ArcMania SMJLED bulb -- nice in 2D Maglite

You've got an old venerable Maglite that is now wimpy compared to those super bright LED lights that now parade in your arsenal. So, what to do with that obsolete Maglite?

Well, investing in a super high powered (and pricey) drop-in has been embraced by a number of people on CPF, but some of us would rather put that money towards a new light in a more appealing form factor. Still, it would be a shame to let the Maglite just gather dust or get tossed into the tag sale heap.

Well, for $6.99 you can get the ArcMania SMJLED bulb (LightHound). It REALLY does improve the light output. Yep, it's not going to win a contest, but in my book it makes the light usable. The focus is actually not all that bad, making the spot and corona adjustable for your purposes. Plus, it's a low power consumption LED... I prefer to look at the Maglite as a secondary emergency backup. A bedside club. If needed, it'll sip oh so slowly on those big D power cells, giving you decent light for a very long period of time. Plus, if you need to clobber someone, you've got a pretty decent metal club.

Anyway, no doubt some folks here already know about this, but I thought I'd share another testimony in case there's anyone else that might see the merit in this very inexpensive but worthwhile upgrade. My advice: wait until you've got a few things to order from LightHound, then just add this nice little item to your order. It's a no-brainer in my book.

Re: ArcMania SMJLED bulb -- nice in 3D Maglite

My only problem is that there used to be a better version that is no longer in production that was brighter and more efficient. In my tests, the 4-die version lasted 13 days (still producing light) from two D cells that read .08 volts each. It was an amazing upgrade for any PR based light that produced a whiter (less green *slightly more blue*) brighter light over a longer time and used more of the battery. I am still very fond of the modules that I have and will not be giving them up any time soon.

Re: ArcMania SMJLED bulb -- nice in 3D Maglite

Hope you're not running it on 3 cells in your 3D Mag, as it's only designed for 2. If you continue to run it on 3, you run a high risk of frying it.

Re: ArcMania SMJLED bulb -- nice in 3D Maglite

I am a huge fan of the smjled in my minimags, they get used everynight

How is the throw in the d cell maglite with the pr smjled can it reach over 200-300 feet?

Re: ArcMania SMJLED bulb -- nice in 3D Maglite

dd61999 said:

I am a huge fan of the smjled in my minimags, they get used everynight

How is the throw in the d cell maglite with the pr smjled can it reach over 200-300 feet?

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HUH??? Isn't the smjled a little 5mm led?

I'd be afraid my batteries would go bad before they were drained from that if it's a 3 cell D.

Re: ArcMania SMJLED bulb -- nice in 3D Maglite

carbine15 said:

My only problem is that there used to be a better version that is no longer in production that was brighter and more efficient. In my tests, the 4-die version lasted 13 days (still producing light) from two D cells that read .08 volts each. It was an amazing upgrade for any PR based light that produced a whiter (less green *slightly more blue*) brighter light over a longer time and used more of the battery. I am still very fond of the modules that I have and will not be giving them up any time soon.

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Interesting--what was this version, who sold it, and why was it discontinued?

Marduke said:

Hope you're not running it on 3 cells in your 3D Mag, as it's only designed for 2. If you continue to run it on 3, you run a high risk of frying it.

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You're right--good point; LightHound does indeed say 2C or 2D. I ran mine for about 5 minutes on 3D cells and it was fine, but I know that the batteries I was using were about 50% discharged. If I keep 1 discharged D cell around and use it with a set of 2 fresh D cells, would that avoid any burn-out problems?

dd61999 said:

How is the throw in the d cell maglite with the pr smjled can it reach over 200-300 feet?

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It seems better than the incandescent bulb it comes with. I doubt it 'reaches' 200 feet. Can it be seen 200-300 feet away? Yes. But I've found these lights with the incandescent bulb are usable up to about 75 feet... beyond that they aren't bright enough to do much. If you pop in one of those monster 3x Cree setups, you'd probably hit 300 feet nicely.

Re: ArcMania SMJLED bulb -- nice in 3D Maglite

xevious said:

Interesting--what was this version, who sold it, and why was it discontinued?

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the smjled2, the sandwich shop still carries it. It is about 4 lumens more powerful.

