Mag 3D mod questions

I am probably the newest newbie on the block, and I'm pretty new in the flashlight craze, but I have decided to mod my black 3D maglite to a luxeonIII with a hotlips heatsink, and UCL lens. I took apart my black maglite 3D to get an idea of what I'm up against, and I encountered what looks to be like a problem. In MrBulks directions, there must be two wires soldered into the switch housing. One goes to that little metal strip, and the other to the very bottom where there is a metal contact plate. However, the wire that is to be soldered onto the metal contact plate has nowhere to go once the switch is slid back into the plastic harness. Am I missing something here? I haven't yet started the mod (or bought any of the parts for it...) but hopefully this is easily completed. I did look at Mr Bulks website under space needle instructions, but I am still confused as to how the wire is going to be able to find its way through the switch that settles inside the directly on top of the wire. Also I do not know very much about binning so does anybody have a recommendation for a good (bright) white LED with excellent throw? Dang this is long. Sorry!

-DanK

PS--I'm not gonna call it the dankneedle anymore...I dunno if Mr. Bulk would appreciate that..but I will name it something appropriate!

PPS--Sorry for posting this in the wrong forum before yaesumofo ...hope I got it right this time. What does B/S/t stand for anyhow?

For a D Maglite it's the norm to cut down the bulb post.






Now that you cut down the bulb post return the metal strip and solder your two wires.


Note: Images from member Darkzero

B/S/T stands for Buy/Sell/Trade.

Do you already have your list of parts that you need for your mod?
You might also want to check out this site: Mag Mod Cookbook

I just finished a little work on my first one so I can offer a few observations.

1) You can cut the end of the switch off without disassembling it first. I used a hacksaw blade and cut a little bit, rotated the switch, cut a little more, etc. until I had it cut all the way around. This left the entire long strip sticking out that I then cut so about 1/2" of it stuck out, making it easier to solder to.

2) When you take the switch out I would suggest putting a strip of tape around it. Mine dropped about 2" to my workbench and separated into about 8 parts. Took me a few minutes to figure out hot to get it back together and operating easily.

Former_Mag_User , Nice pics, wish I had those on my first Mag mod.
Ilikeshinythings & bjn70, Congrats on our build. Here's couple other note that might help with the build process.

Before you solder, use a 200 grit sand paper and scratch the surface of where you're gonna solder. It will help the solder hold a little better.

One other thing I use is a bi-pin connector between the Luxeon and the switch so that if you ever need swapping it out with a better Lux (believe me you will) it will save alot of hassle.

You guys are killer...I can't thank you enough!

-DanK

Oh yeah, how are they? I have an inova XO3 and it puts out about 82 lumens. According to my own calculations, which were done using microsofts built in crap calcuater, the 3D mag with the listed materials should put out +/- 110 lumens, right? If so that's only 35 lumens off of a surefire 10X and that tigerlight pepperspray madness. Anyways I'm goin for monster throw!

[ QUOTE ]
Ilikeshinythings said:
PPS--Sorry for posting this in the wrong forum before Yaesumofo ...hope I got it right this time. What does B/S/t stand for anyhow?

[/ QUOTE ]
BST = by sell trade. After a while around here you will find yourself in BTBTBBBT, The first one is the easiest. better get ready for some overtime or security's sales in order to keep up with your desire. Which will grow.
Dosen't mean much to me. Things just seem to get a bit more interest out here if there put in the right place.
Between the images and this siteSpace needle how TO you should be modding lights in no time.
I am pretty sure that Flashlight lens has the O-Sinks and the UCL glass lenses in stock.
If you need to talk with an expert about the details send Third_shift a PM He is an expert at modding these things.. If you don't know what that is start reading the forum FAQ's they are full of info about how to use the site.
Yaesumofo

White Luxeon III 3W Emitter (LXHL-PW09) TV1L
or
White Luxeon III 3W Emitter (LXHL-PW09) TY0J **NEW**

I have absolutely no idea what the difference is between the two, but they are both $18. Really I'm just looking for a recommendation--so if anybody knows the difference between the two feel free to shout it out. Also, Yaesumofo, that avatar is pretty friggin cool.
DanK

For that M@g 3D mod you should use a TWOK or TXOK if you plan to put 3 D size alkalines or NiMHs in it.

The first letter "T" is the flux bin - how bright it will be. The second two letters "W0" is the white color tint - W0 and X0 are supposed to be the whitest. The last letter "K" is the forward voltage bin or Vf - how much voltage the battery (or power supply) needs to provide to drive the emitter at its rated capacity.

