SMJLED or TLE-5

gosh, I should have never joined this forum.
I was just a reader and decided what the heck, join.
Now I read more, and more, and want more flashlights.

I got an old minimag 2AA.
I guess these 2 LED drop ins are the most popular for good lite with decent runtime given the flashlight.

Has anyone done both and have:

1. run times for both
2. brightness for both

from all the pics, the TLE-5 looks like its brighter. if this is true, the run time info from you guys will make my decision.

thanks

P.S. sorry for all the questions everyone.
and yes I have read the dummys guide to modding the MM lights.

The MJLED/SMJLED are simple LEDs without boost circuits. They need a minimum 3 volts to run properly. No NiCads or NiMH batteries. Lambda recommends 'conditioned lithiums' for the SMJLED which increases battery costs.

For ease I'd suggest the TLE-5 as it runs from Alks/NiMH etc.
There is also the newer but slightly dimmer TLE-20 which is also good but has a PR base bulb adapter and will fit in the MinMag AAA.

Focus with both of these is limited. You'l never get a really tight beam as the LED light bed eventually moves out of the reflector sweet spot. But both are an improvement over stock mag.

SMJLED: Can't comment but I think you cut the LED leads to length and run off Lithium batteries.

Alternatively flog the old mag and get one of the new LED AA Mags when they appear. There's always something newer and better about to come out.

Cheers

I've got both and my subjective opinion is that for neither is a bad buy. Both of these LED's will provide much better light than the incandescent bulb and both are great value for the money with the winner being the SMJLED, based on cost.

Of course the SMJLED really needs conditioned Lithium AA's to be of any real benefit in either a AA or AAA Minimag models but as they will provide exceptionally long run time it isn't uneconomic to use lithiums.

If there is a downside to the SMJLED it is (IMO) that you don't see the benefit of the LED without using Lithium batteries and if they aren't easily obtainable then you are stuffed!

As I don't have the above issue of finding lithiums I guess I'd go for the SMJLED. But hey that's me, YMMV!

Doug

I have the TLE-5, SMJED, and NiteIze LED upgrades and feel the TLE-5 just isn't bright enough to justify the cost.

If you are looking for something soon I would recommend the following Ultrafire 2AA which is WAY brighter than the TLE-5 (and cheaper!).
UltraFire® 3W 2XAA Flashlight 601A - SEOUL ZLED - regulated
http://www.qualitychinagoods.com/ultrafirereg-2xaa-flashlight-601a-seoul-zled-regulated-p-433.html

If you can wait I think you should save your money and look into the redesigned 3W AA Maglites when they come out.

With so many other options from FENIX and it's clones I just wouldn't bother putting that much money into a MM to get a mediocre 1 Watt Lux light.

yeah, the ultrafires have been suggested to me b4.
Im in no hurry at all.
I have alot of alkalines. buying the lithiums around around 2.5$ each where the alkalines are around .43$ each.
I just dont want to leave this MM sitting around collecting dust.
I think Im going to wait for the newer MM LED to come out and then im sure someone will post beam profiles and runtimes of the New MM, Ultrafire, L1T/P for comparisons.


in the mean time I just want to find something to extend the runtime and brightness of this old MM.

Mr_Light said:

I have the TLE-5, SMJED, and NiteIze LED upgrades and feel the TLE-5 just isn't bright enough to justify the cost.

With so many other options from FENIX and it's clones I just wouldn't bother putting that much money into a MM to get a mediocre 1 Watt Lux light.

Click to expand...

I agree with everything Mr Light says. I also have all three replacements, and I think the TLE5 is mediocre and overpriced, with whats available now. A used Fenix or one of it's similar styled competitors(Ultrafire 602, Waion's light- https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/117245&highlight=fenix+clone,
, Civictor- http://fenix-store.com/product_info.php?products_id=76
) would be a much better choice.

As for runtime with the SMJLED from Lambda, here's what I found out about it. https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1426152&postcount=238
And that was running Ni-mH, so I'm not sure why people say you can't run them that way. Yeah they'd be brighter with lithiums, but I save those for the Fenix.

Omega Man said:

As for runtime with the SMJLED from Lambda, here's what I found out about it. https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1426152&postcount=238
And that was running Ni-mH, so I'm not sure why people say you can't run them that way. Yeah they'd be brighter with lithiums, but I save those for the Fenix.

Click to expand...

on 2xAA's...
Man, I REALLY have got to get some more of these.

Hit up CPF'er Tritium, he's the man with the Wah Wangs, compareable if not identical to the SMJLED. He just calls them by a different name.

SMJLED, better quality product all round

I've done the SMJLED mod on a few Minis for myself and a friend and we're both thrilled with them. They really breath new life into the old Minimag.

I just run plain ol' AA batts in them though and I don't even know what a "conditioned lithium" is. Can somebody clear that up for me?

What do these "conditioned" lithium batteries do for you and where can I find them?

My guess is "conditioned" just means partially used to keep the die from seeing excessive voltage. If you look at the discharge curve of lithiums in this thread they drop ~0.3V under load after a few minutes of use at 0.5A.

The SMJLED is most impressive when used in a 2AAA MiniMag; in a 2AA or 2D Mag it's mostly a runtime champion, being about the same brightness as a stock 2D (looks brighter though) for much, much longer. They're just not as bright when NiMH are used.

i went with the tle-5 option and i'm very happy with it (anything is better than the orig. bulb) .
i do however plan to get a 3W L2T and use my MM as a backup light.