M*g Charger Battery pack w/WA1160

First, I am a garteful newbie that has been looking at this site for less than 2 weeks. I'm confused as to what battery pack would be able to use the std. charger of the M*g60 and give more run time to a M*g Charger with the WA1160 bulb and where could I get the battery pack? I know much has been written but is this the one: 3.5Ah UMP nimh, 5 cells? They are 1/2D cells and how long would it run? I want to do a simple first mod and feel overwhelmed by the info on this fantastic site. I know FiveMega has the bulbs and sometimes the reflectors (maybe a slight orange peel one). Maybe you can guide me to a battery pack. If I can get this sorted out I'll order the parts (Whatever FiveMega has available the rest elsewhere) within hours because this is fun and I want to get started with my first project.

I'm happy w/the Ultra Stinger that I got 2 weeks ago but now I want to do more - a lot.

Thx.

You have the right pack in mind, but I am not sure where to get it(others will chime in). With having the extended runtime, I would be careful not to melt the stock slug in your MC if you are doing an extended burn. I have both the Ultrastinger and the MC with the 1160 upgrade. The MC completely BLOWS AWAY the US!! I have the stock battery pack, and got ~40min of runtime. That was running the light for 10min, then letting it cool for 10min, so on and so forth. Here is a beamshot comparison of those 2 lights just to get you excited

Ultrastinger:


MagCharger w/1160:


Both lights were fully charged, and the MC was on the stock reflector and pack, just the upgraded bulb that I frosted myself, and a mica sheild. Enjoy!

nice beamshots! Thx, does the bulb need to be frosted and what does that do? What is the mica shield and where would I get an upgraded slug and what is it? Sorry about the questions but I'm new and you've been helpful before. While I'm at it Strauss did u consider any upgardes for the US and do u know if the TerraLux ministar 5 would be brighter and better for the 4 D cell Maglite than the current stock LED. thx again.

paulsl said:

nice beamshots! Thx, does the bulb need to be frosted and what does that do? What is the mica shield and where would I get an upgraded slug and what is it? Sorry about the questions but I'm new and you've been helpful before. While I'm at it Strauss did u consider any upgardes for the US and do u know if the TerraLux ministar 5 would be brighter and better for the 4 D cell Maglite than the current stock LED. thx again.

Click to expand...

Basically, frosting the bulb consists of sanding or etching the bulb to create a haze on the glass. This process will remove artifacts from the beam pattern, similar to that of a textured reflector. I wet-sanded the bulb with 400 grit for about 5min and got excellent results. That way you don't have to buy a reflector for a nice beam, and still have some nice throw with the smooth stock reflector.

The mica sheild is a piece of layered, thin plastic like material that you put between the bottom of the bulb and top of the socket. This helps aid in heat distribution, almost like a makeshift heatsink. It doesn't fully fix the heat problem, but it helps. If you pick up your bulbs from litho123 in the groupbuy section as did I, he includes a couple mica sheilds with your order.

As far as an upgraded slug, they are non-existent right now. Fivemega may make some more in the future, but that is not confirmed. For now we are limited by heat

About upgrading the Ultrastinger, there is not much out there. You would have to look into replacing the lens, finding or builing your own custom battery pack, and the reflector isn't the greatest and I don't know of any upgrades out there. I think that light is just left best alone, save the modding for the Mags

I believe Terralux is the company that has the new SSC P4 LED drop-in that is coming out within the next couple weeks. I would hold out for that, as it should be the brightest option out there, and offers 20hrs of regulation on the 4D if I recall correctly.

Here's the pack I ordered from Australia (scroll down to the bottom)

http://www.batterieswholesale.com/battery_packs_5_cell.htmhttp://www.batterypower.com.au/battery_packs_5_cell.htm

They list 3.5 AH packs on the site but are actually shipping the 4.0 AH packs. Shipping is $$$ but the packs are really nice and stay bright much longer than the stock pack when running 1160s.

There is a group buy on right now for 1160's (litho123, I think) where they are throwing in the mica heat shields. I think the price is $15 for 3 plain 1160s or $21 for 3 plain and one frosted 1160s. I didn't go for the 3+1 pack but should have.

Here are a few other interesting links...

Good source for 1160s & mica shields (if you have a magcharger, suggest you jump) :

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/148443

"Hasn't happened yet" group buy for 5.0 AH battery packs :

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/153884

Mag Chargers, I love them. My oldest I got when they first came out, that is almost 30 years ago, gotta be. It now is just under 900 torch-lumens, and hour time.
Great beam shots you posted!
mods in the string:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/149011 and https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/155237-bulb
Frosting:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/131939 and https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1583814&postcount=6-
4500 mAh battery packs:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/135444&highlight=2500
http://www.batterycountry.com/ShopSite/flashlights.html#14343

Thx to all of you for all ur info. Bridgman, i really appreciate the heads up. I'm on my way to my first mod. I did some shopping today (i went kind of nuts) and 'll let u know later. Do any of you know id the magcharger's battery charger will work with the 5000mah sticks and what mods would l it take to keep it running for long periods without being shut off? If the std bat charger isn't good for the sticks what would work the simplest and quickest? What running time can be expected?
Thx,

P

Simplest battery charger mod is to get a universal NiMh/NiCd charger from Alin10123,
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/130363 or BatterySpace.com (I like to keep it with friends) and wire it directly to the charging pins, no need to remove or disable the old system. These chargers come in various outputs and available for Lithium too and can thusly be used to match whatever system you choose. Here is one picture of one in use: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1598531&postcount=28
ALMOST FORGOT: The MC has a diode under the postive charging ring, this stops accidental shorting of the light if it contacts a conductor. I have found it does not interfere in the use of the universal chargers.