Maglites

[bykfixer]

I acquired the Marquis from a fellow in London LiftdT4.

He said he had visited California and found a little 1aaa flashlight made by Maglite in a department store. Not knowing it would be so special he used it often.
Best part was he was only asking $14.99 for it (plus shipping). So $40 and 3 weeks later it was at my home.

To me the story of some of the oldies is the charm. I have bought plenty where the seller said "estate sale" or "found in an attic"... but the ones that come from the original owner, or knew the original owner and had stories to tell...
Those are my favorites.

 

[torchsarecool]

On Mag's website you can also use their contact form and they'll get back to you within a couple business days:

http://maglite.com/contact-form/

You have a newer style incan because it starts with a D whereas the old ones just start with a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 to specify the number of cells but not type. I believe they changed over in the early 90s. I want to say 93 or 94 but I don't know the exact date. Mag will for the most part even tell you what day the light was made on.

Id seen information on here suggesting that the preceding letters just started to be added to serial numbers as late as 2001. I might email maglite and see if they would shed some light on the subject.

 

[HwyChef]

I'll throw a few pics in for the "vintage" and "stock" Maglite fans! It's a ca. 1980s bought in Los Angeles when I was just a young lad. This is what I came home with after I learned how to drive and left the house unsupervised! Also, If you see my first post in "new members" I have to admit I made a mistake; I do not have a 9D cell, it's only 7D cell. My 7yo helper added a couple of batteries when she opened it up. I didn't realize it until I put it all back together and had 2 extra cells! My bad, and now i'll fall on the preverbal sword (or Maglite as it were)!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/147993100@N05/shares/48X4B3

 

[Need a Light?]

I'll throw a few pics in for the "vintage" and "stock" Maglite fans! It's a ca. 1980s bought in Los Angeles when I was just a young lad. This is what I came home with after I learned how to drive and left the house unsupervised! Also, If you see my first post in "new members" I have to admit I made a mistake; I do not have a 9D cell, it's only 7D cell. My 7yo helper added a couple of batteries when she opened it up. I didn't realize it until I put it all back together and had 2 extra cells! My bad, and now i'll fall on the preverbal sword (or Maglite as it were)!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/147993100@N05/shares/48X4B3

Wowzers, that's one pretty 7D, thanks for posting. Interesting bulb, is it flat on top?

 

[LiftdT4R]

I'll throw a few pics in for the "vintage" and "stock" Maglite fans! It's a ca. 1980s bought in Los Angeles when I was just a young lad. This is what I came home with after I learned how to drive and left the house unsupervised! Also, If you see my first post in "new members" I have to admit I made a mistake; I do not have a 9D cell, it's only 7D cell. My 7yo helper added a couple of batteries when she opened it up. I didn't realize it until I put it all back together and had 2 extra cells! My bad, and now i'll fall on the preverbal sword (or Maglite as it were)!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/147993100@N05/shares/48X4B3

Wow, that is one awesome light and in great shape too!! A 7D is my grail light, they are next to impossible to come by but I'm hoping to add one to my collection eventually.

 

[Offgridled]

Wow, that is one awesome light and in great shape too!! A 7D is my grail light, they are next to impossible to come by but I'm hoping to add one to my collection eventually.

+1 very cool light indeed. I hope your able to find one

 

[HwyChef]

Need a light?, as to the bulb. If I am not wrong, I believe they were called "Krypton" bulbs and they came specifically made for 2, 4 or 6 D cells. Back then, I recall ordering a 6D Mag and got it in the mail. The day after I got the 6, another box arrived with a 7D! I waited a week, and there it came, a letter saying "We made a mistake and sent you two 6D." I quickly sent back the 6D and kept the 7D. So I don't know how many exist. I have yet to come across anyone who had an actual 7D. Reading through the threads, I saw that 10D might exist. What a unicorn that would be!

 

[Need a Light?]

Need a light?, as to the bulb. If I am not wrong, I believe they were called "Krypton" bulbs and they came specifically made for 2, 4 or 6 D cells. Back then, I recall ordering a 6D Mag and got it in the mail. The day after I got the 6, another box arrived with a 7D! I waited a week, and there it came, a letter saying "We made a mistake and sent you two 6D." I quickly sent back the 6D and kept the 7D. So I don't know how many exist. I have yet to come across anyone who had an actual 7D. Reading through the threads, I saw that 10D might exist. What a unicorn that would be!

Wow, neat! Great story too, thanks! Amazing they not only sent two but also a 7. Maybe it was marketing trying to see which people wanted to keep haha but yeah, I only became of the 7d after a while of serious lurking on these forums.

