The definitive Malkoff Hound Dog Super thread

[etc]

Say Hello to my little friend.



Looking at the head, it's the unmistakable profile of the Hound Dog Super. However it has taken a step further. This modification is what I will call Malkoff Hound Dog Super Plus version. The 18650 extension is bolted to it making it a 3x18650 monster light. The voltage is within specs or under 14V. Obviously do not stick 6 primaries in it. They will fit and result in a very bright and short runtime measured in nanoseconds. If you must run it on primaries, up to 4 of them, unbolt the extension or use the 18650 spacer.

The runtime and the lumens are somewhat increased with the Super Plus. The runtime is increased by about 50% from 1 hour to 1.5 hours IIRC. It's hefty and a very serious social device. Under any serious circumstances, HD Super Plus is the tool I would rather have over anything else, custom made or from a SOB (Some Other Brand).






Hound Dog Super Plus on High. Yes, it does shine like a car headlight, in fact brighter, more focused.








HD Super on Low. Even on low you can see it's a significant force.





Now let's contrast the above with the Malkoff Hound Dog 18650. The hotspot is less intense but the spill is considerably larger.

[mk2rocco]

[etc]

.
pics coming

[Warmcopper123]

wow what a tank of a light!! amazing output . If I was LEO I would have this light with me every night!!

thanx for sharing

[etc]

More pics coming, I will try to find something with less light pollution.

Will also take some shots side-by-side.

You can see that the 18650 Hound Dog does not really compete with the Super Plus, they are much different devices.

In all honesty, for daily tasks, I much prefer the Hound Dog non-Super edition as it's more compact -- in my case anyway, since I extended my Super and the beam profile is a lot more useful. I added lumens and runtime at the expense of compactness. This thing is as huge as a 3D Maglite or bigger. I will take a family portrait one of these days.

The Hound Dog Super is indispensable outdoors. The Hound Dog is useful all around, indoors or outdoors, whereas the Super is marginally useful indoors if you are talking about 15 feet. It has a huge, very intense hotspot that's wasted inside. Indoors, I tune it down to the low mode. The other attribute is, at close ranges, you see rings. They disappear outdoors outside of about 20 feet. But this is not a WWH light.

To sum it up, the Hound Dog has an intense 29K lux hotspot and a huge spill, while the HD Super (Plus) has a much more intense, and even bigger hotspot that's about 79K lux but noticeably less flood/spill.

So the choice is not between Super or 'regular', get both.

[tab665]

glad to see a dedicated hound dog super thread! I got mine last summer, it stays next to the front door at all times. I do hold onto the hope of an even larger variant in the future. something along the lines of a xhp35 HI with a dedicated 3 cell body

[etc]

I did not know what XHP32 was, turns out it is a Fenix.
to be perfectly honest, I am a not a fan of the 3x18650 side by side configuration, the light is short but huge and hard to grip. I much prefer the 2x18650 config occasionally modding it to run off 3x18650. Or 3x18650 occasionally downsizing to the 2x18650 config. I think all in all, Malkoff got it right.

One of the significant and often overlooked things about the Hound Dog, in any configuration, is that you can run it off primaries.
They do store less watt-hours, for sure. But, in an extended outage, or when you deplete all your 18650s, you can feed it 4 primaries. On low, the runtime should be tolerable.

This is important because most Malkoff lights do not run off 4x123 primaries. None of the M61 series (except for SHO IIRC as someone will be quick to jump in and point out, or maybe it was a one-time device), M61T does not, neither does M361 nor M61HOT.

M91T does and of course so do the other permutations of Wildcat, etc.

I kinda like the idea of using *either* two 18650s *or* 123s. All in the same device. That gives the device incredible flexibility.

[thermal guy]

There’s nothing I don’t love about my HD18650. Just realized I could run it on a MD 3 body and use 2XAA! Run time is measure in days and it makes it that much more versatile. Perfect BOB light

[Modernflame]

There’s nothing I don’t love about my HD18650. Just realized I could run it on a MD 3 body and use 2XAA! Run time is measure in days and it makes it that much more versatile. Perfect BOB light

Wow, I had no idea. That's one of the hidden benefits of Gene's simple designs without low voltage protection.

