I want to modify my Maglite 3D. Actually, I have already done it: It has a 5*XRE-R2 module with 2*18650. It is rated around 1200lumen, being pesimistics, it is not less than 1000 lumens because its driven at 2.5A @ 8V (exactly 1 A per led at 4V).
The main problem is my budget, I mean, this mod is pretty cheap: the leds + heatsink + reflector is 33USD in DX, and batteries less than 10. I want to go brighter, but not paying hundreds of dollars..
I could use my 18650's but I know i will have to buy something bigger, like 26500 or 32600. Considering a total budget of 70 to 90USD, do you have any idea to go brighter than this?
(i don't want to have the sun in my hands (well actually I do, but not now :D ), but i wont pay 80 dollars to increase only 20% of brightness)
More info of my mod here, in spanish http://www.forolinternas.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=730
(i think i will have to wait to the next year and make a triple XML)
I can't think of anything for under a few hundred dollars that's going to beat that. I suppose you could swap out the R2's for R5's and increase the drive current.
XM-Ls will become available in quantity in a few months, driven at 2-3A, five of those would be very, very interesting. But 7.5A at 8V means IMR 18650's or the unprotected KD 32600s - the IMR 25650 cells would work better but cost more. I've never pulled more than 5A from my KD 32600s. They are quite a bit longer than 60mm and need magnets to connect them together. You will need to shorten the stock Mag spring. That would give you 10.8V nominal - peak 12.6V. A driver that can handle 13V and hand out 15 amps is not going to be cheap unless you can build your own. That said, driving XM-L's at 1A each should give you around 1500 lumens with the existing driver. Driven at 3A each you should get the same output as a 100W incandescent bulb driven hard, around 4500 lumens. Knock off 30% which is usual for actual output lumens and you are still looking at 3000 lumens.
And a lot of heat.
An SST-360 ought to give up to 6-8000 lumens but you will need fancy battery packs - they can take up to 45A. Getting a reflector that can actually focus that will cost a lot too.
You could go incandescent with a fancy Osram bulb, something like a 64440 and 4 IMR 26500 if you can get them. Runtimes will be short and heat ridiculous. 100W bulbs are an explosion or bad burns waiting to happen. Should give you 4000 lumens when coupled with a soft-starter which is going to eat most of your budget all by itself.
I suspected this module from DX is the best for the money, if I want to increase the brightness in a 20%, I need to spend 300% of money I already have..
The same with the batteries, 18650 flame trustfire work pretty well and cost 5 dollars, those 3200 are not protected, they have two times the charge, and cost more than three times..
The best part of this is that I made a very good choice, the worst is that I can't upgrade it without spending a fortune..
Is there any good heatsink around to use with an XRE R2 and an aspheric? (with a good relation quality/price)
Don the more I look at it, your SST90 Mag seems to be one of the best bangs for the buck in high powered engineered LED Mag conversions. I couldn't build a variable output Mag myself for the price the guy sells them for. Are there any others that you are aware of that do the same for less?
I have an early model TrustFire TR-1200 (5 x very well driven XRE Q5’s). It was made well before the lousy weak driver issues arose that currently plague them today. I have thought about modding it with higher output LEDs, but at their current state of technology, the perceived additional levels in brightness wouldn’t be worth the effort or expense to me. This thing would become unusably hot after 3 minutes with 4 or 5 x SST50’s (not to mention the stupid short runtimes) and I want something I can carry in the field and actually use.
I attended a police convention a few months back. When the subject of flashlights was mentioned, several of us produced a variety of throwers. Everything from Catapults to Eagletec, Fenix TK-40, Jetbeam M1X and quite a few other very notable lights showed up in the parking lot for comparisons. I can say the one that got the most attention was my TR-1200. Granted that some of its advantage is in the brilliant white beam tint that adds much more punch and definition downrange than the SST’s or MCE’s that showed up to play. The biggest revelation to me was that there is no substitute to the human eye when comparing beams, tint and output. This really becomes evident with higher powered flashlights. IMO photos and LUX comparisons don’t do such a great job in comparing them. There are many technical reasons why but that’s a conversation for another thread and has already been discussed. Among the many lights, there was no indecision between the several guys in which lights were the brightest to the eye, and then sorting them in descending order. Our eyes all saw the same thing and processed them accordingly, albeit that it did take some time to sort them all out. The comparison was focused mainly on range and output in the typical search ranges of 100-400 feet. Conditions varied from well light parking lot tarmac with parked cars to areas that were almost completely dark with darkened buildings and parked cars. The large expanses of blackened fresh tarmac absorbed light like a hungry sponge, which added to our ability to concentrate on what was happening down range and not in the peripheral vision. We also had a dark tall grassy field on the other side of the building with a tree hedgerow at about 350-400 feet to play in.
