V8TOYTRUCK
Flashlight Enthusiast
Just wondering if anyone, has both these lights, how much brighter if any is the Reactor compared to the Minimag?
Is reactor with Lithiums brighter than stock Minimag 2AA?
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ledfanfromjuno
Enlightened
Why would you settle for the reactor when you could have bought the REACTOR III for almost the same price ($34USD) from shomertec.com.
http://www.shomertec.com/item.cfm?Action=Index&variable=1021
This version of the reactor holds 3 AA batteries. With regular alkalines this should far outperform the 2AA version with lithiums.
2 lithium = 2 X 1.7 = 3.4 volts
3 alkaline = 3 X 1.5 = 4.5
when alkalines wear out they drop to 1.1 volts
3 worn out alkaline = 3 X 1.1 = 3.3 volts
3 worn out alkalines = 2 new lithiums
3.4 volts almost equals 3.3 volts
So unless they changed the guts of the reactor which I doubt for it looks the same with just a slightly longer body then the above analysis shows you can expect far superior results with alkalines and the new reactor 3. Also, you get all this for almost the same price.
I modified the old reactor with an added length of pipe and fed it 3 new duracells and 1 more weak almost dead battery and in this configuration my reactor which before the mod was no brighter than my infinity ultra then became the most powerful flashlight I have seen. It was about 50 percent brighter than my ARC LS hybrid with 2 fresh duracells. So once again if CMG kept everything else the same the new reactor 3 should be a winner for the price.
Also, if you unscrew the tail cap 1/2 turn the light goes out and only occasionally flickers on. Therefore you can loosen the tail cap as well as turning the head off to add extra security against the flashlight turning on when you can't see it like in a backpack.
But be very careful. This flashlight may have no resistor or other protection. If you put lithiums in the reactor 3 you may blow it out; I'm not sure. If the light turns bluer than with alkalines or if you notice the head of the flashlight getting hot really quickly dump the batteries fast before your emitter blows. I've blown one of the older reactors even while it was cold and not hot or blue at all. Also, in the 3 cell version in the reactor has no resistor protecting it don't put rechargeable batteries in it or you'll risk blowing out your luxeon star. Search candlepower forums for electrolumens discussion on his 3 AA brinkman luxeon direct drive and NIMH batteries blowing out his clients' emitters. He claims the 3AA direct drive luxeon needs a resistor to protect the luxeon from excessive current even at lower voltages than alkalines that rechargeables overpower the emitter with.
Anyone interested in a reactor cheap luxeon alternative do yourself a big favor. Buy the new reactor III instead of the old one. Some people claim that the old reactor is great because it runs dimly for a long time like the original infinity. But hey if that is what you want you can still have it in the reactor III. Just buy or make a dummy AA battery or use a dead AA battery in place of one of the 3 AA batteries in the Reactor III and bingo you've got the same long lasting very dim reactor version I. Some of you may say I'm unfair because the reactor I isn't that dim. Well after I cranked my reactor I with 3 new duracells the 2 cell version sure looked dim by comparison; I'll never go back. But if you want to hey you can have both worlds with the reactor III. With the reactor I you only have one dim mode. For just a little more money upgrade.
I know that HDS headlamp (find it at ledmuseum under headlamps) makes dummy D Cells they sell for use with lithium 3 volt D cells. You have to find your own dummy AA cell however.
I almost forgot but the following discussion lists two other flashlights going for 50 bucks that are very good and one should seriously consider whether the extra 15 dollars would be justified to upgrade to one of these or not:
THIS IS THE NEW FLASHLIGHT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
Hurry and run don't walk before they all sell out.
ARC's factory is selling factory seconds on their webpage right now subject to their running out. THe link is here:
http://store.yahoo.com/flashlight/facsecarwhit.html
This version of the ARC LS is the hybrid. It has the older body which suffers from not enough threads (it only turns one complete turn before the flashlight head comes off). It also has the screw on bezel which is subject to flex failure (the bezel and flashlight head stop conducting electricity and need to be retightenned or some such thing I really don't know I just read what others have posted).
