hello all, newb here

no0b here. so i am on a learning curve. dont know how the hazing for no0bs here goes, so flame on. currently i only have a streamlight ( dont konw what model, but it needs a new battery pack. i carried it when i was a LEO) and my old maglight. the streamlight needs a new battery pack, what i have seen is they are ~35 bones. but i am interested in making my maglight really bright. i will be thumbing around the site but any pointers/tips/tricks are more than welcome. and if this post was posted in the wrong forum i am sorry!

:welcome:

A quick couple questions so we can point you straight to all the good stuff:


What type of Mag do you have? C or D cell? How many cells? Also, does the serial number (printed near the switch) have a C or D as the first character?

Also, I highly suggest thumbing through the Welcome Mat






BTW, hide your wallet now......

Marduke said:

:welcome:

A quick couple questions so we can point you straight to all the good stuff:


What type of Mag do you have? C or D cell? How many cells? Also, does the serial number (printed near the switch) have a C or D as the first character?

Also, I highly suggest thumbing through the Welcome Mat

BTW, hide your wallet now......

Click to expand...

my mag is a 3 "d" cell
first character is a " d "

i used to use my mag for everything, until i got my streamlight stinger. then i used my stinger for everything. but now the battery pack is dead ( 2 of the 3 cells are dead ). i have seen HID flashlights on ebay, bling bling! what kind of money can be spent on flashlight modding? sounds kinda crazy...

Marduke said:

Also, I highly suggest thumbing through the Welcome Mat

Click to expand...

wow, lots of good info there.....

White_Shadow said:

my mag is a 3 "d" cell
first character is a " d "

i used to use my mag for everything, until i got my streamlight stinger. then i used my stinger for everything. but now the battery pack is dead ( 2 of the 3 cells are dead ). i have seen HID flashlights on ebay, bling bling! what kind of money can be spent on flashlight modding? sounds kinda crazy...

Click to expand...

There are lots of options for a 3D Mag. Malkoff comes to mind, and the Terralux 6EXB. Target is running a clearance on their OEM MagLED dropins for about $13. The exact % off is dependent upon your local store however. It's not nearly as bright, but it's decent for that price.

There are also a number of incan Mag mods which can start small fires and signal passing low-flying aircraft, but you might want to hold off on jumping into any of those for a while.

How much you say?? Custom Mags can go for upwards of $500 in the MarkPlace.

Marduke said:

There are lots of options for a 3D Mag. Malkoff comes to mind, and the Terralux 6EXB. Target is running a clearance on their OEM MagLED dropins for about $13. The exact % off is dependent upon your local store however. It's not nearly as bright, but it's decent for that price.

There are also a number of incan Mag mods which can start small fires and signal passing low-flying aircraft, but you might want to hold off on jumping into any of those for a while.

How much you say?? Custom Mags can go for upwards of $500 in the MarkPlace.

Click to expand...

500 bones...wow, im not looking to spend that much! if i did the wifey would beat me with the flashlight! i guess i am looking for prolly the same thing everyone else is. the absolute brightest i can find for the cheapest. i have been reading about HID lights, at sams, costco for under 50$. HID is really bright, so after more reading i might buy one of these. but i would also like to get my mag up to snuff ( meaning really bright ) and get my stinger working again. i dont know if there are any mods for the stinger ( still reading ). but i will say one thing, damn people are into flashlights!

i saw the youtube vid of the guy starting a fire with a mag, now that looks cool. i dont want to start a fire but i would like to see what is involved ( parts and cost wise ) into making one of those

Marduke said:

There are lots of options for a 3D Mag. Malkoff comes to mind, and the Terralux 6EXB. Target is running a clearance on their OEM MagLED dropins for about $13. The exact % off is dependent upon your local store however. It's not nearly as bright, but it's decent for that price.

Click to expand...

wow the malkoff....even the terralux is cool. i have so much to learn. i can see what you mean but keeping my wallet closed. i need some more mags to mod!

:welcome: Here are some other good drop-ins for a 3D Mag:

http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/ca...ser-id=&password=&exchange=&exact_match=exact

There are some links within that page that give more info on specific models. Those drop-ins will work with normal alkaline D batteries but they work best with rechargeable NiMH batteries:

http://www.batteryjunction.com/dnireba.html

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/cta-d-rechargeable-batteries.php

Of course you'll need a charger that can recharge D sized NiMH batteries, which you should be able to find on the websites in those two links. I think the Malkoff drop-ins work better with rechargeable NiMH D batteries as well.

