Upgrade Mod for Minimag

I realise this question has been posted several times thru out the forum. Well! ACtually I have already gotten the terralux TLE-5 for my mag. But I pass it to my dad.

(the story goes:---- was chatting with him one day and realised that he was using the infamous minimag for inspection during his work in the early hours. While trying to see the meters using the 'strong beam', he just strains his eyes to make the best out of the situation. Just nice the TLE-5 was in my car's mag, so I took it out and install it to his. Although having relatively drained rechargeables, it still manages a fair amount of wow factor from him. Well! seeing that he needs it more, it now resides in his trusty mag.)

Now the problem is, my 'naked' mag needs to be attended to.

Any advise on making my mag usable again. (beside the TLE-5) I look for bright and good runtime >4 hrs, I have ordered a few MJleds from Lighthound but I dun think they are as bright as the TLE-5.

Now considering the cost factor, would it be more sensible to just get a streamlight 3c led or mag 3d Db-3w option.

(Also since I am residing in Singapore, LEDBeam 3c is out for me.)

Cheers guys and gals.

I haven't been around for a while, and now that I'm back; there seems to be a different "mod" modules for the mini mag lights.

Without know about all of the options, I can still recommend one of Wayne Y.'s sandwiches from the Shoppe.

Now, I don't know about getting four hours of runtime AND having bright light. Runtime and super brightness are mutually exclusive. The key is to find a happy medium. My favorite sandwiche for a mini mag is the NexGen500 sandwiche with a nice Lux III on top of it. I don't mess with AA lights much, but I can say that a sandwiche being fed by a single 123 lithium cell will run for about 1 and 3/4 hours in regulation.

Yeah, the MJLEDs and SMJLEDs aren't as bright as the latest R-bin TLE-5s but you've gotta love the 20 hour runtime they give. And they are quite usably bright... I think they are comparable to the 0.5W Nuwai lights but are closer to white than the Nuwai lights... just to give you a point of reference.

I've had three TLE-5s of three different vintages and to be honest, I think for someone looking for a balance of runtime and brightness, they are hard to beat for the money. If you want something dimmer with great runtime, the MJLEDs are hard to beat if you don't mind using primary lithium cells and if you want something a lot brighter with less runtime than the TLE-5, there are many sandwich options...

Thanks for the response and pointers. Well! I have to wait till I get my Mjled and see if I can live with them.

Cheers.

I found that the MJ and SMJ leds are great for a long runtime not very bright light. They are also only the brightest with fresh cells.

For brightness and LED, the sandwich's are the way to go.

Also check out Auroralite's excellent Minimag mod guide!

As already been mentioned here, The Sandwich Shoppe is the way to go. I have the Bad Boy NexGen 750 TW0J Lux.III, and it IS BRIGHT! You'll have to figure out what drop-in LED pills are available. Remember the link that UVvis also posted above. Hope you find what you're looking for and ENJOY!

http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/index.php

Thanks for the info guys. Now I will just have to go for the sandwich option. I can hear my piggybank crack.....:laughing:

Btw the NEW Badboy Nexgen 750 Converter board with a Lux III TW0J. What kind of throw and output am I going to expect? Also the runtime? Will the UCL be able to take the heat generated?

Look for Auroraite's complete guide to minimag add-ons. He did a lot of work the least we can do is read it.

anyone knows if a lux III white can be ran on that terralux tle-5?
or can anyone measure the current that thing is driving luxeons with.

those sandwiches looks too good to ea... ummm they are great but the bad thing is,the price is greater then my budget.

Personally I think you need a new light all together. Some of the high end sandwiches for the Minimag are really expensive. You can get a brand new light that is of high quality for the same price.

I recomend the Fenix L2P. Very bright, with 5 hours of regulated light on 2 lithiums, and good regulation on rechargables as well.

The sandwiches are expensive, but are a one time buy. When you trash to light, just transfer the sandwiche to a new host. For output, the sandwiches are hard to beat.

As for the throw, that will be dependent upon which reflector you use. You could go the easy route and modify the stock reflector. You could also just drop in a 17mm reflector with an o-ring. If you want to really get into it, you could modify the head to accommodate a 20mm reflector.

Use the body of your old Mag to build a pipe bomb and get a SL propolymer 3C as your new light. Don't spend money on an expensive upgrade, considering the fact that you can get a brand new one for similar price.

Chop said:

The sandwiches are expensive, but are a one time buy. When you trash to light, just transfer the sandwiche to a new host. For output, the sandwiches are hard to beat.

As for the throw, that will be dependent upon which reflector you use. You could go the easy route and modify the stock reflector. You could also just drop in a 17mm reflector with an o-ring. If you want to really get into it, you could modify the head to accommodate a 20mm reflector.

Click to expand...

Chop, it isn't so much trashing the lights as losing them. Can't move a sandwich you just lost

adirondackdestroyer said:

Personally I think you need a new light all together. Some of the high end sandwiches for the Minimag are really expensive. You can get a brand new light that is of high quality for the same price.

I recomend the Fenix L2P. Very bright, with 5 hours of regulated light on 2 lithiums, and good regulation on rechargables as well.

Click to expand...

I agree. I ALMOST bought a BadBoy Nexgen 750 TWOJ for $50 plus shipping, then realized I would still have a MiniMag with its stupid twistie head switch that I hate and at the same time I've been lusting after and trying to rationalize the purchase of an L2P (I have an L1P that I love but I want something longer bodied with more runtime). FINALLY did one of these and came to my senses. I'll be ordering an L2P tonight from 4sevens, for less than I would have spent on modding my MiniMag, which will either get a $5 Nite Ize led module or will go in a drawer as a quadruple backup.

Yooper,

Your sentiments are actually like mine. I am comtemplating on the options, new brighter out fo the box like or a sleeper minimag which have a wow factor. Finally economics sense prevails, I will stick to the mjleds which i already order for my mags and will source out the l2p or equivalent.

Is there any brighter replacement bulb for minimag ? Thanks

As already posted above regarding The Sandwich Shoppe, yes indeed it's expensive. The one(s) I have have on my Mini Maglite(s)

BadBoy NexGen 750 TW0[Zero not "O"]J Lux.III
20mm IMS Reflector
UCL Lens
Kroll

This setup is BRIGHT and White as those who have seen it can attest to. No fooling and no bullin'. On the 3[M]iniMag, which is my EDC is powered by a single LC 14270 Li-Ion. Roughly an hour or so of runtime, even the one powered by the Energizer Lithium AA. Once I "dialed" in on the desired sweetspot I need for my uses, I Lock-Tite the heads.

Auroralite has a hotwired MiniMaglite going on. That one puts out 200+ Lumens. I've seen that one and sure is something to see!

Again, whatever it is you're seeking to have—Enjoy!