jchock
Newly Enlightened
OK,
I bought a Metal Gear not just because it was cheap, but because it looked like something I could modify...
So after getting it, it took about 30 seconds for me to go "oh, not as bright as my Q3, lets take it apart..." I wanted this to be bright and to run off of 2xCR123s so...
I decided I would try to change the reflector, Luxeon, and driver...
Looking at the Metal Gear, gathered the following bits, of which the last arrived from the Sandwich Shoppe today:
Downboy set for about 1.1A
Copper pipe cap
Luxeon III TWOJ left over from being replaced with a TWOH in the Nuwai Q3
McR-27L reflector from Wayne
a hose connector with a 5/8" hex size
After cutting the end out of the copper pipe cap with a chisel and grinding it into a new heatsink plate, most of these are seen here:
Unscrewing the top to get to the Luxeon 1W, you see:
Using the hose connector to unscrew the retaining ring:
and the retaining ring separated:
Which allows you to remove the Luxeon module/not-quite-sandwich:
and if you take the sandwich apart to get the battery tab and to remove the Luxeon from it (in this case a RYOJ). You can plainly see this is a direct drive light with only a resistor on the circuit board to run it:
I re-sized the plastic case of the resistor module by scribing .44" less around the entire thing, including the locator tabs. I made three holes in the new copper made heatsink, two for these locator tabs (that also locate/center the Lux) and one for wires.
I wired in the Downboy and then installed it in the module soldering it to what was the (+) battery tab on the original resistor module. Using Arctic Alumina to help hold down the Lux as well as aid in heat transfer, I got the following module seen with a bit of the .44" removed segment:
With that done I then set about replacing the reflector. I used a pencil with the rubber eraser to press the plastic lens out from the inside and after it popped out and landed on the cap, I took this picture showing the reflectors (L-R): McR-27, SureFire P91 (comparison), original Dorcy plastic reflector, and the McR-27L reflector. The lens and rubber seal/grommet that surrounds the factory reflector are also shown:
The McR-27L is a lot longer than the factory one, so I needed to remove about 0.17" from the front face. I did this by using a file and rotating it repeatedly while running the face up and down. I had previously scribed a line around the outside of the reflector using a steel dial caliper. After using the file, I ran it over 600grit wet dry to get the following reflector (shown after using compressed air to blow out the aluminum shavings).
I put two small #35 O-rings around the reflector so that there was still an environmental seal and to help naturally center the reflector. I inserted the modded McR-27L and then used my Surefire body (which is about the diameter at the light where the P91 goes) to help uniformly press the original lens back in to get:
Now I will say this: The switch is the weak point. You'll probably need to find a new switch. People say this is machined badly at the threads. I don't think it's the threads being bad as much as the stupid thread sealant sucks and looks like flaky rubber cement.
Now for beamshots, all shots are 1.3s exposures at 50mm with a f/1.8 to trees about 100ft away and were set for manual focus at infinity because I got tired of playing with the autofocus in the cold... The first is my modified Nuwai Q3 (detailed in a prior thread that has a NexGen 833, IMS reflector, now a TWOH, and a UCL). This light will put out about 1800-1900 lux/1m on a R123 battery from Batterystation.com. It's a good EDC that has held up all over including ATVing in Alaska.
The second is the modded Metal Gear, TWOJ, shortened McR-27L, (bad switch), Downboy 1.1Aish, 2xCR123A batts...
When I put this on my lux meter, it has on fresh batterys spiked to 4000 lux/1m, but it settles down to the neighborhood of 3300-3800 lux/1m. I prefer to think of it as 3600lux/1m because it's easy to calculate the throw as for comparison to the Flashlightreview tables: 60m.
So, there you have it, a mod that changes a Metal Gear 1W 4.5V light (1050-1100lux/1m) into a light throwing 3W with 6V(3600lux/1m)... (BTW-the original reflector with new Downboy driver and 2xCR123 gave about 2700 lux/1m)
It's fun, it's bright, and it makes me appreciate my Nuwai a lot because it makes that difference between 1900 lux/1m light and almost twice that (about 40% more throw), but with scattering, it's not that different, so my modded Nuwai is still good (and got some complements from the guy who started CMG).
The switch has got to go though, it's very touchy. I may convert this to a tape switch and mount it on a rifle instead later on, but for now, it'll go about the house to go with my many Nuwais and SFs...
Am I overdriving it... probably. Do I have enough Heat Sink? Probably not. There wasn't a lot of heat sinking material, if I had a lathe, I could make a proper slug that would replace the retaining ring and be thicker... But I don't. It gets warm inside, but it didn't get warm outside on a walk in the cold tonight...
