My First Mod: Microstream/Maratac

So I finally received my Maratac AAA in Natural from County Comm (the first one was defective and they replaced it and covered shipping :thumbsup

I am very impressed with this light, and it will definitely replace my trusty old Fenix E01 for a keychain light.

I was in possession of the Maratac for no more than a few hours when I decided to attempt the "Microstream/Fenix LD01" mod. Since I don't have the LD01, I wondered if the Maratac would work.

It does! Granted, it doesn't look great, with about a 5mm gap of open thread between the Maratac head and Microstream body. But it functions very well and has turned the Microstream from a 20 lumen single-mode light, to an 80 lumen 3-mode light, plus it shaves off about 8mm of length from a standard Microstream. Or, if you look at it the other way, it has turned the Maratac AAA from a twisty to a forward-clicky! MicroTac or MaraStream, you decide.

It cycles flawlessly through all 3 modes with either the temporary push of the switch, or clicking off and on for permanent.

I don't know if I'll keep this Frankenstein alive, but I thought I'd at least share my results with anyone out there wondering about this. I took a photo and tried to attach it here, but I do not see the option to do that.

EDIT: I looked under the F.A.Q. and read the "How to attach an image" section, but I simply do not see the "Manage Attachments" button when I am posting or starting a thread. Also, if this needs to be in the Modifications section, I apologize. Please move as necessary.

I'm doing the same thing with mine. Like you said, it doesn't look the greatest but it's really useful. Screams with a 10440 in it too, just don't let it get too hot.

My Streamlight Microstream was my favorite little light and carried for years. i came back to CPF to see what was new and found the Itp Eos A3 that offered a whopping 80 (advertised anyway) lumen! I immediately bought two...one in red for myself and a purple for my wife.

I was now in a bind though...my favorite old forward clicky that was dim compared to the upstart 3 level (yuck) twistie.

Saw your post and whamo...my new EoStream!

The best of both in one package. I may try to remove 1/16th inch or so off the Microstream body to get rid of the gap and make the parts mate properly. Anyone see a reason that would not work?

file that puppy down

Ratz...took *just* a little bit too much off. It no longer makes connection. Dead Streamlight, but at least I still have the Itp A3.

Oh well..been looking for a good reason to buy a new light anyway.

I'd be interested to see if the Maratac head worked well with the Streamlight Stylus Pro 2xAAA body as the LD01 does. The LD01/SL SP combo is one of my favorite lights, its performance on 2xAAA is excellent.

It should...just don't trim too much off when you're doing it!

The Maratac/ITP A3 EOS are thread compatible with the Quark Preon lights. You can buy the body tubes from 4Sevens. I don't like the reverse clicky, though. You get around 150 lumens from this light on high with a Preon 2 body. With the ITP's styling, it almost matches the smooth Preon body.

JohnnyLunar, congrats on your first mod! I removed the heads from both my black and red Stylus Pros and use an black L0D head on the black Pro and red Preon head on the red one. The red Preon Pro is one of my two favorite EDC lights.

I filled the gap between the head and body on each mod with O-rings, which help with water resistance and add grip.

Nasty said:

Dead Streamlight, but at least I still have the Itp A3. Oh well..been looking for a good reason to buy a new light anyway.

Click to expand...

FYI, red Stylus Pros are available on ebay for $17 shipped! Oh, looks like there's only one available at the moment, but the seller seems to replenish his stock often and reoffer the deal.

Kestrel said:

I'd be interested to see if the Maratac head worked well with the Streamlight Stylus Pro 2xAAA body as the LD01 does. The LD01/SL SP combo is one of my favorite lights, its performance on 2xAAA is excellent.

Click to expand...

An iTP A3 EOS head fits my Stylus Pros, so I would think the Maratac head would fit, too.

Mr. Shawn said:

An iTP A3 EOS head fits my Stylus Pros, so I would think the Maratac head would fit, too.

Click to expand...

My only question was the voltage, I know that the LD01 head does fine with twice the voltage (2.4 Vin vs 1.2 Vin), but as far as I know, the voltage limit for the Maratac head hasn't been ascertained.