Re: ArcMania SMJLED bulb -- nice in 3D Maglite

xevious said:

You're right--good point; LightHound does indeed say 2C or 2D. I ran mine for about 5 minutes on 3D cells and it was fine, but I know that the batteries I was using were about 50% discharged. If I keep 1 discharged D cell around and use it with a set of 2 fresh D cells, would that avoid any burn-out problems?

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Never, NEVER use a dead cell as a spacer. If you want to use your 3D Mag with the SMJLED, you'll need to fashion a spacer of some sort.

Re: ArcMania SMJLED bulb -- nice in 3D Maglite

xevious said:

Interesting--what was this version, who sold it, and why was it discontinued?

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read this thread. (or just look at the pictures)
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/178210&highlight=smjled

Thanks for the link... yes, LightHound is selling the 2-cell SMJLED2, not the old 4-die SMJLED. They just don't title it as "SMJLED2". Yeah, it sounds like the 4-die was a little weaker but lasted a lot longer. Still, for the frequency of use (I don't expect anyone using the Maglite with this LED drop-in as a primary light), the SMJLED2 is worthwhile.

Yes, there are other improvements that can be made, but then you start encroaching on the cost of buying a completely new light with superior emitter (e.g. from KaiDomain or DealExtreme). The whole point I was trying to make is an inexpensive revival of the Maglite to usable brightness.

I did a little investigating and there doesn't seem to be anyone making a battery spacer of size C or D. So it looks like I'll have to fashion my own, maybe using the AAA to AA converter from KaiDomain as a core.

Did a quick Google search and it looks like www.flash-lights.com is carrying dummy C and D cells. I have never purchased anything from them myself but you could probably search CPF and find someone who has.

Best of luck

Is the Cree-PR bulb that Batterystation is selling the same or different?

jabajet said:

Is the Cree-PR bulb that Batterystation is selling the same or different?

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It's different. It uses a 1 watt Cree and looks very similar to the old Lunaleds WLB-01. The SMJLED is a half watt and lower led.

LumenHound said:

It's different. It uses a 1 watt Cree and looks very similar to the old Lunaleds WLB-01. The SMJLED is a half watt and lower led.

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so I take it the Cree is better/brighter?

definitely brighter, but 'better' is a more subjective term. This smjled will last a LOT longer than the cree drop-in. It really depends on the intended usage as to what is 'better'.

xevious said:

LightHound is selling the 2-cell SMJLED2, not the old 4-die SMJLED. They just don't title it as "SMJLED2". Yeah, it sounds like the 4-die was a little weaker but lasted a lot longer. Still, for the frequency of use (I don't expect anyone using the Maglite with this LED drop-in as a primary light), the SMJLED2 is worthwhile.

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are you sure? The last batch I got from him where the 4 die smjled. Not that its a big deal since we are only talking a few lumens

Afraid-of-the-dark said:

Did a quick Google search and it looks like www.flash-lights.com is carrying dummy C and D cells. I have never purchased anything from them myself but you could probably search CPF and find someone who has.

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Thanks for linking that. I was searching on "spacer" and "adapter", not "dummy"--no wonder why I didn't find it.

dd61999 said:

are you sure? The last batch I got from him where the 4 die smjled. Not that its a big deal since we are only talking a few lumens

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Yep, I checked the bulb--imprinted on the side of it is "2 cell". How long ago did you get your 4-die from LightHound?

xevious said:

Yep, I checked the bulb--imprinted on the side of it is "2 cell". How long ago did you get your 4-die from LightHound?

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mine says the same thing, just look at the led you can see if it is a 4 die or not

dd61999 said:

mine says the same thing, just look at the led you can see if it is a 4 die or not

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OK... I don't know what the physical difference is between the two. I just took a look at a CPF sale by "modern_major_general" back in Feb '07, and he said he was selling the old 4-die version... In the images he provided, it looks like mine. However, the review thread shows the same design but doesn't say its the 4-die version.

Mine is the one on the left:


LightHound hosted image:

I bought 2 of these from LightHound and really like them. They are definitely brighter than the stock bulb by quite a bit and run a LONG TIME. One is in a 2D and one is in a AA light. Very reliable and bright enough for most inside tasks. Recommended.