SMJLED2 Minimag- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

The SMJLED for the Mini Maglite is popular so it had to continue and improve. The SMJLED2 will soon replace the original Mini Maglite 2xAA drop-in. It is brighter because of the Power Wafer active electronics. It has a new emitter for a white tint beam. The price will be in the low double-digits. It will be available exclusively at The Sandwich Shoppe soon.



The light is impressively bright. The beam a close to the output of a Lux I emitter but uses a 5mm emitter, obviously from another company. I understand the SMJLED2 is a Cree XLamp. To boost the brightness of the emitter, the Power Wafer has very small, active, electronics. The SMJLED2 has the advantage of a better run-time over the Lux I. The light still has moon mode when the batteries are drained.



We know how tough a Mini Maglite is. Make it tougher with the SMJLED2. I like the fact that the original Minimag stays intact. The Power Wafer is installed on the original Maglite switch. Then the thinner then ever before wafer is sandwiched between the body and the head of the light. But the light can be changed back to the original form easily using the spare bulb stored in the tail cap. But why would you want to change it back?

This SMJLED2 kit includes the emitter/Power Wafer and a reflector with a wider opening at the base to fit the 5mm emitter.

Watch for the exclusive, late summer, sale at The Sandwich Shoppe.

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon



ARC mania

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

What other lights can it be used in? Will there be a version for C/D Mags? What is its voltage range?

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

Sounds Good!! Thanks for the heads-up

-Chris

Questions- SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

TrueBlue said:

The beam a close to the output of a Lux I emitter but uses a 5mm emitter, obviously from another company. I understand the SMJLED2 is a Cree XLamp.

[img] http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/2644/smjled21emitteren6.jpg

Click to expand...

CREE Xlamps do not come in 5mm. They are large surface-mount package- with a slightly larger overall footprint than a Luxeon, and look like what you see here:


http://www.cree.com/products/xlamp.asp


So, are you trying to say they are CREE XLamps, or are you trying to tell me that the XLamp is a 5mm package? (since XLamps do not come in a 5mm package, and never have).

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

he means that the new smjled2 uses the cree's light emitting die .

cree create die for leds. didn't you know that?

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

chesterqw: Thank you for setting the record straight.

The new SMJLED2 is a custom made 5mm LED utilizing a 1 watt Cree die, same as in a XLamp. Dies can be purchased from many manufacturers including Lumileds.

ARC mania

NewBie said:

CREE Xlamps do not come in 5mm. They are large surface-mount package- with a slightly larger overall footprint than a Luxeon, and look like what you see here:

http://www.cree.com/products/xlamp.asp


So, are you trying to say they are CREE XLamps, or are you trying to tell me that the XLamp is a 5mm package? (since XLamps do not come in a 5mm package, and never have).

Click to expand...

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

Any idea how this compares to the 2AA magled for brightness and runtime? I haven't seen any reviews for the 2AA magled yet. What emitter does it use?

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

Very nice. Can't wait to get one. I've got a minimag with TLE-5 incoming but apparently that combo won't work so well with the Nite-Ize IQ switch that i've already received. I wonder how the SMJLED2 will fare with the IQ switch hrmm.

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

Does anyone know exactly how much brighter the SMJLED2 is compared to the SMJLED? Does the increase in brightness lessen the runtime?

I bought a couple of the SMJLED kits a few months ago and I'm wondering if the difference is worth an upgrade. TIA.

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

chesterqw said:

he means that the new smjled2 uses the cree's light emitting die .

cree create die for leds. didn't you know that?

Click to expand...

He used the term XLamp, which is a high power surface mount package.

The LED die used in the XLamp is not for sale, but the older generation die are.

However CREE does sell die for use in LEDs:
XThin® LEDs- 20mA
MegaBright® LEDs- 20mA
Generation II MegaBright LEDs- 20mA
UltraThin™ LEDs- 20mA
RazerThin® LEDs- 20mA

The power die are very distintive, as they have two levels, one large square of SiC, and the smaller square piece on top, which is die that emits light. All the others are just 20mA rated die. You will note that even the XB900 1 Watt die has substantially lower efficiencies than what is utilized in the XLamp.
XBright® Power Chip LEDs XB500- 125mA (big die for slug mount LED)
XBright® Power Chip LEDs XB900- 350mA (big die for slug mount LED)

The XB900 die datasheet can be found here:
http://www.cree.com/products/pdf/CPR3CM.00c.PDF


chesterqw, didn't you know that?


The CREE XLamp is *NOT* what is in those pictures he posted.

CREE doesn't make 5mm LEDs. However, CREE is one of the leading manufacturers for InGaN LED die, which can be utilized in a 5mm LED.

That is why I asked him the question, to give him an opportunity to clarify his error, and understand what his mistake was.

One of the difficulties of using a 1 Watt die, like the XB900 is that you have to mount them on special thin high thermal conductivity ceramic, or on an aluminum or copper slug, in order to properly remove the heat from the die- so you don't impact the die efficiency due to the die getting too hot. Typical 5mm packages do not provide a big massive slug, or a large area high thermal conductivity ceramic in order to transfer the heat from the die to an external heatsink. A typical 5mm package will have about 300 C/W thermal resistance, which would mean the die would be up at 300C, with 1 watt input, which leads to failure of the die, or rapid depreciation in lumen output at the least. There have been a few "fat-lead" 5mm LEDs, but they do not provide adequate heatsinking to ensure efficiency and a decent lifetime.


This is what the XLamp XR package looks like:

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

DAMN! Just when I think I have it covered....something new! If it is from the Sandwich Shoppe, it will be a good value for the $$. My grandkids will love the original incarnation. Waiting...waiting.

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon



Thank you, Chesterqwm for your clarification. And thank you Newbie for your interest.

I don't have fancy machines to test like many other members do. I do have a lux meter and it is calibrated. I placed the original and version 2 of the SMJLED on the lux meter dome and took readings. Version 2 is 64% brighter. It doesn't sound like much but it is very noticeable. The beam tint difference could be throwing off the lux meter. Perhaps my meter is more sensitive to blue light. Visually, the SMJLED2 is much brighter with a very white tint. It is a stark white beam. Other people have tried the drop-in and they think it is much brighter. They say twice as bright.

I'll see about doing a run time test later. I retired my run time test equipment long ago and boxed it away. There are so many testers at CPF that I didn't see a need to use my equipment. I like my old way of testing- go out and play with the light and don't fixate on numbers. If the light ran as long as I needed it and it stayed bright then I was happy. Of course, making the light brighter and longer running is fun too.


How well does the SMJLED2 work in real life? I'm having fun with the old friend, the Mini Maglite, and the new friend, the SMJLED2 drop-in. We all know that numbers do not the tell everything. I took the SMJLED2 light and the FL1P light for my nightly walk around the neighborhood. Both lights are very close in brightness and tint. At the end of the walk the SMJLED2 was still bright and the FL1P was visually at 75% brightness. The SMJLED2 run time was good for me.

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

TrueBlue said:

Thank you, Chesterqwm for your clarification. And thank you Newbie for your interest.

I don't have fancy machines to test like many other members do. I do have a lux meter and it is calibrated. I placed the original and version 2 of the SMJLED on the lux meter dome and took readings. Version 2 is 64% brighter.

Click to expand...

Curious, since you put it in and measured it, what was the lux at 1 meter?

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

NewBie said:

Curious, since you put it in and measured it, what was the lux at 1 meter?

Click to expand...

Adequate.

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

Nice work!

Okay, now what's in the can? DC-DC boost? Boost-buck? Will it drive the LED (as well as the SMJLED was at 3V) from 1.2V? Is it small enough to fit in an Arc? How big is the disc?

I'm still looking at modding that Matterhorn, but if this will fit inside the head, you've just made my life a bunch easier.

Thanks,
Kevin

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

NewBie said:

Curious, since you put it in and measured it, what was the lux at 1 meter?

Click to expand...

TrueBlue said:

Adequate.

Click to expand...

Any reason you have no lux numbers, especially since you have the equipment?

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

the same reason you tend to follow ARC Mania/Trueblue around and trash there threads. because it's his choice. either to help or hinder.

doug

NewBie said:

Any reason you have no lux numbers, especially since you have the equipment?

Click to expand...

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

Ahhh, those SMJLED2's are gonna be great. Any word on the Soli drop in's?

Re: SMJLED2- New, Better, Brighter, Cheap, and Soon

Just when I thought I had graduated from the SMJLED!

The SMJLED2 addresses the one minor issue I had with the original, the cool tint. The original's brightness and runtime were more than adequate, and continue to impress each time I use them.

The last two mods I did with the originals, an AA Mag and a PT Blast, were gifts to a customer/friend who is the head of the physics dept. at the University of Toledo, and whose specialty is solar cells. It turns out he is quite knowledgeable about LEDs in a reverse sort of way, and invited me to be a guest lecturer in his course when he covers LEDs, LOL! He was very impressed with them, especially the runtime as his hobby is backpacking.

I don't need any lumen numbers which would be relative anyway, 64% brighter than the original SMJLED says it all.

And no more trimming/bending legs, or drilling reflectors!

Now I'll have to get more hosts for these bad boys, anyone know a good sale on AA Mags? Come to think of it, I have a chopped CR2 miniMag just waiting for one of these. Bring 'em on!