Match's Mods: Nano Mag

Gentlemen,

As the progression of things like these go, it was inevitable... First there was the mini-mag, next came the JohnnyMac inspired micro-mag, and now there's the nano-mag.

This little 2xAAA mag incan was purchased over a year ago and has sat unmolested on my shelf till this past weekend. Recent frustration over a certain quad build led me to find solace in a more potentially successful endevor. With that, I present the build up of black beauty's baby brother...

First, the body is cut down and the head is bored for the impending pill:

13mm was about as large as I felt comfortable going while still keeping head integrity intact. The body was cut down to 1xAAA size and the top opened up to allow front loading the cell.

Next came making the actual pill. Thankfully I was able to make it out of brass, as compared to copper required of my larger triples. This is the smallest pill I've yet made, and the walls are only .5mm thick.

Here it is hanging out with it's soon to be partner: a 12mm boost driver from illuminationsupply.

Such a wee beast...not even big enough to be a pinky thimble Tongue Out

Driver installed and potted in the pill, along with the soon to be mounted nichia219 reflowed onto a 11.5mm star.

Here's the leads shortened, star mounted, and all soldered up.

Installed in the head, it was sure getting crowded in there...

The stock reflector was used, but needed a little attention with an exacto knife for proper fit. Here's a shot of how it needs to be modified (pic was taken before final sanding):

Here's the side view along with a depth measurement:

And of course here's a horribly dusty and out of focus shot of how the reflector sits in the head (cameraphone fail).

The end results (in my highly biased opinion), turned out quite well!

Only looking at the photo posted here now instead of on my phone do I realize that the wife's red tablecloth may not have been the best background choice....live and learn.

Since without size reference the above photo could be a regular cut down MM, here it is hanging out with some more well known contemporaries: A thrunite Ti and a mag solitare.

Finally, a few shots with it's bigger brother:

I'll end the pictures with an end shot:

Mmm....shiny...

Final thoughts:

Currently the tailcap is bare, but I left it thick enough for the option of either a clip or keyring. Functioning is a simple twist on (tighten) twist off (loosen) and plenty of threading was left so the head wouldn't fall off when in the off position. The driver is a single mode and the combination is deceptively bright on a fresh alkaline.

I was planning on, and still might, stiple the reflector. Currently unstippled, there are a few artifacts when hunting the Great White Wall....but in practical use either inside or out this goes unnoticed. Besides, I do like the large, yet visible hotspot.

Out the front lumens were measured at 103.5L - Impressive (to me) from a nichia and single crappy alk AAA. This is at a 1.7a tailcap current draw.

I'll post some beamshots up (maybe) at a later date.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and as always, thanks for humoring me.

-Match

Ace. 8)

:smiley: Bravo!

Jealous!, well done, I'm very fond of AAA-lights with just a bit bigger reflector (and of the 219).

And this is the Nichia219 at its best, I read in measurements done on the 219 that it gets very inefficient at very high currents and CRI is declining at very low currents , in this light it is exactly right!

Very very nice Match. I'm glad it was you machining the pill. You cannot tell from the pictures how small everything is let alone the wall thickness being .5 mm. If I may ask what do you use to hollow the pill out with? You really gotta love these tiny lights.

Nice work, can that driver work with 10440s?

Thanks guys!

MRsDNF, I used a very small boring bar after drilling a shallow pilot hole.

Scaru, no such luck with the 10440's. I did briefly try it with two semi-depleted aaa's and the driver got really hot really quick.

Well, you've gone and done it now. The only builds left for you to do are ones using watch batteries, LOL.

Actually, you should look at CR2, CR1, CR 1/3N or one of the other small lithiums, or 3x3v button batteries for a 3up in series!

Nice build Match!

No triple? Thats disappointing.

:P Nice build.

Nice work! Thanks for sharing. Frontpage’d and Sticky’d.

Hah! Superb! Love the teeny pill and that driver.

One question I have is just how deep is the reflector? From the shot below it doesn't look like it could be more than 3 or 4 mm. Any chance you can take a side shot of the reflector or are they just that shallow stock? I've never had a AAA Mag but will have to get one to play with. I sense some Zombie Babies might be in the gestation period. LOL!

You are always an inspiration!

Match, very cool. I may have missed this, but did you grind down the tailcaps? I really like the streamline look of those - plus is shortens the lights a bit more.

You and O-L outta start a subsidiary. I’ll take 15 when you’re in production. :open_mouth:

Very well-done, Match.

Please don't underestimate the difficulty in machining such small parts, folks !

Very, very nice!

Bravo. Nicely done.

> watch batteries, LOL.

Earrings!
Time to give a new meaning to the word “headlights”

Nice! I just had two blue AAA Mini-Mags fall into my lap that I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with.

CR1/3N cells would be the way to go due to the compatibility with 2 X LR44 cells. The problem with them is that they’re slightly larger in diameter compared to AAA cells (10.5 mm vs 11.6mm) and you should line the inside of the light with non-conductive material because they’re positive on the sides, which means that the bore of the light needs to be about 12mm in diameter.

Thanks again for the kind words all.

O-L,

I've had a few of the "smaller" battery types sitting around for quite some time, just haven't had a chance to put theory to practice. I do have a couple of ideas I wan't to try out with them though.

Hill,

The brass tailcap is not stock and non-removable. I thought I snapped a pic of it before installation, but "doh!"...guess I didn't. It's similar, but smaller, than the ones I make for the regular MM.

JohnnyMac,

Yes! You really need to make some baby zombies... As for the reflector, yes it is quite shallow, especially after cutting away enough plastic to allow it to sit flat. I'll take a few pics of the reflector and update the original post.

edit - first post updated with reflector shots and measurements.

IS website says liions will fry both this and its AA sibling. Nice work match! It’s fun to watch the pros at work.