LED Conversion for Mini-AA Maglite

Hello everyone,

I'm new here and I'm sorry for the probably redundant question. What is the best LED conversion for the AA Maglite? I just found your community. I'm sick of it dyeing constantly and I want to take it and make it a cheap LED flashlight because it has a really well made aluminum case. But I am open to also getting a new LED flashlight that is under $30. Preferably made of aluminum with a maglite style grip, or something that is not obnoxious like bright yellows and multicolored. I just like the flat colors, usually black for discreteness. And if it won't fit into a purse without taking up all the space, forget it. A friend of mine has this thing called the iNova X5 and I loved the little thing but it uses expensive *** little camera batteries and it isn't worth buying them.

Thank you.

Kind Regards,
HeyItsMe

This is one option:
http://home.mchsi.com/~lambda_lights/smjled.htm

FWIW I totally agree that one of the cheapest (and best) LED conversions for the venerable Minimag is the SMJLED.

Providing that you use lithiums and carry out the instruction on Lambda's site with regards to the lithium batteries you will have a powerful and exceptionally battery efficient LED Minimag. Although the SMJLED hasn't been out long enough for reports of premature failure to have filtered back there is no reason to believe that the SMJLED wont be as long lived as any other LED.

Still the cost of the SMJLED is so reasonable that they are only slightly more expensive than 2 of the Minimag incandescent bulbs and they are 10 x more effective.

The real advantage of using the SMJLED compared to some other LED conversions is that apart from the reflector there is no other modification needed.

I have now got an SMJLED in a AAA Minimag and it works brilliantly! Highly recommended.

Doug

After going over the site's instructions, I don't see anywhere mentioning the addition of a resistor being required to protect the LED.
Is this right? Is it built with an internal resistor?
I was thinking of this mod myself since my miniMags and AAA miniMag sits in the drawer.
I was thinking of using (3) subAA NiCads from a phone battery pack to provide 3.7V to the SMJLED for better brightness. Runtimes will suffer, but no worse than the standard miniMag.

Anyone have before and after beamshots, or side by side of the miniMag mod beside what's available at his site?

I am currently using the Nite-ize LED conversion kit on my 2AA Maglite. Works great with a beautiful tint. Intermittent use for the past 2 months without a battery change yet.

And a NiteIze might be at your local WalMart now. Isn't that where you got yours, a99raptors?

Walmart sells the Nite-Ize LED conversion for $5. Then there's also the Terralux and Wayne's sandwiches, and they're very bright... but maybe more expensive than you're looking to spend.

The definitive guide to minimag mods:
Dummy Reference Guide to Minimag Modding(many pix)

The older MJLED has a very low Vf and will run off 2 alkaline cells. No longer sold.

Lambda's new SMJLED is much brighter but requires CONDITIONED lithiums. 3 cells would probably shorten it's life drastically even if the SMJLED does not emit magic smoke right away.

I'm also using the niteize kit from walmart. For $5 it's hard to top.

BIGIRON:

Nope. No Wal Mart in my country. Got it at Ace Hardware.

(Love that place btw!)

Lowe's is carrying it now. It's about $9 and comes with a tail clicky.

a99r--- my post was a sort of joke. I'm plesantly surprised that you have an Ace.

OK, if no one else is going to ask -- what's meant by "conditioned" liths?

LEDninja wrote: "The older MJLED has a very low Vf and will run off 2 alkaline cells. No longer sold.
Lambda's new SMJLED is much brighter but requires CONDITIONED lithiums. "

My understanding is that the SMJLED are supposed to have even lower Vf -
either way the newer SMJLED do work very well on just plain alkalines.

Please see these review threads -

super MJLED drop-in for MiniMag 2AA

MJLED drop-in for MiniMag 2AA

and you could also consider the even easier -

Nite Ize drop in module

@ under $5 from a local WalMart.......

Greetings and Welcome to CPF!

Hope you find what you're looking for and Enjoy! :wave:

Wow, lot's of replies.

I meant something I can drop in easily. I dont want to sauder and stuff.

The Nite-ize kit comes with it's own reflector and is marketed for the mainstream consumer and doesn't require any skills other than the ability to unscrew the bezel and the ability to replace the light bulb on a Mini Mag.

HeyItsMe said:

Wow, lot's of replies.

I meant something I can drop in easily. I dont want to sauder and stuff.

Click to expand...

Brighteyez said:

The Nite-ize kit comes with it's own reflector and is marketed for the mainstream consumer and doesn't require any skills other than the ability to unscrew the bezel and the ability to replace the light bulb on a Mini Mag.

Click to expand...

is it really bright? how does it work compared the OPALEC one i found? I want something thats really really bright like that iNove X5 was, maybe brighter so I can use it at night and just pull it out of my purse and get some light where I need it. A lot of power issues lately. *sigh*

I second the Nite Ize. Its foolproof, and quite literally a 'drop-in'.

Bright and runs LONG. Cheap, serously it can't easily be beat.

Welcome to CPF, HIM!

"Best" is a really tricky term, as it tends to mean different things for different people. For me, "best" means small and bright but that precludes long runtime, so it's not "best" for real emergencies. Something that you need to ask yourself is: What do I want this LED replacement to do for me? Otherwise, you may be stuck with somebody else's "best" choice... :green: Best to decide what you want, and go from there.

Do you want a *bright* light? (check out the TerraLux TLE-5 Lux drop-in)
Do you want long runtime? (check out Opalec NewBeam, the Nite-Ize drop-in, or the MJLED).
Do you want a custom solution? (check out Lambda or the sammies from the Sandwich Shoppe - the latter are *my* "best", BTW).

...and those are just LED drop-ins for the miniMag. Check out www.theledmuseum.org and www.flashlightreviews.com for a lot more stock LED lights that might interest you.

Once you have all those lights and facts straight in your mind, stop by my CPF Specials thread, you'll find links there to vendors who offer discounts to CPF members (CR123's for $1, for starters, led-replacement.com for the cheapest prices, etc.!).

HeyItsMe said:

Hello everyone,

I'm new here and I'm sorry for the probably redundant question. What is the best LED conversion for the AA Maglite? I just found your community. I'm sick of it dyeing constantly and I want to take it and make it a cheap LED flashlight because it has a really well made aluminum case. But I am open to also getting a new LED flashlight that is under $30. Preferably made of aluminum with a maglite style grip, or something that is not obnoxious like bright yellows and multicolored. I just like the flat colors, usually black for discreteness. And if it won't fit into a purse without taking up all the space, forget it. A friend of mine has this thing called the iNova X5 and I loved the little thing but it uses expensive *** little camera batteries and it isn't worth buying them.

Thank you.

Kind Regards,
HeyItsMe

Click to expand...