120+ lumen Minimag Hotwire mod

Hi, all!

If some of you have visited my humble Dummy Reference Guide to Minimag Mod, then you might have remembered I have mentioned a Minimag that will have a whole new level of brightness, and this is it--Aw's Minimag Hotwire mod.

It was from this mod that I have gotten the idea of putting a Twintask 1 cell lithuim bulb into my Minimag as featured on the guide. And this is a tribute post to his original creation. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif



The story behind

I remembered it was a nice Sunday afternoon, and when I first heard from a fellow CPFer, Aw, his idea about putting a TL3 bulb into a Minimag; I didn't give it much thought(since I don't own a TL3), except that if the heat could be managed(no melting switch, lens, reflector, burning house, etc), then it would be a 'cool and exciting' mod. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif


Of course, being a dare devil for hotwires, Aw always manage to put his light/bulb in use to the extreme. It was not long before he called me again in a few days, and have said that he had melted some of the parts in the Minimag /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin07.gif but it was 'bright as hell'...back then, I still had no idea how bright it could become. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif


Not after a week or two afterwards, during a small meet between our local HK flashaholics then he had shown us his new baby--a Minimag hotwire mod.

It is hard to describe how it feel when you see the light coming into focus when that intense hotspot hitting a wall just feets away from us. It was like owning a Minimag for a long, long time, and seeing a Mag 6D come into focus the first time...so bright that you could not look at it in close range.

His mod definitely got an unanimous 'wow' from all of us that day. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif


Then I asked him did he has any good estimate as how bright it was, and IIRC, his answer was 'Errr...it's brighter than my 9AN...so 120 lumens+?' /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif


So without further ado, here are some pictures of the Minimag Hotwire 120+ lumens mod, courtesy of Aw:











Currently, I am out of town and away from my tools, but a detailed step-by-step guide will soon be featured on my Dummy Reference Guide to Minimag Mod


Thank you for reading!

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MiniMag rulz!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
AuroraLite rulz!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif
MiniMag for Dummies rulz! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

...OK, OK, I'll go sit down now and bit my fingernails until this mod gets addedd /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleye11.gif

Hey that sounds great! Does it run on primary or ion batts?

[ QUOTE ]
CromagNet said:
Hey that sounds great! Does it run on primary or ion batts?

[/ QUOTE ]

Li-Ions

Thanks Jim, that's what I figured. I only use single iON batts for safety /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Have you done this mod?

It's on my to do list. I have some metal reflectors out of other flashlights, and I'm hoping at least one of them will fit. I just haven't gotten around to trying them yet.

Whoohoo! I hope I'm going to be able to manage this one! Make this into a simple kit and everybody's gonna buy it.

Greenled,
Thank you, and thank you! But this is Aw's show, and I do feel like he should be taking the praises instead of me. It will not be possible without his creativity(to come up with the right kind of material) and resourcefulness(of finding the protected AA li-ion). Aw rulz!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif


Cromagnet,
As JimH said, it does utilize two Li-ion AAs in stacked. And I do agree with you that under normal circumstances, I would only use 1 Li-ion battery at a time. But since the latest protected AA li-ions had been out, I guessed that's why Aw had taken this step to do this mod. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


JimH,
I truly look forward to your Minimag Turbohead/adapter project, and hopefully it could be compatible with this mod! Then we would have a neat thrower/hotwire mod! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif


Trashman,
That is a neat suggestion. Since it is Aw's mod, so he naturally have more say in this than me. I guess at this stage, it is more important to run more test(to see it has stable heat management, any safety issue, etc) before consider to offer the 'buying' option. Unfortunately, I am currently away from my tools and goodies, but once I get my hands on them or more data, then I would post more updates. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Thanks for the interest!

Whoohoo, AW!!! What is the voltage and size # (14xxx?) of those AA li-ions?

Whoohoo! This is a definite MUST HAVE mod!

