I have been itching to do a simple mod of the venerable Mini Maglite 2-Cell AA flashlight and think I have come up with one of the simplest and cheapest true mod, not just an off-the shelf LED module replacement.
Here are some features:
- aluminum pill that can fit 16mm round MCPCB
- boost driver to use 2 AA cells with current limiting to boost battery life
- frosted TIR with nice flood
- same twist operation
Estimated cost is $6.
Details of build with pictures will appear soon. I’m posting this as a teaser for now.
11/3/2015
This is my first build post on BLF. I’ve learned a lot from reading many other fantastic builds so this is a way to give back.
First the final product:
Beam shots:
Here are the build steps illustrated using a new mini maglite.
The pill and driver were taken from a cheap AA zoomie that can be had for $1.99.
So much for DO NOT REMOVE.
The mini maglite looks like this disassembled.
The top of the battery tube original and after 1 minute of sanding.
Here is the bezel with a gasket I cut from an old 35mm film canister holder.
The pill was a perfect fit! I added a spring to the driver.
The lens is also a close fit. This second mini maglite might end up as an non-zoom aspheric.
Here is a 21mm frosted TIR I got from led-dna on ebay. It is shown next to original reflector and XP-G2 7A LED replacement. This particular TIR is perfect for this build because it is shorter than the other TIRs I have. This is critical because of the little clearance in the mini maglite head.
Here is a closeup of the driver, which originally had three modes. I removed the mode controller chip and replaced it with a 7135 linear constant current regulator. This light is intended as a gift so I want it to last longer on 2 AAs. Even with 350mA to the LED, it will be brighter than the stock light.
This pill is hollow so I added some Artic Silver Ceramique 2 to help a little. But it should not have heat problems with 350mA. I had to widen the plastic spacer with a 5/16” drill bit to better fit the TIR. I made a poor attempt to make room for the soldered connections.
That’s it for the pictures. Here are some final notes.
I bought two cheap zoomies: one black and one golden. One of them, I forgot which, came with three modes and what looks like a genuine Cree XP-E. The other came with a one-mode driver with a genuine LB POS.
I used the XP-G2 7A because I have several and thought this is a good project for it to maintain the incandescent look of the original Maglite.
For the cheapest build, just use the pill as-is and the cost is $1.99. Add $0.40 for the frosted TIR.
The pill qualifies as a drop-in so you can build several pills with modes, different tints, different LEDs, etc.
i have several 2-AA mini mags that i need to mod.