My shipment arrived / PR bulb question

webley445

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 16, 2001
Messages
1,353
Location
St. Pete, Fl.
Box-o-goodies came today. Expanding my LED collection. First and foremost, my Arc AAA, which now rests attached to my keys. Nice little sucker, first impression was yes, bright for its size, and reminded me of a mini Infinity. Next out was the Impact. Was impressed with the nice spot emmitted, just like my Pal survivor at home but brighter. Speaking of Pal, the Onestar was next to be scrutinized. Will take a little getting used to [for me] working with the control [does the star emblem on the light actually do anything? just for show?].

Then the LED CLub 3AA 4LED. I like its metal construction. Doesn't seem very bright at all after playing with the Pal and Impact. Seems to be just the same if not only a little brighter than the Arc, but perhaps a bit more flood of light. Hard to tell testing in the office under the desk. Will have to compare these two to my PT Attitude and LW 2000 tonight.

Now the deal was the 3 lights and the Led Club thrown in as an extra after the deal was struck. So you can imagine my surprise and elation when I found the last item. A little plastic box that contained 2 PR base LED bulbs. The box is marked
"6V [4cell] PR base - 3 red LED - Single White Focusing.
I have no experience with them and have not read up on them. I always prefered to keep my Mag lights stock, using them as intended, and aquiring LEDs from factory makers.

So here's my questions. I own 2 Mag lights. They are both 3D cell. I don't suppose the bulbs will work in them will they? Will it damage the bulbs if I try? What does the "white focusing" mean? Does this mean I gotta go but a 4 cell. Finally what other options are there for lights to use the PR bulbs with other than the MAg? I have a Ray-o-Vac 4AA I got after a recent post about it, will it work in that? If it does Playboy Joe should get jealous being its a $2.99 flashlight with the option of a KP103 or two "Free" LED PR's to extend runtime.
wink.gif


************EDIT***********
Forgot to note that he trew in a minimag holster and all the torches came with batteries in them. What a nice guy!
 

TOB9595

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 3, 2002
Messages
988
Location
UNDER GOD
Sounds like a nice deal
smile.gif

You could do the plastic pipe inside the 3d mag and then put 4 c's in.
It should work in the 4aa rayovac. I bought a bunch after the posts and have been playing with them a lot. Great light!
Let us know about the results of all.
 

txwest

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 30, 2001
Messages
1,773
Location
Houston, TX
It should work fine in the Ray-O-Vac 4AA. It's basically a Boss without the textured reflector. TX
 

franken2

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 28, 2002
Messages
151
Location
n.e. philly
Originally posted by webley445:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by Charles Bradshaw:
If it is for 4 cell (6 volt), it should work in a 4AA, with alkalines. The main question, is whether they are from ledtronics (beware if they are).
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">How can you tell?
Why beware?
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">only reason i can think of is that led corp's bulbs are not recommended for use with lithium batts.
 

Charles Bradshaw

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 14, 2002
Messages
2,495
Location
Mansfield, OH
Ledtronics, NOT ledcorp! Ledtronics has been deceptive: the two 3 volt, 3 LED (white) that I got, BARELY light at 3 volts, and only function with 2 Lithium AAs (3.66 volts).

There is another thread dealing with ledtronics' deceptive practices. Don't remember which forum it is in.
 

Charles Bradshaw

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 14, 2002
Messages
2,495
Location
Mansfield, OH
If it is for 4 cell (6 volt), it should work in a 4AA, with alkalines. The main question, is whether they are from ledtronics (beware if they are).
 

webley445

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 16, 2001
Messages
1,353
Location
St. Pete, Fl.
Originally posted by Charles Bradshaw:
If it is for 4 cell (6 volt), it should work in a 4AA, with alkalines. The main question, is whether they are from ledtronics (beware if they are).
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">How can you tell?
Why beware?
 

webley445

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 16, 2001
Messages
1,353
Location
St. Pete, Fl.
The guy I got them from emailed me. Said the white single is from a Dorcy. Tried them both last night with horrible results. The reflector is made for an incandescent and doesn't seem to work well with them. The single white led projects just a small dot of light that is almost useless. The three red is bright but when you shine it on the wall you can see three distinct red dots, like an evil face smiling at you. It's bright and works, but doesn't look that great. Maybe the results would be better with a different reflector/lens. At least the three red can be usable, the single white will have to be used in another light.
 

EMPOWERTORCH

Enlightened
Joined
May 1, 2002
Messages
743
Location
Coalville, Leicestershire, England
I think that the 3LED red would work best in a torch fitted with a dimpled or faceted reflector.
I would suspect that these bulbs have the LED's wired direct-drive in series (red LED's having forward voltage of about 1.8V or so). Therefore, the bulb will be supremely efficient as none of the voltage is resistored away as heat.
There are hundreds of 4 cell PR torches on the market; it's just finding one which best suits the bulb. I am in agreement with earlier people that a smaller torch may be prefferable, 4AA or 4AAA powered.
White LED's, although they are getting better, are still much of a compromise as they are in reality blue LED's gooped in yellow phosphor to make them appear white. You have to pay a lot of money for the highest brightness whites, so you're not exactly going to be handed one in a free pr bulb. I think that the "white focusing" term means that the white bulb is designed to be used in a variable focus torch such as a Mag. You may find that the bulbmaker has modified the LED casing to allow foucussability.
As for useability, the best LED bulbs I have yet used are ones I've made myself using dead torch bulbs and premium quality Nichia LED's. You can set how much drive, how many LED's and what type/colour, and position within the torch head for accurate focussing and beam direction.
Once you've got your LED's positioned fill the cavity inside the bulb base with insulating epox and hey presto, you've got a PR LED bulb custom designed and for the fraction of the cost of a commercially made bulb.
 
Top