IS the minimag LED Really a lux??? (i know... another thread...)

In another thread, I responded that the Mini Mag leds most likely use luxeon brand LED's. Well, after ripping apart the 2AA to do a lux swap, I have run into a problem on the arms of the lux. Just look at the picture, the main body looks like a luxeon, but the arms are very different.

Im not going to jump the gun and say that ARENT lux's, They might have been a special run of them for mag, I dont know. But ive never seen this before.

It would be nice if the lux's we use had the arms like this, maybe?

-bobby

Take a look at some older lux emitters. They have the same arms but are cut short.

Mystery Solved perhaps?
thanks

why does your pic make me think of cheese?:huh2:

thats quite interesting, i dont go around liiking at dies so I personally dont know.

how about butter?

I don't recall Mag ever claiming that the LEDs used in any of their LED Modules or the MiniMag LEDs being Luxeons in any of their marketing collateral. One person did say that he called Mag and was told by the phone agent that they were Luxeons, but something conveyed over the phone by a agent who not know the difference is hardly any kind of confirmation. Just about every other company that uses Lumileds Luxeons in their product are usually quite specific about mentioning Luxeon on the packaging; Mag does not appear to in any of their packaging.

Not that I really care, they've come up with a decent product that is usable and affordable; I think that is what is important at the end of the day.

nakahoshi said:

Im not going to jump the gun and say that ARENT lux's,

Click to expand...

Rather than proudly proclaiming their LED lights as Luxeon lights, Mag would probably prefer than Phillips-Lumiled proudly proclaim that Mag is using their Luxeons.

Regardless of their source of LED, Mag would likely prefer the LED used in their lights be called Mag LEDs. Once a part becomes a part of their assembly inventory, whether an incandescent lamp, LED, switch assembly or whatever, it's Mag.

Was there any marking on the underside of the plastic case? Cavity markings, maybe?
It certainly looks like a Luxeon product.

I doubt that Mag would use the name Lumileds in their advertising because it would allow easy comparisons with other LED flashlights. Empath is right, if they call them special MAGLEDs then nobody else can claim to make an equivalent product. Plus, they added another trademark.

Relatively speaking though, Mag is a pretty small company compared to the likes of Gillette, Energizer/Shick-Wilkinson, or Philips.

Empath said:

Rather than proudly proclaiming their LED lights as Luxeon lights, Mag would probably prefer than Phillips-Lumiled proudly proclaim that Mag is using their Luxeons.

Click to expand...

If you read the guarantee, you will see that the LED is not covered. How pitiful is that?

In the overall scheme of things, how does the 2AA MagLed compare
to any of the mag drop ins ?
For the same general investment of around $23
how does a $8 2AA mag + drop in ($15) compare at $23 ?

Also - is the 2AA MagLed the same exact physical size as the standard 2AA ?

I comapred mine to a Terralux in my 2 AA old school mag and let me tell you: "Not even close"

The new MAGLED killed it hands down(brightness alone)

ps56k said:

In the overall scheme of things, how does the 2AA MagLed compare
to any of the mag drop ins ?
For the same general investment of around $23
how does a $8 2AA mag + drop in ($15) compare at $23 ?

Also - is the 2AA MagLed the same exact physical size as the standard 2AA ?

Click to expand...

They're two different lights and wouldn't be a fair comparison. Suffice it to say, if you're looking for a brighter light, you'd be better off with the Mag made product.

The 2AA LED is a bit longer that the original MiniMag; it has a longer bezel to accommodate the longer reflector and the tailcap is also longer (don't know why.)

If you're after bang for the buck, rather than a small light with decent output, you'd do better with a 4D Mag LED from Home Depot for $29.97, but they also have the 3AA MiniMag for $19.97 if you prefer something smaller.

ps56k said:

In the overall scheme of things, how does the 2AA MagLed compare
to any of the mag drop ins ?
For the same general investment of around $23
how does a $8 2AA mag + drop in ($15) compare at $23 ?

Also - is the 2AA MagLed the same exact physical size as the standard 2AA ?

Click to expand...

Remember that the Mag is marketed to people who probably have never heard the name Luxeon. The vast majority of buyers won't care about the name of the LED manufacturer. The name Mag is all they would care about, and as mentioned, Maglite would like to keep it that way anyway.

About as pitiful as a Chinese import that has no warranty at all?

Actually, all of the warranty text was carried over from their incandescent lights. If your post is actually serious, you might want to contact Mag and find out what their warranty actually is. My guess is that they've made a bit of a faux pax in their packaging text or it got rushed out.

dda said:

If you read the guarantee, you will see that the LED is not covered. How pitiful is that?

Click to expand...

Look here:

http://www.luxeon.com/pdfs/techpaperspres/RumpSessionIII.PDF
page 4 shows a "raw" luxeon before lead trimming/forming - look familiar?

The same picture is repeated here:
http://www.luxeon.com/pdfs/techpaperspres/presentation_SAE 2004_kern.PDF
Page 4

http://www.luxeon.com/pdfs/TP41_IESNA_Buffalo_6-04.pdf
Page 30

http://www.luxeon.com/pdfs/TP42.pdf
Page 21

Looks like mag is using Luxeons with specially formed/trimmed leads. Given the volume of LEDs that mag would purchase for its lineup, it's very reasonable that they could get a special production run of custom leaded emitters from Lumileds.

I think we can stop speculating.

on the warranty issue - heck, they don't even acknowledge or list the LED products on their own webpage !

BTW - I can understand the deeper reflector length,
as I really like my SL PP 4AA - and actually read in depth about parabolic reflectors and the equations because the reflector seemed so "deep" that is was not a real parabola... but it is of course.

I posed this very same question about the Mag LED drop-in modules for their 2, 3, & 4 cell lights in this thread:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=119665

The only argument I can think of in favor of Mag using Luxeons is the obvious one of Philips having the manufacturing capacity to meet Maglite's needs. Otherwise, I would think Mag would have contracted out to a Chinese manufacturer to produce large quantities of lower-quality, and significantly cheaper, Luxeon clones with possibly significantly reduced lifetimes (relative to the quote 100,000 hours unquote claimed by Lumileds for their Lux I & III). I think this (using Lux clones) likely given the price of these 2AA & 3AA MagLED lights.

europium said:

I posed this very same question about the Mag LED drop-in modules for their 2, 3, & 4 cell lights in this thread:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=119665

The only argument I can think of in favor of Mag using Luxeons is the obvious one of Philips having the manufacturing capacity to meet Maglite's needs. Otherwise, I would think Mag would have contracted out to a Chinese manufacturer to produce large quantities of lower-quality, and significantly cheaper, Luxeon clones with possibly significantly reduced lifetimes (relative to the quote 100,000 hours unquote claimed by Lumileds for their Lux I & III). I think this (using Lux clones) likely given the price of these 2AA & 3AA MagLED lights.

Click to expand...

I have no doubt they're real luxeons. Mag is probably getting them for $1 each or less at the quantities they're purchasing.

The funky looking leads are just because they skipped the final process where they get trimmed.