Hi all,

Looks like Mag is finally going to do the LED thing... came across this.

http://www.maglite.com/LED_technology.asp

Happy Holidays!

Erik

On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 20:28:02 GMT, Erik wrote:

Hi all,

Looks like Mag is finally going to do the LED thing... came across this.

http://www.maglite.com/LED_technology.asp

Happy Holidays!

Erik

About time! They have to do this if they wanna be in the flashlight
biz much longer. I love their excuses for what took 'em so long.

Marketing:

" If these products have been a long time coming, it’s because the
MAG-LED™ Technology has taken a long time to develop to the point
where it is feasible to make an LED flashlight that meets Mag
Instrument's high standards of quality, durability, style and
function."

Engineering:

"How the f**k does Streamlight do that, anyway? Let's take another
one apart!

On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 20:28:02 GMT, Erik wrote:

Hi all,

Looks like Mag is finally going to do the LED thing... came across this.

http://www.maglite.com/LED_technology.asp

Happy Holidays!

Erik

Was at Wal Mart today. Saw that Mag had LED replacement systems for
the standard bulbs. About 1/2 the price of a new one as I remember.
If I had a Mag, I'd of got one for myself.

Karl

This is great news. I purchased two LED flashlights from harbor fright.
There is no way I will ever purchase another from them.

Stephen R.



"Erik" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

Looks like Mag is finally going to do the LED thing... came across this.

http://www.maglite.com/LED_technology.asp

Happy Holidays!

Erik

To late! I gave my mini-Mag to my 6 year old grandson when I realized how
much better and more rugged my new Coast Laser V2 was. I doubt I will ever
buy another Maglight unless they come out with a gazillion candle power 3D
led model.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

"Erik" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

Looks like Mag is finally going to do the LED thing... came across this.

http://www.maglite.com/LED_technology.asp

Happy Holidays!

Erik

I just bought a Nite Ize LED conversion for my mini-mag. It also came
with a tailcap switch, all for 9 bucks at Lowe's big box.

Haven't had a chance to try it yet, anyone tried one?

Erik wrote:
Hi all,

Looks like Mag is finally going to do the LED thing... came across this.

http://www.maglite.com/LED_technology.asp

Happy Holidays!

Erik

"S R" wrote: (clip) There is no way I will ever purchase another from them.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Really? Why? I bought two LED flashlights from them, and went back and
bought more.

The thing is, there are now LED flashlights that are self-generating (never
need batteries.) I think that's the wave of the future.

On Sun, 25 Dec 2005 03:31:46 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "S R"
no email @ no spam.com quickly quoth:

This is great news. I purchased two LED flashlights from harbor fright.
There is no way I will ever purchase another from them.

Are those the 0.00005 watt models which are easily outshown
by a single firefly?


------------------------------------------------------
No matter how hard you try, you cannot baptize a cat.
----------------------------
http://www.diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development
---------------------------------------------------

t wrote:

I just bought a Nite Ize LED conversion for my mini-mag. It also came
with a tailcap switch, all for 9 bucks at Lowe's big box.

Haven't had a chance to try it yet, anyone tried one?

Not a bad deal at all. There is another 3-LED mini-mag conversion from
Opalec that goes for 25 bucks--the difference is that the Nite-Ize gets dim
as the batteries get weak, while the Opalec goes at full brightness until
the batteries get too weak to drive it at all--which is better for you
depends on whether gradual dimming is preferable to full brightness and
sudden extinction.

Certainly for the price it's a bargain.

Erik wrote:
Hi all,

Looks like Mag is finally going to do the LED thing... came across this.

http://www.maglite.com/LED_technology.asp

Happy Holidays!

Erik

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

The flashlights I purchased had poor quality all around. The black anodizing
was acceptable, but the machining on the bodies was horrible. The design of
the flashlight required you to throw the whole thing away if the LEDs burned
out (no replaceable parts unless you break the adhesive bond). I am not
even sure there was a warranty because the price was so low, I did not even
bother to look. One thing I did with the smaller LED flashlight was convert
it into a laser line for my sliding compound miter saw. I threw out the
innards after disassembling it (breaking the bond), then installed the
innards from a laser line pointer purchased from wal mart. Worked out
pretty well. The flashlight lens protects the laser pretty good.

As a backup flashlight, I guess they are fine (I purchased two flashlights
about 1/2 to 1 year ago, maybe they are better now). My primary flashlights
are Mag lights, and I would not want to be in a situation relying on the
inexpensive LED lights.


