Mag 4D LuxIII Mod w/Pics

Someone requested for me to mod a Mag4D and here it is finished.

Used a SY0M emitter from oeo2oo (thanks again for the great deal!). No regulation used, just a 1.5ohm resistor. According to LED Pro, 1.5ohms on 6v with a vf of 3.99-4.23v, current should've be in the 1180-1340ma range. I only got into the mid 900s for some reason. I got no additional resistance on any of the connections. Maybe it's because of the cheapo Sanyo alkalines that I'm using?






Comparison against my Mag3C TV0K DD. Since the 4D measured under 1a, I used some equivelent powered alkies instead of NiMhs in the 3C to be fair. Both have Borofloat lenses and sputtered reflectors installed.

Top: 4D SY0M @ 850ma, Bottom: 3C TV0K @ 860ma - 25ft.


I don't know if it's just me, the camera, or the tints throwing me & the camera off but the SY0M looks way brighter than my TV0K. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rant.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif
See, this proves that "S" bins are still very bright and it's not all about "T" bins.
Or maybe because the SY0M read 4.15v and the TV0K read 3.78v @ the emitters? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif
Higher voltages gives intenser output, correct?

Thanks for looking!

darkzero,
Did you use some sort of a insulating pad to mount your emitter on? or is it just Glow-powder painted on? Nice looking soldering job there.

thx,
ernest

No insulating pad, just mixed glow powder into clear epoxy and applied it the the beautiful Hotlips.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif VERY nice, Darky. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

You did the glow-powder epoxy thing so well it looks like a machined disk of that glowing polymer. Very handsome.

Britt

I love that color glow powder. Is it green or aqua?
How did you apply it so perfectly!?!?!!!

Does look brighter. It may be because of the blue tint, vs the creamier tv0k. Also look at the picture, it appears the top beam is reflecting more of the door's shiny surface, and the bottom isn't. the camera is probably aligned directly at the top shot, and is getting a direct reflection off of the surface of the door... Look at the side spill of it, you can make out the details of the door.. makes sense.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

I was just reading this post and decided to take the plunge to 4 cells myself. I swapped out the 3 D's in my already glow in the dark modded TWOK mag for 4 C's, i added a 1 ohm resistor in there just to keep things on the safer side. I only whish i had a meter that could tell me how much current i have flowing through that luxeon III. As of right now it's brighter then it's ever been and i'm quite happy with the setup, i think i'm going to leave it that way permanantly. I was also wondering how you got that epoxy glow powder mix so perfect, it looks so good i'm considering redoing mine now. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

sothe real question is, is the 4D really brighter?

I heard D's have 50% greater internal resistance than C's could that explain the 900ma?

Actually, C cells have greater internal resistance than D-cells do.

Isaac, the glow powder used was plain ol' green. I never had cyan GP but I have made a cyan color experimenting by mixing blue and green before.

Thanks for pointing out the details about the beamshots. Yeah, the camera wasn't focused directly at the beams. The focus point was actually up high off to the left which is cropped out of the pic. My guess is the blue color tint is what mainly is throwing off the camera to make the SY0M look way brighter. To my eye the SY0M does look brighter but not as much as it apears in the pic.

And what a few of you would like to know, how did I apply the glow powder mix? I normally mix the GP in 5 min. crystal clear epoxy (Devcon) as I did with my 3C TV0K mod. I always mix as much as I can into the epoxy I'm working with.

On this one I painted the area where the GP would be applied with white paint (I used a "Pentel WHITE" marker but any white paint should work) before applying my GP mix. Green as you know glows way brighter than blue but I believe the white paint did make a bit of difference.

I also used the regular slow/overnight curing clear epoxy (also Devcon) this time as I get better results. Since it is slow setting the epoxy mix has time to settle to a more even level before curing. The 5 min. epoxy sets fast sometimes leaving an uneven surface level depending on room temps. If uneven, I then file the uneven parts off (because I'm anal like that /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif) and then coat it with clear lacquer based nail polish. Although I haven't needed to file when using the slow curing epoxy, I coated this one with the nail polish anyway but I don't think it was really necessary. Maybe that's why it appeared to look like a "polymer disc" as Britt said?

Ok so there's my secret but don't tell no one ok. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sssh.gif
If you just read this then you must be punished by death! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif
j/k of course

Thanks for sharing your secret with me Will!
Only with me of course! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I'm gathering some expertise for my coming mag mod.
What is the best way to center the emitter on the hotlips?
Do you clamp the emitter down (especially overnight epoxy) somehow?
Thanks,
Daich

I got 3 SYOM's from oeo2oo and put them all on Hotlips in Blue 3D Mags on direct drive. The currents where .91, .95 and 1.05 amps. If you could change out your resister to 1 ohm you would get a little more performance. I bought a DMM for $5 so I would never be over conservative in trying to protect the Luxeon from too much current. I also have a TVOK in a 3C Mag that is resistored down to 1.35 amps and the SYOM still appears brighter in head to head test. I Believe since the SYOM are a very blueish tint and the TVOK are on the yellow the blueish color can be seen by the human eye easier and there fore appears brighter, even at lower currents.

I do not clamp down the emitter down. It can defore the dome if to much pressure is applied. My first mod was a Lux V SE that I deformed the dome with to much clamping force and had what looked like silica gel ooze from it. Since then I have built at least a dozen mods and have never had a LED failure with currents as high as 1.5 amps. the trick is to keep the epoxy film as thin as possible. I now use so little of it that you can not even tell if there is epoxy and the bond junction.

Sorry, I'm a fresh newbie /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif what is DMM? also, what are your techniques for centering the emitter?
thanks,
Daich

Daich, a DMM is a digital multi meter.

I never use a clamp to press the emitter down either. I just apply the thermal epoxy, press down on it by hand, and then center it. On a Hotlips it's not that hard to get it centered because of the "pedastal" that is raised on it. The pedastal is roughly the same diameter as the emitter. I used to use a ruler to check if I got it centered, measuring the distances at four spots to see if they are equal. Now I just center it by eye and have no problems. If using a "orange peel" stochastic reflector, being a bit off center will hardly be noticeable.

You can always do the "roll test" trick that Beretta taught me for centering emitters: mount the emitter on the Hotlips heat sink, slip the heatsink loosely into the Mag's battery tube, then gently roll it along the edge of a table. If the emitter die appears to be wobbling, you haven't got it centered. Tweak and repeat until it appears to stay centered while rolling the battery tube along the table. Done! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[ QUOTE ]
darkzero said:

Used a SY0M emitter from oeo2oo (thanks again for the great deal!). No regulation used, just a 1.5ohm resistor. According to LED Pro, 1.5ohms on 6v with a vf of 3.99-4.23v, current should've be in the 1180-1340ma range. I only got into the mid 900s for some reason. I got no additional resistance on any of the connections. Maybe it's because of the cheapo Sanyo alkalines that I'm using?


[/ QUOTE ]

Keep in mind, there is alot of resistance in the Mag battery spring in the base of the flashlight, and also in the switch assembly. This adds on top of your resistor. Yes, even in the D-cell Mag, it causes lots of issues at higher current levels.