Another mini mag thread

[ABTOMAT]

Tony's 95 these days. I was under the impression he had retired from operations, no?

Which Mini-Mags are the wobbly ones we're talking about anyway? I'm not well versed in recent models.

 

[bykfixer]

My '97 does not wobble. The ones I bought at WalMart on clearance around 2015 do wobble.

 

[greenpondmike]

I might be wrong, but it seems like there might be a slight taper where the head screws on also. No wobble when I first turn it on, but as I narrow down the beam just a little the play is evident. Same with the brinkmanns. I have two 2aa lawsuit ones and a 2aa legend. The legend seems to be the worst one.

I used to run a lathe and even when taking 2 to mabe 2 1/2 inch cuts there can be a moderate variation if the lath isn't set up right and carefully inspected. Had to use a micrometer to inspect each armature to make sure the cuts stay in tolerances because the ones that were for aircraft were under FFA regulations. This slowed production time and I can understand how quality assurance can suffer when you try to boost production. The taper could be intentional, but it could be unintentional depending on the quality and upkeep of the lathe and also operator error.

 

[bykfixer]

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT - The Tony Maglica Story

This is a special episode, courtesy of Our American Stories. Maglite founder Tony Maglica recently sat down with them for an extended interview and we think you’ll enjoy hearing from Tony. If you’d like to hear more great stories, go to OurAmericanStories.com… they have a weekly podcast and are...

maglite.com

A recent interview.

 

[bykfixer]

@knucklegary can probably elaborate on threads on minimag's.

 

[aznsx]

~ a year ago, I discovered a mint black AA MM (vintage early 90s?) sitting in a box, unused, and I expected it would remain there forever. Instead, I screwed an LITT tailswitch end cap on it, and it's currently sitting on the table next my favorite chair, and I now can enjoy using it on occasion purely for nostalgia. I did then also throw in an LITT LED module, which was a factor in its rescue, but it was the tailswitch that brought it out of storage. Just sayin'......

Yes, it has a lot of thread slop / 'wobble' in the head. I don't much care now, as it matters little since it's in one spot now with some Teflon tape to help keep it positioned correctly, since I no longer need to try to operate it with one hand using my arthritic fingers, much less "focus" :-( the dang thing! If I was picky I guess I'd bypass the stock 'switch' just to eliminate the contact resistance, but I'm ( just barely) able to set it appropriately for the new light source, so I haven't bothered.

I once used them a lot when I had few other options until my SL Scorpions came along (mostly two 3-cell conversions I had for some decent output), but now I can actually enjoy using one in this form. With a proper switch, it's a pretty cool light now. I don't give a rat's rear what TM might think about the switch. He can stubbornly keep using his stock if it makes him feel better (which I'm sure it does). If I'd made as much money on them 'stock' as he did, I'd probably keep using them stock too🙂

 

[greenpondmike]

I like the clicky tailswitch on the legend, but if it is made like the one on the 1aaa legend there seems to be no o ring in there to keep out the dirt and water so it can function properly. Had to take it apart and clean it after using it as a mouthlight. When I used it while cooking I got slobber in it 🫠. Not trying to be gross, but I think it was deer meat and it had me salivating. I don't use the kitchen light and if I tried I'm afraid it would fry the wiring since the leak in my roof began there (dripping off the light bulb) four or five years ago. Bykfixer, ain't that when you were wondering why I was still living in this trailer? I'm still here because it is kinda a roof over my head.

So if I say something too crazy the black mold made me do it.

 

[greenpondmike]

I got my first mini mag in 2006. If it was left up to me I probably wouldn't have bought one but my wife got it for me at Christmas. I had been turned off to those bipin bulb lights because of the rayovac roughneck 2aa I had before. I don't think I initially used it in it's original incandescent form because my wife bought me a nite eyes (sp?) led module with 3 leds in it.

I really didn't like it and it was difficult to install (at least for me it was) because the bipin terminals were bigger than the holes in the flashlight that the bulb went in. I somehow got it in though and sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't.