[archimedes]

I wonder if there might be enough interest for Malkoff to do a run of "MD3AA" tubes ?

Nah, I doubt it ... but I want one, and would buy one.

[etc]

I would buy what one might call MD6 -- a 6x123 body or 3x18650 body -- all in one piece without having to buy an extension. Whatever name you want to assign to that.

MD2=1x18650 or 2x123
MD4=2x18650 or 4x123
MD6=3x18650 or 6x123

[thermal guy]

Wow, I had no idea. That's one of the hidden benefits of Gene's simple designs without low voltage protection.

Yep our expert on Malkoff runtimes is doing a test for me so we have real data but I’m doing one with just regular Duracell AA alkalines and it’s past the 70 hour mark! Probably only 5 lumens or so but because of the way the beam is on these it is still VERY usefull. Can easily walk with it and still throws 15 feet or so.so with the MD3 body you can run a 18650 with a spacer 2-123’s with a spacer. Or 2 AA Only problem is with using the 3 cell MD3 body with the 18650 head you CAN run 3-123! And that would be bad.

[Modernflame]

Or 2 AA Only problem is with using the 3 cell MD3 body with the 18650 head you CAN run 3-123! And that would be bad.

Yeah, my Hound Dog 18650 doesn't play lego with the other Malkoffs. Still, nice to know I could run it on 2xAA in a pinch.

As for the Super, I had one and enjoyed it but ultimately sent it on to a better home. I live in wooded part of the country, so even when I'm walking around outside, I rarely have an unobstructed view of more than 100 yards or so. The other Hound Dog breeds are a better fit for me.

[etc]

Come to think of it, MD6 that I made is twice the length of an MD3 body, since it takes twice as many cells as MD3 body that we know runs well off 2xAA.
Well, on low anyway.

Therefore, it would be logical to try to run it with 4xAA cells, on low obviously and see what happens. 4xAA pull 6 Volts of course.
I do wonder if they will be long enough but theoretically it should work. I also know that the Z41 tailcap is a little tighter than any clicky, i.e. can tolerate shorter overall length.

[etc]

To reiterate, the MD6 configuration is not exclusive to the Hound Dog.
It should also work well with the 'regular' HD as well as with the M91T that has the same voltage specs. If M91T can run on 4x123, it can run on 3x18650.

And if the MD6 body can fit 4xAA without an issue - you can adapt 4xAA Eneloops to run the 18650 Hound Dog mated to the MD6 body, if I am not mistaken voltage wise, it should add up right to about 4.8V and sag under load to where a normal 18650 would be. 4xAA Alkalines are at 6V which is roughly equal to 6V you get from 2x123 that's also acceptable nutrition for the 18650 HD, so either way, that's works out fine.

If it's the end of the world and you are stuck in a warehouse full of AA cells but not a single 18650, and you have the 18650 Hound Dog *and* an MD6 body, you have enough lumens until the end of time.

FiveMega made the 3xAA body a while back.. it has not been a glorious hit. I think I've seen just one other example floating around here.
I've had one for what seems 8 years, never used in any serious capacity, just did a few test runs. It's huge - as in "long", not possible to EDC but the voltage is lower than a single 18650. So it runs all Malkoff modules under powered unless of course you pick M31 series. Then it works well but so does the much more practical 2xAA body.

I wonder if an MD3 Hound Dog Super will fire up on low using say 2xAA Lithiums. The current requirements are not that high.

But I think I would buy at least one MD6 body to mod one of my 'regular' Hound Dogs. The Super however makes more sense to mod since its voltage requirements are greater.

What would be really cool is a one-time manufacture of an MD6 Super Plus that runs on 3x18650 *or* 6x123 cells, uses a one-piece body but I think that will create more problems than solve in terms of not being a commercial success. Still, an interesting proposition. Perhaps if the lumens are bumped slightly, it might be competitive versus SOBs.