I bought a Metal Gear not just because it was cheap, but because it looked like something I could modify...
So after getting it, it took about 30 seconds for me to go "oh, not as bright as my Q3, lets take it apart..." I wanted this to be bright and to run off of 2xCR123s so...
I decided I would try to change the reflector, Luxeon, and driver...
Looking at the Metal Gear, gathered the following bits, of which the last arrived from the Sandwich Shoppe today:
Downboy set for about 1.1A
Copper pipe cap
Luxeon III TWOJ left over from being replaced with a TWOH in the Nuwai Q3
McR-27L reflector from Wayne
a hose connector with a 5/8" hex size
After cutting the end out of the copper pipe cap with a chisel and grinding it into a new heatsink plate, most of these are seen here:
Unscrewing the top to get to the Luxeon 1W, you see:
Using the hose connector to unscrew the retaining ring:
and the retaining ring separated:
Which allows you to remove the Luxeon module/not-quite-sandwich:
and if you take the sandwich apart to get the battery tab and to remove the Luxeon from it (in this case a RYOJ). You can plainly see this is a direct drive light with only a resistor on the circuit board to run it:
I re-sized the plastic case of the resistor module by scribing .44" less around the entire thing, including the locator tabs. I made three holes in the new copper made heatsink, two for these locator tabs (that also locate/center the Lux) and one for wires.
I wired in the Downboy and then installed it in the module soldering it to what was the (+) battery tab on the original resistor module. Using Arctic Alumina to help hold down the Lux as well as aid in heat transfer, I got the following module seen with a bit of the .44" removed segment:
With that done I then set about replacing the reflector. I used a pencil with the rubber eraser to press the plastic lens out from the inside and after it popped out and landed on the cap, I took this picture showing the reflectors (L-R): McR-27, SureFire P91 (comparison), original Dorcy plastic reflector, and the McR-27L reflector. The lens and rubber seal/grommet that surrounds the factory reflector are also shown:
The McR-27L is a lot longer than the factory one, so I needed to remove about 0.17" from the front face. I did this by using a file and rotating it repeatedly while running the face up and down. I had previously scribed a line around the outside of the reflector using a steel dial caliper. After using the file, I ran it over 600grit wet dry to get the following reflector (shown after using compressed air to blow out the aluminum shavings).
I put two small #35 O-rings around the reflector so that there was still an environmental seal and to help naturally center the reflector. I inserted the modded McR-27L and then used my Surefire body (which is about the diameter at the light where the P91 goes) to help uniformly press the original lens back in to get:
Now I will say this: The switch is the weak point. You'll probably need to find a new switch. People say this is machined badly at the threads. I don't think it's the threads being bad as much as the stupid thread sealant sucks and looks like flaky rubber cement.
Now for beamshots, all shots are 1.3s exposures at 50mm with a f/1.8 to trees about 100ft away and were set for manual focus at infinity because I got tired of playing with the autofocus in the cold... The first is my modified Nuwai Q3 (detailed in a prior thread that has a NexGen 833, IMS reflector, now a TWOH, and a UCL). This light will put out about 1800-1900 lux/1m on a R123 battery from Batterystation.com. It's a good EDC that has held up all over including ATVing in Alaska.
The second is the modded Metal Gear, TWOJ, shortened McR-27L, (bad switch), Downboy 1.1Aish, 2xCR123A batts...
When I put this on my lux meter, it has on fresh batterys spiked to 4000 lux/1m, but it settles down to the neighborhood of 3300-3800 lux/1m. I prefer to think of it as 3600lux/1m because it's easy to calculate the throw as for comparison to the Flashlightreview tables: 60m.
So, there you have it, a mod that changes a Metal Gear 1W 4.5V light (1050-1100lux/1m) into a light throwing 3W with 6V(3600lux/1m)... (BTW-the original reflector with new Downboy driver and 2xCR123 gave about 2700 lux/1m)
It's fun, it's bright, and it makes me appreciate my Nuwai a lot because it makes that difference between 1900 lux/1m light and almost twice that (about 40% more throw), but with scattering, it's not that different, so my modded Nuwai is still good (and got some complements from the guy who started CMG).
The switch has got to go though, it's very touchy. I may convert this to a tape switch and mount it on a rifle instead later on, but for now, it'll go about the house to go with my many Nuwais and SFs...
Am I overdriving it... probably. Do I have enough Heat Sink? Probably not. There wasn't a lot of heat sinking material, if I had a lathe, I could make a proper slug that would replace the retaining ring and be thicker... But I don't. It gets warm inside, but it didn't get warm outside on a walk in the cold tonight...
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