Match's Mods: The "Woot-Lite" 2D Magclone (part 1)

Gentlemen,

Today we'll be looking at a very inexpensive 2D LED maglite-esque torch that I'll affectionately be calling the Woot-lite. This nickname comes from the cheap source for these lights (Woot.Com) and also from the fact that it's real name, i.e. "LED 3-Watt CREE 120Lumen Flashlight" is rather cumbersome. It was originally discussed here, and then again here. While the first link shows the original woot deal, this light can be purchased all day long for ~$10 shipped at the second link.

*** 4 reasons why this light should be on your radar ***

1.) A full size 2D torch makes a great car/house light...and a much better hammer than that itty-bitty p60 host.

2.) At $10 shipped, it's a fraction of the cost of a maglite...Same great taste, but less filling!

3.) Outstanding thrower! Decent spill. Good output and great runtime on cheap alk's.

4.) This light is silly-easy to upgrade!

First a quick overview of the stock torch:

Features
Bright 3-Watt Cree LED (Q3)
Hard Anodized Aluminum Case
Up to 120 Lumens (approximate max)
Rubberized Push On/Off Button
Screw On/Off End Cap for easy battery changes
Each unit uses 2 “D” Batteries not included
Tech Specs
Max output: 120 Lumens
Product Dimensions: (each ) 9.5” L x 2” D
Product Weight: without batteries – 0.65lbs / with batteries – 1.30lbs

Body Color: Matte Black

Although it bears a slight resemblence to a 2D maglite, it really isn't a clone as none of the main parts are interchangeable. Speaking of parts, let's take a look at the what we have to work with here:

Points of interest that you should be aware of:

- Pill is thick and huge! Only ruined by the manufacturer cutting corners and drilling all the way through.

- Pill will accept 20mm star and 18mm driver.

- All the opaque plastic pieces above make up the switch assembly (reverse clicky switch).

- The reflector is plastic, along with the lens which measures in at 40mm.

Disassembly of the torch was a straight forward affair. Of the three I got, one of the heads was glued on, which added an extra step and a handful of curse-words to the process. Let's take a closer look at that pill:

So... where to start with modding this? This light offers a lot of possibilities, but in the interest of keeping it simple, we'll start off with (hence the part 1) an easy one that's free! Yup, total price is zero, ziltch, nadda...

Let's take a closer look at that driver, since that's where the magic will happen:

Lacking Foy's macro skills, this is the all I can offer (I have noticed that 3 vodka martinis help make the image look almost normal). Thankfully the picture is clear enough to show what needs to be done. Notice the far right resistor (R5)? That's what we'll be modding:

**The only thing we're going to do is jumper it out. Easiest way to do that is via a big solder blob on top of it, effectively taking it out of the circuit. **

And that's it! This is probably the easiest mod I've done to date. Ah, but is it effective you ask? (Go on...ask it!) Barring any EOTWAWKI predictions, numbers don't lie....and here's the numbers:

Stock Modified
Lumens 99.6 149.2
Lux@1m 18,200 26,800
Tailcap A 980ma 2.1a
Emitter A 470ma 800ma

Wow! For a small hit to efficiency we get nearly a 50% increase across the board on lumen and lux output! Considering it's running off of 2D batteries, runtime still won't be an issue. Guys, for a cheap boost driver this is huge. It also maintained those numbers off of 2xAA's as well.

Remember, these numbers are still on the stock Q3 emitter, so a simple swap here to an R2 or XP-G would see even greater gains. For part 2 I have something slightly different in mind though, and here's a couple of teaser pics of the mod I'll be making to the pill:

Summary for Part 1.

Even in stock form, this is a good solid light at a cheap price. Adding 5min worth of soldering time, and it gets even better. Beyond that, there are a lot of future options to explore... As soon as a few little yellow envelopes show up, I'll finish up part 2 below. I'lll also try and get some beamshots up later on this evening. Thanks for reading.

-Match

Reserved for Part 2

Very nice as usual, just watch out with the XP-G or XP-E and that driver two cells. With the DX's boost modded as you did, not even as drastic because only added one 220 miliOhm in parallel totalling around 80 ... first XP-G got shorted , the XP-E just was open.

After a lot of curse did what should be did at first, puting a 3.3 Ohm as a load the measure was 3.9 V , 1,2 A ,not much current but obviously the V forward was to much...Cree say 3.75 V max

Hey, Match, what is the outside diameter of that reflector?

[quote=JohnnyMac]

Hey, Match, what is the outside diameter of that reflector?

[/quote]

~40mm, same as the lens. I found that DX sells a glass lens this size, of which I have 10 on order (I have never cared for plastic lens's).

I smell 3A+ xml :).

There you go again with that shiny copper porn :P

[quote=Piers]

There you go again with that shiny copper porn :P

[/quote]

Hehe...yup. I love the look of copper, and wish it was used more. Unfortunately this copper slug will be hidden in the light. Glad it's not just me who likes it :)

This a mod even I can do ...Tongue out

EDIT: this is a mod I DID do ... A little piece of wire ,a little solder .. piece of cake ..

What's next ..

i'm hunting a piece of copper to fill the hole

I got one of these and it's just as bright on a couple LSD AA's as an MRV on high. Very similar reflector frontal area. Tint is pretty white and high temp.

Really good deal if you want a thrower that runs off low voltage batteries.

Yep. One of the big reasons I got these. They'll make excellent gifts to folks who'd rather not mess with li-ion or nimh.

Congrats on the successful mod, Boaz!

Looking good Match! Simple and innovative as usual. Great job with these novel ideas for mods! Frontpage'd and Sticky'd.

the trick is always tinning and lots o flux .. and having friends who work on electronics for a living (back up)

This light weighs almost a pound and a quarter 600 grams . 4 times heavier than a

solarforce ,18650 and a drop in > 150 grams ..

I'm always amazed how much D cells weigh.

3 for $20 deliveried that is to the guys in the US - not so luck for us Aussies :(

Yeah, and now they're sold out. Gosh, I wonder how that happened? That's alright - I'm a patient guy - I can wait.

Hi Match, how is your woot's light part 2 coming along. We are all waiting for some copper porn. Thanks in advance.

the apperance is not good

I'm wondering if a C8 reflector will fit into this baby.

Oh bugger... I have totally missed the deal on these!

Would have been very, very nice to be left in a car as backup...

Part 2 has been done for awhile now, but I've been (and still am) on vacation so it'll have to wait till I get back. I'd be too tedious to post from my cell phone :)