However the good things about this flashlight are:
It has the new DC DC booster circuit board designed by Dat2Zip (I think). It has the newer 400 luxeon which is 10 percent darker but makes the batteries last much longer. This flashlight is BRIGHTER than most others you're going to find for 50 bucks; it's bright. In the stores it's selling for 92 dollars, see below:
First link is arc ls orderpage. Second link shows that what you're orderring for 92 bucks actually is the 49 dollar hybrid.
http://www.vicomptel.com/arclights/arcls.htm
http://www.vicomptel.com/arclights/index.htm
At arc's homepage you'll get the same light the hybrid for 49 bucks. This is called the factory second. It is sold as is. But I bought one and it is great. Just a little purple bluish but for 49 dollars it's the sweetest thing I bought. You're just not going to find anything else fully assembled for this price with all these features such as the state of the art DCDC booster circuit for full power with NIMH batteries etc. Make sure you buy the 2 AA holder for it so you can run it with rechargeables or alkalines or lithium AA's.
Otherwise for 50 bucks email lambda and pre order one of his lambda illuminators. It too has a DCDC booster circuit and runs on 2 AA's.
There are other good fully assembled flashlights IN THE SAME LEAGUE AS THE ABOVE TWO FLASHLIGHTS but they are very expensive. This arc ls hybrid normally costs 120 dollars. It only recently came down because the factory is now shipping the new REV2 model for 150 dollars. The rev2 has lots of threads on the head so it can turn many revolutions before disengaging. Also the entire head is one chunk of aluminum in the rev2; there no longer is a separate bezel screw on cap to suffer what ARC calls flex failure.
http://www.shomertec.com/item.cfm?Action=Index&variable=1021
This version of the reactor holds 3 AA batteries. With regular alkalines this should far outperform the 2AA version with lithiums.
2 lithium = 2 X 1.7 = 3.4 volts
3 alkaline = 3 X 1.5 = 4.5
when alkalines wear out they drop to 1.1 volts
3 worn out alkaline = 3 X 1.1 = 3.3 volts
3 worn out alkalines = 2 new lithiums
3.4 volts almost equals 3.3 volts
So unless they changed the guts of the reactor which I doubt for it looks the same with just a slightly longer body then the above analysis shows you can expect far superior results with alkalines and the new reactor 3. Also, you get all this for almost the same price.
I modified the old reactor with an added length of pipe and fed it 3 new duracells and 1 more weak almost dead battery and in this configuration my reactor which before the mod was no brighter than my infinity ultra then became the most powerful flashlight I have seen. It was about 50 percent brighter than my ARC LS hybrid with 2 fresh duracells. So once again if CMG kept everything else the same the new reactor 3 should be a winner for the price.
Also, if you unscrew the tail cap 1/2 turn the light goes out and only occasionally flickers on. Therefore you can loosen the tail cap as well as turning the head off to add extra security against the flashlight turning on when you can't see it like in a backpack.
But be very careful. This flashlight may have no resistor or other protection. If you put lithiums in the reactor 3 you may blow it out; I'm not sure. If the light turns bluer than with alkalines or if you notice the head of the flashlight getting hot really quickly dump the batteries fast before your emitter blows. I've blown one of the older reactors even while it was cold and not hot or blue at all. Also, in the 3 cell version in the reactor has no resistor protecting it don't put rechargeable batteries in it or you'll risk blowing out your luxeon star. Search candlepower forums for electrolumens discussion on his 3 AA brinkman luxeon direct drive and NIMH batteries blowing out his clients' emitters. He claims the 3AA direct drive luxeon needs a resistor to protect the luxeon from excessive current even at lower voltages than alkalines that rechargeables overpower the emitter with.
Anyone interested in a reactor cheap luxeon alternative do yourself a big favor. Buy the new reactor III instead of the old one. Some people claim that the old reactor is great because it runs dimly for a long time like the original infinity. But hey if that is what you want you can still have it in the reactor III. Just buy or make a dummy AA battery or use a dead AA battery in place of one of the 3 AA batteries in the Reactor III and bingo you've got the same long lasting very dim reactor version I. Some of you may say I'm unfair because the reactor I isn't that dim. Well after I cranked my reactor I with 3 new duracells the 2 cell version sure looked dim by comparison; I'll never go back. But if you want to hey you can have both worlds with the reactor III. With the reactor I you only have one dim mode. For just a little more money upgrade.
