first maglite mod

Lolaralph

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 12, 2010
Messages
202
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
I'm interested in doing my first mag mod, I want to use a two D cell host, SST 50, SST 90, or P7 from BRITELUMENS, with one of their heatsinks, powered by two 18650's. I'm in need of advice regarding an appropriate driver, as I don't think I can direct drive from the 18650's. Again this is my first mod attempt, so any advice will be appreciated.
 

alpg88

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 19, 2005
Messages
5,283
they all need different drivers, well, all will work with p7 (2,8)amps driver, but sst90 can push 9amps, and sst50 5 amps (i would not recommend 2x18650 for sst90, even for sst50 , i wouldn't recommend either, too much draw. for full power that is.
for p7 there are tons of drivers out there, from dx (i use them, they are not bad at all, thou you got to order 2 at least, some arrive dead, not a lot, but possibility is there.
there is a member here, Der Wichtel , he sells excellent drivers , for p7(multi mode\multi led), for sst50 , and sst90.
or you can use search function, and find lots of different drivers, sold here. there are very few drivers for sst's, but for p7, planty
 

SmurfTacular

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
704
Location
Orange County, CA
For your first Maglite Mod build, I strongley reccomend building a direct driven P7 in a 3D Maglite. This means there is no circuitry between the LED and the battery. The LED gets dimmer as the batteres lose voltage. Very easy, and builds you confidence in Maglite modding. I would wait a bit before jumping to lithium ion batteries, or SST-50's/90's...
 

vermeire

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jun 2, 2008
Messages
38
Can you point to a good build thread for this suggestion? I'm thinking about doing a 3D Mag in the next couple months and this is the first time I've seen someone make such a concise statement about first time modifications. It would be greatly appreciated.

For your first Maglite Mod build, I strongley reccomend building a direct driven P7 in a 3D Maglite. This means there is no circuitry between the LED and the battery. The LED gets dimmer as the batteres lose voltage. Very easy, and builds you confidence in Maglite modding. I would wait a bit before jumping to lithium ion batteries, or SST-50's/90's...
 

tx101

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 17, 2008
Messages
2,357
Location
London UK
Basically you have two options with a driver for a P7 2 x li-ion cell
set up

1. A cheap Chinese made driver from DX or KD. These drivers have a
bad reputation for being over specced, unreliable, no customer support
and slow delivery times. But they are cheap.
Personally, I have used these drivers and have had no problems with their
reliability

2. A US made driver, the Shark Buck 3A or the HipCC boards. Good quality
reliable, does what it says on the box and the makers stand behind their
products. But they are more expensive than the Chinese made ones

3. There is a third option and that is the Der Wichtel P7 board. If you read
through his sales thread, another rock solid board. More expensive than
the US made boards but you do get multi-levels and the wires already
soldered on for you :D You can find his sales thread in the Custom BST
section ..... use the search function.

Essentially, what you pay for is what you get :devil:


Happy modding and let us know how you get on :thumbsup:



BTW, if you used 3 x NiMh rechargeable cells in a 3D Mag, you can direct
drive the P7, maybe add a D2Flex for multi levels :naughty:
 
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