How is Mag doing now ??

[3rd_shift]

Having done plenty of Maglite mods myself,
I have noticed that it really would not be too hard to come up with a complete "press in" led + circuit heatsink and a camless reflector kit for a regular incan Maglite.

Would be kinda cool to see if Maglite wants to go that route to overcome the heat issues for better performance, and improve thier ability to add thier lifetime warranty to the led as well.

For now, The C and D cell Magleds still come with a spare incan bulb in the tailcap. :huh2:

 

[Burgess]

Very interesting thread here !


Wondered about all this, myself.


Get the impression that Mag Industries wants to do the

Absolute Minimum of effort, just to appear to be "moving forward".


Totally agree that "Joe Average American Consumer" is UN-interested in researching any flashlight purchase.

He feels he has done his "homework" simply by specifying a Mag-Lite.

Cuz' everyone knows those are the best flashlights !


And Mag knows they don't NEED to build the BEST flashlights . . . .


They'll make lotsa' sales (and profits) simply by riding on their reputation.

"People like our products. They continue to buy 'em.

Why would we need to do more ?

Updating our product line every decade or two has worked out fine for us, so why bother changing ?"

 

[DJ Q]

some bad news for mag:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1944095#post1944095

 

[IMSabbel]

I am curious as to the statements in this thread where some have said one would most likely not notice the drop in output when the circuit heats up.....is this really true that a 50 percent said drop could not be noticed? If this is true then why not simply keep the entire output much lower in the first place for better runtime if running much less power has no effect on brightness??

Well, its really true that most people wont notice a 50% drop in brightness...
Just the same way they dont notice that their reaction time starts getting bad after drinking alcohol.

Perception isnt an objective thing.

In case of a flashlight gradually heating up and losing intensity, its very subtle. Especially if your eyes also compensate by adapting to the darkness.

 

[Robocop]

I have always had trouble understanding the statement often said here where many claim one can not notice a drop in intensity unless it is 50 percent or greater???

If this is true then why are we all so worried about having the highest output....so is it true to say that if I have 2 different lights and one makes 80 lumens while the other makes only 50 lumens I will not be able to tell the difference?

I may be wrong however I can tell the differences in many of my lights that have slightly lower output....especially when used at the same time during a comparison. If one can not really notice the drop in output then how do we even know if the mag really does lower the output when it gets hot.....especially if we can not actually see it?

If this is true then we have no need to buy any light unless it is at least 50 percent brighter than what we already have.....why is there different output drivers for say 500 mA vs a 750 mA driver.....would we not be just as well off using the lower output driver unless it could give over a 50 percent increase?

The whole "you dont notice it" thing just confuses me as well as people saying that my eyes can not notice or can not adjust to slight differences.

So to clear this up if I have 2 mag luxeons and one is fresh and the other has been running for 15 minutes I will not be able to actually see any difference even if there is an actual difference in output??

 

[Handlobraesing]

I have always had trouble understanding the statement often said here where many claim one can not notice a drop in intensity unless it is 50 percent or greater???

Our eyes are quite sensitive to rapid change, but surprisingly dull to gradual change.

The total output of your household light bulb changes significantly with voltage. I dont' remember the figures, but the change in brightness from 126v to 114v is 20-30%. When the grid demand is high and everyone in town is using A/C, you might get 114v, but when the demand is low you might get 126v. The difference in output of a light bulb on Saturday night and Wednesday night due to a line voltage difference at the time can be measured. I sure can't notice the difference. Can you?

When you get to your living room and turn on the TV, the voltage drops a small amount, but very rapidly for a split second. I notice the light dimming or "flickering" when it happens. Can you?

If this is true then why are we all so worried about having the highest output....

It's psychological. Knowing information enhances amplification of perception. You ever notice they use placebo pills when they do clical studies on new medicine rather than giving them nothing? The purpose of placebo pills is to make them all feel they've taken the medication and cancel out the psychological influence on reported symptoms.

so is it true to say that if I have 2 different lights and one makes 80 lumens while the other makes only 50 lumens I will not be able to tell the difference?

Side by side, you most likely will. Gradually, not likely.

