Terralux TLE-6EXB: How bright should it be?

Well my TLE-6EX came in a couple of days ago. The first thing I noticed right away is that the large "Maglite donut" is completely gone and that there is a nice, solid bright beam of light there now. The second thing I noticed is that the 6EX is most definately brighter than my old Diamond Luxeon III drop-in. I wouldn't go as far to say that it's nearly twice as bright, but notheless it is brighter. It's also nice to have all 5 D-cells in my Mag again instead of 3Ds and two DIY dummies in there.

All in all, I'm happy with this little upgrade. It's simply incredible how much light a single little LED can throw off these days, and the 6EX isn't even the strongest one out there! One of these days I'm going to buy a new 6D Maglite and drop in one of those Malkoff suckers and/or do one of those multi-LED mods. :thumbsup:

It's just amazing how far technology as brought LEDs over the past 30-40 years. My father still as a stash of the very first LEDs to come out on the market, the ones that had the small brass/copper colored metal bases, and all the light they produce is just a very small, pin-hole sized dot that's very dim.

robm said:

Do you have links for these bits of info (for future reference)?

:thanks:

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AFAIK the data was originally quoted on TerraLux's own site, I've just visited there and can no longer find such information... what I did note however was the picture of the 6EXB drop-in looks like an alternative K2 emitter (instead of the Seoul P4) has been utilized, perhaps the newer variant has overcome the 2 cell power lag issue? :thumbsup:

To better illustrate this see the beam shots below, the left focus point is the TLE-6EXB powered by 2 D alkalines @ 1.6v each beside it the magLED drop-in is powered by 3 D alkalines @ 1.57v each both at 6ft distance from focus point...



For additional reference, here now is the same configuration only the TLE-6EXB is now powered by 3D alkalines (note the dramatic difference)



For the life of me I can't recall where I read the quoted 100 lumen output for the Maglite Mag-LED drop in module, thus it's likely to be inaccurate (my apologies) however the module I've been using to compare the 2 isn't drastically behind the TerraLux drop-in's performance (with both LEDs cold), and significantly better than the TLE-6EXB powered by the 2 D cells (as demonstrated above) :twothumbs

Thanks for that M@elstrom - useful information (I don't have a 3 cell MagLED in the collection :shakehead ).

I think the pictures on the Terralux site are from the old K2 based version - notice the red 'heatsink'.

No problem... I'll endeavour to slap together another DIY dummy D cell in the next few days to allow for some 2 x D cell comparison beam shots of the TerraLux & MagLED drop ins, it's a real pity I can't give you any raw data from a light meter, thus beam shots will have to suffice

FWIW I only own 1 3D cell, hence the need for the dummy D cells to even up the playing field when comparing light engines

M@elstrom said:

I too own the TLE-6EXB & MagLED (drop-in) modules, please keep in mind Terralux quotes the 'B' variant on 2 cells @ 100 lumen which is equivalent to the MagLED drop-in's rated output :thumbsup:

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For reference:

I equipped a new 2C and a new 3C with fresh batteries and identical 6EXBs. Using the above ceiling bounce test, I compared both lights. No mater how I held them, where I pointed them, and despite wanting it NOT to be true, the 3cell (4.5 volts) was noticeably brighter than the 2cell (3 volts) in every case.

I have no way to test, but I would believe that 2/3 cells = 100/140 lumens.

CandleFranky said:

I have upgraded my Maglite 2D first with the original Maglite LED upgrade module and after it tested the TLE-6EXB. Result: The TLE-6EXB seems to be darker in the Spot and the spill. :thumbsdow

I have also upgraded my Minimag 2AA with a TLE-5EX, that's an impressive light. If I switch on both flashlights, you can no longer detect visible light from the TLE-6EXB, because the TLE-5EX is much brighter then the TLE-6EXB.

What are your experiences?

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Hi CandleFranky,

I have posted my experience here

Patric

Patric - I missed your post before. The Malkoffs probably don't run forever like a Maglite LED dropin. I used the 3D with the Malkoff a number of hours before there was any dimming at all. I only noticed it when comparing it with a less used Malkoff dropin for my Surefire 6P. At first, the Malkoff was much brighter. After some hours, the dropin in the 6p seemed to have brighter spill. When I checked the batteries on a ZTS tester they were at 80%.

I recently got a Malkoff dropin for the 4DMaglite. I have been using it for a few days now - 3 days. It is the 4-6D model.

