2 very different Maglite LED mods

wacbzz

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Nov 1, 2006
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In case somebody may be on the edge of a decision about which to purchase, I just wanted to post up a few photos of these two very different Maglite LED mods that anybody can put together. Nothing is required except for the user to purchase the different LED drop-ins. One is the TerraLUX TLE 300MR for a Magcharger found here, and the other is the Elektrolumens MCE Drop-in II for a 3D Maglite found here.

The Magcharger is on the left:

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The TerraLUX TLE 300MR uses three 7090 Cree XRE's inside of 6 degree optic lenses. At full charge with the Magcharger battery, it is supposed to put out 600 lumens and then stay constant at 500 lumens (according to the manufacturer). This drop-in is very spot oriented in nature.

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Do not go whitewall hunting with this drop-in. Period. See below (sorry about the textured white wall:ohgeez:):

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The Elektrolumens MCE Drop-in II uses two Cree MC-E's with 20mm textured reflectors. I only have alkaline D size batteries, but according to Wayne, this mod will run much much brighter with 3 NiMH D size batteries. It should also run much longer. With the rechargables, according to Wayne, this light will put out something in the neighborhood of 1400 lumens. :naughty: This drop-in is very flood oriented in nature.

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This light is very smooth and good looking on a white wall - textured or not.:whistle:

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And together, you can see the difference in that one light has more throw/spot ability (the TerraLUX on the left) and the other is simply a flood light (the Elektrolumens on the right):

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Inside the house, they are both good for lighting up a room (though one can get a feeling of tunnel vision when viewing a room with the TerraLUX - seen in the first picture):

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Outside, it all depends on what you are looking for. Throw? Use the TerraLUX:

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You want flood - like an L4 to the Nth degree? Use the Elektrolumens drop-in:

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Both of these are really good for what they are designed to do. Each drop-in does a job that is vastly different than the other. And since I couldn't figure out which one to go with, in the spirit of many CPFers before me, I bought both!:twothumbs
 

AA6TZ

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Nov 24, 2008
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Encinitas, CA
In case somebody may be on the edge of a decision about which to purchase, I just wanted to post up a few photos of these two very different Maglite LED mods that anybody can put together.
VERY nicely done, wacbzz!!! Thank you for the helpful and interesting post. I can tell you spent a LOT of time putting this one together. Thank you, Sir. Very much appreciated. :clap:

Best Regards,

-Clive
 

PhantomPhoton

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Jan 15, 2007
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NV
Nice pictures, I like the tint of the Elektrolumens much better.
But they are definitely two different beasts. Try and get some NiMh cells in there and give us an update. :D
 

electric sheep

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Dec 13, 2008
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UK
Dreadful soldering on the Elecro:p Not sure but it looks direct drive and very basic but considering the cost you could not do it for much less. Can you really get 900 lumen's from each MC-E for three hours????
 

callmaster

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Jan 11, 2006
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Malaysia
Thank you wabzz, I'm trying to decide between the MCE drop in-II and the drop in-III. The drop in-II certainly looks decent enough for the price but I just might try the drop in-III.
 
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