Mag-lite 2C led modification? (Modem burner)

I have an older 2C Mag-lite with a Mag-lite LED drop in bulb replacement. Subsequently, I did a little searching around to find out about the Mag-lite LED bulb replacement and found the following thread:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=119665&highlight=mag-led

This got me thinking. The drop in replacement LED suffers from lack of a good heat sink. I have, in the LED bulb replacement, everything that I need electronically. What is lacking is a good heat sink. I can make a good heat sink from a chunk of aluminum and mount the drop in LED to the heat sink and use the driver board to power the led. I have considered a Malkoff Devices upgrade, but unfortunately, they are not designed to work on an older Mag-lite.

So, I was wondering, with the vast LED flashlight knowledge and experience here at the CPF, has anyone canabalized a Mag-lite LED upgrade bulb replacement and made a heat sink to mount it on before?

Re: Mag-lite 2C led modification?

download has a MagCTower that accomplishes roughly the same thing you are after without having to rip any of the guts out of the MagLED dropin - http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=2069029

I think it needs some spacer material to fit into an older Mag, though.

Re: Mag-lite 2C led modification?

Thanks! That is an interesting modification. That lead me to discover:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=2060148#post2060148

Which is similar to what I want to make to mount the single LED except I wasn't thinking of mounting in the head. More like an aluminum part to drop in the end of the battery tube under the head with an adjustable copper center maybe.

More ideas bouncing around in my head...

With the LED drop in replacement I was thinking that I already have electronics so why not use them in a different way.

Re: Mag-lite 2C led modification?

Well, here is step one; disassembling the drop in LED.



Here is a photo that shows the heat sink paste:


You can see here indications of poor cooling:


The circuit board:


The other side of the circuit board. Notice the little hole in the circuit board at the end opposite the LED, that is the positive side of the LED. The LED positive side being toward the bottom of the photograph. Of course the connector at the end under the LED is the negative battery connection. The end opposite the LED has the positive battery connection.


It is interesting that the circuit board is housed in a plastic cylinder that is inside of the metal can. The circuit board slides into grooves in the plastic cylinder:


The LED simply "unplugs" from the container. The circuit board is very easy to remove after simply cutting the two sides with a hack saw.

Being a flashlight newby, I have to ask: Is $19 considered cheap for a LED and driver board? One of the reasons that I am going this route is that I already own the drop in Mag-lite LED "bulb" and don't have to figure out what board or LED to use with my 2D mag-lite. Some of this, I know, belongs in one of the modification forums. But, I am looking at this from the electronics standpoint. A LED circuit board combo that can be easily utilized for modification. (Of course, I will have absolutely no objection if the CPF powers that be decide to move this thread to a Mods forum.)

Next step: design and machine a heat sink to mount the LED on...

Re: Mag-lite 2C led modification?

After taking a few measurements I'm thinking of removing the Bulb holder assembly from the switch and dropping in an aluminum cylinder in the end of the battery tube. The head could then be tightened down on the lip of the heat sink holding it in place. There is plenty of room under the heat sink for the tiny driver board. The one thing that I have to work out is the height of the LED mount on the top in order to get correct focus. Looks like I need a 1 1/4" length of 1 1/4" aluminum rod.

Re: Mag-lite 2C led modification?

Your drawing basically looks like a bunch of the Mag C heatsinks that are being sold on B/S/T, assuming the dimensions are ok, you could use those. Might as well upgrade to something better than a Luxeon III as well.

Re: Mag-lite 2C led modification?

wildstar87 said:

Your drawing basically looks like a bunch of the Mag C heatsinks that are being sold on B/S/T, assuming the dimensions are ok, you could use those. Might as well upgrade to something better than a Luxeon III as well.

Click to expand...

I thought about upgrading to something better, but sometimes I like the challenge of making the most with what I already have.