It is far and away the brightest light I own, with super throw and a bright spill.
I measured the spot at 15,500 lux. It will light up a yard and still let you light up a house more than 1 block away.

Okay... as promised here is the ceiling bounce test (aka beam shots) for both the 6EXB & MagLED drop-in powered by only 2 'fresh' D cell alkalines... the MagLED continues to exhibit it's signature yellowish tint

Hi M@elstrom,

Is this a 2D MagLED, or the same 3D MagLED used previously (but underdriven with only 2D)?

In this photo the 6EXB looks much brighter than the MagLED.
So for 2 cells, the 6EXB is actually much brighter than the MagLED?
For 3 cells there is little difference?

Finally (sorry to be a pedant) - ceiling bounce test is normally used to refer to a simple output comparison, where lights are pointed at the ceiling one at a time, and the 'bounced' light compared, rather than the hotspot.
[/pedant]

M@elstrom,

You may excuse but I highly doubt that your image shows a fair comparison between the Terralux LED and Maglite LED. When I look at the image I think that this was about the difference I experienced when changed from the standard krypton bulb to the Terralux LED. (and the batteries were a bit low) The difference between my D2-Terralux and Maglite D3 LED who I compared, was noticable, but not nearly THAT big! Your image shows a brightness difference of several times.

Regards, Patric

robm said:

Is this a 2D MagLED, or the same 3D MagLED used previously (but underdriven with only 2D)?

Click to expand...

No it's the very same LED drop-in 'underdriven'

robm said:

In this photo the 6EXB looks much brighter than the MagLED.
So for 2 cells, the 6EXB is actually much brighter than the MagLED?
For 3 cells there is little difference?

Click to expand...

After reading both yours & Patric's replies I re-examined my results with fresh 'daytime' inside beam-shots (and included the base-of-drop-in voltage), so now you'll notice a closer comparison (not sure what occurred with last nights effort? ) but you can still notice the TerraLux unit is brighter, oh and I've edited the previous post to reflect this outcome

robm said:

Finally (sorry to be a pedant) - ceiling bounce test is normally used to refer to a simple output comparison, where lights are pointed at the ceiling one at a time, and the 'bounced' light compared, rather than the hotspot.

Click to expand...

That's okay... you're permitted to be pedantic, thanks for the explanation

Swedpat said:

You may excuse but I highly doubt that your image shows a fair comparison between the Terralux LED and Maglite LED. When I look at the image I think that this was about the difference I experienced when changed from the standard krypton bulb to the Terralux LED. (and the batteries were a bit low) The difference between my D2-Terralux and Maglite D3 LED who I compared, was noticable, but not nearly THAT big! Your image shows a brightness difference of several times.

Click to expand...

After reading your response I had to recheck my findings (and took an emitter comparison shot as well) but there remains an obvious significant difference between the TLE-6EXB @ 3.15v & the MagLED @ 4.71v, there's no escaping the fact that the emitter with the higher Vin outshines it's lower powered brethren, just curious what were the drop-in-base voltages on the 2 Maglites LED's you tested?

After reading your response I had to recheck my findings (and took an emitter comparison shot as well) but there remains an obvious significant difference between the TLE-6EXB @ 3.15v & the MagLED @ 4.71v, there's no escaping the fact that the emitter with the higher Vin outshines it's lower powered brethren, just curious what were the drop-in-base voltages on the 2 Maglites LED's you tested?

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Oh, I have no idea, this is above my knowledge. I just compared the D2-Terralux to a Maglite D3 LED (the dealer put fresh alkaline batteries into a brand new example). My batteries were not fresh, but I understand this doesn't matter because the brightness is constant almost to the end of the runtime.

According to your image of Terralux vs MagliteLED 3,15V the brightness seems to be quite equal, but the 4,71V Maglite seems to be much stronger than the Terralux 3,15V. I cannot give an explanation, but as well I and the dealer agreed about the MagliteD2-Terralux was brighter than the Maglite D3 LED. Yes, the colours are correct at the images, the Terralux is blue in comparison to Maglites own LED.

Regards, Patric

M@elstrom - which MagLED is yours, a 2 or a 3 cell?
Also in your pictures, do the hosts include dummy cells (e.g. the 4D Mag host actually has 3 D cells and 1 dummy)?
Finally, are the voltages you measured resting voltages (which don't actually mean much) or in use?

