Well, I’ve been reading up on this a bit, but I’m not coming up with too much.
I have a 4d maglite and since getting my C8, it’s thoroughly, thoroughly underwhelming.
I’m temped to just spend $50-$60 and get something ready to go. But if I could mod the mag and get at least 3-4000 lumens without spending too much more, I’d certainly tackle that. Since to do like the size/form of the mag.
4 18650 batteries will fit, but what about the rest of the guts? Am I going to find any sort of reflectors to fit a few XML (or whatever’s best) emitters? I’m pretty good with a soldering station and I don’t mind putting some work into it.
My limiting factor would have to be the lack of a metal lathe…
You know for that much light your either going to need multiple XM-L2’s or a very highly driven MT-G2 (i.e. you’ll need a massive heatsink for either case)
If your not set at that level you can get plenty of lumens and grea throw out of a single XM-L2 in the stock (cut down) reflector. It’d probably be a good idea to start there, you can always get another maglight host if you want to try for (4k+Lm next round)
There are of course “drop in” modules for them ranging from $5 cheap no-name crap to $60+ Malkoff’s but for $30-40 in parts (could be less of your thrifty) you can build one yourself using a H22 heatsink (buy two or three at a time, one extra is like 4 bucks more), a Noctigon mounted XM-L2, a driver to work with your input voltage and some soldering and time.
It’s a good beginners mod, now I don’t mean its as simple as swapping an emitter but it’s an easy project cause there’s a lot of room in there, your pretty free to buy whatever components you like, your not having to worry if that emitter PCB will fit or if the driver’s to tall and you have room for slack in your wires.
His email is included in that thread, no need to register there. Im guessing you need the “DHS flat top” version but you can tell for sure based off the serial number (if it has a D at the start and its incandescent that’s the one you need). If yours doesn’t have a D or is LED let us know and we can help figure it out.
Ambitious indeed! I always tend to jump right into things with both feet.
Sometimes It doesn’t work out…
I do like the sounds of that H22 deal. Certainly not as bright as I’d ideally like, but it does look relatively simple.
With a single emitter I’m guessing about 1000 lumens max?
Certainly better than the anemic drop in bulb it has now.
I’d still love something closer towards the crazy bright level, but, admittedly I don’t really know where to start at this point…
Mine does start with a D, and it was an incandescent.
I’ll second Cereal’s suggestion. H22A’s heatsinks are really nice. If you plan on leaning towards high-power then I’d recommend sticking with the flat-top P7 heatsink – as far as I know it has the most meat and the flat top is a must for mounting MCPCBs such as the Noctigon. I have never owned his rebel-reflector heatsink, so I do not know how it compares but I assume it does not have as much meat as the P7 version since it’s deeper set. I do have both the DHS and P7 heatsinks.
Running 4 18650’s may not be the most practical solution for a single emitter on a budget. I’d say 3 cells and a spacer will make life good. You could also run 4x quality NiMH D-cells, but that’s expensive. The NiMH solution allows you to run an AMC7135 based driver with an ATtiny13A and that allows you to run one of the many cool firmwares around here, such as the STAR firmware.
If you want to stick with Li-Ion and run 3 cells with the spacer you’ll need a buck driver. The driver HKJ reviewed here may be a good option in that case, but it’s not available through IO anymore – maybe someone else can chime in on where to find them these days.
The bigger the die size the more lumens you can pump out but the smaller the die size the more throw you can get. I.e. Mtg= tons of light but floody. XPG = less light but more intense and much smaller hot spot. XML = in between. The stock reflector will work with any of them(with the cam removed) but the less you mod the rest of the light the more options you have for future changes. There are also other multi emitter reflectors that will fit the mag head but for a first time mod I’d start with just a single, maybe mtg if you want loads of light and don’t care too much about throw.
I do like the sound of 1500 lumens… That’s probably 600 more than my C8, and admittedly, the “wow” factor hasn’t even worn off of that yet.
3 cells would be fine, and with only one emitter it seem a little less overkill than 4.
Before I jump all the way on the XM-L2 bandwagon though, how much more would it take to use the MTG2?
Would that aluminum heatsink handle it, or does it have to be copper?
Would the maglite switch even handle it?
And I assume it’d need a metal reflector too.
For the MT-G2, bearing in mind that I have not done an MT-G2 build:
Mag switch is fine.
Aluminum heatsink is fine. If you want this light to be a “user” instead of a hotrod, you will have to make do with less than the maximum current. If you’re just hotrodding, DBCstm just assembled a tiny titanium light with an MT-G2, and Ti is a horrible heatsink. The emitter hasn’t died.
Drivers are an issue, especially depending on cell configuration. The most straightforward would be 2s Li-Ion w/ zener modded Nanjg 105c. My understanding is that the latest DRY driver is bucking in every mode, so that would be an option - RMM has them here. The 32mm DRY driver is a tight fit, but should go in there…
mounts on a 20mm MCPCB instead of 16mm or even 10mm for the XM-L2.
H22A’s P7 heatsink probably has about a 14mm podium. You’ll have to cut the reflector a lot to fit an unmodified MT-G2 Noctigon or SinkPAD. Not the end of the world. Wiring will be tight but should be workable. You could cut down an MT-G2 MCPCB, but most people don’t like to set the dremel cutting wheel right next to a $20 LED and fire it up ;-).
I don’t mind it being a hot rod of sorts, as long as it can run for longer periods at a lower setting.
The driver has me a bit concerned though. It’d be a shame to run it on only 2 cells, considering just how big a 4d mag is.
It does sound like the XM-L2 would certainly be the simpler option….But then again, I’ll still be lusting after a super bright light…
I’d drop RMM a line about the DRY driver. Sounds pretty doable with that, and for $6 who’s complaining? I suppose the current batch of drivers (w/ proper buck in the highest mode - you don’t want the DD version because the MT-G2 would not like 3s DD) provides more like 3.2A or so in high mode. That’s a lot of juice (20W or so) but probably reasonably manageable.
Maybe I should drop RMM a line about that DRY driver… this is starting to sound appealing.
At 11mm thick this thing is going to be quite the sandwich under a good sized heatsink but I’m sure I’ve done 10mm w/ another 1mm to spare (under the P7 heatsink).
I’d advise you to read a bit more before jumping in any particular direction. Your thoughts may change several times before you actually get around to buying parts and learning about the different kinds of mods you could do will help you choose.
The 4D Mag makes an excellent “Less Than Lethal” weapon. I guess that’s “Intrinsic Value”…
But seriously. Due props to Mag Instrument Company, comparing ANY stock Mag to anything you see discussed on BLF is grossly unfair to Mag! Not that it stopped anyone else!!!
If you haven’t found much to read about this, I can only wonder why not. That huge battery hole and the vast array of bulbs and LEDs make deciding WHICH mod more of a problem than finding suggestions. IMNERHO, of course. But, similarly to yours, my 4D sits on a shelf, defying Inspiration, acting as a testbed for my knotting experiments…
I started with a 2C, then another, and so on… You’re on a really well-worn trail. But that 4D elephant is just too darned big to be practical!
As usual, all I ask is that you come back here & tell us all about your adventure!
The 4D is a great host for high capacity nimh D cells (10Ahr) for those that want to keep “THE CLUB” aspect intact and aren’t ready yet to switch to lithium. Cut down mods take advantage of the higher voltage in lithium cells to make a Mag D shorter and lighter. The range between is almost infinite and the ~50 mm lens/reflector is common enough that there are many different choices available for the number of emitters to run. In The BLF Modding Links Thread you will find many different D mods (especially by member emeritus OldLumens) that should provide some excellent reading.