I know that HDS headlamp (find it at ledmuseum under headlamps) makes dummy D Cells they sell for use with lithium 3 volt D cells. You have to find your own dummy AA cell however.
I almost forgot but the following discussion lists two other flashlights going for 50 bucks that are very good and one should seriously consider whether the extra 15 dollars would be justified to upgrade to one of these or not:
THIS IS THE NEW FLASHLIGHT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
Hurry and run don't walk before they all sell out.
ARC's factory is selling factory seconds on their webpage right now subject to their running out. THe link is here:
http://store.yahoo.com/flashlight/facsecarwhit.html
This version of the ARC LS is the hybrid. It has the older body which suffers from not enough threads (it only turns one complete turn before the flashlight head comes off). It also has the screw on bezel which is subject to flex failure (the bezel and flashlight head stop conducting electricity and need to be retightenned or some such thing I really don't know I just read what others have posted).
However the good things about this flashlight are:
It has the new DC DC booster circuit board designed by Dat2Zip (I think). It has the newer 400 luxeon which is 10 percent darker but makes the batteries last much longer. This flashlight is BRIGHTER than most others you're going to find for 50 bucks; it's bright. In the stores it's selling for 92 dollars, see below:
First link is arc ls orderpage. Second link shows that what you're orderring for 92 bucks actually is the 49 dollar hybrid.
http://www.vicomptel.com/arclights/arcls.htm
http://www.vicomptel.com/arclights/index.htm
At arc's homepage you'll get the same light the hybrid for 49 bucks. This is called the factory second. It is sold as is. But I bought one and it is great. Just a little purple bluish but for 49 dollars it's the sweetest thing I bought. You're just not going to find anything else fully assembled for this price with all these features such as the state of the art DCDC booster circuit for full power with NIMH batteries etc. Make sure you buy the 2 AA holder for it so you can run it with rechargeables or alkalines or lithium AA's.
Otherwise for 50 bucks email lambda and pre order one of his lambda illuminators. It too has a DCDC booster circuit and runs on 2 AA's.
There are other good fully assembled flashlights IN THE SAME LEAGUE AS THE ABOVE TWO FLASHLIGHTS but they are very expensive. This arc ls hybrid normally costs 120 dollars. It only recently came down because the factory is now shipping the new REV2 model for 150 dollars. The rev2 has lots of threads on the head so it can turn many revolutions before disengaging. Also the entire head is one chunk of aluminum in the rev2; there no longer is a separate bezel screw on cap to suffer what ARC calls flex failure.
Sigman
* The Arctic Moderator *
Yes, Yes, Yes...let's see, did I say "Yes"?
The stock Minimag has that sick yellow spot/flood (which is good if you want to throw a beam, but hey - it's a Minimag, not a 5-D cell Maglite).
The Reactor has that nice white spot (optics) with so much more useable "natural" peripheral light. It's sooooo much brighter than a stock Minimag!!
I don't have beamshot capability at the moment or I'd show you what I just observed in my "special dark place"!
I'm ordering 5 more Reactors to stash around the house & vehicles. An affordable LS with lithiums will be dependable for those cold & dark nights here in Anchorage, Alaska! Sure it's not as bright as my ARC LS, but look at the price difference!
I own two MiniMags, one has the Opalec Newbeam in it and the other is waiting for an InReTech drop in. They are sturdy little torches, can't take that away from them - perfect for a drop in! If I want to throw a beam, I'll use my Surefire or according to the situation, my 5-D cell Maglite.
The stock Minimag has that sick yellow spot/flood (which is good if you want to throw a beam, but hey - it's a Minimag, not a 5-D cell Maglite).
The Reactor has that nice white spot (optics) with so much more useable "natural" peripheral light. It's sooooo much brighter than a stock Minimag!!
I don't have beamshot capability at the moment or I'd show you what I just observed in my "special dark place"!
I'm ordering 5 more Reactors to stash around the house & vehicles. An affordable LS with lithiums will be dependable for those cold & dark nights here in Anchorage, Alaska! Sure it's not as bright as my ARC LS, but look at the price difference!
