MJLED MiniMag dissapointment.. average?

Well after 2 weeks (which I was sure they had gotten lost) I finally received my MJLED. I ordered 3 and all were the same tint/color. Mine were not urine green although they were slightly yellow with a tinge of green to them. This was using alkalines. With NiMH they were much dimmer and had a stronger yellowish/green tint. With fresh lithiums they were much much whiter and super bright. So these things definitely need voltage. Even with lithium AAs they weren't the pure white that my Everled is but infinitely better than the original incandescent and way better than the blue blob from my ARC AA. It seems to be just like an incandescent bulb that gets more orange and dimmer as the voltage drops except in this case it's yellow/green. Once focused down it had a nice tight hotspot and a very wide side spill. So definitely can't be beat for the price. Mine came from the sandwich shop.
 
I've ordered 3 MJLEDs -
But, any suggestions on where to get some cheap replacement Minimag reflectors, as the ones in my minimags that have been gathering dust are physically cracked -
 
[ QUOTE ]
ps56k said:
I've ordered 3 MJLEDs -
But, any suggestions on where to get some cheap replacement Minimag reflectors, as the ones in my minimags that have been gathering dust are physically cracked -

[/ QUOTE ]

I dont know where you can get "just" the reflector, but these (3) "Quest" lights from ****s Sporting Goods ($7.99) are one HECK of a bargain!

As a matter of fact.....I think I'll return my two Mini Mags and keep these.

Eight smacks for (3) Mini Mag knock-offs.............You just cant beat it.

Perfect for the MJLED........AND they come with clickie switches!

I just found the original thread on these HERE
 
I have recently recieved 3 led from the shoppe. I am quite dissapointed as all three are very dim. Perhaps 1/4 of my arc aaa so I know something is wrong.

Also none of them will fit into my minimag. The led's kinda rest in the holes but will fall out with a little shake. I know that the brightness will not change becuase the bridghtness will not change no matter how it is positioned. I purchased the light maybe a month ago at K-mart. Am I supposed to modify the legs by making them thinner somehow?

I have cleaned the tail cap contacts and do not have any lithiums to test them with. Any suggestions will be appreciated
 
Perhaps I can give another take on use of the MJLED? I bought one to use in a AA Mag and was as disappointed as many of you are with the lack of brightness and the colour of the LED.

I ponderd why I should be so disapponted with this LED and came to the conclusion that I had unrealisticly high expectations to begin with, for whatis after all, only a incandescent bulb replacement. When I considered the usual benefits of LED's, such as long life ,impervious to normal shocks and better beam clour I began to feel much better about my acquisition. I then decided as it wasn't going to be a thrower that I would search for a better home than the AA Mag I had originally installed it in. I rumaged around and found a long disused AAA Mag which was of no use to me and installed it in that. Voila! I now have a small flood light which is much brighter than the incandescent original and will last right through a couple of nights (if not more) without dimming substantially. I dont have to worry about bulb failure and can read much better with this than the CMG Infinity Ultra which was used prior to this. All in all then a good buy and well worth it despite it's drawbacks.

Doug /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I have one in an older MM. With a couple of Lithium AA's, it's almost as bright as a low end pill I have in another MM. For the money..with Lithiums...you can't beat them.
I also have some of the 26k leds on order, so when those come in I can do a direct comparison.
 
I agree with Doug here. It's not a beast by any standards, but a nice LED replacement for your average non-flashaholic. Tint IS green, a bit like my L4. Its a close up round the house light for mum and dad, that are not so comfy with all the Lithium 123 beasts and rather have a 'normal' light aka commonly used AA light. They can just put the AAs through without worrying about bulb replacements.
 
It'll be interesting when I get my 3 MJleds,
to compare a modified MiniMag AA with say a simple Dorcy AA,
or even the AAA.
 
[ QUOTE ]
LightObsession said:
Here are some other potentially good hosts for the MJLED:
3 pack 2AA lights for $7.99 at ****'s
If you have a ****'s Sporting goods store in your area.

[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks to this pointer and that thread - I have just bought a pack of 3 of these Quest brand lights from my local ****'s Sporting Goods for $7.49 per pack.

They are indeed very good value for money and would make fine hosts for the MJLED
- please see:
MJLED drop-in for MiniMag 2AA

They do work well in their own right too - the clickie tail switch is especially welcome. Although the beams are focussable - they can be somewhat variable on quality - I have one that is very good, one that doesn't focus that well, and another that.... (please see later**)

QuestBlstr.jpg
QuestBlstrBk.jpg


Compared to regular Mini-Mag 2AA
Quest_mMag.jpg


Disassembled -
QuestDisass.jpg


** the more observant of you may have spotted something not quite right......
QuestBurnt.jpg


Indeed the center of that reflector is not round..... no, this not the way it's supposed to be, the other two are round ....

I noticed that this light didn't seem to want to focus and seemed even to be inconsistent in its focussing almost as if the beam was changing.

Once I took the head off I realized why - the bulb must have been in contact with the reflector and was actually melting it! Hence the non-round hole and the burnt looking bulb - that's melted plastic.

Needless to say this is going back for an exchange. The other two lights do work without signs of melting the reflector - and the clickies switches are great.......

Really good value for money - I'm sure my faulty one was just an isolated case - but worth bearing in mind that the bulb should not be in contact with the plastic reflector.....
 
I received an MJLED in a Quest 2AA host from kitelights today. Mine does have a slight greenish tint to the corona, but the hotspot is nice and white, and in a side by side comparison between the MJLED and my UK 4AA eLED, the MJLED is noticably brighter...not by a "lot", but the difference is definitely noticable! All in all, I'm extremely pleased with it...and for 30 hours of run-time on lithium AA's, IMHO, this is a bang-for-the-buck set-up that's awfully hard to beat! YMMV...

PJD
 
[ QUOTE ]
PJD said: in a side by side comparison between the MJLED and my UK 4AA eLED, the MJLED is noticably brighter...not by a "lot", but the difference is definitely noticable! All in all, I'm extremely pleased with it...and for 30 hours of run-time on lithium AA's, IMHO, this is a bang-for-the-buck set-up that's awfully hard to beat! YMMV...

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for that input - is this comparison with the MJLED on lithiums or plain alkalines?

If it's lithiums - then how well does the MJLED do on plain but fresh alkalines?

(what batteries is the UKE eLED on?)

Thanks,
 
Not to take anything away from Lambda for providing these mod'd LEDs....
but is this merely a standard 5mm LED that is then cut and polished to transform from a front emitter to a side emitter - thus making use of the reflector ?

Wonder what a beam shot would look like using the un-cut 5mm LED
vs the same mod'd MJLED ?
 
I'm pretty happy with a 5mm High power LED (from Sandwich Shoppe), uncut, stuck in a Minimag. I certainly don't feel a need for an MJLED. It focuses fairly well too. Beam quality and brightness very close to a Ministar2.
 
Hi ps56k - Actually, these have larger dies that run about 100 ma in a 5mm package. More conventional 5mm's run somewhere's about 1/4 of the current across their smaller dies. The MJ's are quite bright, although I haven't been as happy with the tint as I hoped. Didn't stop me from getting a few more though.
 

Latest posts

Top