10x XPG R5 M*glite mod.

vestureofblood

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HI all,

Just finished up my latest creation. That's right 10x XPG R5s in the head of a Maglite.

A friend that I have built several lights for requested another multi emitter light using optics so this is what I did. Previously he sent me a beautiful purple 2D mag along with some others, and I decided this was a project worth its use.

On the outside it just looks like any other mag.



As many of you know however, flashlights are like people, its what's on the inside that counts.

I had one of the last remaining Download mulitsinks on hand. That coupled with the 10 XPGs and some 9mm optics from Cutter form the light engine.

Getting them all centered in a perfect circle was a bit of a task, but not too bad. Here is how I pulled that off. I stuck a drill bit in the center of the sink and slipped a washer over that, then gatherd the emitters around it, and glued them down with AA for max heat transfer.



Next I wired the emitters in a 5P2S pattern. I wired the emitters individually because of the way the optics sit on the emitters. Wiring them individually means I can use smaller wire, and have all the leads pointing in one direction. Since the optics had to be cut at the base to allow for the wire this means I only have to cut one side.



Once the wiring was done and the optics had all been cut to fit, I glued them down with a tiny bit of gorilla glue so that if the bezel was removed they don't all scatter.

Time to mod the switch.

Since the buyer requested that it be powered by 2 IMR 26500s a spacer will need to be added to the base of the switch for a contact.

I started by removing the tower, and the little metal thing in the bottom the battery + usually contacts. This way I can run a solid aluminum contact from the base of the switch through the spacer for a much better battery + contact with far lower resistance.





The spacer is Delrin, and the core is 3/8" aluminum rod.

I also made a bored out PVC sleeve so the AW cells would fit snug in the tube. (sorry no pic)
No modification was needed for the spring. I also did not use a driver for this one because the owner wanted single mode max brightness. My goal for current in this one was 1.5 Amp per die, but on fresh cells it actually runs about 2 amp per die.

With this done I put some AA on the heatsink and in the threads of the light head, then tightened the head on with a strap wrench. After that I placed all the goodies in side along with a boro lens, and voila




Now for some beam shots.

First up Dereelight DBS MCE.



SST-90 Mag at about 6 amps.



10x XPG Mag



Even as good as these shots look, they don't do this light justice. What blew me away about this light wasn't just the brightness. The beam is incredibly smooth and very even. It will throw a good 80+ yards, but the width of the beam is whats crazy, like 40 yards wide, maybe more. It just bathes every thing around it in beautiful cool white light.

A few more inside shots.

This time with Dereelight Javelin XPG R5 up first.



Next Dereelight DBS MCE


Now the power of purple X




Thanks for looking everyone, I hope you enjoyed the show.:popcorn:
 
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mash.m

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Nice, i was thinking of a 16 xp-g setup in a mag head...

Battery setup, drawing and finaly beamshots ?


:popcorn:
 

nein166

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What kind of wattage is that going to consume?

Gorilla Glue! You like to live on the edge don't you. I just can't trust the stuff since I never know which way it will grow.

:popcorn:
 

vestureofblood

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Nice, i was thinking of a 16 xp-g setup in a mag head...

Battery setup, drawing and finaly beamshots ?


:popcorn:

I would say the a 16 emitter setup would probly fit, but unless you used one giant PCB individual holes for the led wires would probly have to be drilled because I think the overlap from the wire would be too much other wise.

You must have caught me while the thread was in progress. I do a little and save then do some more. Beam shots etc are added now.

What kind of wattage is that going to consume?

Gorilla Glue! You like to live on the edge don't you. I just can't trust the stuff since I never know which way it will grow.

:popcorn:

Watts I guess would be between 54 and 82 depending on the battery voltage. On fresh cells its 10amp @ 4.1 V So I am assuming that when the over voltage drops it will be getting closer to 7.5 A.

As far as the glue growing or moving, I put the engine inside the head put the glued optics in place, and screwed the bezel with the lens down on them to hold everything.
 
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D-LUX

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Very nice Mod!
I liked your solution to positioning the LEDs with the washer, very clever.
 

SmurfTacular

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Holy cow! I bet that thing floods like a tsunami! But seriously, how is the flood and throw on this? I assume its almost all flood with those shallow reflectors.
 
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jasonck08

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Great build! Pretty friggen bright! I'd suggest putting some kind of a disc in the center (covering the wires) then cover it in glow in the dark epoxy. :)
 

Mettee

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Thats pretty cool :devil: the wiring makes it look serious. I would have to say, filling the head up with XPGs sounds like it would be sick!

