Versalux Magma LED...Teach me!

pheonix

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Joined
Jan 14, 2003
Messages
18
Location
Ohio
Up until I recently I thought all Flashlights were of three types ( OK, Cheep and really cheep). My best Flashlights, and I have 4 or 5 of them, are 2AA Mini Mag lights. I would like to try out the white LED lights and I found these www.techass.com/el/versalux/magmaled/magmaled.php
I do not want something that will melt,or burn. If you have any experience with these let me know what you think of them. I have a 5 yr old and would like to change over the lights that I already have to make them better (if possible) and use them for camping, hiking, hunting, self defense/security, etc. I do realize that I need to get a more powerful light, and I am open to suggestions for that as well. I am not a rich man and would rather keep what I have than spend $150 to buy a few new lights.
 

sunspot

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Aug 22, 2001
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Graham, NC
Welcome to CPF. Most of the folks here started out the same as you.
A nice and bright flashlight that is cheap in price is a PT Surge. It uses 8 AA's and is about the size of a 1.5 D Mag and runs for about three hours. Around $23-25.
 

Roy

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Check out the following URL which has the runtime plot that I performed on the Magmaled. It would make a good light for kids..only one led, not over bright, and really long runtime.
There is a good discussion of the light that comes with the runtime plot.

Added... oops!
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=000010

There is probably a 90% chance that a Magmaled will fit in a AAA Minimag without any modification! And if it does need help, usually all it needs is to have the edges of the pcb smoothed. Makes a really nice AAA Minimag!
 

Bushman

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Jan 8, 2002
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I agree totally with sunspot The Princeton Tec Surge should be all Flasholic newbies first incadesant light. Strong, tough, waterproof, very bright for its size (brighter than alot of the two cell lithium lights) and a great run time on cheap AA batteries. bulbs are simple to replace and are fairly cheap compared to some others. comes with a lanyard and in most intances its first set of batteries. I don't think anyone could go wrong with the PT surge. It is focusable too.

The versalux magma led is a good product too but is for a different type of use. It is not nearly as bright as the Surge but has great opportunities esp. for indoor use. the man that invented the magma led Is a member here on CPF his email address is [email protected] you ought to email him and ask him any questions that you may have His name is Mike. He is very easy to get along with. Tell him that Bushman sent you his way. Best of luck.

We might be able to help you more with choosing a light if you can be as specific as possible with what you are going to use it for. Many lights are task specific and if you know what tasks you will be using it for the better we will be able to help you choose a light that you will be very very happy with...
 

pheonix

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Joined
Jan 14, 2003
Messages
18
Location
Ohio
I was looking for something to keep in my car, toolbox, kitchen, and take camping. I guess the first 3 would be the Mini Mag type and the last would need to be something special...Now you got me thinking. Get the LED inserts for the mag lights and something big/powerful for camping/hiking.

Roy, what is the URL?
 

Bushman

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Jan 8, 2002
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LED= Dat2zip sandwich shop
or magma led
or inretech

big powerful= Princeton Tec Surge
 

Roy

Farewell our Curmudgeon Administrator
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Ooops!
blush.gif


Forgot to insert the URL (internet address)!

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=000010
 

Entropy

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Dec 30, 2002
Messages
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Location
Bridgewater, NJ
If you already have one or two AA MMs, then one of dat2zip's BadBoy modules is the way to go. (Look for the 15-page thread in the homemade/modified forum)

Warning: Dropping in a BadBoy = instant addiction. Bought the BadBoy plus McFlood optics, and I just ordered a Kroll tailcap switch and the MiniMag accessory kit. Then I ordered $20 worth of lenses from Anchor Surplus Optical for collimation experiments. (I'll let people know the results of those soon...)

But I LOVE my BB400-modded MiniMag.
smile.gif
 

Charles Bradshaw

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Mansfield, OH
Excuse me, folks, but, Phoenix is asking about a specific product and does NOT want to buy NEW flashlights. He is talking about converting existing incandescants to LED. How many of you actually answered his question????????

The MagmaLED is a direct replacement for the standard minimag bulb: NO modifying the flashlight in ANY form. Unlike those Luxeon Star mods/adapters.

