About to order the bits to mod my mag...

I'm going to be basing this setup about the 50w osram irc bulb. I've found a local supplier for these, so I'm gonna buy a couple of these. I've also already ordered a few mineral glass lenses from fenix store which should be coming over the pond quite soon.

Next, batteries. I plan on stuffing 12 x AA's in a 3D mag to give me 14.4v which is meant to work well with the 50w IRC. I'm going to order some 2700MaH Vapex batteries as the fit 4-in-a-row, and they also held up well to a 5a load in silverfox's battery tests, and the bulb shouldn't pull much more than 5a even tho it's overdriven.

I'm gonna be soldering up the battery pack myself as I'm using an un-bored host, and I want as little resistance as possible with this setup. Which leads me onto the bulb holder.

The KIU socket is meant to offer low resistance isn't it?
Or is it not that much different from the ceramic bi-pin bulb adaptor. Also will both of these holders work with the IRC bulb as this bulb seems the new kid on the block. I want to go for the KIU really, but they're outta D size ones at the moment.

Finally, the reflector. I'm probably gonna go for a LOP reflector, but I think you can only use a cammed one with the cermic adaptor? Or is this wrong? I quite the idea of a cammed setup.

Are there any other things I need or bit's I've forgot? Any other options I've missed... This is my for mag mod so I need everything going for me.

KIU's bipin socket is very low resistance...30-40 milliohm iirc. When you said ceramic bi pin bulb adapter, do you mean the ones where it's a PR base but instead of holding a bulb, it's got ceramic inside the base and can accept a bipin bulb ? If you did...that configuration would mean you're keeping the whole magswtich as stock...something i really recommend not doing as you're pulling over 4.2A easy. A stock magswitch measures around 177 milliohm when new and quickly goes higher.

I guess the mineral glass lens should hold up ok ? If they don't and crack, just get some 52.1mm borofloats from www.flashlightlens.com These can withstand crazy heat and very fast cooldown.

If you're going to be using the KIU socket, there will be no point in getting a cammed reflector...just go for a camless. You'll probably find that once you've set it for optimum focus, you will rarely ever change it.
I'll have to let someone else answer whether the IRC bulbs work just like normal bipin bulbs...i've never seen one

Hi Mike

Im going through a similar process atm, gathering bits in the UK to build a Mag85. I have obtained some Sylvania F510960 bi pin ceramic lamp holders which look very similar to the ones that KIU uses, I suspect theyre not that hard to get from lamp stockists. Now I just need an alternative for the aluminium heatsink, looking for a friendly machine shop

Heres where I found the bi pin holders http://www.thelightbulb.co.uk/

For a lens, I happened to have a bunch of Hoya optical glass UV filters lying around, a 55mm filter contains a 52mm dia piece of glass (fits perfect and looks good so far), so Im going to try one of those!

Jason

The KIU socket solution will be about 1/4 the resistance of using a bi-pin adapter..

an example of the difference:

from a 14.4V battery.. you can expect to get 13.62V to the lamp with a bi-pin solution through a standard mag switch for a net 1143L at 3123CCT.

now with a KIU: that bumps up to 14.22V to the lamp and 1285L net at 3166CCT

now with a hotdriver: 14.33V to the lamp for 1313L at 3174 CCT.

The output from a 12-cell solution with IRC lamps IMHO is unimpressive and not advantageous.. the advantage mainly of the IRC lamp is efficiency and bulb life.. in addition.. smooth beam since the axial filament but it makes it 'floody' vs 'spotty'.

You will be much happier using the 64610 lamp regulated to 13.0V if using a 12-cell solution.. it pulls about 4.7A so it's on-par with the draw of the IRC50.. but here are the stats for that lamp compared to the IRC50:

64610: 13V, 4.77A, 62W, 1376L, 34.2L/W, 3590 CCT (highest of any lamp i've seen)
IRC50: 14.33V, 4.47A, 64W, 1313L, 31.5 L/W, 3174CCT (quite yellow for hotwire).

cammed reflectors only work with the original mag switch with the little roller wheel that pushes the lamp up and down in the post..

You CAN FIX the resistance issues of a mag switch to use the bi-pin adapter efficiently.. see http://prfix.rouse.com it makes a stock mag switch just as low resistance as a KIU socket... that gets you the cammed action capability and no significant switch resistance losses. (it won't help the fact that the IRC lamps really need 15 cells to shine though).. so i recommend the hotdriver with the 64610.

-awr

jason_01 said:

Im going through a similar process atm, gathering bits in the UK to build a Mag85. I have obtained some Sylvania F510960 bi pin ceramic lamp holders which look very similar to the ones that KIU uses, I suspect theyre not that hard to get from lamp stockists. Now I just need an alternative for the aluminium heatsink, looking for a friendly machine shop

Heres where I found the bi pin holders http://www.thelightbulb.co.uk/

Click to expand...

