LED Maglite conversion
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swampgator said:
Mine is actually very white. But this will vary depending on batch and manufacturer.
All white LED's have clear epoxy casings because there's no sense in tinting or frosting them. There is no such thing as a "clear" white LED by virtue of the fact that they're all "clear."
Also, all white LED's are manufactred in and operate in a two-stage process: White LED's begin life as blue LED's, which also output a significant amount of near UV (try aiming a blue LED at something glow in the dark, for instance). There's a phosphor coating over the die of the blue LED that's very similar to the stuff in flourescent lights. It takes the blue light and the UV from the LED and flouresces white. Well, mostly white, because the stuff logically can't be 100 percent efficient and a small amount of that blue light escapes, tinting the output of the LED blue.
Depending on the phosphor and its quality the actual light output can be bluish (most common) to nearly pure white, greenish, and yes, sometimes yellowish - But always brilliantly white compared to the normal red-hot-wire-in-a-bottle style light bulb.
In terms of sheer photons thrown, blue LED's are the most powerful and most efficient we have today. In terms of mathematical usefulness green LED's are the winner, since the human eye can see green the best. However, white light is the most functionally useful, especially if you experiment by comparing similarly powered LED and traditional flashlights looking for details in the dark.
swampgator
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Zero_DgZ,
Thanks for the information. I'd been wanting to increase the output of my Mags (3D & 4D) and thought the drop LED would be the ticket. It was nice but like I said the two I tried were almost blue.
I've been on CPF and seeing what those fellows are accomplishing with overdriven incandescent has amazed me. I'm about to undertake a Mag85 (850 lumens) mod on a 3D.
I may wind up doing something with LEDs down the road but, like I said, incan has got me going right now.
Thanks for the information. I'd been wanting to increase the output of my Mags (3D & 4D) and thought the drop LED would be the ticket. It was nice but like I said the two I tried were almost blue.
I've been on CPF and seeing what those fellows are accomplishing with overdriven incandescent has amazed me. I'm about to undertake a Mag85 (850 lumens) mod on a 3D.
I may wind up doing something with LEDs down the road but, like I said, incan has got me going right now.
You'll like the Mag85, I just traded mine off, but still have a Mag74 and Mag138 (2800Lumens
) One of my favorite utility lights is my single Lux3 LED 3D maglight. It's a simple mod, heatsink, LED, wire and solder it up. With a LDF diffusion lens it's all spill and a great flood light that will run for hours and won't have the heat issues of the MagLED's.swampgator
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VWTim said:
Not familiar with a Mag138. What set up are you running to get 2800 Lumens?
The Mag138 is a version of a Mag100. 100 watt bulb being overdriven a bit. Osram 62138 bulb driven on 12 CBP1650's that are ran thru a hotdriver in a 3D maglite. It's pretty impressive for the 7-9 minutes per charge
Mostly I just use it to spot stuff with an on/off time of 20 seconds, and for the giggle factor. It'll light newspaper pretty quick too.swampgator
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VWTim said:
I'm hoping to get a little more than 10 minutes run time, but with a 15-20 second burn I can see where it work for awhile.
In all honesty I think my next light will be ROP in a 2C probably running 2 18650's. Then a Mag85 in a 3D host.
Okay, I'm gonna ask.......
What is a ROP? I've seen them mentioned on candlepower fourm, but I can't figure out what they are, besides a souped up 2D mag. Is there a link to a detailed description on how to make one, or what they are?
stdlrf11
What is a ROP? I've seen them mentioned on candlepower fourm, but I can't figure out what they are, besides a souped up 2D mag. Is there a link to a detailed description on how to make one, or what they are?
stdlrf11
Pork Fat
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Streamlight LED conversion
I recently installed one of the Maglite 4 cell conversions in my 1986 vintage Streamlight. I thought that I would reward 20 years of faithful service with a twentieth century upgrade. I was disappointed when the base of the "bulb" was just a whisker too large to fit into the socket of the flashlight.
After a half hour of machining the aluminum socket(with a sharp knife), I was able to press fit the new conversion unit into place. I figure the tightness will actually aid heat transfer from the base and eventually into the body of the flashlight.
I am very pleased with the light output and recommend this product. I imagine it simply drops in an actual Maglite, but a bit of tinkering got it to work just fine in the old Streamlight. It's not as pretty a package, but has just a tad more heft. Good to have riding along, hopefully for another 20 years.
I recently installed one of the Maglite 4 cell conversions in my 1986 vintage Streamlight. I thought that I would reward 20 years of faithful service with a twentieth century upgrade. I was disappointed when the base of the "bulb" was just a whisker too large to fit into the socket of the flashlight.
After a half hour of machining the aluminum socket(with a sharp knife), I was able to press fit the new conversion unit into place. I figure the tightness will actually aid heat transfer from the base and eventually into the body of the flashlight.
I am very pleased with the light output and recommend this product. I imagine it simply drops in an actual Maglite, but a bit of tinkering got it to work just fine in the old Streamlight. It's not as pretty a package, but has just a tad more heft. Good to have riding along, hopefully for another 20 years.
swampgator
Member
stdlrf11 said:
Surprised you didn't run across this on CPF. Anyway here's all the info on the ROP.
Basically you need:
6 NiMH batteries
Pelican 3854 bulb (2 in a pack: 1 low, 1 high)
Metal reflector
Borofloat 52.1mm Glass lens
The original ROP design was 4D - with a soldered stick of six NiMH Sub-C batteries with paper wrapped around it to prevent the batteries from rattling around. All of the other variations are also listed on the site. Dig around CPF and you'll find a lot of threads dealing with it.
swampgator
Member
No problem. However the pursuit of max lumens is becoming addictive!
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