If my math is correct, the current drain on Super Plus is roughly equal to that of the 'regular' Hound Dog. Lower drain means better runtime.

[thermal guy]

To reiterate, the MD6 configuration is not exclusive to the Hound Dog.
It should also work well with the 'regular' HD as well as with the M91T that has the same voltage specs. If M91T can run on 4x123, it can run on 3x18650.

And if the MD6 body can fit 4xAA without an issue - you can adapt 4xAA Eneloops to run the 18650 Hound Dog mated to the MD6 body, if I am not mistaken voltage wise, it should add up right to about 4.8V and sag under load to where a normal 18650 would be. 4xAA Alkalines are at 6V which is roughly equal to 6V you get from 2x123 that's also acceptable nutrition for the 18650 HD, so either way, that's works out fine.

If it's the end of the world and you are stuck in a warehouse full of AA cells but not a single 18650, and you have the 18650 Hound Dog *and* an MD6 body, you have enough lumens until the end of time.

FiveMega made the 3xAA body a while back.. it has not been a glorious hit. I think I've seen just one other example floating around here.
I've had one for what seems 8 years, never used in any serious capacity, just did a few test runs. It's huge - as in "long", not possible to EDC but the voltage is lower than a single 18650. So it runs all Malkoff modules under powered unless of course you pick M31 series. Then it works well but so does the much more practical 2xAA body.

I wonder if an MD3 Hound Dog Super will fire up on low using say 2xAA Lithiums. The current requirements are not that high.

But I think I would buy at least one MD6 body to mod one of my 'regular' Hound Dogs. The Super however makes more sense to mod since its voltage requirements are greater.

What would be really cool is a one-time manufacture of an MD6 Super Plus that runs on 3x18650 *or* 6x123 cells, uses a one-piece body but I think that will create more problems than solve in terms of not being a commercial success. Still, an interesting proposition. Perhaps if the lumens are bumped slightly, it might be competitive versus SOBs.

If my math is correct, the current drain on Super Plus is roughly equal to that of the 'regular' Hound Dog. Lower drain means better runtime.

My 18650 is running on 2XAA alkalines. That’s just 3 volts.

[etc]

I am assuming on low and what are the lumens it's generating? Must be pretty low.

Yeah, it will run on 2xAA but 3xAA is better. Better still is the 4xAA configuration which seems like the optimum voltage given AA requirements.

It's also huge.

[thermal guy]

I am assuming on low and what are the lumens it's generating? Must be pretty low.

Yeah, it will run on 2xAA but 3xAA is better. Better still is the 4xAA configuration which seems like the optimum voltage given AA requirements.

It's also huge.

It will run on low and high. Much lower output of corse. But because it throws so well it’s very usable

[thermal guy]

My HD 18650 has now been running on low for 80 hours! Not taking about moonlight kind of light. It’s putting out plenty of light to easy see your way at night. This is nuts.

[marco.weiss]

I wonder if there might be enough interest for Malkoff to do a run of "MD3AA" tubes ?

Nah, I doubt it ... but I want one, and would buy one.

I'm also interested in a 3AA host.


could be from the mdc or md line. I'd take both. lol

[marco.weiss]

I am assuming on low and what are the lumens it's generating? Must be pretty low.

Yeah, it will run on 2xAA but 3xAA is better. Better still is the 4xAA configuration which seems like the optimum voltage given AA requirements.

It's also huge.

the maximum voltage of the model hd18650 is 6v and theoretically we could use 4AA.


but I am in doubt if current might be too much for AA batteries?


I always had that doubt.


what is the consumption limit (in amperes) of eneloops?

[marco.weiss]

My HD 18650 has now been running on low for 80 hours! Not taking about moonlight kind of light. It’s putting out plenty of light to easy see your way at night. This is nuts.

really very impressive!


thank you for sharing this information and for running the runtime test

[thermal guy]

really very impressive!


thank you for sharing this information and for running the runtime test

INFRNL is doing the real work. I’m just keeping track of the hours and running into my dark basement every few hours to see if it is still usable. I have started to take photos at different points so I can show how it is in real world. It’s at 4-5 lumens and that doesn’ sound to impressive but with this light it looks more like 20. And is very usable

[thermal guy]

95 HOURS NOW! On 2 AA!! And yes it’s still plenty bright to walk around with.

[etc]

I will attempt a test today on 4xAA. Super Plus on the low mode. I don't have huge expectations from the high mode but will try that too.
That will depend if the battery fit is good.

Just a quick back of the envelope calculation reveals that, given AA is 50.5mm (of course) and an 18650 mm (is 65mm obviously), 4xAA=202mm and 3x18650=195mm. Given my 18650s are protected, this adds just a hair (a millimeter or 2) over the non-protected version that they is presumably 65mm, which should land 3x18650, if they are 67mm right at 201mm overall length.
So I remain cautiously optimistic. If this works, the MD6 body has an unexpected benefit.

If the 4xAA configuration works half-way, this means my 3xAA FiveMega body is obsolete and has little point. I only kept it for the last decade or so just in case I run out of all the Li-ion cells, all the primaries and am stuck with a sea of AA batteries and nowhere to put them at.

The 3xAA body is a great way to engage Malkoff devices and the AA chemistry of any permutation but the 4XAA configuration is an even more successful marriage. The thing about AA is that you need lots of it, the more, the better as Malkoff Devices love the voltage. Remember all the great incan mods from 10 years ago? They all relied on the myriad of AA cells. This really isn't all that different.

Recall, the Lithium L91 AA cell comes at 1.8V fresh out of the box, or so, meaning 4 cells pull about 7V which is nice. So in a pinch, you could run that chemistry also. I will try to get some beamshots up tonight.

[thermal guy]

95 HOURS NOW! On 2 AA!! And yes it’s still plenty bright to walk around with.

105 HOURS! “Just saying” 😊😊

[tab665]

I did not know what XHP32 was, turns out it is a Fenix.
to be perfectly honest, I am a not a fan of the 3x18650 side by side configuration, the light is short but huge and hard to grip. I much prefer the 2x18650 config occasionally modding it to run off 3x18650. Or 3x18650 occasionally downsizing to the 2x18650 config. I think all in all, Malkoff got it right.

One of the significant and often overlooked things about the Hound Dog, in any configuration, is that you can run it off primaries.
They do store less watt-hours, for sure. But, in an extended outage, or when you deplete all your 18650s, you can feed it 4 primaries. On low, the runtime should be tolerable.

This is important because most Malkoff lights do not run off 4x123 primaries. None of the M61 series (except for SHO IIRC as someone will be quick to jump in and point out, or maybe it was a one-time device), M61T does not, neither does M361 nor M61HOT.

M91T does and of course so do the other permutations of Wildcat, etc.

I kinda like the idea of using *either* two 18650s *or* 123s. All in the same device. That gives the device incredible flexibility.

xhp-35 HI is a led, not a flashlight. it's an even larger version of the factory dedomed xpl HI. also requires more volts.

105 HOURS! “Just saying” 😊😊

[etc]

I just test drove the Super Plus edition in the 4xAA Eneloop configuration. I must say I was shocked how well it worked. I expected far lower output. It did not hit the entire 1200 or whatever it's rated for lumens - I think I have the "neutral" Super Plus which makes it a bit lower lumen-wise. I would estimate I hit somewhere between 800-900 lumens, there was a drop versus 3x18650 that generates about 12V but the 4xAA configuration was still stunningly bright. We are talking about 4 stupid Eneloops that only generate 1.2 to 1.3V at most. And I don't know what they do under load. So we are looking somewhere around 6V to round it off. In a light that's spec'ed up to 12-14V. It's a miracle the thing worked at all but work it did and splendid. The lumens held stable and didn't drop sharply. I was delighted.

The most surprising thing, after a 45 minute walk, where I alternated between high and low, the Eneloops still tested at 1.29V or so, leaving the charger at 1.35V or so. That was very impressive. I dreaded seeing them discharged to 0.9V or something.