Warning: The MagmaLED, like the Versalux PR-2, can only be used with Alkaline AAs. Lithiums will cause it to overheat very, very fast.

Advantages: makes use of the minimag reflector for focusing, and does not need any mods to to light to work or fit.

Disadvantage: Can use Alkalines only.

Now the Inretech adapters and the sandwiches are very, very, good. So is the Opalec adapter.

Welcome to CPF, Phoenix!!
 

Lurker

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Nov 6, 2002
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The South
You mentioned that you didn't want to spend $150 on a few new lights. Well, if you have 4 or 5 minimags that you want to upgrade, you can spend almost that much or more on LED upgrades for them. It may be cheaper to just buy new LED lights such as the Princeton Tech Attitude. Or you can upgrade the Minimags without converting to LED by using some CPF tricks such as adding WriteRight sheets or Scotch satin tape to the lens and installing the Brinkmann NexStar incandescent bulbs and maybe lithium batteries (especially for the one in the car). This can improve things for little money. You may be able to get away with these measures for several of your lights and then just do a LED conversion on the one you use the most.

For camping, hiking, hunting, self-defense and considering that there is a child in the house, I would want something less fragile and brighter than the Magmaled. And while the Badboy is great, it doesn't run very long, which could be a problem in the woods. My favorite upgrade that fits into this middle area is the Opalec Newbeam, which has decent brightness along with really good run time and works well with any kind of batteries.
 

mahoney

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Joined
Jan 7, 2002
Messages
603
The Magma-LED is a good little unit, not as bright as a stock Mini-mag lamp, but it focuses more evenly, although if you go far enough towards flood you will still get the famous "rings and a dark hole" beam pattern. Both units I've had emitted a nice white color, not as blue as all the other single LED lights I've seen. Battery life is very long. It might not be 5 year old proof though. If you screw the head on too tight you can damage the unit. You could locktite the head and use a clickie tail switch but then you would lose the ability to focus the light.

If I were to need to buy more LED adaptors, I would be inclined to spend a little more money and get another Opalec Newbeam, it's brighter (3 LEDs) and IMO a more robust unit. You can't focus the beam and battery life is shorter, but still much longer than with the stock halogen lamp.

I also like the size of the AA Mini-Mag and it is a sturdy housing with lots of modding possibilities. Exploring the archives here should give you lots to think about and try.
 

Roy

Farewell our Curmudgeon Administrator
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Location
Granbury, Tx USA
The "Reviews Forum" is a great research tool! Lots of reviews and runtime information. You'll find reviews and/or runtime plots for most of the AA Minimag mods in there.
 

zackhugh

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Dec 2, 2002
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Location
Hawaii
Pheonix,

I got a couple of the Magma LEDs yesterday. I quickly managed to break one because I wasn't careful in reading the instructions and screwing the head back on.
blush.gif
I installed the other and it worked fine, though there is a warning about not turning the head too far clockwise to avoid crushing the LED. It's a nice white color, though not particularly bright compared to a luxeon star replacement. IMHO, OK as an indoor light but definitely not for self defense/security.

Steve
 

Entropy

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Dec 30, 2002
Messages
413
Location
Bridgewater, NJ
Originally posted by Charles Bradshaw:
Excuse me, folks, but, Phoenix is asking about a specific product and does NOT want to buy NEW flashlights. He is talking about converting existing incandescants to LED. How many of you actually answered his question????????

The MagmaLED is a direct replacement for the standard minimag bulb: NO modifying the flashlight in ANY form. Unlike those Luxeon Star mods/adapters.

Welcome to CPF, Phoenix!!
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">BadBoy installation: Remove bulb, insert pill, replace reflector with included optics. It doesn't get much easier than that. You have to remove the bulb for any retrofit...

(Yes, you must replace the optics, but that takes what... 5 seconds? And is completely reverisble? And lets you use any type of battery, no alkalines-only restriction plus ten or more times the light?)

It took me a total of a minute to install my BadBoy, and the mod is reversible any time I want to. Not like I'd ever want to... The difference between a BadBoy and the old MiniMag's puny light output is incredible.
 
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