NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

Status
Not open for further replies.

Miracle

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 18, 2006
Messages
510
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

hello MattK,

r these available now?

:huh2:
 

SuperTorch

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
335
Location
Oklahoma
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

MattK, does Batteryjunction carry the Mineral Glass lens upgrade for the C/D Mags? I'm looking for the thickest, best heat treated HQ lens upgrade. Im going to put the MaxStart5 K2 in a 4D setup. I just ordered so if they do I may have you add it to my order. Thanks.
 

MattK

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 30, 2004
Messages
3,027
Location
Connecticut Shoreline
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

Some answers:
- They're being overnighted and should arrive no later than this Tuesday the 5th.
- We don't carry the mineral glass lenses at this time. Remember the K2 runs a lot cooler than a LuxIII or the stock bulb.
- Yes, the coupon code 'cpf2006' must be entered without spaces - I edited the OP.
 

Face

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Messages
252
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

Sorry if this is a bozo question, but will this work as a "true" 6D upgrade, ie will it use all the 9v available to it?

I hope that what I've asked makes sense. I don't really know of a better way to phrase my question (especially at this time of night!) :)
 

SuperTorch

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
335
Location
Oklahoma
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

Output is the same in 3-6 Cell lights, should be brighter than any other 3-6 Cell Mag LED. You just get more runtime with a 6 cell vs a 3 Cell.
 

MattK

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 30, 2004
Messages
3,027
Location
Connecticut Shoreline
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

Exactly- more cells = more runtime, not brighter.

Also, delivery tomorrow is confirmed. We'll have all orders shipped by Thursday!

Thanks for all of the great orders!
 

Face

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Messages
252
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

So is there a true 6-cell upgrade available. From anywhere?
 

MattK

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 30, 2004
Messages
3,027
Location
Connecticut Shoreline
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

I don't think there's an LED on the market that can handle that voltage - most work in the 3-5V range.

I'm sure someone here will correct me if I'm wrong. :p
 

MattK

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 30, 2004
Messages
3,027
Location
Connecticut Shoreline
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

All order shipped today! :)

Some more data:

<i>The MaxStar5 operates the LED between 3.5 to 4 Watts over the range of 5-9 Volts. It drops to 3 Watts at 4.5 Volts and gradually decreases to about 3 Volts where it shuts down. The circuitry reduces the battery voltage to accommodate a constant current thru the LED, but as the battery voltage falls, the circuit steps out of the way, and does not shut the unit off abruptly as the Mag circuit does. So the current through the LED is 1.1 Amps over most of the voltage range. At 4.5 Volts about 0.9 Amps is still going thru the LED. </i>

What this means: NiMh cells SHOULD work - we haven't tested it yet but it seems likely that there will be decreased output though because of the lower voltage. The unit will be slightly brighter in 4-6 cell applications.
 

SuperTorch

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
335
Location
Oklahoma
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

poop, I just bought a 3 Cell D a wal-fart, I stood there for 30 minutes as my mind told me GET THE 4 CELL It'll burn brighter but then I thought the regulation would keep the 3 cell at max brightness or close to it. I'm wanting the full 120(typical) lumens not 80-90 or what ever. If a direct drive is better than I'll just return it. So 3 Alkalines will most likely just give me 3 watts of power right? How many lumens on a 3D vs a 4D it sounds if I'm reading you right that 3D will be 80-100 lumens and 4 D will be 100-120 lumens for non-brand new baterries? I know we don't know excatly but thats the general guess? I bought this on the premise that if I had average luck I'd be geting 120 lumens but that cant be the case for 3-4 watts right or is it the current at 900-1100mA through the LED that determines the lumens? Sorry I don'r know more about them but if the LED gets 1100mA @ 5 volts it will be brighter than 1100mA @ 4 volts right? or is the lumens the same because the LED is getting 1100mA with both.
 
Last edited:

MattK

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 30, 2004
Messages
3,027
Location
Connecticut Shoreline
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

SuperTorch - Yes, for maximum output you'll need 4-6 cells but remember even at the lower setting it will be brighter and more efficient than a Luxeon III and not suffer the shut-down issues of the Mag 'upgrades'. Your estimates re: lumens sounds about rght - at 4 or 5 V the LED will be seeing the same 1100mah so output should be identical if I understand correctly. Apparently they tested at up to 1500mah (the max under spec) but the higher currents were melting the Mag reflector, the 1.1A rate was the highest safe/efficient rate arrived at after considerable testing.
 

ace0001a

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 29, 2006
Messages
1,153
Location
Sactown
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

Ok, then let me chime in here with this question: How about running it with NiMH in a 3D Mag? From what you guys are saying, it means it should run brighter with 3 NiMHs than 3 Alkalines.
 

