Want to mod a stock Maglite 6D

foogan · Nov 2, 2009

Hi all, I have a stock Maglite 6D that I want to upgrade. I am not looking to spend much, not looking to do anything to complicated, can do the work myself, can solder myself.

My goal:
-Brighter light
-WHITE light (not blue)
-Continue using 6 Alkaline Ds
-Same (or better) runtime from batteries.

I'm thinking a simple white LED mod is probably what I'm looking for, but am open to other ideas too.

old4570 · Nov 2, 2009

foogan said:
Hi all, I have a stock Maglite 6D that I want to upgrade. I am not looking to spend much, not looking to do anything to complicated, can do the work myself, can solder myself.

My goal:
-Brighter light
-WHITE light (not blue)
-Continue using 6 Alkaline Ds
-Same (or better) runtime from batteries.

I'm thinking a simple white LED mod is probably what I'm looking for, but am open to other ideas too.

Simplest mod is to Terralux it , I did that a long time ago , now I have moded the Terralux to XP-G R5 .

With 6 x D cells or 9v or so , I'm not sure if you can get away with a 8.4v driver and maybe a Cree of some sort , Q5 and up with a heatsink for a cheap mod [ $20 - $30 ]
Is price a factor ?

JamisonM · Nov 2, 2009

old4570 said:
Simplest mod is to Terralux it , I did that a long time ago , now I have moded the Terralux to XP-G R5 .

With 6 x D cells or 9v or so , I'm not sure if you can get away with a 8.4v driver and maybe a Cree of some sort , Q5 and up with a heatsink for a cheap mod [ $20 - $30 ]
Is price a factor ?

I think an XP-G is definitely the way to go.

Gunner12 · Nov 2, 2009

Check this thread, could be a good start.

I think a D size heatsink with a buck driver and an LED could be a good mod for you.

:welcome:

Justin Case · Nov 2, 2009

It used to be that the Seoul P4 was sort of a standard LED upgrade path. Now, I would recommend the Cree XP-G, in say R4 or R5 flux bin. Brighter and more efficient, so you get more lumens and more run time vs the P4. It also seems that the XP-G works well in reflectors that work well for the P4. And the stock, smooth D Mag reflector works quite nicely with the P4.

So for an inexpensive mod, I would suggest the following parts:

- Cree XP-G R4 or R5 on a 10mm or 15mm round MCPCB (R4s available from CPFer nailbender)
- KD1640 buck driver, nominally about 1A drive current
- H22A/DHS heat sink (you probably have to file off the centering ribs)
- Arctic Alumina thermal epoxy (from CPFer PhotonFanatic or The Sandwich Shoppe)
- Teflon jacketed wire (from CPFer mudman cj)

I would expect a very high hot spot lux value using the smooth reflector, with output near the 300 lumen range.

spencer · Nov 2, 2009

Sound like a good idea Justin. I might need to make one myself (maybe not a 6D though).

Dark Laser · Nov 3, 2009

If you'd like to keep a high CRI, you could think about a SSC P4 (warm-white), too. But on the other side, the XP-G's efficiency is the best available :thumbsup:.

Tidra · Nov 3, 2009

How about:
- SSC P7
- D2Flex + HipCC from Taskled.com
- heatsink https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/203235

You have to mod the stock reflector and stock swich to momentary,...

LP
Iztok

foogan · Nov 3, 2009

These all sound like good suggestions, but I'm not really sure what to choose, and I'm not sure how to go about getting the parts I need. I am new to torch-modding, and need a bit of guidance. I'm not sure what a "driver" is. Is that like a ballast for the bulb?

Old4570: $20-30 sounds like a pretty good range for me. YES, price is a factor, but hypothetically, if I can get a slight improvement over stock for $25, or a major improvement for $40-50, then I'd want to go with the latter.

$40-50 is about my limit.

The Terralux MiniStar 30M looks awesome, but at $69+ (on zbattery.com), it's too much for me.

The Ministar5 @ $22.75 looks to be more my speed, but is 140 lumens whereas the 30M is 500+!

What would the stock lumens be of my 6D?

Does anybody other than Terralux have drop-in solutions too? I would much rather get something that's all in one package, where I just throw it in, rather than having to fuss with a bunch of soldering, filing, boring, drilling, Dremeling, etc.