I currently don't know what conclusion to draw :thinking: -right now it appears that:
6EXB w/2D is similar brightness to your (not sure which version yet) MagLED on 2D
6EXB w/3D is similar brightness to MagLED w/3D
6EXB w/2D is less bright than the MagLED w/3D
On the same cells I would have expected the 6EXB to be brighter (mine is much brighter on 2D vs a 2D MagLED - 80 vs 50 'lumens)

Maybe some of this 'anomaly' is down to the fact these are 'cold' brightness, and it is known that the MagLED drops to about 50% output, once it has warmed up.

Also the 6EXB is designed for different voltages. The MagLED is not, and should be underdriven or over driven on more/less cells.

Finally (part 2 ), is it possible to take underexposed pictures, as once the hotspot is overexposed/saturated it is very difficult to compare - e.g if the camera overexposes areas illuminated with 5000 lux, then 2 lights at 6000 and 25000 appear very similar.

But I do appreciate your efforts :thumbsup:

Just tried to do my own beamshots, comparing:

6EXB (3 cells) vs 6EXB (2 cells) vs MagLED (2 cells)

Lightbox output readings (approx lumens):
1400(100) 920(70) 600(50)

Peak lux at approx 1m (relative distance):
7500(85) 5000(70) 4800(70)

The image does not illustrate these differences which was apparent to the naked eye (do not compare pictures with each other - camera adjusted exposure time ):

6EXB (3 cells) vs 6EXB (2 cells) vs MagLED (2 cells)


6EXB (2 cells) vs MagLED (2 cells)


6EXB (3 cells) vs MagLED (2 cells)


Which I suppose, only goes to show - don't trust beam shots from me :thumbsdow

EDIT: top tip, take the MagLED (2 cell) out of the host before putting the 2x18650 cells back in. No more MagLED beam shots for me :shakehead

Robm,

If your comparison is correct the 6EXB is ca 40% brighter with the D3 than the D2, despite of the statement from the manufacturer of same brightness. This means I would find it justified to get a D3 for this bulb!
But I don't understand how the brightness can be constant during the most af runtime if the brightness increases with 3 batteries.
I mean when the voltage after a while from the 3 R20 batteries would decrease to the level of 2 fresh R20 the brightness also would?

Regards, Patric

robm said:

M@elstrom - which MagLED is yours, a 2 or a 3 cell?
Also in your pictures, do the hosts include dummy cells (e.g. the 4D Mag host actually has 3 D cells and 1 dummy)?
Finally, are the voltages you measured resting voltages (which don't actually mean much) or in use?

Click to expand...

1) The MagLED is originally from a 3D cell Maglite
2) Yes the hosts do include dummy cells to complete circuit
3) Voltages measured @ base of drop-in prior to operation (to ensure comparable LED Vin)

robm said:

Maybe some of this 'anomaly' is down to the fact these are 'cold' brightness, and it is known that the MagLED drops to about 50% output, once it has warmed up.

Also the 6EXB is designed for different voltages. The MagLED is not, and should be underdriven or over driven on more/less cells.

Click to expand...

Agreed, I must say that 'light box' you've created seems like a better way to compare the luminosity of various devices

robm said:

Finally (part 2 ), is it possible to take underexposed pictures, as once the hotspot is overexposed/saturated it is very difficult to compare - e.g if the camera overexposes areas illuminated with 5000 lux, then 2 lights at 6000 and 25000 appear very similar.

Click to expand...

Not a problem here's the 2 cell 6EXB Vs. 3 cell MagLED at the lowest exposure settings available on the camera...






FWIW I noted an odd anomaly myself last shift, whilst operating the 6EXB for approximately 30+ minutes (continuously) in a fully assembled Maglite, I was able to touch the outer screw-in portion immediately after turning off the torch & disassembling on the spot... could the optics/head be offering an additional thermal dissipation pathway?

Thanks for the update M@elstrom :twothumbs

I just found the exposure settings on the camera, so will try again later - but no MagLED this time :lolsign:

Your finding with the temperature of the drop-ins is quite odd.
Although I am actually coming to the conclusion that (like I did in my PC CPU overclocking phase) that if it works reliably - I don't actually care how hot it is

Swedpat - I think with 3 x NiMH (which have quite level output, until near the end of discharge) then the output will be quite constant. With alkalines I think the output would 'fall off' during use, but the driver in the drop in would make the output 'more' constant than with the original incan. lamp.
I think output and runtime claims need to be taken 'with a pinch of salt'.

