3C, not 2C MT-G2 Maglite Mod - BEAM shots are up in Post #1 and it's done!!!

Hello,

I need some music to complete this mod...

So...

It's a 2C 3C, my apologies. I ordered a 2C and I got a 3C, but I never checkedEmbarassed till I actually put the batteries in today. It's a 3C Maglite and I'm putting an MT-G2 led in it with a DrJones ramping driver, using comfychair's mod (Thanks cc), to make a NANJG driver work with higher voltages. I am using two 18650 Li-ion cells and well,... hell, just go look at the derned photos.Wink This is one that I've had sitting around for a long time, never completed and I figured I would clean up all the leftovers around here. Spring cleaning in the fall.

2c1a

2C Mag, MT-G2 led, "O-L ring", polished reflector, 7135 driver, momentary switch, glass lens and the Heat sink was made by Texas Lumens (Thanks Dan!!).

2c1b

The photo of this modified driver is not the one I actually ended up using. I thought it was a DrJones driver, but it wasn't, so I had to do another one. The one I am using in the light involves a zener diode and 200 ohm resistor, don't ask me, I had to PM comfychair and he had to hold my hand through the whole process. It is beyond me, I just followed instructions. I also added six extra 7135 chips to the driver. No, it won't produce the full amperage, but it will get to at least 4 amps and that's enough for me.

2c1c

I will be fitting this momentary switch into the stock switch housing. Just a little dremel action should do the trick.

2c1d

The reflector and ring are what I did the testing with a while back and I have hand polished the reflector. It was one that I ruined many moons ago and I decided to salvage it if possible.

2c1e

I used a dremel cutter bit and the drill press to open up the head of the Maglite and to cut down the reflector major OD so it would all fit tightly together.

2c1f

The heat sink is courtesy of Texas Lumens. He did a real good job with it and even made a threaded hole for an allen set screw.

2c1g1

I was going to make this another "Flame light" and I bought some 3m film that is supposed to be for masking in plating operations. It didn't work well at all and in a few minutes, the de-anodizing solution got under the tape. Now you can see the outline of the flames. The paint is VHT caliper paint and it's baked on.

sc123

I painted the head too.

2c2a

The switch housing has been opened up so that the new momentary switch will fit in flush.

2c2b

The positive contact for the battery is on the switch housing.

2c2c

The housing and switch are in place.

2c2d

Looks like a stock switch to me.

2c3a

The driver is wired up to the switch and to positive and negative. The stock negative contact in the Mag switch is where I am getting negative for the driver.

2c3b

The pill is wired to the driver and it's all ready to slide in.

2c3c

There you go. In place and the set screw is tightened to keep the heat sink from moving.

2c3d

It even works. I am getting a consistent 4.2 amps on high using the 18650 batteries.

2c3e

I bought some decent 18650 batteries and this is the temporary holder. I will be making a better sleeve later on, but I gotta try this light out!

2cb1

When I turned it on high, the camera shook in fear, LOL. It's a fairly bright light.

2cb2

Not much to say, it's a floody light. It won't be a thrower, but I didn't want a thrower. It's a very big hot spot and some spill. A deeper reflector would produce more spill, but this is good enough.

I still have to do some cosmetics before it is done, but it works and that's good enough for now...

zaq1

zaq2

zaq3

zaq4

zaq5

Enough...

I will do some beam shots tonight. I removed the "O-L collar" and I am just using the reflector now. Right now, it seems to be great for a "flood to throw". I will do some beam shots of that comparison, but turned all the way in (past the die), it is totally floody and turned way out, it actually focuses a fairly good spot.

Beam Shots: Flood versus Throw. These are with the OL ring taken out. The bottom of the reflector has a 21mm hole in it, so I can screw down till it's down past the star. Flood is all the way down and the best throw, (spot), is turned way up till the reflector is higher than the led die.

fth1

I went all the way down to a 125th of a second, to show the beam. The MOUSE OUT is FLOOD and the MOUSE OVER is THROW. Notice the donut hole in the flood shot, but not in the throw shot.

fth2a

Here it's at 1 second, (my standard setting), the donut hole is basically gone because it's just so damned bright. MOUSE OUT is FLOOD and MOUSE OVER is THROW.

fth3a

Here's a better distance to see the difference. MOUSE OUT is FLOOD and MOUSE OVER is THROW.

This light will never be a thrower, but now it's a Maglite, being that it is adjustable from flood to throw and overall, it does it better than a stock Maglite.

I love the DrJones program. This one is set with four modes and ramping, as well as the hidden flashy thingies I never use.

That's all. It will go up for auction very soon.

Very nice looking beam on that one. Great build.

nice job on the Mag mod :slight_smile: i had so many ideas of modding the 3D Mag i have kicking around, ( and the handfull of 2AA MiniMags) but not sure what yet.

Wow. These led’s are unbelievable to me in their own context. 4.5 amps should be the sweet spot between a heater and an oven with decent light output. Again what do I say. Very clever and creative. Its a shame these leds are so expensive. I have five on order and there is no change from $110.00 US. Looking forward to your next build. Thanks for sharing and it’s fantastic that others take their own time to help others out. Cheers all.

Very nice. Is the C body wide enough to be bored out for 26650s?

Want

MT-G2 mods are not easy. Incredible!

The C body is wide enough to take 26650s provided that it is an older light (no C in the serial number). Newer lights need to be bored. On the other hand, getting 2x26650 in a 2C light is going to be difficult due to length issues. I actually grabbed a couple of 18650s and stuck them in my old 2C Mag. And they protrude about .75 inch out the end. The tailcap won’t go on all the way with these cells. But you could certainly make it work (I’m guessing this light here probably has some switch mods to make the batteries fit, especially since his 18650s are probably longer than my unprotected LiFePO4 18650s). But with 26650s, the cells can’t fit in the recess on the tailcap. So you couldn’t get the tailcap on AT ALL. On the other hand, a 3C Mag will fit 2x26650 without modification (provided it is an older light). The same goes for a 4C with 3x26650.

wow

Nice job Justin!

Very very nice!!

Cool

The 2c is a great package.

Nice work!

How did you make 3,7V driver to power over 6V emitter?

Nice work. What do you use around the switch wires? The white stuff?

A pair of unprotected 18650 cells that don’t have tall positive buttons will fit fine in a newer 2C Mag if you remove the anodizing on the inside of the tailcap and slide a low profile spring into the rear of the cap. Hundreds of incan ROPs were made this way. A pair of unprotected ICR 25500 cells is also an option but you still need to ditch the stock tail spring for one that rests in the same tailcap groove but is low profile as well.

Sorry everyone. I ordered a 2C Maglite and I did not bother to check the length of it. I just started the modding and I didn't actually put batteires in it until after most everything was done and the thread was started.

It is a 3C and it could be bored for 26650, but with the newer 10 amp 18650s, I just don't see the need for 26650 batteries.

@RacR86: The white stuff is Arctic Alumina Adhesive.

Glamour shots in Post #1.

Flood to Throw Beam shots tonight.Wink