Stephen R.


"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 25 Dec 2005 03:31:46 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "S R"
no email @ no spam.com quickly quoth:

This is great news. I purchased two LED flashlights from harbor fright.
There is no way I will ever purchase another from them.

Are those the 0.00005 watt models which are easily outshown
by a single firefly?


------------------------------------------------------
No matter how hard you try, you cannot baptize a cat.
----------------------------
http://www.diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development
---------------------------------------------------

In article ykKrf.1960$Of.125@trnddc01, S R says...

(no replaceable parts unless you break the adhesive bond).

Best way to do that is with heat. They just use common epoxy
to lock the threads on those. Apply a heat gun.

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

On 26 Dec 2005 08:14:13 -0800, "rigger" wrote:

John said:

Certainly for the price it's a bargain.

Another bargain coming down the pike: One of our local surplus outlets
just got in a large case of 3 watt (single) led lights. About 6" long
they take 3 AAA cells, side-by-side, in a small holder. No additional
curcuitry but a decent black anodized barrel and they focus fairly
well, although they vary in color temperature. At $20 each they sold
out fast. I wound up with 5 for stocking stuffers and bought their
last ones. They said they'll be buying more and I suspect, if they
have them in our small town, they'll have them in your town soon, if
they're not there already.

dennis
in nca

Off topic..but for those of you in California or Aridzona with a Frys
Electonics close by..they are selling a pair of Motorola FRS walki
talkies for .......$7.95

Good though the 31st. I bought a set for myself, a friend say em, just
had to have em..so I said merry christmas..went back and got another
pair..another friend had to have em...

All reports so far say they work pretty damned well for such little
bitty *******s. Packaging says 2mile range..and according to one of
the recipients..across open country..it comes pretty close.

22 channels

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

Check out:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/index1.html

And go to :
http://www.brightguy.com/index.php

Excellant reviews and a great place to buy flashlights. Two thumbs up!!

On Mon, 26 Dec 2005 04:29:18 GMT, "S R" no email @ no spam.com
wrote:

The flashlights I purchased had poor quality all around. The black anodizing
was acceptable, but the machining on the bodies was horrible. The design of
the flashlight required you to throw the whole thing away if the LEDs burned
out (no replaceable parts unless you break the adhesive bond). I am not
even sure there was a warranty because the price was so low, I did not even
bother to look. One thing I did with the smaller LED flashlight was convert
it into a laser line for my sliding compound miter saw. I threw out the
innards after disassembling it (breaking the bond), then installed the
innards from a laser line pointer purchased from wal mart. Worked out
pretty well. The flashlight lens protects the laser pretty good.

As a backup flashlight, I guess they are fine (I purchased two flashlights
about 1/2 to 1 year ago, maybe they are better now). My primary flashlights
are Mag lights, and I would not want to be in a situation relying on the
inexpensive LED lights.

Not certain where she got it, but SWMBO came in the other day with a
key chain flashlight about 1" long by 3/4" dia. and requested that it
be installed on her key ring. After re-assembling it three times, the
installation was completed.
Next time I was in the car, I noticed various bits scattered on the
mat. A couple days latter I found a neat little unit with an LED and
two CR2016 Li batteries in a plastic enclosure where you squeeze the
sides to turn it on. It even came with instructions on how to replace
the batteries after their expected 35 hour life. All this for a buck
at Dollarama whereas SWMBO paid 1.98 for the kit of parts she found.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Gunner Asch wrote:

On 26 Dec 2005 08:14:13 -0800, "rigger" wrote:

John said:

Certainly for the price it's a bargain.

Another bargain coming down the pike: One of our local surplus outlets
just got in a large case of 3 watt (single) led lights. About 6" long
they take 3 AAA cells, side-by-side, in a small holder. No additional
curcuitry but a decent black anodized barrel and they focus fairly
well, although they vary in color temperature. At $20 each they sold
out fast. I wound up with 5 for stocking stuffers and bought their
last ones. They said they'll be buying more and I suspect, if they
have them in our small town, they'll have them in your town soon, if
they're not there already.

dennis
in nca

Off topic..but for those of you in California or Aridzona with a Frys
Electonics close by..they are selling a pair of Motorola FRS walki
talkies for .......$7.95

Good though the 31st. I bought a set for myself, a friend say em, just
had to have em..so I said merry christmas..went back and got another
pair..another friend had to have em...

