the countryside...

This is what the after glow looks like:

A bit different angle. Here you can see the magnification of the emitter and the wires:

Thanks for looking!

-N

 

[Mad1]

Very nice, I love the beam on these things and hope to build one myself one day.

 

[Essexman]

Nice build and show (again).
Why did you remove the top edge/lip of the heatsink ?

 

[zelda]

Nice mod Nereus

From where did you get a 1.5A Downboy?

zelda

 

[Robban]

Where do you get your hosts? I'm assuming Finland has the same crazy prices on them as we do over here *sigh*

Nicely done, any reason you always seem to go for the AA rather than lithium route?

 

[greenlight]

Nice tutorial. Thanks for the great pics, too. I love lights with optics that glow.

 

[Nereus]

Thanks for the comments, guys!

Essexman: I removed the lip because it prevents the heatsink from going deep enough in to the flashlight body.

Zelda: I bought a Downboy Blank converter in the Sandwich Shoppe and soldered 0,1 and 0,05 ohm resistors on it.

Robban: I bought the host here in Finland and yes, it could have been cheaper... I bought the metal-flake-covered parts in this GB. I prefer AA nimhs because they are safer than lithiums. Furthermore, like this usual non-rechargeable AA cells can be used also.

-N

 

[KrisP]

Essexman: I removed the lip because it prevents the heatsink from going deep enough in to the flashlight body.

-N

It doesn't go deep enough for proper heatsinking or for the focal distance of the lens?

Surplus Shed said they won't be getting any more of those size lens Did you buy your lens a while ago?

 

[Nereus]

It doesn't go deep enough for proper heatsinking or for the focal distance of the lens?

Surplus Shed said they won't be getting any more of those size lens Did you buy your lens a while ago?

The heatsink needs to be lowered in order to get the emitter to proper distance from the lense. I bought the lense in Surplus Shed for a few months ago.

-N

 

[bombelman]

:rock:

 

[joedm]

Nereus, did you tap the thread for the hex screw into the heatsink?

As usual another quality mod..
Love your work.

 

[nanotech17]

i'm sure to solder the cree with the lead wires is a PITA !!!

 

[LukeA]

i'm sure to solder the cree with the lead wires is a PITA !!!

Soldering leads to Crees is harder than soldering leads to Rebels, IMO.

 

[Nereus]

Nereus, did you tap the thread for the hex screw into the heatsink?

As usual another quality mod..
Love your work.

Thanks! I drilled a hole to the body and heatsink and then simply screwed the hex screw in - aluminium is so soft the the screw creates its own threads like this.

-N

 

[Nereus]

i'm sure to solder the cree with the lead wires is a PITA !!!

That is a nasty job mainly because the solder pads are too well heatsinked and it's hard to get them hot enough if the emitter is glued to a heatsink. That's why I pre-soldered the emitter contacts before I glued it to the heatsink.

-N