Design goals: Primary- Increase runtime by changing to a LED w/ less current draw. Secondary- brighter, exceed or come close to a 2D incan. for intended use.
The primary use of this light is a backup for working on cars so up close quality lighting is important & throw is not.
LED The SMJLED module & reflector kit is designed for a 2AA Minimag which uses a bi-pin bulb. The subject is a Ray-0-Vac swivel head 2AA w/ bi-pin bulb & a significently larger lens inside I.D of about 1.1".
Dropping the module in & using the included smooth reflector resulted in a shadow or dark donut in center of beam- bullseye white. Starting up close it becomes larger, worse as distance is increased. It was not so bad that the light would be not be usable for the intended purpose. I have not seen something like this mentioned in other's comments on SMJLED module & reflector kit in a 2AA Minimag. Checking to try to determine if the fault was with the LED or reflector, the reflector was removed & the resulting light spot was clean like a little Lighthound flat key ring LED though of course much brighter. The shorter reflector & the increased height of the LED module combined allowed the light to be assembled perfectly. I suppose many would stop there- but not us modders! (I modify cars)
Next the faceted Ray-0-Vac reflector was cut down & drilled out for the 1/4 hole specified when using the SMJLED only w/ the stock Minimag reflector, the result beng different but was not as good overall as previous. Suspecting the reflector needed to be lowered, moving the reflector out made it worse so the back of the reflector already cut flat was filed down so it would drop more on the LED. The former incan. mount was cut down & drilled out so the thicker LED module would drop down & fit great w/ the Ray-0-Vac reflector in place.
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Results: About 2x the hotspot of a good 2D w/ a similar Ray-0-Vac faceted reflector. White light & excellent spot despite lens scratches including 1significent scratch in the thin lens. Normally not even the significent scratch (which is outside the hotspot) shows up! The only issue is the hot spot when inches from a white wall shows a darker bullseye center, moving the light back it's not very noticeable by 3-4 feet.
The modded 2AA LED is better than the 2D incan. except in throw though the 2D has a better hot spot since it doesn't have a darker center or donut. Runtime should be up from about 1 hr. to 24! Success! :cool:
The 2D is up next for LED when I come up w/ a suitable LED replacement.
Any comments especially on issue of the dark donut in center of beam w/ kit included smooth reflector or the darker spot w/ the faceted Ray-0-Vac reflector?
I am thinking the faceted Ray-0-Vac reflector needs the back filed down some more to lower it further on the LED module however due to the cone shape the 1/4 hole for the LED could get larger .... It is so good now that it may not be worth risking it.
The primary use of this light is a backup for working on cars so up close quality lighting is important & throw is not.
LED The SMJLED module & reflector kit is designed for a 2AA Minimag which uses a bi-pin bulb. The subject is a Ray-0-Vac swivel head 2AA w/ bi-pin bulb & a significently larger lens inside I.D of about 1.1".
Dropping the module in & using the included smooth reflector resulted in a shadow or dark donut in center of beam- bullseye white. Starting up close it becomes larger, worse as distance is increased. It was not so bad that the light would be not be usable for the intended purpose. I have not seen something like this mentioned in other's comments on SMJLED module & reflector kit in a 2AA Minimag. Checking to try to determine if the fault was with the LED or reflector, the reflector was removed & the resulting light spot was clean like a little Lighthound flat key ring LED though of course much brighter. The shorter reflector & the increased height of the LED module combined allowed the light to be assembled perfectly. I suppose many would stop there- but not us modders! (I modify cars)
Next the faceted Ray-0-Vac reflector was cut down & drilled out for the 1/4 hole specified when using the SMJLED only w/ the stock Minimag reflector, the result beng different but was not as good overall as previous. Suspecting the reflector needed to be lowered, moving the reflector out made it worse so the back of the reflector already cut flat was filed down so it would drop more on the LED. The former incan. mount was cut down & drilled out so the thicker LED module would drop down & fit great w/ the Ray-0-Vac reflector in place.
.
Results: About 2x the hotspot of a good 2D w/ a similar Ray-0-Vac faceted reflector. White light & excellent spot despite lens scratches including 1significent scratch in the thin lens. Normally not even the significent scratch (which is outside the hotspot) shows up! The only issue is the hot spot when inches from a white wall shows a darker bullseye center, moving the light back it's not very noticeable by 3-4 feet.
The modded 2AA LED is better than the 2D incan. except in throw though the 2D has a better hot spot since it doesn't have a darker center or donut. Runtime should be up from about 1 hr. to 24! Success! :cool:
The 2D is up next for LED when I come up w/ a suitable LED replacement.
Any comments especially on issue of the dark donut in center of beam w/ kit included smooth reflector or the darker spot w/ the faceted Ray-0-Vac reflector?
I am thinking the faceted Ray-0-Vac reflector needs the back filed down some more to lower it further on the LED module however due to the cone shape the 1/4 hole for the LED could get larger .... It is so good now that it may not be worth risking it.
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