All reports so far say they work pretty damned well for such little
bitty *******s. Packaging says 2mile range..and according to one of
the recipients..across open country..it comes pretty close.

22 channels

Going back to topic, if you go to the Circuit City web site and search on
"nexxtech" (note--that's two "x"es) you'll find a wide array of Chinese
made flashlights (incandescent, fluorescent, and LED) and laser pointers
and kitchen timers and thermometers and clocks and other oddments very
cheap--they seem to be having some kind of clearance as some the stuff is
marked down 60% or more. Even a hand-cranked lantern. Web-only specials
but if you buy 25 bucks worth there's free shipping. Seems to actually be
a real company too.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
Going back to topic, if you go to the Circuit City web site and search on
"nexxtech" (note--that's two "x"es) you'll find a wide array of Chinese
made ... Seems to actually be
a real company too.

I'll ask a friend later, but I think nic-tac means "cheap crap" in Mandarin
Chinese. It might be just generic labelling on the shipping container.

Bought a couple of aftermarket LED adapters to fit the AA Maglights
last week. Ten bucks each. They have three LEDs and a cylindrical
(mostly useless) reflector. I converted one of my Mags and it works
fine but the focusing feature is gone, of course. We use Maglights as
aircraft inspectors and we go through a heap of batteries and bulbs.
Got to keep really fresh batteries in them since the lights dim as the
batteries age, and new bulbs occasionally; the bulbs usually turn black
long before they burn out. We will see how these LED adapters work out.

Dan

Mike Young wrote:

"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
Going back to topic, if you go to the Circuit City web site and search on
"nexxtech" (note--that's two "x"es) you'll find a wide array of Chinese
made ... Seems to actually be
a real company too.

I'll ask a friend later, but I think nic-tac means "cheap crap" in
Mandarin Chinese. It might be just generic labelling on the shipping
container.

Yeah, it's all cheap and some of it is probably crap, but for 4 bucks how
bad can a laser pointer or LED flashlight be?

"Nexxtech" is the name that is on the packaging, is designed into the logo
and labels and it's a company brand owned by Orbyx Electronics, which seems
to have some kind of relation to Circuit City--not exactly a store brand
because they seem to be set up to sell products to other resellers--but
Circuit City seems to have cosigned the loan on which they got started.

Only thing I have in my possession from them is an ultrasonic cleaner (ever
try to find an ultrasonic cleaner in stock locally on a Sunday?) which I
expected to be crap, but it turned out that the fit and finish were quite
nice--better than my old one that cost about 5 times as much in fact--and
two years later it still cleans like a champ.










--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

wrote:
Bought a couple of aftermarket LED adapters to fit the AA Maglights
last week. Ten bucks each. They have three LEDs and a cylindrical
(mostly useless) reflector. I converted one of my Mags and it works
fine but the focusing feature is gone, of course. We use Maglights as
aircraft inspectors and we go through a heap of batteries and bulbs.
Got to keep really fresh batteries in them since the lights dim as the
batteries age, and new bulbs occasionally; the bulbs usually turn black
long before they burn out. We will see how these LED adapters work out.

Dan

Dale Scroggins wrote:
wrote:

Bought a couple of aftermarket LED adapters to fit the AA Maglights
last week. Ten bucks each. They have three LEDs and a cylindrical
(mostly useless) reflector. I converted one of my Mags and it works
fine but the focusing feature is gone, of course. We use Maglights as
aircraft inspectors and we go through a heap of batteries and bulbs.
Got to keep really fresh batteries in them since the lights dim as the
batteries age, and new bulbs occasionally; the bulbs usually turn black
long before they burn out. We will see how these LED adapters work out.

Dan


Let me try again.

I carried Maglights both as a mechanic and inspector for about
twenty-five years. As I got older, they got heavier and seemed to give
less light. Nothing to do with aging eyesight, of course.

I bought a couple of Streamlight Propolymer Luxeons a few months ago;
one uses 4 AA batteries, the other 3 C cells. I have since brought all
the Maglights home and distributed them among family and friends. The
Streamlights produce a gorgeous white light of constant brightness until
the batteries are exhausted. And that takes a while. Some days I use
them for a full shift, non-stop. Either will make a full shift without
a battery change. The AA light is small and light, but the C cell light
is somewhat brighter. Both are waterproof and explosion proof. And
light. Did I mention how heavy Maglights are?

