Cyclops Construction Instructions

OK,

Here is the first draft:

Cyclops Instructions

Probably some mis-spelled words, some unclear guidance, and some other problems, but with your questions and advise, bound to get better.

If there is enough interest, I may put together some kits with all the required parts; you buy the flashlight to mod.

Details on heatsink availability soon........

I would be interested in a kit.

Nice work Lambda

amazing lambda, i love you! welp, i'm off to build a diclops.

Just a quick note that the same instructions can be used for the HD Luxeon, only skip the step where the black plastic bulb tube is trimmed down level with the brass tube. Leave the black plastic bulb tube alone, cut a notch for the wires to pass out of it, and mount the heatsink on top of the tube. That makes up for the different focal requirements. The SE needs to be just below the reflector throat, the HD and LD need to be up inside the reflector slightly.

Happy modding!

straight forward step by step instructions

okie... now, where to get the heatsink?

Maybe he will include it? I remember someone (one of our esteemed modders) had a large batch of those heat sinks ordered for MODs.

Heatsinks in few more days. Time to relax and have some turkey diner first......

i notice that in the instructions, you mention nothing about trimming the heatsink down to size, or smoothing the white stuff and anodyze off of the top...will you be doing this before mailing them? you also didn't mention drilling the heatsink. will you do all of this prior to mailing the heatsinks?

also, i found no mention of sanding the anodyze off the inside of the maglite for better thermal transfer...do you find this not neccessary...even with the lighter colors such as grey?

i mainly mod black ones...would it be better to leave the anodyze on the inside of the mag?

thanks lambda, i just finished.

well...it's certainly brighter...and it's definately whiter...but the beam quality sucks

i'll see if i can get a decent pic with my pc camera (i am trying to talk my dad into a digi, but he is cheap)

wow, i'm really dominating this thread...oh well.





please excuse the crappy quality...these were taken on a pc cam.

the beamshots didn't turn out well at all, it was too bright, and it washed out the details...i like it much better in the pictures

top two are my ceiling.
middle- left is me holding a firecracker (actually it is the light without the head on)
middle-right is shining directly at my printer with no head on.
bottom is half wall, half window, quarter really old tv.

-----

top left is side view...shows exactly how far the ls protrudes.
top right is top view with my favotite flashlight holding it up
middle-left is a front body shot, with optimal focuts (note the spacing between the ls and the reflector...also, yes, it is a black body with a grey head)
middle-right is a top angle view showing how far down the heatsink is.
bottom view shows the spacing between the ls and reflector in optimal focus.

Rothrandir,

Dang! You wasted no time!

Nice job. Yes, the beam quality is still from a Mag reflector, but in normal use it really dosen't affect much. Also, if you adjust it to a nice spot, then remove the front bezel, the reflector can be turned to fine tune the beam. Hold down on the front window when re-installing the bezel so the reflector doesn't turn.

For those who want the perfect smooth beam, the 5W version takes care of that. The larger die size makes for a very smooth even beam.

Lambda Put me in line for a kit when you get them ready thanks
Chris
PS love my ill pill

the beam was amazingly white, i shone it at the flushing toilet...at it was beautiful!

the beam is much less impressive, but i think i fiured out why that is, last night, before going to bed, i took the head off to play with it more, and noticed that the se was bent a little bit at the top, after smoothing it for two hours i improved the beam a little.

i can not stress this enough: do not apply pressure to the top of the se!

as it is...i didn't get to bed till after 4 in the morning.

i can not stress this enough: do not apply pressure to the top of the se!

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Yes, I should have mentioned that also. The SE lens is very fragile due the very thin rim at the top, and some even come a little wavy out of the package. That, and how well centered the Luxeon is can greatly affect the beam quality.

yes, the centering is a bi***!

it is much more picky than the others, and as a result, it is actually possible to get a mag-lite-like beam mine wasn't that bad, but it isn't what i had hoped for...

does anyone know of a orange peel reflector that fits in a 3d mag? that should help a little...

anyway, i found that if you drill the dowel with two holes, like in the pictures below, it is easier to get a better solder joint. one hole is drilled all the way through, and one is drilled half way through.

i have a customer that wants a cyan 3d mod...i ordered a se cyan at the same time as the whites...thinking it would yeild better results. but i am concerned with the beam quality. i don't want to offer this to him unless it is up to par with the batwing emitters i am currently using.

kevin...do you know how the cyan (and possibly other colors) compares to the 1w white? if it is a little better, i will still offer him the option...but i would rather turn out a higher quality product..

Rothrandir,

The only color SE mod I've made was a 5W Royal Blue and it was fine, but the 5W make a much smoother beam than the 1Ws. I guess you'll be breaking new ground.

I do know that for the smoothest beam a dimpled reflector works best.

posted 11-25-2002 06:37 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i notice that in the instructions, you mention nothing about trimming the heatsink down to size, or smoothing the white stuff and anodyze off of the top...will you be doing this before mailing them? you also didn't mention drilling the heatsink. will you do all of this prior to mailing the heatsinks?

also, i found no mention of sanding the anodyze off the inside of the maglite for better thermal transfer...do you find this not neccessary...even with the lighter colors such as grey?

i mainly mod black ones...would it be better to leave the anodyze on the inside of the mag?
----------------------------------------------

i posted this above, but i guess you didn't see it...

i wasn't going to make the cyan se...but then you went and said i will be breaking new ground...now i just have to

Rothrandir,

Yes, I omitted the removal of the anodize as further testing shows little if any benifit.

I made a 5W Cyclops with a heatsink that was sized to just drop right in with a loose fit. I did not remove the anodize from inside the battery tube. Just Artic Silvered in place and let setup. Powered direct drive from 6 AA cells, drawing 1.4 Amps, the highest temp I measured at the Luxeon was 119F, and only could find 1F at most difference between heatsink and flashlight. This was done in a titanium silver (the darker shade of silver) 2D Mag. Have not tested other colors, but suspect they will have the same results.

And yes, the intention would be to supply pre- sized, drilled, debured, and sanded heatsinks ready to have a Luxeon put on them.