Although the 3D is brighter than the 2D (with either 6EXB of the MagLED), I find the 3D size a bit too big, and actually prefer a Mag 2D with 6AAs in a series adapter (so 7.2v) and the 6EX (4-6 cell) instead. I have plenty of rechargeable AAs to hand already (I don't 'do' alkaline). In fact I actually prefer the 2C size of the Mag. but don't have suitable NiMH cells for this size.

robm said:

Your finding with the temperature of the drop-ins is quite odd.
Although I am actually coming to the conclusion that (like I did in my PC CPU overclocking phase) that if it works reliably - I don't actually care how hot it is

Click to expand...

I was/am the opposite... I lapped the heatsink, added AS5, installed higher CFM fans and improved the wire management & airflow within my case for a few measly degree less

As for the drop-in temp whilst installed... I put it down to lower ambient temperature, less potent older Alkalines 1.3v each (I use them till they're virtually dead) and additional thermal transference to the head/optics :thinking:

robm said:

Although the 3D is brighter than the 2D (with either 6EXB of the MagLED), I find the 3D size a bit too big, and actually prefer a Mag 2D with 6AAs in a series adapter (so 7.2v) and the 6EX (4-6 cell) instead. I have plenty of rechargeable AAs to hand already (I don't 'do' alkaline). In fact I actually prefer the 2C size of the Mag. but don't have suitable NiMH cells for this size.

Click to expand...

I'm slowly transitioning over to NiMH (already done so with my smaller devices)... but I got a superb deal on some quality Varta Alkalines (3 pack) which were just perfect for powering a 3D Maglite, hence I purchased all the stock and should have sufficient to last the remainder of this year (and claim them as a tax deduction) :twothumbs

robm said:

Swedpat - I think with 3 x NiMH (which have quite level output, until near the end of discharge) then the output will be quite constant. With alkalines I think the output would 'fall off' during use, but the driver in the drop in would make the output 'more' constant than with the original incan. lamp.
I think output and runtime claims need to be taken 'with a pinch of salt'.

Although the 3D is brighter than the 2D (with either 6EXB of the MagLED), I find the 3D size a bit too big, and actually prefer a Mag 2D with 6AAs in a series adapter (so 7.2v) and the 6EX (4-6 cell) instead. I have plenty of rechargeable AAs to hand already (I don't 'do' alkaline). In fact I actually prefer the 2C size of the Mag. but don't have suitable NiMH cells for this size.

Click to expand...

robm,

6AA in a D2 seems to be a good solution when using recheargable batteries. But what is the brightness, is it even brighter than 3 batteries?
The manufacturer states the same brightness undependent of the number of batteries, which then seems to be strange because higher brightness truely is a selling argument a manufacturer shouldn't avoid to advertise!

Regards, Patric

M@elstrom said:

I was/am the opposite... I lapped the heatsink, added AS5, installed higher CFM fans and improved the wire management & airflow within my case for a few measly degree less

Click to expand...

I did that too (although no lapping) and found that the best thing I did was stop using the CPU temperature monitoring software - if the computer doesn't crash under heavy load - it is cool enough

I'm slowly transitioning over to NiMH (already done so with my smaller devices)... but I got a superb deal on some quality Varta Alkalines (3 pack) which were just perfect for powering a 3D Maglite, hence I purchased all the stock and should have sufficient to last the remainder of this year (and claim them as a tax deduction) :twothumbs

Click to expand...

I like to tell myself that by using NiMH that I am 'doing my bit', and ignore the 'cost' of shipping products around the world, and the small stockpile of aluminium (nasty production process) that makes up most of my collection

Swedpat said:

6AA in a D2 seems to be a good solution when using recheargable batteries. But what is the brightness, is it even brighter than 3 batteries?
The manufacturer states the same brightness undependent of the number of batteries, which then seems to be strange because higher brightness truely is a selling argument a manufacturer shouldn't avoid to advertise!

Click to expand...

Patric,

The 6EXB (2-3 cell version) with 3 cells is the same output as the 6EX (4-6 cell version) with 6 cells (about 100 lumens).
I only use these with AA NiMH, but these are Eneloop cells so perform well.

Who knows why manufacturers say what they do say :thinking: , but,

I think in this case they want to make it easy to buy this product:
- ' if you have a Mag C/D we have a product (well 2 actually but..) that (both) give(s) constant 140 lumens output',
so the buying decision doesn't depend on - output vs cells vs host vs runtime etc...

On another note (and this is a case of do as I say not as I do), if you are considering changing your host JUST to be able to pick a better drop-in, you may be better choosing a new light altogether.
I however like Mags, and have a small family :lolsign: