wow, a new addiction - and mag mod help/ideas

Hey all, I'm sure many have had the same story as me but oh well

So i was cruising around DX for junk and saw the Dexlight and I was like wow thats cool I'm so getting it. Somehow I made my way over here and started reading. Next thing I know I want to get another flashlight a AAA one and some high output 200+ lumen flashlight.

Instead of buying a high power one why not turn my junk 3D mag into some monster, but there are questions I must ask...

1. When purchasing the cree's they have p4, Q1, Q2, etc what does this mean?
2. And here's a list of what I'm going to buy for my mag, could you light wizzes confirm that I will be fine with these parts?

1x AMC3175
1x PTS-2 D
3x 20mm IMS Reflector
3x http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2134 OR
3xhttp://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2394

so between those cree's only difference I would get is quality and brightness right?
and lastly

3. How much output would you say the beam on this build would be?


Thanks for helping a newcomer! Happy soon to be New Years everyone!

Re: wow, a new addiction

:welcome:

For 3D, how about 3 Cree XR-E Q5, 3 KD optics, a UCL window, these buck drivers(One per LED, the Shark will give you 1 amp current to the LEDs), and this heatsink. Total is around $70-90.

This set up should work.

Should be 400-500 something lumen out the front.

I'd wait for someone more experienced to chime in first.

You could also do a Mag85 mod(Search for Mag85, there a require a few threads). Should be about 850-950 lumen out the front.

Re: wow, a new addiction

thanks for the input, I can jsut use the buck drivers w/o the shark right? and wire them together

how could i go about using this, just wire all the led's in parallel? http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7612
5 mode is out of stock ><

Re: wow, a new addiction

Gunner12 said:

:welcome:

For 3D, how about 3 Cree XR-E Q5, 3 KD optics, a UCL window, these buck drivers(One per LED, the Shark will give you 1 amp current to the LEDs), and this heatsink. Total is around $70-90.

This set up should work.

Should be 400-500 something lumen out the front.

I'd wait for someone more experienced to chime in first.

You could also do a Mag85 mod(Search for Mag85, there a require a few threads). Should be about 850-950 lumen out the front.

Click to expand...

Uhm, 3 or 4 of the 6 items mentioned above are useable in a tri-LED 3D Mag mod.

The optics KD sells are made by cree and work best with the holders that they come with. Unfortunately, optic with holder measures about 24mm in diameter and therefore there's not enough room in Mag head for that. If you could find a way to put the optics in there without their holders, it could work but I have found that to be quite difficult to make work.

As for using buck drivers in a 3D, the ones listed probably won't work well as many who have used that one have said it works best with 5 or more cells. The Shark is a boost driver that can drive multiple LED wired in series so it may work in this setup, but I don't think you'll be able to push alot of current into each emitter on 3 Cells...from my guess, maybe 500mA to each emitter and so you'd have to turn the pot on the Shark down halfway.

While the Multisink is a good heatsink for multi-emitter mods, the PTS-2 from the Sandwich Shoppe is specifically designed for 3 stars and has quite a chunk of metal there for excellent heatsinking.

If you want to keep this mod relatively simple, you're almost better off running this direct drive in a 3D Mag. All you have to do is wire each emitter in parallel. Some people recommend against do this unless you can get 3 LEDs with a perfectly matched VF, but I've also used and seen many tri-LED mods that have been configured this way that work fine. CPF member Mr_Light has told me that he's done many Tri-Cree 3D flashlights in this way and that they work well.

Elektrolumens sells a Tri-SSCP4 Mag drop-in called the MT-III that works in such a way. It only works in a 3 Cell Mag and it is direct drive with no electronics to speak of, just 3 emitters wired in parallel from the power source.

More info on that here:
http://www.illuminationforums.com/IlluminationForums/showthread.php?t=173

But yeah, I say just go ahead and DIY mod your old 3D Mag and bring new life to it. It'll feel great to know you did it yourself! :thumbsup:

Re: wow, a new addiction

going direct drive would be much easier and simpler but I feel that I wont be satisfied with it

ace0001a, maybe you could show me a build list?

EDIT

ok heres a new list
3x http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7612
3x 20mm IMS Reflector
3x http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2394 - Cree XR-E Q5
1x PTS or PES

Re: wow, a new addiction

07accordEX said:

going direct drive would be much easier and simpler but I feel that I wont be satisfied with it

ace0001a, maybe you could show me a build list?

EDIT

ok heres a new list
3x http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7612
3x 20mm IMS Reflector
3x http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2394 - Cree XR-E Q5
1x PTS or PES

Click to expand...

I've been tackling this type of mod for quite some time now. The problem is that using 3 emitters in a 3D Mag does not afford any simple or inexpensive electronics. Generally 3 cells at either 3.6V (NiMH) or 4.5V (Alkaline) is commonly used at a direct drive configuration. And if you use NiMH's, you will get very good runtime along with fairly steady output. If you really want to use regulation in a 3D, then you're going to have to either consider spending quite a bit more money (probably on 3 separate buck/boost drivers) or change the working configuration a bit (Quad emitter setup and different battery configuration like 9AA-to-3D). For a 3D Mag used with common batteries, I've decided that I would do a Quad emitter setup while using a 9AA-to-3D battery adapter. I can go into better detail about that later...

Re: wow, a new addiction

yeah i was of doing a quad instead of a tri because the PTS is out of stock according to the shoppe so Id love to see the details

Here's a deal extreme light that will impress and yet can still be loaned to a friend.

128 led 6AA for under $30.
I have one and it really looks good.

Otherwise, :welcome:

You may also want to start using the forum search for even more ideas.

The world of Maglite modding has really grown over the last few years.
Both in led technology and hotwires.

My Quad-emitter 3D Mag Mod Build List:

1. PES2D Heatsink to use with SSCP4 Emitters
or PXR19D to us with Cree-XRE Emitters
http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/index.php?cPath=48_53

2. 4 Bare Cree-XRE Q5-bin emitters
http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=3293

or 4 Bare SSCP4 Emitters
http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=2956 (Cheaper in a 5-pack)

3. Shark Driver
http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/product_info.php?cPath=48_49_61&products_id=721
*recommended you heatsink this by epoxing it to the either the flashlight body or PES/PXR heatsink*

4. 4 reflectors:

IMS20 for SSCP4
http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/product_info.php?cPath=48_50_64&products_id=400

McR19XR for CreeXRE (These are quite expensive)
http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/product_info.php?cPath=48_50_64&products_id=917

Alternatives for CreeXRE reflectors:
- Use 4 IMS20 reflectors with their holes enlarged to fit over the CreeXRE emitter
- DX and KD sell various 17mm to 18.5mm aluminum reflectors
http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=3317
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5960
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5951

5. 1 9AA-to-3D Battery Adapter
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/182370
or cheaper alternative, 3 3AA-to-1D battery carriers
http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=3294


6. Miscellaneous:
- Wire (teflon if possible)
- Adhesive Thermal Epoxy
http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/product_info.php?cPath=48_39&products_id=171
* Keep in mind that both SSC and Cree emitters have a positive connection on the back of them, so you have to make sure you prevent them from making an electrical connection to the heatsink*
- Semi-adhesive thermal compound for general use
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4579
- Glass Lens
http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=3027 (5-pack for cheap)
- Extra 52mm O-ring to prevent lens rattle (or you could glue the lens to the bezel)
- 9 LSD NiMH batteries and a good charger

Or if you want to keep things simple and still use 3D batteries, then go direct drive...

07accordEX said:

... and some high output 200+ lumen flashlight.

Instead of buying a high power one why not turn my junk 3D mag into some monster

Click to expand...

I just finished putting together a 3D monster - 2000 lumens out the front.

Mag 3D body
FM 3H head
4 x AW li-ion C cells
Osram 64610 bulb
AW soft start, 3 level (low, medium, high) switch for Mag D

This light will easily turn off the streetlight in front of my house using the "low" setting. Needless to say, the "high" level is freaking awesome.

ace0001a said:

My Quad-emitter 3D Mag Mod Build List:

3. Shark Driver
http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/product_info.php?cPath=48_49_61&products_id=721
*recommended you heatsink this by epoxing it to the either the flashlight body or PES/PXR heatsink*

Click to expand...

can only output under an amp, wouldnt that be under powering the leds big time?
man this is confusing I think i need to learn more about electronics

07accordEX said:

can only output under an amp, wouldnt that be under powering the leds big time?
man this is confusing I think i need to learn more about electronics

Click to expand...

Looking at the specs, it says 980mA. It's a numbers talk game at this point because in marketing terms, that is 1 amp. No you won't be under powering the LEDs at 980mA. For one thing, there is no way you'd be able to see difference between 980mA and 1000mA. And another thing is maybe the Sandwich Shoppe is trying to be conservative with their specs. Either way, you're basically going to be running 1A of power into each emitter.

i actually meant like if i use 4 led's wouldnt each one only pull .25 if its 1a total?

but like now im just unsure on the whole driver/regulator thing... so what would be the pro/con of using 1 driver or 3 drivers?

If the driver is supplying 1 amp and each LED has the exact same Vf, then it will be 250 mA to each LED if you wire the LEDs in parallel. With the Shark driver, you can wire the LEDs in series and you will get about 1 amp to each LED and a total Vf of around 14.8 if you have 4 LEDs in series.

Pros and Cons, I think it depends on the setup.

Yeah, what Gunner12 said. The reason why we're talking about the Shark driver is because it has the ability to drive multiple LEDs in series at a specified amount of current each...so yes, each of the 4 emitters in the setup we're talking about will get about an amp per emitter. There's no reason to need a driver per emitter in this setup unless you can find them cheap, which I told you was difficult for a 3-cell setup. Most of the drivers that DX or KD sell are either boost or buck drivers. I haven't seen them sell a boost/buck driver. You can get 3 GD Buck/Boost drivers from the Sandwich Shoppe, but that'll cost you $18 each and that makes no sense to do just because of the cost there. A single Shark costs $20 over there and it gets the job done superbly. Many guys here have used Sharks to do multi-emitter Mag mods, so I think that should answer any questions on what driver to use.

thanks i think ill be getting a shark then

so buck is to reduce power and boost is to create more power, so what does a buck/boost converter do?

Buck and Boost refer to Voltage, not Power. So Buck lowers the voltage, Boost raises the voltage and Buck/Boost can do either, as needed, to maintain an output voltage or current.

-- Alan

ok so just let me get this all clear before i order

i will not be going for a QUAD setup, not a tri
4x 20mm IMS Reflector
1x SHARK Step up Converter Board
1x Remora UI Board
1x Perfect Emitter Sink2 Tri/Quad PES - D
4x Cree XR-E Q5 Emitter on Premium Star (228LM at 1A)

some wires, arctic silver adhesive, and thermal paste


this set up will work right? should i upgrade to 3 lithium cells? or use like 9 AA's

Alan B said:

Buck and Boost refer to Voltage, not Power. So Buck lowers the voltage, Boost raises the voltage and Buck/Boost can do either, as needed, to maintain an output voltage or current.

-- Alan

Click to expand...

Alan, that was in reference to 07AccordEx wanting to use 3 individual drivers with a 3-cell configuration. Yes, a Buck/Boost circuit either lowers or raises the voltage depending on the power source.

07accordEX said:

ok so just let me get this all clear before i order

i will not be going for a QUAD setup, not a tri
4x 20mm IMS Reflector
1x SHARK Step up Converter Board
1x Remora UI Board
1x Perfect Emitter Sink2 Tri/Quad PES - D
4x Cree XR-E Q5 Emitter on Premium Star (228LM at 1A)

some wires, arctic silver adhesive, and thermal paste


this set up will work right? should i upgrade to 3 lithium cells? or use like 9 AA's

Click to expand...

No, not exactly: IMS20 Reflectors and a PES2 Heatsink are meant for Luxeon/SSCP4 emitters. If you want to go with CreeXREs, you'll have to go with the PXR19 heatsink and different reflectors. You'll probably be able to use the IMS20 reflectors, but you're going to have to ream out the holes a bit so that the CreeXRE emitter actually fits into it (see 3rd Shift's tutorial). Or you could go with the much more expensive McR19XR reflectors. The best cheap alternative would be the 18.5mm smooth or textured reflectors from DX that I put a link for on my build list. As far as I know, there's not a straight LiIon mod for a 3D Mag, not to mention it may provide too much voltage for the Shark which is a boost driver. In this setup, the more common route is to go with 9AA NiMH batteries. Again, you can either go with a Fivemega 9AA-to-3D adapter or 3 of the KD 3AA-to-1D adapters, both have links on my build list.