TerraLUX TLE-6EX question

[NotRegulated]

I just received a TerraLUX TLE-6EX Ministar 5 from BatteryJunction for use in my old Mag 6D. BatteryJunction lists it as an SSC P4 U bin LED. The LED's color is VERY blue, annoyingly so to me.

My question: Is this very blue color normal in these units?

 

[Zenster]

I just received a TerraLUX TLE-6EX Ministar 5 from BatteryJunction for use in my old Mag 6D. BatteryJunction lists it as an SSC P4 U bin LED. The LED's color is VERY blue, annoyingly so to me.

My question: Is this very blue color normal in these units?

A couple of months ago, I bought two of the Terralux TLE-6EXB's for my two Mag-3D cell lights. The only difference between what you bought and what I did is the regulation that makes them compatible with either 2to3 cells (what I have) and 4to6 cells (yours).
The LEDs used in each are the same.

I found that both of mine were nice and white, with one of them being just a smidgeon cooler than the other if held in a side by side comparison.
When used separately, I can't tell the difference, and neither is anywhere near "blue". To me, they are nice and white and turned my two 3-D's into damn fine lights.

So if your's really is an objectionable blue, I'd suggest contacting the seller and seeing if they will exchange it for another.

I personally came to this forum with my only experience of LED lights being that of a few years ago when every LED light was !!blue!!
I hated that, and after actually buying one of those blue things (an Inova X5), I gave up looking at any LED light again until I stumbled upon this forum. (I still have that X5, and maybe things at Inova have changed, but I'll never buy another Inova product again because of my "blue" experience with that one product).
But I digress...

What I'm getting at is that I don't think we have to accept blue LED's anymore, and the sooner we (as consumers) stand fast and quit accepting them, the sooner that vendors will quit trying to shove them down our throats.
With the LED's available today that are bright and white, I don't think we should go back to blue.

Ok... rant mode off (I get ticked off everytime I glance at that X5 just sitting on a shelf; hence the rant. )

 

[Khaytsus]

I just received a TerraLUX TLE-6EX Ministar 5 from BatteryJunction for use in my old Mag 6D. BatteryJunction lists it as an SSC P4 U bin LED. The LED's color is VERY blue, annoyingly so to me.

My question: Is this very blue color normal in these units?

Is it blue immediately? If so, sounds like it's a defective LED. If it turns blue after a few seconds, it's not making a thermal connection to the body of the bulb. Apparently they don't thermal epoxy these down or something, they're just held down by the connections.

There's a really long webpage on someone disassembling the unit and showing some of the weaknesses, and that is one of the biggest ones. There were some smaller problems with the driver, etc, but nothing major there.

 

[CandleFranky]

I just received a TerraLUX TLE-6EX Ministar 5 from BatteryJunction for use in my old Mag 6D. BatteryJunction lists it as an SSC P4 U bin LED. The LED's color is VERY blue, annoyingly so to me.

I have a similar thread on the TerraLUX TLE-6EXB, because mine is not brighter then the original Maglite Upgrade, but comsumes more battery-power. Money for nothing. :sigh:

 

[JamisonM]

I just received a TerraLUX TLE-6EX Ministar 5 from BatteryJunction for use in my old Mag 6D. BatteryJunction lists it as an SSC P4 U bin LED. The LED's color is VERY blue, annoyingly so to me.

My question: Is this very blue color normal in these units?

It should not be blue. Contact battery junction and tell them about it.

 

[ecll]

You should be getting an impressive, fairly white beam. I have put in several TerraLux and all are very good. I did have some beam problems but it was not the TerraLux. On one install I forgot to change out the two year old batteries. On two others there were circut contact issues. On one the tail cap threads and spring needed to be buffed. On another there was not a good ground in the switch to the body.

 

[nein166]

I bought 3 of these, first 2 were blue right off. I found out the led came off the heatsink only being held by the leads. I Customized one for a friend, new thermal epoxy.

The other I rebuilt completely for a 6D, cut the mag reflector tail off, made a circular heatsink to conduct heat to the body w/ thermal grease, added glow epoxy. When done it was comprable to my Aleph 3 SSC DB917.

The third I run in a 3C underdriven its also thermal epoxied the emmitter to the heatsink. It came with more epoxy but I re-epoxied it for peace of mind, I used Arctic Alumina Epoxy, but you could use Arctic Silver as the heatsink is anodized(or maybe painted?!).

 

[NotRegulated]

Is it blue immediately? If so, sounds like it's a defective LED. If it turns blue after a few seconds, it's not making a thermal connection to the body of the bulb. Apparently they don't thermal epoxy these down or something, they're just held down by the connections.

Exactly! I let it set overnight and when I turned it back on this morning it was white and then within 30 seconds it turned blue.

 

[Khaytsus]

Exactly! I let it set overnight and when I turned it back on this morning it was white and then within 30 seconds it turned blue.

Yep, it's not making contact with the rest of the bulb. You have a loope or magnifying glass? I bet you can see under the LED.

Unless you *have soldered* this sort of thing before, I suggest you just contact the place where you bought it and exchange it.

If you have done that sort of thing before, I'd say take the LED off, clean up the spot where it goes, and use artic thermal epoxy and get it on there right. Shame this seems to be an ongoing issue with this product.

 

[NotRegulated]

I emailed Battery Junction today with a description of the problem asking for an exchange.

 

[V8TOYTRUCK]

I just received mine today for my gf's 3D Maglite, excellent tint and fits perfectly. I also added UCL and Nyogel to the old squeaky Mag. When my Malkoff drop in comes, I will be either giving the drop in to her dad or buying another Mag to stick it in!

Its about as bright as I expected it to be from the other Terralux drop ins I've seen. Its brighter than my T1 on low. Im guessing this thing puts out 75-90 lumens out the front. It does have the advantage of a large smooth OEM Mag reflector.

Its not a Space Needle II (old school ) but I wanted a reliable long running light I can bash someone with if needed.

Funny how I have no problem dropping down the bucks for a SF M6, but when it comes to spending $20 on a Mag to host a drop in. I have to think about it

 

[ElectronGuru]

Funny how I have no problem dropping down the bucks for a SF M6, but when it comes to spending $20 on a Mag to host a drop in. I have to think about it

I thought of it as an 'upgrade' and had the same issue. What's the point of spending $25 on a light I bought 15 years earlier for half the price of the upgrade inside? Then I reversed my thinking. What bulb do I want most and what's the best host for it? I ended up giving all my old 'hosts' away, buying just the light emitters I wanted, then buying the hosts as accessories to house them.

Put it another way, I'm not buying TerraLux's and Malkoff's because I happen to have Mag's that I want more performance out of - thats a lousy value proposition. I'm buying them because C (or D) are the best size for what I want to do (throw, grip) and this is the best combination for the best result. A Mag 2C is the best size for so many applications, its just needs a few tweaks to realize its potential. So what if they end up costing several times more than the host itself. Its my favorite light for under $70:

host: $15
lens: $6
bulb: $25
reflector: $15
batteries: $4

The fact that I get to spec it, build it, and use it, just adds to the fun.