SuperTorch

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
335
Location
Oklahoma
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

Well I think the K2 is rated at 1500/max and that where the 140 lumens comes from if they limit the current to 1000/average then they really have no shot of getting more than 100 lumens - ever. The 105 to 135 lumens in the marketing is based on a K2 at max currnet which the - MaxStar5 limits. I think Direct Drives(Dimmond K2 6.5 watt) may allow for the full 1500mA current the by giving the chance to get highest lumens if you win the Luxeon lottery. I just don't want to open it if I know its not what I want. If there is a 15% restocking then I may try it, but would return it if its only a tad brighter than a 2D Mag LED that I'm going to buy. I'd love it to be 120 lumens if I got and average one, but if 120 lumens is based off of Lumileds info at a MAX of 1500mA then we know this will never exceed 100 lumens with the best of luck in the led lottery, and in a 3 cell most likely will be below 80 lumens since the cicuit will drop it down to 3watts very quickly.
 
Last edited:

SuperTorch

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
335
Location
Oklahoma
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

ace0001a said:
Ok, then let me chime in here with this question: How about running it with NiMH in a 3D Mag? From what you guys are saying, it means it should run brighter with 3 NiMHs than 3 Alkalines.

No it shouldn't he said the very opposite, The MaxStar5 now looks to need voltage to maintain brightness really 6 volts for the circuit to keep from droping it to 3 watts.
 

Bimmerboy

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 30, 2004
Messages
2,073
Location
Long Island, NY
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

Hi Matt,

From what I can tell, the MaxStar5 should run nicely from two LiON, staying at the max output until the batts need recharging (at around 3V each). Does that work fine? Also, due to the non-shutoff, I would assume protected LiON's would be the way to go? For the price, I'm real tempted by this thing if I can stick it in a 2C with 2 X 3.6V rechargeables.

Ace - if I can take a stab at it... NiMH will give you plenty of current, if asked for, but that doesn't matter so much with the MaxStar. Voltage is what's needed for this thing to be at max output. You'll need 4 NiMH for max output, but your runtime 'till it kicks down to the next lower level won't be tremendously long. Better off with 4 alkalines at 1.5V each if you don't use the light a whole lot. Matt, let me know if I'm off base here.
 

SuperTorch

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
335
Location
Oklahoma
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

Hmmm well after much panic I think I'll just move to a 4D Mag and let the regulation do its magic, I don't like loooooong flashlights, but this 3D feels good in the hand and I think I can live with even a 4D cell and just like the fact it will have tremendous runtime and I can fend off supermodel advances towards me with it. With the 4D it should be able to maintian 5Watts for quite a while. The 2D Mag actually looks decent it starts at about 4.5 watts but with in 15-30 minutes it drops to about 1.5 watts :(.
 

MattK

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 30, 2004
Messages
3,027
Location
Connecticut Shoreline
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

Bimmerboy -There's no reason lithiums can't power it but I'd need to know more about which cells you intended to use before fully endorsing that sort of thing - protected doesn't mean the same thing to everyone and many 'protected' cells don't funtion correctly in series, or parallel, as their PCB's are often set only for single cell applications. You can always run unprotected cells but of course you run the risk of making paperweights out of them. Sorry if I'm overly-cautious but I sell batteries and with Lithium products I'm a firm believer in covering my a**. :)

Ace/Bimmerboy - Bimmberboy mostly has it right - current, in this case capacitance or amps isn't the issue, voltage is. In a 3 cell application with NiMh cells you'll always be running at the lower level because your starting voltage is 3.6V not 4.5V. If you want to use NiMh a 4-6 cell would be the ideal application. Here's where Bimmerboy was incorrect - since NiMh cells maintain a fairly steady voltage over the course of their discharge they'll likely always be over 4.5V and will never drop into the lower setting. Also, if you use the light infrequently NiMh's are a poor choice as their self-discharge characteristics will leave disipated to some extent unless you charge them regularly whearas alkalines will basically maintain their capacitance for a long time - making them, or lithium cells, a better choice for emergency applications. If you use the light regularly, by all means, use NiMh. Now, all of that said - even in a 3 cell NiMh application this is still the brightest, most efficient LED upgrade for a 3 cell Mag on the market and will consistently outperform any other upgrade on the market.
 

MattK

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 30, 2004
Messages
3,027
Location
Connecticut Shoreline
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

SuperTorch said:
Hmmm well after much panic I think I'll just move to a 4D Mag and let the regulation do its magic, I don't like loooooong flashlights, but this 3D feels good in the hand and I think I can live with even a 4D cell and just like the fact it will have tremendous runtime and I can fend off supermodel advances towards me with it. With the 4D it should be able to maintian 5Watts for quite a while. The 2D Mag actually looks decent it starts at about 4.5 watts but with in 15-30 minutes it drops to about 1.5 watts :(.

You'll be happy to know that I've been getting regular emails from TerraLUX today with updates on their runtime testing with a 4D - last time they checked in was at 15 hours and still at full brightness. :)
 

SuperTorch

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
335
Location
Oklahoma
Re: NEW! TerraLUX MaxStar5 K2 5W U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C or D cell Maglites TLE-6K2!

We need some runtime and output graphs, I'm thinking the 4D will be 20-30% brighter since the circuit will auto drop the MaxStar5 to 3 watts very fast in a 3 cell set up, but in a 4 cell set up it should retain 5 watts for along time. I don't know much about this stuff except I want the brightess MAG LED I can buy in the smallest package but the 2D just don't have much options right now.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top