Who sells this stuff online cheap? I'm in Canada, too, I might add.

Gunner12 · Nov 3, 2009

A driver is the circuit that regulated the current to the LED. Most of them also either lower or raise the voltage to what the LED needs.

The best would be this drop-in, but they are over your budget ($59 usd). They are considered to be the best drop-ins available for a maglite by most, so if you can bump your budget, it could be an option.
If you want to modify the light yourself, you can get similar performance to the drop-in for a bit lower price, but that would also be more work. For the mod, there should be around two cutting tasks, one for the cam of the reflector, and another for the post of the switch, then 4-6 solder points, 2 for the LED, 2 to the switch, and maybe two from the driver to the wires soldered to the switch. Then all that is left is a bit of thermal compound for the LED to heatsink, and then to press the heatsink in.

This drop-in could be an option. I don't recall how the output compares to the stock lamp though.

One of the easier mods for you might be a ROP mod. You'll need a metal reflector, a glass window (or the incorrect term, lens), and the ROP bulbs. Swap the stuff in an you are done. More output. Rechargeable D cells are recommended for more output.

JamisonM · Nov 3, 2009

Yeah, it's not really that hard as long as you know what you gotta do and have a little soldering experience. Once you got everything you need, it won't take you 30 minutes to complete. And when it's all said and one, you'll have a light that you modified yourself. Heck, you don't even have to wait to do some things. If you have your host already you can get it ready for whats to come. Cut down the switch, reflector and solder the 2 wires to the switch. That's practically half the build right there.

When the other stuff arrives, solder your 4 wires to the driver, mix up some thermal epoxy and mount it to the bottom of the heatsink. Put the two wires for the LED through the holes in the heatsink and take a bit of thermal epoxy and mount the LED. Center the LED and solder the two wires going to it. Push everything back into your maglite, screw on the head to focus and you're done.

That's the basic rundown.

Justin Case · Nov 3, 2009

Can you clarify whether or not you really are interested in building something or just want to buy a ready-made solution? In your first post, you claimed that you "can do the work myself, can solder myself". Now, you say "I would much rather get something that's all in one package, where I just throw it in, rather than having to fuss with a bunch of soldering, filing, boring, drilling, Dremeling, etc."

If it is the former, then here is the cost breakdown of the recipe I gave you:

- Cree XP-G R4 on an MCPCB, $9 (you may have to buy two or negotiate with nailbender to pay the mailing cost for just one). Go here for the sales thread.
- KD1640 buck driver, nominally about 1A drive current, $3.99. Kaidomain sells the KD1640 driver board.
- H22A/DHS heat sink (you probably have to file off the centering ribs). Minimum order $20.
- Arctic Alumina thermal epoxy (from CPFer PhotonFanatic or The Sandwich Shoppe), about $8 probably plus shipping
- Teflon jacketed wire (from CPFer mudman cj), $5 minimum (so get 4 different colors of 24 gauge wire)

Do a CPF search for similar, alternate products if some of the purchase price minimums are barriers. There are several different sources for heat sinks, XP-Gs, etc. You can also order a Seoul P4 instead of going with the XP-G, if cost is really an issue. KD sells bare P4s for about $5. If you get the SSC P4, then you won't have to file off any ribs when using the H22A SSC P4 heat sink.

There is soldering involved. Very little filing involved (e.g., removing the centering ribs from the H22A P4 heat sink if you get an XP-G on a 10mm MCPCB). Alternatively, you can use some diagonal wire cutters to trim the MCPCB (it's very soft aluminum) so that it will fit inside of the ribs. No boring. No dremeling. Some thermal gluing. Some very simple Mag switch modifications (e.g., hard solder connections and cutting off the tower). Simple cutting off of the plastic cam on the stock Mag reflector (you can use diagonal wire cutters or a hacksaw). IMO, it's an easy mod.

Gunner12 · Nov 3, 2009

For 1 amp, he probably doesn't need a XP-G. It would give him more output, but a single XP-E would give him a bit more throw (smaller die size) for a few bucks cheaper. Up to him to decide what he wants though. DX has a similar driver to the KD one and they have a Q5 XP-E for $5.

Either way, the mod isn't that hard.

foogan · Nov 3, 2009

I'm loving all the suggestions, guys!