 

[bykfixer]

Mag bulbs usually had xxxx star in the name. WhiteStar, MagStar etc. Some copy cats were 'Nex-Star'.

Last year I went on a bulb buying extravaganza and found all kinds of uber rare bulbs from the 70's and 80's. The pictured one was from an eBay listing where the guy was clearing out old stock prior to moving his hardware store across town.
I started out a search for a bulb for my incan Keymate. Yes Streamlight did a Keymate incan briefly. This guy had a listing there. I bought all 12 twin packs from him.

I clicked his "other items" and saw he had a shload of Sigma 1aaa, rare old Pelican modules, Brinkmann out the yazoo and 7D Mag bulbs. A couple of emails later and he sold me Streamlight Pocket Mate bulbs along with a bunch of other really rare light bulbs. I bought every light bulb he had and a few Pelican Sabre Lights. Strangely that was the only flashlight he had for sale.

 

[Need a Light?]

Mag bulbs usually had xxxx star in the name. WhiteStar, MagStar etc. Some copy cats were 'Nex-Star'.

Last year I went on a bulb buying extravaganza and found all kinds of uber rare bulbs from the 70's and 80's. The pictured one was from an eBay listing where the guy was clearing out old stock prior to moving his hardware store across town.
I started out a search for a bulb for my incan Keymate. Yes Streamlight did a Keymate incan briefly. This guy had a listing there. I bought all 12 twin packs from him.

I clicked his "other items" and saw he had a shload of Sigma 1aaa, rare old Pelican modules, Brinkmann out the yazoo and 7D Mag bulbs. A couple of emails later and he sold me Streamlight Pocket Mate bulbs along with a bunch of other really rare light bulbs. I bought every light bulb he had and a few Pelican Sabre Lights. Strangely that was the only flashlight he had for sale.

Mr. Fixer, as always, you bring much to quench my thirst for all knowledge incandescent. Much appreciated.

Speaking of pelican, I bought a new 2340 for $8 today and while it's basically a clicky plastic explosion proof pelican, for about the same price as a minimag, I'm very pleased.

Also, my dad the welder uses a saber lite for his weld inspections lol. It's the perfect range of brightness/focus along with good color for the spec'd candela requirement.

 

[HwyChef]

So after bykfixer dug up his bulbs, I got bulb envy. Told the wife "I'll be in the garage for a bit!" And like an old troll I went digging through a few drawers that haven't seen light in a while. Knowing one has something is different than knowing where to find it! But, we had success. I found the Krypton bulbs. They are concave on top, almost like a little recessed hole. All my bulbs came in a silver and white package with red stripe down the side. If you look closely, you can see a "D" in the corner. With the bulbs I found the original leather belt loop with hard plastic ring. This is vintage stuff folks. Enjoy the pics:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/147993100@N05/shares/uLm1q3

 

[Offgridled]

Great stuff chef

 

[Need a Light?]

Those bulbs with the round top look like magnum star I xenon?

 

[HwyChef]

There are some marking on the body, but I'll need a magnifier to read that. I'll try taking a macro-close-up shot and then enlarge the image. Maybe we can read it, or someone might recognize it.

 

[lumen aeternum]

Interesting that they supplied spacer shim washers to center the beam (but not for use in their own flashlights, since the head twists). Might be useful to micrometer the thickness.

 

[dennck]

model number LMSA401 is the old Magnum star xenon.
Those 3 bulbs in the clear plastic boxes seems to be of different rating. I can read a PR18 (the middle one) which is a supposed to be the bulb for 6-cell flashlight I believe.

 

[bykfixer]

I have a PR18 going in a 7 cell Dog Supply House light and it looks great. It is using Rayovac alkalines. Don't know about lifespan as I use it for kix n giggles a few minutes at a time. I will say this, the Mag 6 cell only lasted a few seconds.

I guess what I'm saying is that in a pinch a 7D Mag can run off a PR18.

 

[HwyChef]

I checked the stamping on my bulbs, and I came up with the following: Philips Hong Kong PR18 1L5. I looked these up and found the following site:
http://www.topbulb.com/pr18-bulb-0-55-amp-7-2-volt-3-96-watts-b3-5-sx6s-base. The bulb is rated for 3 hours for a 6 cell D. I also found the PR20:
http://www.topbulb.com/pr20-bulb-0-5-amp-8-63-volt-4-32-watts-b3-5-sx6s-base?q=pr20
The PR20 is rated for a 7 cell D, but they don't list a life span. My guess is they don't last long. All are about $1 a piece. I don't have a micrometer, so I can't measure the thickness of the shims Lumen Aeternum, but I could send you one in an envelope if you really gotta-know!