Hi Jason,

Nice to see another person from the UK modding a mag. I had a look at that site but I couldn't find those lamp holders anywhere... Do you have a direct link to them or even an item number? They sound like exactly what I'm after.

andrewwynn said:

The KIU socket solution will be about 1/4 the resistance of using a bi-pin adapter..

an example of the difference:

from a 14.4V battery.. you can expect to get 13.62V to the lamp with a bi-pin solution through a standard mag switch for a net 1143L at 3123CCT.

now with a KIU: that bumps up to 14.22V to the lamp and 1285L net at 3166CCT

now with a hotdriver: 14.33V to the lamp for 1313L at 3174 CCT.

The output from a 12-cell solution with IRC lamps IMHO is unimpressive and not advantageous.. the advantage mainly of the IRC lamp is efficiency and bulb life.. in addition.. smooth beam since the axial filament but it makes it 'floody' vs 'spotty'.

You will be much happier using the 64610 lamp regulated to 13.0V if using a 12-cell solution.. it pulls about 4.7A so it's on-par with the draw of the IRC50.. but here are the stats for that lamp compared to the IRC50:

64610: 13V, 4.77A, 62W, 1376L, 34.2L/W, 3590 CCT (highest of any lamp i've seen)
IRC50: 14.33V, 4.47A, 64W, 1313L, 31.5 L/W, 3174CCT (quite yellow for hotwire).

cammed reflectors only work with the original mag switch with the little roller wheel that pushes the lamp up and down in the post..

You CAN FIX the resistance issues of a mag switch to use the bi-pin adapter efficiently.. see http://prfix.rouse.com it makes a stock mag switch just as low resistance as a KIU socket... that gets you the cammed action capability and no significant switch resistance losses. (it won't help the fact that the IRC lamps really need 15 cells to shine though).. so i recommend the hotdriver with the 64610.

-awr

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info... I must admit, I saw a few threads on here claiming the IRC bulbs are the latest and greatest, which made me want to use them. I really like the idea of the extended bulb life, and I've found them avaliable locally which is also bonus.

Now, I think I might be able to just about squeeze 15 cells into my 3D mag. I managed to get 16 AA's in there, it was quite a squeeze, as AA's are shorter than D's. I didn't manage to get the tailcap on tho, as the spring was too long. With a bit of modding to the spring and maybe the tailcap, I reackon I'm gonna be able to get 15 AA's in there.

I should be able to get away with 15 cell direct drive tho shouldn't I? I can't really afford a regulator at the moment. Also, thanks for the link to the mag switch modification... This should be good for until the KIU kit is avaliable again. Also, with the 50w bulb, it shouldn't pull much more than 5a from the batts, even with 15 cells, so I can use the vapex 2700mah batts that I've ordered.

Mike

I didnt find the holder on their site, never looked for it actually (sorry I should have said), just phone them up and ask for Carla, tell her you want "Sylvania G4 bi pin lampholders, Sylvania ref F5010960" she's great, mine arrived next day.

Theres a Sylvania spec sheet PDF here click on TP61

http://www.sylvania.com/BusinessProducts/MaterialsandComponents/LightingComponents/Lampholders/

I suspect theyre widely available, so if you already have a lamp supplier you could ask them too. If you come up with someone to machine an aluminium base to attach the holders to let me know, just need some pillar bolts from Maplins then

Im also toying with the idea of machining the base out of Tufnol (phenolic resin) as I have loads of it that I use to make knife handles.

where did you find a local source for your bulb? any ideas where I should look?

if you have cells that fit 4 abreast the normal max for 3D is 12 cells.. (AA).. i use a tri-bore light with 2/3A cells to get 16 cells.. which actually also might direct-drive ok with the IRC lamps.

You don't necessarily need alum. but dark plastic is not good.. turning on a 100W light without a reflector in usually makes smoke come out from heating film on the inside of the light!.. so i wonder about leaking IR through the reflector and the black plastic of the magswitch below.. you definitely won't get away with a bi-pin adapter in the plastic stalk of a standard magswitch with over 100W lights.. but with 50W it would probably work ok if not too long at a time.

for the IRC lamps, my source is in slovania! their shipping rate was decent, i think it was like $12 for up to 10 lamps so it worked out to a very decent amount i think the lamps cost no more than the 62138 lamp.

The AA cell is not going to hold the voltage of the 2/3A i use.. so you should be able to use 16 cells just fine.. also.. for extremly tight battery pack solutions.. i have made packs where the batteries actually come up past where the threads are in the tube.. and cut maybe 2mm off the top of the tailcap.. if the base of the holder is 32mm it will fit into the spring notch on the tailcap perfectly.. my math worked out to 3.72 AA fit in the height of 3D.. so if the spring is good for 0.28 D you should be able to shoe-horn in 16 cells.

Be very careful with the shrink wraps on the cells.. it's easy to damage them to get a direct short.. the other problem that will happen is the cells expand under use as they get warm, so it will make them even tighter.. you (seriously) might have to put the light in your fridge to remove the cells.

-awr