Good question, Kestrel. I don't know the answer because I don't have a Maratac.

Aren't there folks running around out there with 10440 Li-Ion cells in their Maratac AAA's?

Kestrel said:

I'd be interested to see if the Maratac head worked well with the Streamlight Stylus Pro 2xAAA body as the LD01 does. The LD01/SL SP combo is one of my favorite lights, its performance on 2xAAA is excellent.

Click to expand...

I did this some time ago and have had no issues, although I haven't run it continuously on high to exhaustion. Given the increased output, I'd expect to use it mostly on medium and low, using high on an "as-needed" burst-mode basis.

I believe, though I'd want to search for confirmation (memory dims...), that the circuit handles the voltage fine but there could be issues with heat dissipation if run continuously at high output. As has been pointed out, there are people running these lights with Li-Ion cells. Searching for threads describing the experience with Li-Ions may be instructive.

I'll let it run for a while and update my post with my observations. I won't run it until it fails , but I should be able to provide some qualitative guidance.

Finally, I did a quick ceiling bounce comparison on high, using the same head, powered with Duraloops:

1x AA ITP body - 3.1 lux
2x AA Streamlight Stylus Pro - 6.8 lux


<EDIT>

Procedure:

I ran the EOS A3 head on the Stylus Pro body for five minutes while holding the head in my hand. I then shifted my grip to the body for a further five minutes, periodically checking the head to see if it was uncomfortably hot (no IR thermometer at hand in the sleeping chamber). I then transferred the light to a test fixture and monitored the output (ceiling bounce, same conditions as above measurements) over a three minute period to see if there was any continuing, heat induced, output reduction. At the end of the three minutes, I checked temperature of the head and body. After five minutes of cool-down (light off) I tested the voltage of the batteries. The batteries used were not fresh off the charger, but I wasn't aiming to establish the peak brightness, rather I was trying to characterize the light's behaviour under typical usage. Ambient temperature was about 21 C.


Results:

- At no time was the light uncomfortably hot, even after eight minutes of free-air running, following the five minutes of hand cooled operation.

- The output was stable at 6.0 lux between the 10 minute and 13 minute mark.

- The resting voltage of the cells, after cool-down, was 1.25 volts for each cell.

- The body tube was getting progressively warmer, all the way to the tail.

- No tint shift was seen.


Conclusion:

This light appears to reach an acceptable equilibrium of heat generation and output reduction in normal use with NiMh cells. The temperature of the emitter will be significantly higher than the exterior of the head, but I'm comfortable with running this combination as described.



NB - This does not guarantee that your head will be identical in performance or over-voltage tolerance. Proceed at your own risk, especially when using higher voltage cells, such as 1x Li-Ion or 2x Lithium primary AAA.


I may check output on freshly charged cells, and measure current at the tail, in future.



- Syncytial.

Are all Microstream heads sealed against the body? If so how did you guys go about removing the head?
Thanks.

jsr said:

Are all Microstream heads sealed against the body? If so how did you guys go about removing the head?

Click to expand...

A vise and a set of pliers. Easy as pie once you get everything set up, and the rubber pads completely protect the finish.

Edit: Sort of like this:

Great pics, Kestrel. Thanks. :thumbsup:

jsr said:

Are all Microstream heads sealed against the body? If so how did you guys go about removing the head?
Thanks.

Click to expand...

I just used a lighter to heat up the glue in the head (for a short time) and then broke the seal using grippy gloves.

Thanks guys. I'm thinking to pick up a Microstream to turn my A3 into a clicky.

I did the stylus pro A3 eos head swap and have been using it as an edc for several months with duraloops to stay below the 3v head rating.
I have both the original A3 m-l-h, and the new l-m-h models.
One thing to note, at least from what I have seen, is that the new l-m-h head has a noticeable whine on low and even more on medium where the older m-l-h model had no detectable whine to me.
Since I primarily use mine in a noisy environment it's no big deal but at home it can get annoying.

Wow I gotta try this I love the Maratac but a clicky switch would make it even better. Now if I can remember where my Microstream is:thinking:....