I purchased the LED drop in a while back and have been pleased with it's performance. I like the cooler color of the LED light much more that the original bulb. Then I discovered that the LED in the drop in suffers from excessive heat, causing it to drop in brightness as it gets hotter. So, I looked around for simple solution, many of which are designed for the newer Mag-lites. The one that I have is older. So, I figured, why couldn't I modify the flashlight to obtain better performance from what I already have. It's not that I can't afford a better upgrade, it is more of a challenge to modify the light to improve the performance at the least expense. At the same time, attempting to use resources that I already have, whenever possible. I have a Sherline mill and lathe, so that gives me a lot of possibilities. To rough out the drawing I used Google Sketchup, the free version.

This is my first attempt at modifying a flashlight. I like to think of it as kind of like a game. If I can provide some ideas to everyone else out there, so much the better.

At this point it looks like I need a 1.25" long chunk of 1.25" aluminum rod. A minimal expenditure.

Re: Mag-lite 2C led modification?

The aluminum that I ordered came in and I spent a little time with the machine tools. It turns out that the reflector need a little clearance so the whole top surface that I was thinking of got recessed. Also, I decided to make a small depression in the center for the LED back protrusion to center on. (Sorry for the quick "snap shot" photos.) Next I'll be mounting the LED and circuit board.

Russ

Re: Mag-lite 2C led modification?

Ok, I finally got enough time to complete the flashlight modification. First I used arctic silver adhesive to glue the emitter to the heatsink:


Then solder leads to the driver board, wow the thing is tiny!



Next, solder the wires from the driver board to the emitter, and heat shrink the board:


Solder the switch parts to the battery wires:



Then assemble the switch and install in the flashlight! (Notice the ancient serial No.)



Finally, a beam shot. Keep in mind that I'm lazy, so I used my point and shoot camera rather than the Nikon.

I was a little concerned how the beam focus would come out. I measured about 5 times to make sure it would be as close as possible. Wow, I am very happy that I did. This photo is from across a standard sized garage. It's a little out of focus, but I just wanted to show the beam focus. Measured current about 850ma.


Now that CPF has totally drawn me in, I have to figure out if I want to do the same thing with my old Mag-lite 2D, or if I want to upgrade it!

Re: Mag-lite 2C led modification?

Cool mod:twothumbs

Turned out very nice.
Thats a lot of work for something that can be brought
straight off the forum ...... But then again that's what
modding is about

850ma .... That's not bad, was that at the tailcap ???

From your beamshot, your Mag looks like it is all throw
what is the spill like?

Once again ...... Very cool:twothumbs

Re: Mag-lite 2C led modification?

Thank you for the complement!

Well, my thing was that I already spent $19.00 on the drop-in LED from Mag-lite, so I wanted to utilize that. I spent another $12.00 on a foot of 1-1/4" aluminum rod. Other than that I scrounged what I needed. The last item was the wire; I found an old computer power supply with a short section of 22 AWG wire, two black, one red, and one yellow...just what I needed.

Yes, I measured 850ma at the tail cap. Before, with the stock LED "bulb" drop-in, the current draw would start at about 750ma and just keep dropping.

I'll post some better beam shots soon as I get a chance so you can see the beam spill.

Russ

Re: Mag-lite 2C led modification?

Have you thought about replacing the emitter with a more modern one ?

Re: Mag-lite 2C led modification?

tx101 said:

Have you thought about replacing the emitter with a more modern one ?

Click to expand...

I am completely satisfied with this one, for a Mag-Lite 2C it is perfect. To explain, the 2C body is smaller and fits well under your arm while you use both hands to work. This is my most used Mag-Lite because of this. More often than not, if I am using it this way, I'm working on something within arms reach. If I increase the light output any more it may be too bright (at least for me) to use that close.

I have an old Mag-Lite 2D that I also want to modify. Now that one doesn't fit under the arm so well, so I consider it a "long range use" flashlight. If that makes any sense. I am looking at machining a good heat sink for it, possibly with a copper core, and using a P7 emitter. Suggestions are welcome.

Russ

Re: Mag-lite 2C led modification?

tx101 said:

...
From your beamshot, your Mag looks like it is all throw
what is the spill like?...

Click to expand...

Here the Mag-Lite is about a foot and a half from the wall. The splotches are damage to the 20 something year old lens. The spill is quite wide.

Russ