I own two MiniMags, one has the Opalec Newbeam in it and the other is waiting for an InReTech drop in. They are sturdy little torches, can't take that away from them - perfect for a drop in! If I want to throw a beam, I'll use my Surefire or according to the situation, my 5-D cell Maglite.
brightnorm
Flashaholic
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2001
- Messages
- 7,161
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">V8,
As you probably know, Luxeons vary tremendously in color and brightness, and this even applies, though possibly to a lesser extent, to the so called "hand selected" KL-1 Luxeons of Surefire.
The cheaper Luxeon lights like the Reactor and Inretech drop-in either do not select, or select to a lower standard, which accounts for the even greater unpredictabilty of their lights. So, when we talk about a Luxeon being brighter than X, it's more accurate to specify what particular Lexeon we're talking about.
Getting back to your original question: a direct comparison of any LED light to an incandescent is difficult because of the differences in color frequency and beam diameter. However, you can try this experiment; expand the beam of your MAG 2AA until it roughly approximates that of the Reactor.
Of course the Mag will exhibit a giant "doughnut hole" but the Reactor on lithiums (assuming a decent Luxeon) will appear brighter. If you tighten the Mag's focus it will be brighter than the Reactor, but at the expense of a very narrow beam.
In my experience, walking outside at night is much more comfortable with the Reactor or Inretech with lithiums than with the Mag, unless you must spotlight an extremely narrow path. Once again, this assumes that you are lucky enough to have decent Luxeons in either light.
Of course, you can always put lithiums and a Nextar lamp in the Mag for increased brightness but then you lose bright runtime which is pretty short to begin with.
I'm currently installing some a/v components in a confined space, and there is a confusing maze of wires which are awkwardly placed; hard to see and hard to get at. I prefer my (relatively bright) Reactor and Inretech , both with lithiums, to the Mag 90% of the time. Occasionaly, when I need a bright small spot at a point deep within the wire maze I will use my regular Mag focused as tightly as possible.
I know that I haven't given you a direct, unequivocal answer to your question, but it is a reflection of my experience with all these lights.
I hope it is helpful.
Brightnorm
Br
Ledfanfromjuno, How did you make the extension tube to make the old reactor hold 3 batteries? I just bought the old reactor and would much rather modify that than buy the R3. Can you make more extention tubes and perhaps sell me one?
Hartage
Stefan
Enlightened
Could also try 2 N + 1 AAA, or 3 N and a spacer.
Actually, I believe the reactor luxeons are hand selected, but only for low vf and nothing else.
SuRgE
Enlightened
Hello,
I just compared the two and I would say the reactor is brighter but the mag has the throw. Reactor has a way whiter light, the mag is yellow bigtime. Runtime goes to the reactor, about triple the mag in my opinion.
I've own the 2AA mag for years but I now prefer the reactor.
I just compared the two and I would say the reactor is brighter but the mag has the throw. Reactor has a way whiter light, the mag is yellow bigtime. Runtime goes to the reactor, about triple the mag in my opinion.
I've own the 2AA mag for years but I now prefer the reactor.
ledfanfromjuno
Enlightened
Sorry, I didn't see your post earlier. But, I'll tell you what I did. It's a quick fix, and not pretty. There actually are two things I did.
First, I had two reactors I bought at the same time. I blew the emitter on the dimmer of the two by stuffing it with 4 alkalines to pump out its brightness. The luxeons turn color from white to blue when they get to much voltage and they start generating a LOT of heat. I know it sounds funny but the dimmer of the two luxeons would stay pure white on 4 alkalines and generated no heat. So I thought I was fine. But it turned dim one day and never came back in brightness. So, I disassembled it and only use three batteries on the other reactor. I took the dissassembled reator aluminum tube and sandpaperred the anodize off of the end that sticks into the reator head. This way it makes electrical contact with the tail end of the other reactor which is not anodized. I took the tail spring out and stretched it to make up for the increased room inside. I use a dummy AA cell and 3 fresh AA cells and with the stretched spring it just fits nicely. I used duct tape to join the two tubes. THey stay together but I have to exert just a little pressure to make electrical contact. It works fine. To do a better job you could use (I'm not sure for I have never done it) a cheap solder or welder to join the two tubes together. The other alternative would be to use tap and die for plumbing pipe but I think this would be a much more complicated alternative.
The second thing is I found some aluminum pipe in my garage the same diameter as the reactor's outer diameter, I hacksawed it to fit 1 more battery and the tailpiece with spring and had a little left over to saw tabs out of to bend over the tailpiece and ducttape it up.
I really think that the duct tape idea is the best you'll be able to do. Because it's a matter of expense. You have to keep in mind the price of the new reactor 3 ($34), an arc ls second (was $49), a lambda illuminator ($50), and the lgi, elektrolumen, trilight ($90), and elektrolumens is talking about possibly offering his flashlights with dcdc regulation. It wouldn't be worth going over $34. Duct tape is the only economical solution. Even so, you really should use scrap piping laying around so it costs nothing except tape and junk piping.
I'm no expert like the other people in this forum. I just had such a dim batch of reactors that I figured I had to try something. Mine didn't even look acceptable with fresh energizer lithiums in them.
First, I had two reactors I bought at the same time. I blew the emitter on the dimmer of the two by stuffing it with 4 alkalines to pump out its brightness. The luxeons turn color from white to blue when they get to much voltage and they start generating a LOT of heat. I know it sounds funny but the dimmer of the two luxeons would stay pure white on 4 alkalines and generated no heat. So I thought I was fine. But it turned dim one day and never came back in brightness. So, I disassembled it and only use three batteries on the other reactor. I took the dissassembled reator aluminum tube and sandpaperred the anodize off of the end that sticks into the reator head. This way it makes electrical contact with the tail end of the other reactor which is not anodized. I took the tail spring out and stretched it to make up for the increased room inside. I use a dummy AA cell and 3 fresh AA cells and with the stretched spring it just fits nicely. I used duct tape to join the two tubes. THey stay together but I have to exert just a little pressure to make electrical contact. It works fine. To do a better job you could use (I'm not sure for I have never done it) a cheap solder or welder to join the two tubes together. The other alternative would be to use tap and die for plumbing pipe but I think this would be a much more complicated alternative.
The second thing is I found some aluminum pipe in my garage the same diameter as the reactor's outer diameter, I hacksawed it to fit 1 more battery and the tailpiece with spring and had a little left over to saw tabs out of to bend over the tailpiece and ducttape it up.
I really think that the duct tape idea is the best you'll be able to do. Because it's a matter of expense. You have to keep in mind the price of the new reactor 3 ($34), an arc ls second (was $49), a lambda illuminator ($50), and the lgi, elektrolumen, trilight ($90), and elektrolumens is talking about possibly offering his flashlights with dcdc regulation. It wouldn't be worth going over $34. Duct tape is the only economical solution. Even so, you really should use scrap piping laying around so it costs nothing except tape and junk piping.
I'm no expert like the other people in this forum. I just had such a dim batch of reactors that I figured I had to try something. Mine didn't even look acceptable with fresh energizer lithiums in them.
ledfanfromjuno
Enlightened
I had another idea on fixing the reactor cheaply. The anodizing has to be stripped off any contact for electricity to flow. So sandpaper it where necessary.
Maybe to join the pipe with the flashlight you could buy a clamp that you screw tight that plumbers use, a hose clamp I think from home depot. If its made out of metal and you sand down the outer surface of the reactor where it touches the clamp then you will have a working fix you can duct tape over. Also you can get thin metal and wrap it around a couple inches of both pipe and flashlight at the juncture after sanding off the anodizing and then wrap with duct tape. Or you could cut tabs in the pipe and bend around outside of flashlight body but this may not work because the tabs spring away from the body. This way you won't even have to push a little to get the flashlight to turn on and it shouldn't cost much at all, maybe $1.
Maybe to join the pipe with the flashlight you could buy a clamp that you screw tight that plumbers use, a hose clamp I think from home depot. If its made out of metal and you sand down the outer surface of the reactor where it touches the clamp then you will have a working fix you can duct tape over. Also you can get thin metal and wrap it around a couple inches of both pipe and flashlight at the juncture after sanding off the anodizing and then wrap with duct tape. Or you could cut tabs in the pipe and bend around outside of flashlight body but this may not work because the tabs spring away from the body. This way you won't even have to push a little to get the flashlight to turn on and it shouldn't cost much at all, maybe $1.
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