Hint, this would be an interesting test to run. Lumens versus runtime on Super Plus (MD6) body and 4xAA Eneloops. Perhaps both low and high.

The thing that would really shine in the MD6 body are of course the L91 Lithiums. They are 1.75-1.8V fresh, sustain the load well and are arguably equal to 4x123 in terms of capacity - lower volts but higher 2900 mAh versus only 1500 mAh of the 123s. Not that 4x123 are that great but it does give you options. I suspect 4xL91s generate lower lumens but better runtime than 4x123 which run at full output and then basically walk off the cliff circa 30 minutes.

If you have a ton of AA Alkalines laying around, or perhaps you have a source of free ones, that opens up all kinds of options.

FWIW, I have a 3xAA FiveMega body laying around and have tried, over the years, to run all kinds of M6x modules in it and it worked - somewhat but not entirely satisfactory. It ran out of regulation, long runtime but not so impressive lumens. And I've always wondered, what kind of lumens would I get if I could run a Malkoff in a 4xAA configuration?
My test today provided a decent though not exhaustive answer.

It is very tempting at this point to run the 'regular' Hound Dog in the 'Plus' configuration and see what happens.
Or bolting the 18650 HD to the MD6 body and running it off Eneloops.

It does have lower current requirements which should make it even more suitable.

[marco.weiss]

I just test drove the Super Plus edition in the 4xAA Eneloop configuration. I must say I was shocked how well it worked. I expected far lower output. It did not hit the entire 1200 or whatever it's rated for lumens - I think I have the "neutral" Super Plus which makes it a bit lower lumen-wise. I would estimate I hit somewhere between 800-900 lumens, there was a drop versus 3x18650 that generates about 12V but the 4xAA configuration was still stunningly bright. We are talking about 4 stupid Eneloops that only generate 1.2 to 1.3V at most. And I don't know what they do under load. So we are looking somewhere around 6V to round it off. In a light that's spec'ed up to 12-14V. It's a miracle the thing worked at all but work it did and splendid. The lumens held stable and didn't drop sharply. I was delighted.

The most surprising thing, after a 45 minute walk, where I alternated between high and low, the Eneloops still tested at 1.29V or so, leaving the charger at 1.35V or so. That was very impressive. I dreaded seeing them discharged to 0.9V or something.

Hint, this would be an interesting test to run. Lumens versus runtime on Super Plus (MD6) body and 4xAA Eneloops. Perhaps both low and high.

The thing that would really shine in the MD6 body are of course the L91 Lithiums. They are 1.75-1.8V fresh, sustain the load well and are arguably equal to 4x123 in terms of capacity - lower volts but higher 2900 mAh versus only 1500 mAh of the 123s. Not that 4x123 are that great but it does give you options. I suspect 4xL91s generate lower lumens but better runtime than 4x123 which run at full output and then basically walk off the cliff circa 30 minutes.

If you have a ton of AA Alkalines laying around, or perhaps you have a source of free ones, that opens up all kinds of options.

FWIW, I have a 3xAA FiveMega body laying around and have tried, over the years, to run all kinds of M6x modules in it and it worked - somewhat but not entirely satisfactory. It ran out of regulation, long runtime but not so impressive lumens. And I've always wondered, what kind of lumens would I get if I could run a Malkoff in a 4xAA configuration?
My test today provided a decent though not exhaustive answer.

It is very tempting at this point to run the 'regular' Hound Dog in the 'Plus' configuration and see what happens.
Or bolting the 18650 HD to the MD6 body and running it off Eneloops.

It does have lower current requirements which should make it even more suitable.

very interesting!


A question: Have you measured the ampere consumption?


I'm afraid the amperage is too high for the eneloops.


Does anyone know the maximum discharge amperage recommended for eneloops?

[archimedes]

Although they will heat up significantly, eneloops can tolerate surprisingly high current draws ...

https://lygte-info.dk/review/batteri...e%29%20UK.html

Performance is progressively reduced under very high amperage, as is cell lifespan, of course.