Earlier today, I put a bid in on a TLE-300M on the 'Bay. I'm wondering now if I should have, because I keep getting more ideas from you guys! I didn't know about Kaidomain either, but am impressed with the site.

My plan is/was to use the TLE-300M with 6 D alkalines. If I still do, I am wondering what the battery life will be, since the TLE-300M takes a high current (Anybody know what the draw for it is?)

Should I be using NIMH AAs in adapter packs? Or is there an economical Li-Ion solution for me here? Should I be worried about self discharge with NIMHs? Are LSD NIMHs necessary?

The pawn shop where I got the 6D also had a 3D mag there, and it's not too late for me to return and exchange for the other one if it would be more suitable.

JamisonM · Nov 3, 2009

Gunner12 said:
For 1 amp, he probably doesn't need a XP-G. It would give him more output, but a single XP-E would give him a bit more throw (smaller die size) for a few bucks cheaper. Up to him to decide what he wants though. DX has a similar driver to the KD one and they have a Q5 XP-E for $5.

Either way, the mod isn't that hard.

I wonder how well an XP-E would work with a maglite's reflector? Just looking at the datasheets, It shoots light out at a 115 degree angle while the XP-G shoots it out at 125 and the Seoul P4 only 2 more than that. I'd still go the XP-G route. It will be brighter and still have respectable throw.

Gunner12 · Nov 3, 2009

JamisonM said:
I wonder how well an XP-E would work with a maglite's reflector? Just looking at the datasheets, It shoots light out at a 115 degree angle while the XP-G shoots it out at 125 and the Seoul P4 only 2 more than that. I'd still go the XP-G route. It will be brighter and still have respectable throw.

Hummm, I forgot about that. Then throw could be similar for the LEDs.

foogan · Nov 3, 2009

foogan said:
I'm loving all the suggestions, guys!

Earlier today, I put a bid in on a TLE-300M on the 'Bay. I'm wondering now if I should have, because I keep getting more ideas from you guys! I didn't know about Kaidomain either, but am impressed with the site.

My plan is/was to use the TLE-300M with 6 D alkalines. If I still do, I am wondering what the battery life will be, since the TLE-300M takes a high current (Anybody know what the draw for it is?)

Should I be using NIMH AAs in adapter packs? Or is there an economical Li-Ion solution for me here? Should I be worried about self discharge with NIMHs? Are LSD NIMHs necessary?

The pawn shop where I got the 6D also had a 3D mag there, and it's not too late for me to return and exchange for the other one if it would be more suitable.

Should I get the 3D mag instead and use this?:

HTML:

http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=2723

The unit isn't supposed to be used in high current applications (1ah or more), but the TLE-300M AFAIK is rated at 12w, so at 13.5v would be using 0.88amps.

Since I'd be using three of these adapters, would that mean the max current would be tripled, thirded, or stay the same?

using 2000mah eneloops, the 9 batteries would give me a total of 18000mah. Would this give me suitable runtime?

Justin Case · Nov 3, 2009

I haven't put an XP-G or XP-E in a stock Mag reflector yet, but I have put a Seoul P4 U2-bin in a stock Mag reflector, KT1 TH, KT4 TH, SRTH, and TRTH. The P4 performs well in all cases. Nice beams. I've also put an XP-G R4 in a KT1, KT4, SRTH, and TRTH. In every case, the XP-G outthrows the SSC P4, and has a comparably nice beam. My gut feeling is that the XP-G will also outthrow the P4 in a Mag reflector.

Justin Case · Nov 3, 2009

Gunner12 said:
For 1 amp, he probably doesn't need a XP-G. It would give him more output, but a single XP-E would give him a bit more throw (smaller die size) for a few bucks cheaper. Up to him to decide what he wants though. DX has a similar driver to the KD one and they have a Q5 XP-E for $5.

My gut feeling is that the KD1640 is a better board. At a min, the specs on the KD's AX2002 buck IC look better than the specs for the DX's PT4115 IC (which apparently is what the board uses). I've measured better than 90% efficiency for a mod'ed KD1640 that outputs 1400mA.

old4570 · Nov 3, 2009

XP-G works great with a stock Mag reflector .. Nice spill and a very small tight hot spot thats throws really well .

The XP-G really works in a Mag mod .

Want to mod a stock Maglite 6D

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