I have a Maglite 4D which is collecting dust in a drawer for months now. Is there any easy mod to let's say an xml or anything better than the original bulb?
I have a 3D Maglite from a friend that passed away about 10 years ago, he got it from his sisters boyfriend at the time who was a policeman and left it at his house.
And its just sat around doing nothing for all this time because it chews through batteries too fast, but I remember when I first got it I was blown away by how bright it was
I don't want to get rid of it but at the same time its not of any use to me either, I don't want to pay so much to mod it.
I wish DD or MF or something had a drop in for cheap like they do with P60 lights, they could make a fortune selling them.
Now those I consider decent prices for a Mag mod... How easy are those? I don't mind a bit of modding/soldering and so on, but right now I am in the mood for drilling/cutting etc... :P
Do a search over at CPF for "Maglite Mod" or "Mag Mod". You will find so many mods, you won't be able to decide, but there's a ton of them out there to try. Some are easy, some are harder, it's all in what you want.
the 4D Mag is a great size choice for XM-L, as you can feed it with 4xD/5xC alkaline or NiMH. I prefer to modify 4D Mags for friends because they can use regular (non-lithium ion) battery types to drive an XM-L at full power.
This 8xAMC7135 linear regulator driver complements the 4D's possible voltage ranges. SilverFox's Alkaline Shootout thread on CPF shows that you get anywhere from 25-30 minutes of continuous runtime on high. When 4xD alkaline cells sag down to 1V or less, the XM-L should still get the full 3.04 amps. Medium mode draws around 1 amp, is pretty bright, and lasts a long time. 4xNiMH D cells will run a very long time, even on High.
I make heatsinks on a lathe and mill in my school's machine shop. The emitter/driver set me back ~$17US per pair, and the heatsink material cost me (2")(1'/12")($56/12') = ~$0.78. I'm unsure of the exact cost of shipping from here to Greece for a 100g heatsink but PM me if you're interested, I'm sure we can work something out!