Mag-num Star Xenon Lamps - worth it?

WillJitsu

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I saw on maglite.com that you can buy the Mag-num Star Xenon Lamps for the 2 D-cell Maglite and it's supposed to be 100% brighter.

Is this lamp a lot better than the one that comes with it?
 

ginaz

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they are good bulbs. i like to run them with aa's and slightly overdriven. maybe look at a malkoff led dropin?
 

WillJitsu

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they are good bulbs. i like to run them with aa's and slightly overdriven. maybe look at a malkoff led dropin?
Well can I get some information about purchasing the malkoff led dropin?
 

WillJitsu

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If I purchase this and install it in my 2 D-cell Maglite, will it have the same rings when creating a wider beam?

If so, is there a way to fix that so it is a solid circle of light?
 

Gunner12

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It will still have the rings. It's the reflector that causes the rings and not the light emitter. It will give you much more output though.

Check this thread if you are looking for Maglite drop-ins/mods. None of them will make the light better defocused though, the rings are caused by the light source not at the focal point of the reflector.

:welcome:
 

Helstar

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I use the Xenon, bulbs. It is a nice cheap upgrade. I like the brighter white light. The hot spot is smaller and much tighter. The spill is not as nice. And for some reason when you move the light to fast it gives the appearance on the wall of flickering. It is NOT actually flickering as I have tested it time and time again. Bit on certain color wall running over like ledges or the outside of frames you notice it. Run time appears longer as well, not like an LED upgrade. But for three dollars, I think it is a nice choice. I really think these bulbs should be stock and not an upgrade.
I have a 3 D that is running this bulb. I am going to switch out the lens and that will be all for this light. I am going to do the Terrlux upgrade with lens and reflector and possibly batteries to my one of my other 3D mags. The other D celss I am not sure what I am going to do with them. I am more into the smaller lights.
I hope this help. If you want a cheap, easy, noticeable upgrade for less then 5 bucks, I would say that the Xenon is the way to go.
 

PCC

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I have the Xenon bulb in my old 2D Mag and I have the MagLED in my newer 2D Mag. The Xenon bulb is roughly the same brightness as the MagLED module on fresh batteries. After the batteries have been used for a while the Xenon bulb is less bright unless you compare the MagLED after it has been on for more than 15 minutes because the thermal protection drops the output due to the LED heating up. The LED drains the batteries down a lot further than the Xenon bulb does, though, and you will get roughly three to four times more usage from a set of fresh batteries than the Xenon bulb does.
 
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Hooked on Fenix

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They are worth it. In my experience, they provide about the same runtime and are 50% brighter than the krypton bulb. Nowadays, I use the Magleds though. It's more fun and useful to put these bulbs in smaller flashlights with more useful beams. I like using the 4D Xenon bulb in a 4AA Princeton Tec Tec 40 flashlight run on NiMH batteries.
 

Mr Happy

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Wouldn't the 3D be a better option for this setup?
I think the 3D xenon bulb would be in instaflash territory when driven by 4 NiMH. It's a 3.6 V bulb that is already running a very high filament temperature. Giving it the 4.8 V or so from 4 cells is likely to push it over the edge.

The 3D krypton bulb might survive better but it would still have a shortened life.
 

ZMZ67

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I have tried overdriving the 3D Xenon with four NiMH AAs and it instaflashed.The 3D Krypton can be overdriven but I don't think it is any better than a 4D Xenon.The 4D Xenon provides a better quality beam in my PT40 than the 3D Krypton.
 
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lctorana

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When I want to overdrive, I go halogen.

For 4 NiCad or NiMH cells, try the Philips HPR53.

It's 4V, so has a little higher design voltage than most 3-cell bulbs, and overdrives beautifully on 4 cells.
 

defloyd77

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I think the 3D xenon bulb would be in instaflash territory when driven by 4 NiMH. It's a 3.6 V bulb that is already running a very high filament temperature. Giving it the 4.8 V or so from 4 cells is likely to push it over the edge.

The 3D krypton bulb might survive better but it would still have a shortened life.

3D would be 4.5v, not too far from 4.8 for 4 NiMH.
 

Mr Happy

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3D would be 4.5v, not too far from 4.8 for 4 NiMH.
Your wishful thinking in the face of evidence to the contrary is endearing, but two posters after me have confirmed what I said about instaflashing.

I will repeat for a second time that a 3D bulb is designed for 3.6 V, give or take the odd 0.1 V. Here is just one example to illustrate.
 

ginaz

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i have not had any probs running the 3d bulb on 4 aa nimh.
 

defloyd77

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I have read many other users saying they use 3 cell xenon bulbs in 4 cell applications, (perhaps not the Mag-num?) so I assume they make them so they're already overdriven then?
 

ZMZ67

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I had limited success overdriving the 3D Xenon with alkalines but I believe those batteries were somewhat depleted.Additional attempts at overdriving the 3D Xenon with 4AAs(alkaline and NiMH) have resulted in instafash.You may get lucky sometimes but it is too unreliable for practical use IMO.
 
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