Dale

Thanks, Dale, for the report. I was looking at the 3C Propolymers yesterday
and I think I will buy it now.

Randy


"Dale Scroggins" wrote in message
. net...
Dale Scroggins wrote:
wrote:

Bought a couple of aftermarket LED adapters to fit the AA Maglights
last week. Ten bucks each. They have three LEDs and a cylindrical
(mostly useless) reflector. I converted one of my Mags and it works
fine but the focusing feature is gone, of course. We use Maglights as
aircraft inspectors and we go through a heap of batteries and bulbs.
Got to keep really fresh batteries in them since the lights dim as the
batteries age, and new bulbs occasionally; the bulbs usually turn black
long before they burn out. We will see how these LED adapters work out.

Dan


Let me try again.

I carried Maglights both as a mechanic and inspector for about twenty-five
years. As I got older, they got heavier and seemed to give less light.
Nothing to do with aging eyesight, of course.

I bought a couple of Streamlight Propolymer Luxeons a few months ago; one
uses 4 AA batteries, the other 3 C cells. I have since brought all the
Maglights home and distributed them among family and friends. The
Streamlights produce a gorgeous white light of constant brightness until
the batteries are exhausted. And that takes a while. Some days I use
them for a full shift, non-stop. Either will make a full shift without a
battery change. The AA light is small and light, but the C cell light is
somewhat brighter. Both are waterproof and explosion proof. And light.
Did I mention how heavy Maglights are?

Dale

On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 10:13:17 GMT, Dale Scroggins
wrote:

Dale Scroggins wrote:
wrote:

Bought a couple of aftermarket LED adapters to fit the AA Maglights
last week. Ten bucks each. They have three LEDs and a cylindrical
(mostly useless) reflector. I converted one of my Mags and it works
fine but the focusing feature is gone, of course. We use Maglights as
aircraft inspectors and we go through a heap of batteries and bulbs.
Got to keep really fresh batteries in them since the lights dim as the
batteries age, and new bulbs occasionally; the bulbs usually turn black
long before they burn out. We will see how these LED adapters work out.

Dan


Let me try again.

I carried Maglights both as a mechanic and inspector for about
twenty-five years. As I got older, they got heavier and seemed to give
less light. Nothing to do with aging eyesight, of course.

I bought a couple of Streamlight Propolymer Luxeons a few months ago;
one uses 4 AA batteries, the other 3 C cells. I have since brought all
the Maglights home and distributed them among family and friends. The
Streamlights produce a gorgeous white light of constant brightness until
the batteries are exhausted. And that takes a while. Some days I use
them for a full shift, non-stop. Either will make a full shift without
a battery change. The AA light is small and light, but the C cell light
is somewhat brighter. Both are waterproof and explosion proof. And
light. Did I mention how heavy Maglights are?

Dale

LED's are not all the same. 1-watt white Luxeons emit about 20X as
much light as a single "high brightness" LED, and they work well in
a reflector.

In a side-by-side test, the "spot" from a 1-watt white Luxeon in even
a 1-3/8" dia reflector is both whiter and brighter than that from a 2D
Maglight with fresh batteries,and it is much more uniform with no
mottling. In a 2" dia reflector (like the 2D maglight) it is
markedly brighter than the Maglight.

Flashlights of quality (not design and weight) comparable to a 2D
Maglight but using a 1-watt Luxeon and suitable drive electronics for
constant brightness over battery life, are currently about 3X to 5X
the price of the Maglight. There are cheaper knockoffs, but they
lack the suitable drive electronics, dim significantly as batteries
age and are down to a feeble glimmer when the batteries are only
about half exhausted. Lights that use 3 alkaline batteries (4.5
volt system) are almost certain not to have drive elex. Lights
that are nominally 3 volts (2 alkaline cells) certainly do use drive
electronics, some better than others but all pretty good.

There are also 3-watt Luxeon flashlights. They are probably about
twice as bright as an otherwise-similar 1-watt. Most of them use a
6-volt system, often two CR123 lithium cells. They don't necessarily
have drive electronics but usually do. I know of one small
"3-watt" light that uses a 3-watt Luxeon -- but only runs it at a bit
over 1 watt. Specsmanship! According to the specheets, the 3-watt
Luxeon actually produces less light at 1 watt (about 33 lumens) than
the 1-watt Luxeon's rated 45 lumens.

Reflector size has considerably more effect on brightness than
watts, at least up to 2" dia or a bit more.