DB-3W LED Report

I received my Diamond DB-3W and installed in 2d (3C) Mag. This is supposed to be the improved model. Very good round and smooth beam. No holes or artifacts. Very white color. They say 100+ lumen's....I cannot say for sure but it seems very bright. Anyway, this is my first LED upgrade and I am happy with the results considering $27.50 total.

Now I would like to find a way to put one of these into my favorite Mag 2c host.

Way to go on that "upgrade" of yours MadMag! :huh:

I too enjoy the first-gen one I got and it sure is bright and white. I've "sputtered" the reflector for a flood beam which I prefer with this particular set-up.

—Enjoy! :wave:

CHC,
the flood issue was also important to me. After reading some old reports I thought I might have to sputter for good results, but I seem to get the flood effect OK with smooth reflector. I don't know how consistant these new 3W's are, smooth beam are some of the claims for improvement. It will be interesting to read newer reports to see if they are consistant with the improvements.

MadMag said:

Now I would like to find a way to put one of these into my favorite Mag 2c host.

Click to expand...

I've got some theory not knowledge.

Remember some of the guys were talking about using 4 NiMhs and DiamondLED was going to ask his engineer about it?

I stumbled across 2/3 A NiMhs a while back. Actually I ordered the wrong batteries. Those little jewels have become a favorite for experimenting and also for some terrific solutions. 15A rated and can handle 25A bursts.

OK 2Cs are 99mm long.

3 2/3 A are 85 mm long so with an 11 to 15 mm extender on the tailcap spring (I prefer a spring shaped twist of stripped 10 ga. copper wire over the nut/washer/bolt method) they would fit. (sleeve them in some acrylic tube).

You'd get 3.6 V instead of 4.2 V the DB-3W wants. But 4 2/3 A is 113 mm long. With tailcap spring mod (de-anodize tailcap then reshape or cut the spring) there would be plenty of room to stuff 4 2/3 A in your Mag 2C.

You'd get 4.8 V instead of the 4.2 V the DB-3W is rated for.

If Diamond's engineer determines 4.8 NiMh driven volts is OK that would be good.

The huge and obvious caveat is this: I think from reading here that the unit is resistor regulated. That resistor is going to emit more heat with the extra .6 volts which isn't good. I don't think we'll actually know if that is tolerable until someone actually tries it. Maybe some enterprising lad will make a sink in the form of a collar around the unit that also contacts the head for better thermal pathing?

I'll leap forward from theory to imagination. What if 4.8 works with the unit? 2/3 A batteries would laugh at the sag a single LuxIII LED would beg for. Wouldn't it be cool if the members' cumulative ideas defeated the quick sag to 50% output that Quickbeam documented and Diamond agrees happens with the DB-3W?

A little off-topic but I see that CheapBatteryPacks is now offering an IB 1400mAh 2/3 A. Wow! A 2/3 A that approaches the venerable CB1650 AA in capacity and beats the tarnation out of it in current delivery.

js -

Did you see these? M6able I'd think.

MadMag said:

This is supposed to be the improved model.

Click to expand...

The "improved model" is the one with the K2 emitters, which isn't shipping yet in white.

Icebreak, sounds like a good idea for 2c setup. I will look into trying this idea.

BatteryCharger, Yes they said the white K2 is not shipping until later this year, but they claim this is an improved to 100 lumens (on the package) output for the DB-3W. Also, when I talked to rep. they indicated these new 3W's are better centered. Now, this might just be sales pitch and these are not better than old ones...I never had the early model... so not sure.

Just to add. I just noticed that the DiamondLED site says this is not a TerraLux product. Now on the TerraLux site it says 80 Lumen and on Diamond site (and package) it says 100+ lumen. Not sure what is going on here?

MadMag said:

Now I would like to find a way to put one of these into my favorite Mag 2c host.

Click to expand...

You could use a single 18650 together with a dummy 123 to get 3.6v nominal and up to 2200 mAh.

The DB-3W is the designation for the old Diamond 3 watt Mag 3D upgrade. Even tho in the last brochure I received a couple of months ago it is touted as "New". It claims 75 lumens.