It sat out in my tool shed bread van for a while and one day I wanted to mess around with it and the tailcap was stuck on. Had to use a small pipe wrench and a pair of plyers to get it off. Batteries done leaked and were stuck. I got them out somehow and cleaned it up a little and kinda got it working. I yanked that ol led out and threw it away and put the bulb back in. I was amazed at how bright it was. Overall it impressed me, but one side of the switch was broken. I think I cleaned it up some more and sent it off to mag instruments to be fixed they didn't want to fix it, but I told them it was a Christmas gift from my wife and it meant something to me.

The woman I talked to wasn't there when it came in and they had thrown it away but I called soon enough and they were able to recover it. It was the same one because of the marks I had put on it from getting the tailcap off. I told them not to mess with the threads on the front because they were good and tight, but when I got it back it had the wobble and the head cycled quicker. I could see where they had redone the threads. They replaced the tailcap and switch for me though.

Anyway, that started my liking of mini mags and I wished I had bought one sooner, but I was stuck on those ol junk lights. I thought for sure the rayovac roughneck was a premium flashlight till I had used it a while. Before that was dorcy flashlights at first and then the black plastic rayovacs with the round white switch and a yellow rayovac industrial (which ain't a bad light).

Moral of the story is don't judge all flashlights by a bad experience with one and if you buy Cheap you have to keep on buying because they will break.

I forgot--in the late 90s I had gotten a 2d maglite and I really liked it. Had to tuck it under my chin or under my armpit because putting it in my mouth would just about gag me. I messed that one up and it wasn't the flashlight's fault. It's a family tradition to throw stuff when we get angry and I guess I threw it way too hard. Made the head pop off. I really liked that light but.....

 

[greenpondmike]

My wife would have gotten me another 2d but she knew I hadn't quite gotten over killing the other one so she got me the mini mag and my brother in law got a new 2d. My dad also got a 2d maglite in the late 90s because he liked mine. I now have his and the one that was given to my brother in law and have gotten several mini mags since then. I gave several away to help folks, but I still have three 2aa and one 2aaa and I have a new old stock vintage 1990 one coming in the mail.

 

[Monocrom]

Way back in the day when I took a serious interest in lights, my very first two were an Inova X5, and a 2AA inca. Maglite modded with either a Nite-Ize or Terra-Lux tailcap switch and a 3-LED cluster module. Pen-clip carried the Mag, and used the very tight included pouch on the Inova. Realized later that neither was ideal for my needs. A SureFire black C2 soon followed.

 

[fivemega]

My wife would have gotten me another 2d

Cheapest incand mode for 2D is using pair of 26650 and 6D bulb but tail cap must be recessed.
Much brighter than original, steady brightness, rechargeable and no more leak.
Also possible to go hot wire if you change the reflector, lens and socket.

 

[greenpondmike]

Cheapest incand mode for 2D is using pair of 26650 and 6D bulb but tail cap must be recessed.
Much brighter than original, steady brightness, rechargeable and no more leak.
Also possible to go hot wire if you change the reflector, lens and socket.

Thank you fivemega

 

[greenpondmike]

I got that vintage NOS 1990 mini mag I think last week or the week before that. Head will give a little, but NOTHING like my newer ones. Head and tailcap are tighter. It didn't come with a krypton or xenon buib--which I didn't expect it to. I believe yall call them argon bulbs and the beam pattern isn't quite as good as the xenon bipins, but the color tint is purdy. I like looking into it--makes me feel good. The writing on the head is smaller and doesn't have that side profile head on it. In a way I'm disappointed and in another way I kinda like it. Would of felt better if I had paid less for it--around $30 with tax and shipping.

As a bonus the batteries that came with it still had good power. They came in the blister/display pack with the mini mag. I plan on keeping a close watch on them just in case.

Also, one more thing--the batteries are tighter. They go in and out easy enough, but with the tailcap on I shook the flashlight and there didn't seem to be any rattle. I tested one of my newer mini mags and there was a little battery rattle.