Nice work again.
 

cmacclel

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Cool....

Did you check the Forward Voltage of the led's?

Whenever I do a parallel build I always make sure the led's are within 100ma of each other. I have seen some LED's from the same reel draw almost double the previous LED.

Mac
 

vestureofblood

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Holy cow! I bet that thing flood like a tsunami! But seriously, how is the flood and throw on this? I assume its almost all flood with those shallow reflectors.

I wish I would have though of that word "tsunami" because that is a perfect description. Although I will say that this light does have a little bit more of a throw than you would expect from such a short optic.

On a side note I got one of the brother label makers you recommended, haven't got a chance to use it yet though.:D

Great build! Pretty friggen bright! I'd suggest putting some kind of a disc in the center (covering the wires) then cover it in glow in the dark epoxy. :)

I considered that, but after I saw how business like it makes the light look I decided to leave it. Sort of gives it almost a weapon type look to me.

Out of curiosity, what would it cost to make another one of these lights?

Lot of parts in this one. To duplicate it exactly DD total cost with parts labor and shipping would be 225$. A bit more if you want a driver.

Thats pretty cool :devil: the wiring makes it look serious. I would have to say, filling the head up with XPGs sounds like it would be sick!

Nice work again.

Sick yes. Easy....??? not so sure. It could certainly be done. Guess it would just take some patience and time.


Thanks for saying so.
 

vestureofblood

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Cool....

Did you check the Forward Voltage of the led's?

Whenever I do a parallel build I always make sure the led's are within 100ma of each other. I have seen some LED's from the same reel draw almost double the previous LED.

Mac

Hi Mac, thanks for the compliment.


No I didnt check the VF of each led. How would I do that?
 

Stereodude

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No I didnt check the VF of each led. How would I do that?
There's a couple of ways.

1) Use a power supply that has a constant current mode and measure the voltage across the LED using a multimeter (or the voltage display on the supply if you trust it) at your target current level.

2) Use a power supply without a constant current mode and with 2 multimeters (one set to current, one to voltage) slowly adjust the voltage output of the power supply until you get the target current through the LED on the first meter. Then use the 2nd meter to measure the voltage across the LED

3) Connect the LED to a current controlled LED driver set for the current level you're targeting. Power it up and then use a multimeter to measure the voltage across the LED.

There's more, but that should get you started. :laughing:

You do this for each LED, record the results, and then save any outliers for another project.
 

vestureofblood

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Vest,

WOW on the Violet X! "wall of light" is inadequate....

Two questions:
1. how did you attach the delrin spacer to the switch body?

2. how did you terminate the LED leads to the switch??

That is actually a good name I like that Violet X.

1. The spacer works like this. 3/8" hole bored through the center. Aluminum rod cut and shaped. Then I bored a slightly larger hole 1/2" or so about half way through the top of the spacer. Pressed the alum rod into place and filled the 1/2" hole with hot glue. I also covered the top with hot glue and stuck it to the switch. Since the switch doesn't see any real heat I figured this would be adequate.

2. The LED leads are are all soldered together underneath the heat sink all the + and all the -. Then 20G wire is connected to the groups and soldered to the switch contacts. After the tower is sawed off the + contact is visible in the center. For the - it is soldered to the metal part at the back of the switch that holds the set screw in place.

(If you dont happen to be familiar with a switch mod I can dig up an old pic.):D
 

vestureofblood

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Missouri
There's a couple of ways.

1) Use a power supply that has a constant current mode and measure the voltage across the LED using a multimeter (or the voltage display on the supply if you trust it) at your target current level.

2) Use a power supply without a constant current mode and with 2 multimeters (one set to current, one to voltage) slowly adjust the voltage output of the power supply until you get the target current through the LED on the first meter. Then use the 2nd meter to measure the voltage across the LED

3) Connect the LED to a current controlled LED driver set for the current level you're targeting. Power it up and then use a multimeter to measure the voltage across the LED.

There's more, but that should get you started. :laughing:

You do this for each LED, record the results, and then save any outliers for another project.

Stereodude,

Thanks. The first one is basically what I was thinking the response would be. The other 2 I hadn't thought of. I would like to get a good bench power supply, but for now I think the 3rd idea is going to be the best solution for me. Fortunately George from Taskled sent me some of that sticky thermal pad so I can do these tests without the use of thermal epoxy/grease.


Mac,

Thanks to you too. I am always looking for ways to advance my craft and produce a better product.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a decent bench power supply that is reasonably priced?
 
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