The new designation is TLE-DB3 and it claims 100+ lumens. And lists for $33.60 at Zbattery.com.

A couple of months ago, the old DB-3W went on sale for $24.95 at the same site. Now I know why, LOL.

Hmmm, I'm also wondering, how can it be a Diamond and a Terralux at the same time?

BOZZLITE,I also wonder how they can be at both sites, but it appears that TerraLux does not have the latest version. In another thread on Dealers Corner I got the answer that the new DB-3W has an improved BIN. I am new to the LED side, so I am not sure of the complete story. Anyway, mine seems to run well so I guess that's the most improtant issue.

Lexina, also thanks for your input. Yes maybe that is another way to use the 2c Mag.

I got my first one,(the "old" series, I think) and it was really white and bright. It was equivalent to my TVIL 3D mag mod in all respects. And a lot easier to do.
The only problem, when I would switch it on cold, it would flicker, and sometimes blink. That went away after a few seconds, and would not do it when the unit was warm. Also, when I first ran the thing, there was a film that appeared on the inside of the lens and on the reflector. I figured that it was the manufacturing oils outgassing, and cleaned it up with denatured alcohol. No further problems.

I wrote to Terralux, explaining the problem, and was told that it was a manufacturing defect and they would send me another when their new ones arrived. They did. They replaced my old DB3W, which, by this time was operating fairly well. I asked if they wished me to return the old one, and they said no. THANK YOU TERRALUX!

The new one was equally as bright as the old one, and now I have two, the old one, which I have in my daily use 3D, and and the new one as a spare, till I buy a 3C Mag.

What would the difference in output/performace of the DB3 be between a 3C and a 3D mag?

pbs357 said:

What would the difference in output/performace of the DB3 be between a 3C and a 3D mag?

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None, the only difference would be the runtime. The D cells will have approx. double the runtime of the C cells depending on which brand, type, etc.

Okay, my DB-3W smoked and then fizzled out last night. I smelled something "burning" and noticed that the inside the reflector started to smoke, which at first I thought was condensation building up. Then I noticed that the clear "dome" was melted and that there's a small black spot on the "diodes(?)" which wasn't there before. It was "hot" when I was unscrewing it. Don't know what happened, but I had this one going for about a year now. . .Oh well!

CHC, let us know if you find out why your DB-3W failed. Mine is running OK, but not a lot of run time. Well, second thought from what you said maybe it so damaged you will not find cause. Were you running 3X1.5V alkaline?

Yes Indeed! I use it in my 3D Maglite. I just changed out the batteries with "fresher" ones. Don't know what really happened. Also my TerraLux TLE-5(?) for the Mini Maglite, blew out some time ago. It did run for a time being, but this DB-3W ran the longest before it decided to "expire" on me. My SureFire incandescents lasts longer than this particular LED. Hmmm. . .

CHC were you running that TLE-5 in your 3D mag with the BA-1 adapter? Or was it in a minimag when it blew?

Just wondering. I haven't seen any posts in CPF about LEDs burning out without, say, being overdriven. But then again, I've only been reading the forums for about 5 weeks.

Seems like I saw something about a 1 year warranty. Check with the vendor, see if they'll replace it.

Hello Bozzlite!

The TLE-5 was used in my Mini Mag with (2) AA Energizer e2 Lithiums. I prefer running these drop-ins in accordance with what the manufacture states to "drive" them. Other than that, maybe these two I had were "one off-ers" that somehow fizzled on me.

Just got my Diamond DB3 for my 3D Mag, and it's great! For about $24, I think it's an awesome, drop in upgrade. Pure white light, much longer runtime with flat discharge rate and although it's still best in the tight spot focus, the spot is wider than the original bulb. I used to think of my 3D mag as the "narrow yellow thrower" but now it's a solid outdoor lighting tool.

Hey way to go on your drop-in PBS357!

I too enjoyed (past tense) using mine primarily to light up my room in ceiling bounce mode. There was Plenty of Bright White Light for seeing. Too bad it out on me after almost a year of use. :huh:

CHC, not sure if you got your 3W from TerraLux or DiamondLED, but maybe if you offer to return to them for analysis they would replace for free?