I'm looking forward to XML’s... as is everyone else. But then the initial data sheets are already showing some disappointments that have watered down my dreams of what this new LED should have been. Perhaps they will become much better in the next 1 or two years. OR... perhaps they will be much better than anticipated when packaged with correct optics and driven properly. Hey, at least we all want to see that but I doubt it will happen.
As an aside, I went for a bike ride to test two identical P7 lights simultaneously while mounted on my handlebars. The difference in brightness between having one or both lights on was negligible under most conditions. While traversing tricky terrain, the second light added some additional definition to heavy foliage in the near to intermediate beam range, but certainly not compelling enough for me to ride with two of them. Its similar to losing a bulb in your auto headlamp. Its dimmer driving with one bulb but certainly not nearly twice as bright with two of them.
For now, I'm quite happy with my TR-1200. It will take a quantum leap like Don’s SST90 Mag to impress me, but that also has its extreme uses and extreme limitations. One thing is for sure. It’s a great time to be alive and be flashaholics! Almost as much fun is converting those who are not.
The biggest revelation to me was that there is no substitute to the human eye when comparing beams, tint and output. This really becomes evident with higher powered flashlights
Technically it's down to the difference in dynamic range between eyes and cameras. That and a lot of beamshots are poorly done.
Even a sst-90 is not going to be that much better than a 1200L, certainly not in throw. The surface brightness is too limited.
My module admits 8,4V max in theory, but the one of the TR1200, up to 13v. Some people from DX use my module with 3 liions, and some other say they burned it.. i don't know if i should try or not..
A third battery will increase considerably the runtime, because it will be suck around 1.6A from each (now its using 2,5A from each), and lower current draws increases the battery life.
Sorry but I completely disagree with all of your observations, as would each and every of the 50+ law enforcement officers, bush pilots, firemen, professional guides and flashaholics that have handled it.
I think your driver is different from the TR-1200 so I wouldn't risk the 3rd 18650. Even if it would handle the extra voltage, it doesn't make it any brighter at turn on, but it does run for the length of the burn in full regulation (with 3 x 18650) till one of the pcb's on my protected cells disconnects. In 2 x 18650 config, it runs for about 30 min before going into direct drive and wont pop the protection circuits at all (typical of most all protected cells with this type of driver in direct drive mode when not driven hard near battery exhaustion). With so much light on tap, its hard to notice till the batteries are nearly sapped anyway. The third battery on the TR-1200 may only give you about another 20-30 min of run time, but it burns at maximum output during the entire duration due to the regulated driver. Again, I have an early TR-1200 and the new ones are built with crappy drivers. I think someone else on this forum bought a TR-1200 or one of its clones from another distributor and thought it was up to snuff, as indicated by DMM tailcap amperage readings and far better light output from the one he returned to DX.
Thats the price you pay for high output that completely embarrasses most of its very expensive competition. Id advise those not looking for the brightest cheapie light to completely stay away. For kicks, I just compared it in 3 x 18650 configuration to my 3D rebel Mag. With batteries in both, the mag is HUGE, poorly balanced, has a larger clunky heavier head, is much longer in length, much fatter body tube, much more unwieldy and uncomfortable to hold, and weighs A LOT more. Do I still like my MAG? Hell yes! Very long reliable run times with mediocre output and narrow beam. It makes for a great club if necessary.
lets put it this way, if i cant put it in my pocket, theres no way its gonna be an 18650 light
that many 18650s in series can be VERY dangerous. i wont mess with it
ill make a driver for 3x D Ni-MH that are 10,000mah.
while a bit heavier, and not much more capacity than an 18650 (9.62 Whr vs 12 Whr, based on 2600 mah 18650)
its ALOT safer. also can drop alkaline or other D sized batteries without an issue
BIG plus for a big flashlight
and of course it works better as a weapon lol
i LOVE 18650 flashlights, BUT, i like pocket ones that can also take cr123a's in an emergency
whats the point of a flashlight if you CANT use it one your 18650's (which are RARE) run out? CR123's are in most stores in the US
for a flashlight of that size, that will be used out backpacking, in the wild, or at home as an emergency flashlight, it is MUCH better of an idea to leave it using standardized batteries.
you cannot go to most stores in the US and pick up an 18650. not a good survival idea to expect them to be sitting around CHARGED when the **** hits the fan lol.