FrogsInWinter said:

:welcome: Here are some other good drop-ins for a 3D Mag:

http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/ca...ser-id=&password=&exchange=&exact_match=exact

There are some links within that page that give more info on specific models. Those drop-ins will work with normal alkaline D batteries but they work best with rechargeable NiMH batteries:

http://www.batteryjunction.com/dnireba.html

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/cta-d-rechargeable-batteries.php

Of course you'll need a charger that can recharge D sized NiMH batteries, which you should be able to find on the websites in those two links. I think the Malkoff drop-ins work better with rechargeable NiMH D batteries as well.

Click to expand...

ok, silly question ( i am still reading through the website, so i might find the answer there, but i am gonna ask it anyway ) why are NiMH batteries better for the Malkoff drop-in? i dont see me spending that much money right away, i am leaning towards the terralux for my first drop-in. its cheap, has 140 lumens. the malkoff would be really nice but....

also, my streamlight, should i bother getting a new battery pack for it? i like it because its alot smaller then the mag and i hate to not use it because i think i spent 100+$ on it many years ago. i take it there are mods for the this flashlight also?

White_Shadow said:

500 bones...wow, im not looking to spend that much! if i did the wifey would beat me with the flashlight!

Click to expand...

:welcome:

Hehe! Hang around here for a while longer and $500 for a flashlight won't seem so shocking

The trick is to gradually buy more and more expensive lights so that your wife has time to get used to it. That way the beatings are more frequent but less painful. Your wallet is doomed :devil:

Welcome to CPF, W_S. Looks like you're off and running already.

A few short weeks from now, you'll likely be happier and poorer!

monkeyboy said:

:welcome:

Hehe! Hang around here for a while longer and $500 for a flashlight won't seem so shocking

The trick is to gradually buy more and more expensive lights so that your wife has time to get used to it. That way the beatings are more frequent but less painful. Your wallet is doomed :devil:

Click to expand...

after time i will become numb from the beatings!!

AFAustin said:

Welcome to CPF, W_S. Looks like you're off and running already.

A few short weeks from now, you'll likely be happier and poorer!

Click to expand...

i just want to get my stinger working again, make my current mag nice and bright, buy a few more mags, make them brighter........

Just wanted to say welcome to the boards, im also a noob here as well.

White_Shadow said:

ok, silly question ( i am still reading through the website, so i might find the answer there, but i am gonna ask it anyway ) why are NiMH batteries better for the Malkoff drop-in?

Click to expand...

In general, NiMH batteries don't sag in voltage when under load like alkalines do. This makes them advantageous over alkaline for high-power devices and usage. This includes most of our favorite high power LED flashlights. They also are able to put out more total energy under load.

In short, NiMH provide a much more constant, higher voltage output under load. There is some info about that in the Welcome Mat when you get to that point.

Marduke said:

In general, NiMH batteries don't sag in voltage when under load like alkalines do. This makes them advantageous over alkaline for high-power devices and usage. This includes most of our favorite high power LED flashlights. They also are able to put out more total energy under load.

In short, NiMH provide a much more constant, higher voltage output under load. There is some info about that in the Welcome Mat when you get to that point.

Click to expand...

ahhh i knew there was a reason....

:welcome:

There a re a bunch of good lower priced lights at placed like Dealextreme and Kaidomain. Look at the current gen LED(Cree/Seoul/Rebel) with good reviews. Romisen seems to be one with good quality.

The Malkoff is one of the best Single LED drop-ins you can get for the maglite. The Terralux is also pretty good but it has a tiny heatsink and I wouldn't recommend running it in for long.

:welcome:

Gunner12 said:

There a re a bunch of good lower priced lights at placed like Dealextreme and Kaidomain. Look at the current gen LED(Cree/Seoul/Rebel) with good reviews. Romisen seems to be one with good quality.

The Malkoff is one of the best Single LED drop-ins you can get for the maglite. The Terralux is also pretty good but it has a tiny heatsink and I wouldn't recommend running it in for long.

:welcome:

Click to expand...

the Malkoff looks cool, but at 75 bones...

i am wanting a HID flashlight, i have been reading the HID forums

Welcome to CPF WS!

Have you ever had a flashlight, remote, toy (cough) leak battery gunk all inside it? of course you have, we all have that's one big reason we luv rechargeables, they don't leak like that.

Do you hate having to go to the store for more batteries over and over again? of course you do, Eneloops can be charged 1000 times!

Sure you have to pay a little more for them, sure you have to get a charger but you save so much overall!

And since your now a part of CPF, your gonna anyway!
Good luck in your future scores

Hi White Shadow, it's nice having you here with us.:welcome: