MiniMag LED easy mod

I decided to mod my Minimag LED and it could not have been easier. The LED in the light pulls out. It is not soldered. I simply bent the leads of a P4 and pushed it into the slots of the minimag after putting some heat sink compound under the led. It doubled the output. The only tools necessary were needle nose pliers.
Simple quick mod. Just make sure you have the cathode in the right slot or the light will not come on.

I am surprised this is not a more popular mod

I would love to see a p7 minimag led

dd61999 said:

I am surprised this is not a more popular mod

I would love to see a p7 minimag led

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P7 is not near the same footprint as a P4, and would not be any brighter than P4 (current is fixed by the light). It also needs a massive heatsink.

Marduke said:

P7 is not near the same footprint as a P4, and would not be any brighter than P4 (current is fixed by the light). It also needs a massive heatsink.

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There goes that one.

I am still surprised the minimagled is not a more popular mod, due to the ease of removing and adding LED

dd61999 said:

There goes that one.

I am still surprised the minimagled is not a more popular mod, due to the ease of removing and adding LED

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It's not very popular for several reasons.
1) There is no good heatsinking

2) Mag thermally throttles the LED after 10-15 minutes, cutting the output by half again (see #1)

3) The MiniMagLED switch has proven to be rather unreliable

For the price of the Mag, and the SSC, you can easily buy a much brighter, more reliable light from a different manufacturer.

+1 what Marduke said. Too many issues with the Mini MagLED. The 2AA suffers "sudden dimming" due to run down batteries. Apparently the 2AA MMagLED drops right out of regulation very quickly, leaving you in the dark. Amazing M*g even bought such a product with a plain outright dangerous "fade out" to market. Your walking along in the pitch black and without warning the light fades to something so dim it's useless. Way to go M*g.

The Jr LED (C4 Version) by streamlight is a great 2 AA LED light, and it has a perfect focus every time you turn it on. It uses a cree P4 (I believe). I did this mod a while back and have found that yes the light out put does double, but it does not really stay that much brighter due to the throttle down.

dd61999 said:

There goes that one.

I am still surprised the minimagled is not a more popular mod, due to the ease of removing and adding LED

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not just the minimagLED, but MagLEDs aren't usually potted.
Whats more? mag drivers have high losses and no heatsink for either the driver or the LED.
using contact slots over a good solder joint is asking for intermittent contact...especially when the contacts oxidize over time:sick2:

the 2AA minimagLEDs don't have a moon-mode, I forgot what the 3AA had, whatever it was it caused me to stop using it almost immediately:candle:

Which P4 was it? Something from Deal Extreme? (this pic is one from their site, about 6 bucks). Doesn't look like the tabs would line up though, since they're offset.

Cydonia said:

+1 what Marduke said. Too many issues with the Mini MagLED. The 2AA suffers "sudden dimming" due to run down batteries. Apparently the 2AA MMagLED drops right out of regulation very quickly, leaving you in the dark. Amazing M*g even bought such a product with a plain outright dangerous "fade out" to market. Your walking along in the pitch black and without warning the light fades to something so dim it's useless. Way to go M*g.

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Lots of lights have a cliff like drop off. There's nothing wrong with it. I rather like dead flat regulation.

Stress_Test said:

Which P4 was it? Something from Deal Extreme? (this pic is one from their site, about 6 bucks). Doesn't look like the tabs would line up though, since they're offset.

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That's the one. There is a thread already about swapping it in here. I would advise either making the wider tabs or re-using the ones from the Luxeon LEDs and soldering them on as done in that thread.

Stereodude said:

Lots of lights have a cliff like drop off. There's nothing wrong with it. I rather like dead flat regulation.

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And you WILL be carrying a backup light anyway, RIGHT??

Stereodude said:

Lots of lights have a cliff like drop off. There's nothing wrong with it. I rather like dead flat regulation.

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dead flat regulation has nothing to do with the lack of moon-mode, its good that theres flat regulation, but its better with a direct-drive mode

Marduke said:

3) The MiniMagLED switch has proven to be rather unreliable

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Which is sad, considering how much money they want for them ($37 up here).
Mine sits on my computer desk most of the time...every time I turn it on the bloody thing flickers. Because of that I hardly ever use it. Glad I didn't pay full price for it.

Quite honestly, I find my regular minimags with the 1W Nite Ize drop-in to be more reliable and usable than the actual MiniMagLED.

Illum_the_nation said:

the 2AA minimagLEDs don't have a moon-mode, I forgot what the 3AA had...

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Correct, the 2AA MM LED goes from full blast on to completely off in a second or two, with no moon mode...

OTOH, the 3AA MM LED will keep on shining, not blinking out suddenly. Its actually quite the battery drainer.

I don't understand why anyone knowledgeable would use a stock Maglite. The uneducated are drawn in by the marketing, but anyone who frequents this place really ought to know better.

Fallingwater said:

I don't understand why anyone knowledgeable would buy a Maglite. The uneducated are drawn in by the marketing, but anyone who frequents this place really ought to know better.

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Understandable statement.

The larger C and D cell Mags make nice, long-running hosts for mods, as well as impromptu weapons...

As far as the MM LEDs:

I bought one of each AA LED MM when they first arrived in the market (Aug. '06), just to see what Mag had cooked up.

I bought 4 more 2 AA MM LEDs about a year later when a local retailer clearanced the lights at $10 each.

I have since given most away to non-flashoholic friends and relatives; and they are absolutely thrilled with them, having never seen an "elly-dee" flashlight... :laughing:

Fallingwater said:

I don't understand why anyone knowledgeable would buy a Maglite. The uneducated are drawn in by the marketing, but anyone who frequents this place really ought to know better.

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who says when we buy mags we have to use them as mags? :nana:
think wolf in sheep's clothing..no? hint? mag623:naughty:

You're right, I edited the previous post.

Doh!. The mod I ment was that I took a SSC P4 LED and did an emitter swap on my Mini Mag LED. The Jr LED (C4) is another story. Although I would mention that the SSC P4 is a good emitter to swap into the original Jr Luxeon, but thats a subject for another thread.