A couple more pocket rockets XML A30B vs MCU-C7s

Today's project was one part Ultrafire Fire A30B and one part MCU-C7s, about 11 bucks each.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-a30b-cree-q5-wc-220-lumen-led-flashlight-1-cr123a-21478

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-mcu-c7s-cree-q5-wc-3-mode-230-lumen-memory-led-flashlight-1-cr123a-26497


Two parts NANJG 105C 2.8amp drivers set to three mode high, medium and low, about 4 bucks each.

http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=11088

Two parts Cree XM-L cool white T6 1A 16mm star, about 8 bucks each.

http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=11130

A little bit of solder, some FUJIK, a lot of patience and two more flame throwers to add to the collection.

I like the A30 better it has a much better beam and the driver fit in the pill perfect.

It was also nice replacing Q5s since the reflectors did not need to be modded.

Those will make nice little hand warmers for the New England winters coming up Good work.

That’s pretty nice, with the links and all. Was one easier than the other?

The pill on the A30 was much easier to get apart and put back together, plus it was brass instead of aluminum. Buying the drivers from Shiningbeam would have saved a lot of time, attaching the wires and the mode selection is time consuming. The 16mm emitters are actually 16.5 so they need to be filed down which is also a pain, but I wanted to do the cool white since the last couple lights I did were warm tint.

E1320!

Any chance of some beamshots?

Wow, I was looking for hosts to do the exact same thing. Great Job! Do you use IMR cells? 2.8 A are a bit much for normal 16340 cells... how long till these lights are red hot ?

HID I haven't been able to figure out how to take beam shots. I don't have a very good camera it's a Fuji FinePix Z30 if you have any pointers on how to capture beam shots with it.

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I have a couple AW IMR cells, but I don't run these on high for more than a couple seconds. They will run on low for a long time and medium heats up the same as they used to on high.

Nice job! I was just looking at that MCU-C7s yesterday and wondering if it would make a good pocket rocket. You have answered my question. I had been leaning toward the A20 after reading Old4570's XM-L upgrade review on it but the A30 is quite a bit cheaper and appears to be every bit as good as the A20. Good to know the beam is nicer on the A30 after the conversion because judging by the beam shots on DX the MCU-C7s has the superior beam. I will take your word and go with the A20.

I had played around with one pocket rocket before and that was a conversion of one of the MXDL CR123 twisties to an XM-L nightmare. It worked great and blew away my 501B with the XM-L drop-in but being a twistie as soon as the body halves came together it would turn on and change modes while screwing it together. I got frustrated and tore it all apart and put it back together as original. Been meaning to build another PR but this time one with a tail switch.

nice mods E1320..way to step up and get em done.. Can you give us your full impression of the mod , the host etc..anything you don't like or would have done differently .problems you encountered ? the hardest part /easiest

It's major mod time for me ..i've spent enough time understanding what kind of lights I like as far as fit, finish,and feel. now it's time to correct the tints and dail in runtimes and output of lights ..I have lots of emitters and drivers coming my way from a bunch of sources ...now the waiting begins ...

nice

Have you measured the tailcap amps? Is the 16340 battery able to give the 2,8 amps?

I have the Xml'ified S-mini and the to-be-XML'ified FandyFire (18650) on the way, but lately I've been lusting for some 16340-sized pocket rocketery.

Boaz

The hardest part for me is getting the pill apart. I usually take the pill out and put it in the freezer for a couple hours to make it easier to get the adhesive off of the emitter. Then I pry the frozen adhesive and emitter off with a screwdriver. Next I grab the pill with a big vice grip and position it so I can get at the bottom then I pry with a small screwdriver while heating the solder points with a soldering iron until the driver comes out. The rest of the job is usually easy but time consuming. My best advice I could give is don't rush and don't expect it to be perfect you are after all making a custom light from parts that were not engineered to go together.

If you are just starting out get the drivers from Shiningbeam with the wires already attached because it is difficult to solder such small parts. Also get emitters that fit and don't need to be filed down or modified because one slip with a file and you can wipe one out.

I have to say I really like the A30B as a host it has a brass pill that the driver fits in perfectly without the need of a brass ring. It has plenty of room for protected batteries a nice reflector designed for a Q5 so no need to drill it and it has a clip and a decent switch that seams to be handling the high amps OK so far. You are never going to get something that light to dissipate the amount of heat that ~3 amps will generate. It will run forever on low without heating up at all and on medium until the battery dies without getting to hot to hold. For most uses low or medium provide more than enough light and high is just fun to have as an option. I actually just ordered 5 more A30Bs that I am going to mod for friends since it came out so good.

HID

I Have measured 2.8 amps from a freshly charged Trustfire flame 16340, but I did pick up some AW IMR 16340 that feed 3.5 amps to my 501A with the Mananfont drop-in if I really decide to make some heat.

I have set my eye on TrustFire TR-803. I'm pulling the trigger right now. I love the looks, and if I it can be modded to give like 700 lumens with XML @ 2,8 amps even for half a minute, it's gonna be the ultimate wow-light.

700+ lumens from such a small package is totally amazing and the almost 400 you get on medium is plenty bright to get the job done 99% of the time. I did a side by side comparison with my YEZL Z1 XM-L and these little guys are just as bright on high. The TrustFire TR-803 looks like it has a pretty beefy pill, so it should be a decent host to work with.

I removed the anodizing on my UF A30B with NaOH cause it was very scratched:

Then I inserted the Nanjg 8*7135 driver and an 16mm XM-L T6 LED:

Thanks E1320 for the idea!

Nicely done, that light came out awesome I love it. I am so glad people are motivated by my post, that is what I was hoping for.

I finally have figured out how to take beam shots so here you go.

504B with Manafont drop in on left 501A with Manafont drop in right on high

501A with Manafont drop in on left and A30B XML and Nanjg 2.8 amp driver on high right.

501A with Manafont drop in on left and MCU-C7s XML and Nanjg 2.8 amp driver on high right.

Nice job!
Looks like a “light up the whole dang room” kind of torch!

Yes they do light up the whole room, all flood and lots of it. The most amazing thing is you can run them on medium until the battery dies and they don't get to hot to hold, but watch out on high they get hot fast.

It could, and it is. That is, it could be modded to give 700ish lumens and it is an ultimate wow light. It's basically just an emitter (I put on U2 XML, 1A tint) and driver (Nanjg 105c) swap, driver reprogram, cutting the tail spring to house the protected 16340 and replacing the positive spring with a blob of solder to get all the extra space for the mentioned 16340. Oh, and the 16mm star was about 0,5mm too wide to the pill, so some excessive dremeling was needed too. The 880mah battery lasts for decent pityful 20 minutes on high. But that does matter really, as it gets quite very hot reasonably insanely fast.

Very fun and very meaningless light. I like it. This is what true flashaholism is about.