I may be wrong however I can tell the differences in many of my lights that have slightly lower output....especially when used at the same time during a comparison. If one can not really notice the drop in output then how do we even know if the mag really does lower the output when it gets hot.....especially if we can not actually see it?

Under normal use, you won't notice it.

 

[Robocop]

Maybe I am thinking about it all wrong as I now understand a little better and thank you Handlobraesing for the information.......For most of my lights I usually play around with them in side by side comparisons and can tell the differences in each of them when used together. I can see a difference when simply using different batteries such as rechargeable 1.2v, alkaline and lithium while the voltage difference of each maybe differs slightly there is a noticeable difference in output when comparing to a "constant" source.

So what many are saying is that if I am using only one light outside as it dims I will most likely not notice it until it drops to over 50 percent....however if I am using 2 lights at the same time and one suddenly drops say 30 percent I will notice it because I have something to actually compare it to.

 

[Handlobraesing]

So what many are saying is that if I am using only one light outside as it dims I will most likely not notice it until it drops to over 50 percent....however if I am using 2 lights at the same time and one suddenly drops say 30 percent I will notice it because I have something to actually compare it to.

That pretty much sums it up. NiCd and NiMH have pretty flat discharge, but not perfect, so the light actually dims steadily with use. I'm sure you know that with rechargeable flashlights w/ straight drive incandescent, when you notice the light is dimming, you have very little charge left.

This is because you don't notice the dimming until its a substantial amount.

You will notice a sudden drop as little as 10% even with one source.

 

[sysadmn]

If Mag would put a $5 regulator in these lights, along with a copper -or- aluminum emitter assembly, they could promote GREAT THROW & OUTPUT along with FLAT REGULATION and EFFECTIVE HEAT SINKING.


For $10 additional, they wouldn't be able to keep these things on the shelves.

Maybe, but if they can't sell the MagLed at ~$20 more, how are they going to sell it at $40 More? Remember that a $10 increase at the manufacturer means a $20 increase at the retailer.

I suspect Mag knows what they're doing - it's just not what we'd like. Many corporations are getting more sophisticated about pricing. Their goal is to maximize profit, increasing sales, or quality, or brand position are just means to that end.

 

[Lightmax]

Remember that a $10 increase at the manufacturer means a $20 increase at the retailer.

Yep, almost missed that one ! :lolsign:


Actually, If you were to use 30% (give or take a little) for every step up the ladder, ie everyone who handles the product may take 30%, you may come up with an even higher end number. Walmart will however buy direct, however, if it is possible, in an effort to save every penny. My group sells various products to Walmart, both through wholesalers, and direct, depending upon the class of item, so I see this quite often.

Lightmax, MBA, CPA, & CFO

 

[HWman]

Going by the reviews of the MagLEDs on flashlightreviews.com, the 3D MagLED will be brighter than the incandescent for almost 28 hours (except for the first few minutes)! The 3D will run about 38 hours at greater brightness than the incandescent MagLite dims to after about 2 hours.

That means an improvement in battery life of about 14 times (at greater brightness levels at all times except for the first few minutes)!

At $3 for three D batteries, it would only take 14 hours of run time (seven sets of alkalines) to pay for a MagLED upgrade!

You could leave the 3D MagLED on for a day and still get better performance (runtime and brightness) than a new set of batteries in an incandescent!

Yes, full regulation and a heatsink might improve the performance of the MagLED. However, for most purposes, the existing MagLED has already gained 90 percent of the benefits of the proposed "superior" redesign.


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For some products, the price of a raw part (ex. - a screw) might translate into a six fold increase at the "list price". For example, a 4 cent screw adds 24 cents to the "list price".


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[In one of my previous posts, I said that upgrade was cheaper than the incandescent. I had edited out the sentence about the TOC (total cost of ownership). TOC considers the cost of consumables, maintenance, replacement parts, disposal, etc. over the life of the product.

This is most dramatic in injet printers. The cost of the printer becomes minor when ink cartridges and paper are calculated into a three year period with 300 pages printed per month. A more expensive printer with less costly ink will be cheaper in TOC.]