Official mag drop-in focussing problem

My dad got a mag drop-in while in the US, and now the mag won't focus to a tight spot any more- it gives a horrible donut of light (like you see when holding a "normal" light very close to a wall) at distances of more than 3 or 4 feet. Surely this isn't normal?

Doesn't sound normal to me. And stop calling me Shirley.

Seriously, though, I wouldn't expect that behavior. I have never used an official Mag LED replacement "bulb", but I have used a similar form-factor solution from Diamond with an older Luxeon LED. I was able to focus down to a very tight beam. Try focusing and look through the lens (beam off, preferably!) You should see the LED module move relative to the reflector. Assuming that the mechanics of the focusing are working correctly, I guess it is possible that the output of the LED is defective (though this hardly seems likely). Did it ever focus correctly with the LED module?

optodoofus

Sorry, my first post was ambiguous. I edited, but just after you posted

It focusses normally with a bulb, but put the LED in and the donut appears.


Will take a peek through the reflector.

Have you tried adjusting the focus?? Loosening or tightening the head will change the focal point.

yes, I have tried adjusting the head. It was the first thing I did (actually the first thing I did, since putting the head back on after changing the bulb adjusts the focus...)

I can make an ugly donut with my LED drop-in two different ways. If I start with a wide flood beam and tighten down, I will go through the ugly donut stage on the way to correct focus. If I continue to tighten after achieving good focus, I get another slightly less ugly donut. I assume you have tried the full range of focusing options and determined that you can never achieve a tight focus.

It is possible that the focusing capabilities of your Mag are slightly off. Just because it works with a bulb, doesn't mean it would work with an LED (different geometry of how the light is produced between bulbs and LEDs). The only way to figure out if it is the LED or the Mag is to get your hands on another Mag. If the LED works in the other Mag, then the problem is the flashlight. If the problem follows the LED, it is the LED (either a unit defect or just the way the Mag LEDs work. However, I think that someone else would have chimed in if this was just the way the Mag LEDs were designed to work).

Sorry I can't be of further help on this.

optodoofus

if possible, give us a pic of the Mag taken from the front, showing head, reflector and how the led is situated inside.
+ an extra shot of that insert alone.

Just from what You told, I 'd say that the led does not come into the reflector sufficient enough. There must be something that keeps it from going inside.

Are you using alkaline batteries with that mag converter? Mine acted crazy and we traced it down to NiMH batteries

yellow said:

Just from what You told, I 'd say that the led does not come into the reflector sufficient enough. There must be something that keeps it from going inside.

Click to expand...

I'll go with that- unscrewing the bezel a long way (way past the O ring) gets the beam in focus. It's quite an old mag- could this have something to do with it? (serial number begins 3I, it's a 3D model)

I've tightened the collar as far as I can, and bar lengthening the cam there's not much more that can be done....


Oh, and it's duracell alkies.

I have 2 3-d lights with the Mag LED drop-in and they both suffer from this same problem.

The reflector is made for an incan bulb, not an LED. The Official kit should come with a new reflector, but I think the whole head would have to change if they did this (notice length difference on the AA vs. AA-LED Mag lights?)

I just accept it. I have SureFire lights when I need a great beam pattern. The Mag lights are just for general vehicle inspection, changing a tire, checking oil etc. where precision is not a concern. If I am checking a faulty diesel fuel injector, I'm using a better light...

This is NOT normal. I have a 3D Mag that I added the genuine Mag LED to and it focuses down to damn near laser mode. I would venture a guess that the LED isn't installed all way. I had to get a pair of pliers onto the metal retaining ring to fully seat the LED "bulb". That light should be able to throw a pretty good beam.

Well, I'll check mine today, but I'm reasonably certain the bulb is fully seated...:shrug:

Does the LED sit in the center of drop-in module?
You may try rotate the drop-in module at 90 degree, or other before tighten the silver cover of tower.
If this does not work, take some pictures, module itself, installed in tower, with reflector from front. We will tell.

Here are some picures. From left to right: drop-in w/ collar done up, (below) reflector with bezel focussed to a spot, how far out the bezel is when focussed to a spot, beam shot of bezel screwed all the way down and then loosened to the first tight focus (as good as it gets unless it's unscrewed a long way), reflector when screwed in as much as it is on the beamshot to the left.



bigger here

My 2D Maglite had the same problem.

I had to play around with the head to make it work, focus. I don't know what I did but I got it to work.

What I did to not have problem occur again was to get rid of the Magled Drop In and now I have a Malkoff 2D installed.

there is a silver retaining ring that holds the bulb in place. That has to be tightened down to make sure the bulb sits deep enough in the reflector. I'll try to take some pictures of mine tomorrow.

My guess is that the LED is not 100% centered in the reflector. I had the same beam patern when I put a Cree on a solid heatsink in my 6D. When the LED was centered correctly the hot spot was perfect.

Moving the module around by 90' does nothing to alter the beam pattern, so I doubt it's that.

When I look at the top left photo it does seem that the left side of the LED lens is closer to the side than the right side. The right photo also shows a dark corner @ North East (usually misalignment). I think you should play around with the reflector in front of the LED without the head on the Mag. This way you could move closer and futher as well as from side to side, etc. If you still do not find your perfect spot the deflector is faulty. By ways of elimination you should find the problem.

I've never posted pictures here before, so if there are no pics following the text.....cut me some slack.....

2 pictures: The first shows the retaining ring that holds the led module in place. I think if that's not screwed all the way down, you'll lose beam quality. The second shows the beam of my 3D Mag LED, with batteries of unknown age. ( I am standing about 20 feet from a white door )


hmmmm......it appears I have to post the images on the web first, but I don't have a place to do that........I'll get back to you.