Help me pick a AA LED light...please!

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Hi all,

I'm looking for something to replace/upgrade the current AA Minimag that I currently carry everyday at work. After lurking on this BB for a few months now, I know you guys are the experts when it comes to flashlights. Help me pick a light that I'll be happy with.
There are some considerations:
1. It has to use AA power
2. It has to similar in size to the AA Minimag.
3. It has to cost less than $50.
4. I'd prefer the light to be metal, but will consider other materials.
5. It has to have LEDs, preferably regulated somehow.
I use my light daily at work. Sometimes I have it out for hours on end, so battery life is important. Brightness is also important, as I use the light in tight, hard to see areas.
Right now I'm got my eye on the Opalec Newbeam. It seems to fill all the criteria, but I'd really like to hear what other alternatives are out there before I buy it. I respect the advise of the CPF members. It's because of this BB that I recently purchased a ARC AAA.
Any suggestions are very appreciated! Thanks!


Steve

 

[Lonewolf]

GNSteve you can either buy a lamnda Illuminator ($45) or an Arc LS seconds for $70.

 

[Lux Luthor]

See the "CMG Reactor info" thread. That might suit your needs.

 

[Roy]

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the NewBeam.

 

[cave dave]

I second the vote on the newbeam. I don't think you'll be dissopointed.

Is your Mag the newer style without the holes in the bulb holder? In that case its a snap.

The LS (backordered) and the Lambda illuminator (home made mod) are both hard to get a hold of. Plus they have shorter run times. But more light.
Oh and the reactor isn't available yet either.
Come on people lets suggest a light he can actualy get! (and save the mods and SLS for ourselves, ha, ha ,ha

)

 

[texasmufflerman]

The AA lights I own are the Nightbuster Ledda and the NewBeam. I have to agree that the newbeam is an excellent choice. I have a Garmin GPS III+ that uses 4 AA batteries. The unit shuts itself off when the batteries get weak. My newbeam has been running for at least 90 minutes on the first pair of "dead" AA cells and I still have not had the joy of seeing the red indicator.

My nightbuster is a pretty good light, but it uses 3 AA cells, an inconvenience if I want to use rechargables because they need to be paired up for charging cycles, and also does not allow me to use my "dead" cells from my GPS. The only other problem with the nightbuster is that it is not regulated. It is brighter than the newbeam at first, but when it is dim, I can take the cells from it and put them in the newbeam and get more light.

Go with the newbeam!

David

 

[geepondy]

Just how bright is this Newbeam compared to say an Inova X5?

 

[rlhess]

When do you want to measure the UNREGULATED Inova. It's brighter, I suspect, to begin with, but it loses brightness quickly.

While my absolute numbers were off, the same two pairs of 123A cells--one fresh, one perhaps 20%-30% used--caused a loss of 13% of the output in a Brinkmann LX incandescent lamp and 33% loss in the Inova X5.

However, with fresh, expensive 123A cells (2 of them), it is, I'm pretty sure, brighter than the MiniMag replacement.

I think you might be better off getting a Lambda "Pill" though.

I posted a thread about staying away from unregulated LED lamps...I mean the X5 doesn't even appear to use a current source let alone anything fancier.

It's a sleek, nice light, and it does put out a fair amount of light, but I personally don't think it justifies or makes good use of the expensive 123As.

There are not a lot of good choices out there.

Besides, I thought you wanted one that uses AAs.

Actually a real sleeper is the PT Aurora headlamp. It uses 3 AAA cells and its light output is theoretically 60% of the Inova (3 vs 5 LEDs) but the regulator keeps it up there and it appears to cross over when I would guess somewhere about 30% of the 123A's capacity has been used in the X5.

It is a headlamp, not a flashlight. It has three brightness modes. My previous measurements may be a bit inaccurate, but the level jumps from 100% to 40% to 20%. The 20% has a little flicker in it that is annoying for reading.

Battery life is good.

It's tiny and compact, and comes with a headstrap. It also has two emergency flashing modes. It doesn't have a low battery warning LED.

Cheers,

Richard

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I got my ARC LSS today in the mail. I must say that I'm very impressed with this light. Thanks for getting it to me so fast, Peter.
The 3 different battery compartments are a great idea. I never knew that a small light could be so bright!
Thanks again for all the good ideas! The Newbeam was a close second. Maybe in a little while.

Steve

 

[Wits' End]

Quote from rlhess
Actually a real sleeper is the PT Aurora headlamp. It uses 3 AAA cells and its light output is theoretically 60% of the Inova (3 vs 5 LEDs) but the regulator keeps it up there and it appears to cross over when I would guess somewhere about 30% of the 123A's capacity has been used in the X5.
It is a headlamp, not a flashlight. It has three brightness modes. My previous measurements may be a bit inaccurate, but the level jumps from 100% to 40% to 20%. The 20% has a little flicker in it that is annoying for reading.
Battery life is good.
It's tiny and compact, and comes with a headstrap. It also has two emergency flashing modes. It doesn't have a low battery warning LED

Back to witsend--
I like my Aurora but I don't think it is regulated. It uses (can't think of right term) high speed flicker to extend battery life. I haven't changed my batteries yet but the warning is that the light is getting dimmer.

now back to the original topic--
I have a post
Does anyone know about this light? I got a response from the seller and it is a twist on off, not my favorite, but a good price for a 4 led light. If anyone has one please post there, I like the look of the light but wonder at the quality.

 

[rlhess]

Hi, Witsend...

Regulated is probably a misused term. For example, I think we all agree the Lambda Illuminator is regulated, but there is some falloff.

The Opalec newbeam (which I don't have) appears to be flat regulated. Most others do droop a bit. The Inova droops a LOT considering especially the lithium batteries.

The Arc LE solves this with the sun/moon mode as a warning. The Aurora dims as a warning to replace the batteries soon. The Illuminator cuts out to protect NiMH batteries.

I THINK the Aurora's output would drop far more if it were just using a resistor.

Heck, I'll include current sources under the banner of "regulation," especially on lithium lights.

Cheers,

Richard

 

[geepondy]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rlhess:

The Arc LE solves this with the sun/moon mode as a warning.
Richard<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Based on my experience this is more advertising hype then reality. I've tried a few different sets of batteries with a few different Arcs and I do not notice anything approaching a sudden shift from sun to moon mode, just an eventual gradual dimming of the light.

 

[rlhess]

Hype aside, there are design choices to be done when designing regulators.

One of these design choices is what happens to light output over time.

To me, if the light output falls in direct relation to the voltage (modified by the light's characteristic) then it is unregulated. A regulator modifies this curve.

The Lambda Illuminator dims approximatly 35% and then falls off very quickly to protect rechargeables. The Aurora and the Arc LE stay pretty constant and then start dimming...at least that is my current, unmeasured, perception.

Remember, an unregulated LED light may fall off 33% while an incandescent may fall off only 13% on the same percentage of discharge.

Anyway, the best-reported regulation is the NewBeam mod for the mini-mag...I don't have one...and their design choice was to incorporate a red warning LED to let you know it was about ready to go poof. This was a unique advancement of the state-of-the art.

With long burn times, alkalines will recover if you let them rest a bit. See Lambda's Hydra page for an actual example.

Also see the lightoutput for the SF E2 as plotted against voltage on the LED Museum page. Interesting. Note that an LED will lose much faster. Think of 0 output when the voltage falls to say 4.5V and then look at percentages across time.

Cheers,

Richard

 

[BuddTX]

Go to www.brightguy.com and do a search by battery type and choose AA.

There are 35 different lights that they have that take AA batteries.

I really like my Opalec newbeam, but it is still a 3 LED light.