See this link: Bin COdes Explained /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Thanks wtraymond a bunch for that link that helped out. I read that the TXOK requires a minimum of 3.51 volts to power it, can I get that kind of power out of 3 D cell batteries? or am I going to need to use the NiMHs? Also, 192 to 249.6 lumens is friggin insane, won't this flashlight only create about 110 lumens with the given specs? ahhh!!! so many questions!!! I guess that's the only real way to learn huh...ask the pros!

Thanks again!

[ QUOTE ]
modamag said:
One other thing I use is a bi-pin connector between the Luxeon and the switch so that if you ever need swapping it out with a better Lux (believe me you will) it will save alot of hassle.

[/ QUOTE ]

Where can you get those?
Can you post some photos of some examples?

B2eze makes some. I'm not sure those are the ones he's referring to.

I made a 3C Mag mod a few weeks ago and used a TVIL. It is nice and white. Mine is Direct Drive; it has no resistor.

Hi,member b2eze makes adapters/heatsinks that do not require any mods to the switch assy.He makes a really neat single adapter that uses the 30mm optics.I have two of these and they work great.Or if you want a LOT of light use his 3 star adapter or he also makes a 4 star adapter.

First off, 3 D alkaline cells will give you 4.5v (1.5v per cell - it says right on the battery!). NiMH cells are 1.2v each and 3 gives you 3.6v. K Vf binned emitters are perfect for 3D alks or NiMH. The alkalines sag (the voltage drops) more under load (when you turn the light on) so you don't have to worry too much about overdriving a K binned Lux with 3 alkalines.

Second, your not going to get your hands on an "X" flux binned emitter without prying it from a very few cold dead hands. Your "T" flux binned emitter puts out a respectable 67.2 - 87.4 lumens. You'll be on the high side of that with 3 fresh batteries.

Take a look at this and stay in the green or yellow... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Direct Drive Reference Sheet

Thanks for clarifying Bill. Would you recommend using a resistor in the build of this light? I did a little research through the forums and found that a 2.1 OHM 3 watt resistor might do the trick. I know what the resistor does, but I have no idea where to find one or which one to use. Does a resistor affect the output of the light? I really need to learn the terminology so I can figure all this stuff out on my own, but being a business major, I am about as far from EE as I could possibly be. Thanks again!

-DanK

Don't bother with resistors on a 3D.

Hey, just wanted to say that there's no need to chop that much of the metal strip. More to solder on a long strip and easier to hold while soldering

I agree with scudinc, I would bother with a resistor. Any resistance will make your light dimmer. The only reason people are using resistance in direct drive lights is to keep max current down to a safe level. You're fine with 3 D alkalines or NiMH.

You're going to have a very bright light for a couple of hours and then a bright light for 3-4 more. The useful light on a set of 3 alkalines will be 8-10 hours continuous. You won't really notice much reduction in brightness unless you leave it on a really long time.

When you're done with the modifications and the light works. Put in brand new (or freshly recharged) batteries and take the tailcap off. Turn the light on with the button and use an ammeter to read current between the bottom of the battery (-negative terminal) and the body of the flashlight (The flashlight tube is the -ground). Make sure your ammeter can handle at least 2 amps and that the leads going into the meter are set for reading amperage and not voltage. As you touch the leads to the terminal and the ground the light will come on because you completed the circuit with the meter.

GO play with your new toy for a while and then when you're thinkin', "wow, this thing's still pretty bright," you can pull the tailcap off again and check the amps again. You'll notice it drop off fairly quickly from above 1 amp and remain fairly long at 500-750mA.

I haven't changed batteries in mine for 3 weeks and I use it a lot.

As far as that (-) strip goes, I usually cut mine back 1/2 way and then with needlenose pliers, bent the tip of that into a tiny upside down "U" shape to solder the (-) lead in wire into.
It's easy to solder, and holds real good this way.

Awesome guys..I'm way stoked!! Do NiMH batteries make it more powerful? Or do you believe the alkalines are just fine? I got the heat sink, the emitter, the lens, AND the arctic alumina epoxy on the way by tuesday! I need to go to radioshack and buy some cables and solder them. I cut the reflecter down pretty far but there is stilla bout a millimeter left or so of the shaft. Anyways thanks a bunch for everybodies tips for this mod..I will try and post some pictures of it (not that you all haven't seen about 500 of them) so you can all see my beautiful new baby. I wonder if my Inova is gonna be jealous....

DanK