Bravo, Thats all I can really say. Everybody has been focusing on the C/D size and here you and AW go and come out with a MiniMag mod. It's definately a winner. I cant wayt to see some beamshots and possably some runtime/heat tests. Since there appears to be nothing left plastic in the head there doesnt look to be anything to melt. Im looking over at my pewter minimag (since i prefer all my mags pewter) and thinking of it being the perfect candidate for such a mod. And to top things off i already have 4 of the protected 14500's on the way from AW /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I think this would work nicely in concert with a Turbohead or something of the like. But id be wanting to see what i could squeeze into the stock head. It looks like you slightly bored out the head to fit a Mcr20 or whatever the 20mm reflector is called. Either that or found a 17mm equivilent. Either way, It's masterfully done. I cant wait for the kit to become available. Hopefully it will not be out of my price range.

Shane

AuroraLite ,

Thanks for posting my humble mod /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I 'll chime in to give a little more details here:

In order to withstand the quite tremendous heat from the TL3 bulb which is rated at 200 lumens by Streamlight. I replace the stock plastic lens with a mineral glass lens. The stock reflector won't last for more than 30 seconds so I replace it with a cut down Q-III alum. reflector. The beauty of this reflector is it will retain the bezel twist on/off and focusing ability. The orange peel texture will smooth out the beam and eliminates most beam artifacts when focused properly. And last, the most important part of this mod is the bulb holder. I replace the stock plastic bulb holder ( which starts to melt within 10 seconds ) with a ceramic disk cut to the same diameter and height. I utilize the original M@g metal pins from the bulb holder to hold the TL3 bulb. The whole setup is running on two protected LiIon 14500 ( 750mAH ). Runtime test conducted ( fan cooled ) with a result of about 35 - 37 minutes till the protection kicks in. The TL3 bulb draws 1.28A and the 14500s provide enough juice without double clicking/twisting. With the smaller cut down reflector, this Minimag mod cannot compare with the original TL3 but it is still very bright /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I have also toy with a smaller Miniminimag ( 1AA ) using the same setup running on 2 unprotected 14250. Same brightness with a 12 minute runtime.

Want smaller? Try the same modded bezel with a Strion bulb on H22A's MMMmag body running a single 14270......

lol,, ok so when are you going to offer the kits? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Shane

If you're planning on selling the one you've already made, I'm already lined up to buy it! I know, it's probably pretty unlikely, but then, Photonfanatic, after going through all that polishing and gold flashing of his Raw into a masterpiece, he just up and sold it right away......so, if you're planning on doing the same.......

Wow, the Miniminimag mod must be completely mind blowing. I want of those, too. I think it might be time to take another look at H22A's MMMmag.

You've just put me on quest!

I'm in for a TK version, a couple of cells and spare bulbs (that is, if you're planning on doing a run for us /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif )

Dave.

I'm in for one tk also.

Rick

AuroraLite will provide a detail step-by-step instructions for this mod and I think he may offer a DIY kit /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif

Here is some pictures for different set-ups using the same reflector/bulb holder mod:


MMMmag with 3.7V Strion bulb running on a single 14270



MMmag with 9V TL3 bulb running on two 3.7V 14250



Mmag with 9V TL3 bulb running on two protected 3.7V 14500



Beamshot ( Mmag with TL3 bulb/Cut down Q-III reflector )

In line for the kit!

Anyone know of other bulbs that might be less bright but drop ins for running in a MM with 2 li-ions?

Holy Cow! Outstanding, AW and Auroralite! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Which is brighter (and by how much), between the strion (running at spec) and the 9v TL3 (underdriven)? How long's does the strion burn for? I'm in for 2 or 3 kits.

Also, AW, are the 14250's, for the 2x 14250 Micromag mod, available through you? I know you have the 14270's and the 14500's, but I think this is the first time I see mention of those. How safe is it to use two of them in series like that? ( /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif)