replacement bulbs?

I have a couple of projects I was thinking of and would like to get some input.

1. I have a 3D mag-light and was considering replacing the bulb with a 3-white LED PR type bulb. my question is how will the light output be affected? I've read that the spread will be much more even but will not throwout very far. Is this configuration useable for outdoor use or only close quarters.

2. I have a 4D Fuji head lamp that I modified to run off of 6V lead-acid sealed rechargeable batteries (4AH or 7AH). The bulb is a 6V Eveready Halogen. Even with the halogen there is not much of a voltage drop on fresh a fresh battery (6.3v to 6.5v). The output is very, very hot with a spot that will highlight objects 1/2 mile away (dark night). I wanted to get a broader beam that would still throw far and longer runtime. I get around 4 hours with the 4AH. Would a LED work for this situation without too much of a reduction in output? I was also concerned about the high voltage.

Thanks for any info.
Craig

I had the 3 white LED and 3D Mag-Lite combo. It's not worth it. I don't know if it was just my light or a design problem. But it seemed to be erratic. The bulb would flicker and sometimes not turn on. Using an Energizer 3D light fixed it. So I think there's something about the Mag-Lite switch my LED bulb didn't like. The Mag-Lite works flawlessly with a Xenon Star now. I gave the LED to a BF member.

It wasn't very bright and it looked better without the reflector. But it ran forever. I never could get a continuous run-time I'd always give up around 100 hours and shut it off or someone else shut it off for me.

I recommend incandescent bulbs for the Mag-lite. And ready-made LED flashlights like the Lightwave 2000 or Trek 7.

I am getting a bug to try it again though. I'll get another red and green one and see if they'll survive 4AA use.

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"A knifeless man is a lifeless man"
-Nordic proverb

[This message has been edited by DavidW (edited 09-02-2000).]

I have a 2 led PR base lamp in my 3 C cell mag that is just a bit dimmer than the lightwave 2000. I would guess about 300 hours burn time. Except for the long battery life, I would carry a lightwave 2000 instead. You also can't focus the LED's in a mag.

Brock

LED Corp makes a PR base LED lamp that is supposed to be useable with reflectors. Intended for the Maglite 3 cells (it needs 3 cells). They also have a complete light using 4 AA cells based on the Dorcy Boss 4AA flashlight. Reported to produce a very tight beam brighter than that of the PAL Gold on Hi! Any one out there know how the LED is made useable with reflectors??

Welcome phyhsuts!

(quote)
The unique feature of this LED bulb is its ability to make use of your existing flashlight's reflector - something that an ordinary LED just cannot do.
The dome (top) of the LED is ground in a patent pending process to allow this. An example of this new technology is found in the Turtlelite, also made by LEDCORP.
(unquote)

Information taken out without permission from Craig Johnson's website;

http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/pr1.htm

Please check Craig's site out for more information and review about LEDCORP Replacement PR Bulb.

Here's another excellent site with reviews of LED flashlights.

http://www.uwgb.edu/nevermab/led.htm

Enjoy!!


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2d_edge

[This message has been edited by 2d_edge (edited 09-03-2000).]

I am a regular visiter of Craig's site as well as your LED light review site since I discovered them early this year. By the way, Dorcy's site (www.dorcy.com) shows two LED flashlights under "what's new". One is an exact copy of LED Corp's Turtlelite (as reviewed by Craig) and the other is an Aluminium (presumed 3 D cell) flashlight with a LED bulb. LED Corp's PR base LED bulb springs to mind. Could Dorcy have entered into an agreement to market LED Corp's LED technology?

Xenon Star for a Mag?! Are theses much brighter than the bulbs that come with the Mags?

Is the horible light pattern that Mags have a result of the reflector?

What is a BF member? BF?

Thanks.

Doug

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by DavidW:
I had the 3 white LED and 3D Mag-Lite combo. It's not worth it. I don't know if it was just my light or a design problem. But it seemed to be erratic. The bulb would flicker and sometimes not turn on. Using an Energizer 3D light fixed it. So I think there's something about the Mag-Lite switch my LED bulb didn't like. The Mag-Lite works flawlessly with a Xenon Star now. I gave the LED to a BF member.

It wasn't very bright and it looked better without the reflector. But it ran forever. I never could get a continuous run-time I'd always give up around 100 hours and shut it off or someone else shut it off for me.

I recommend incandescent bulbs for the Mag-lite. And ready-made LED flashlights like the Lightwave 2000 or Trek 7.

I am getting a bug to try it again though. I'll get another red and green one and see if they'll survive 4AA use.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

BF= www.bladeforums.com

The xenon stars are much brighter than the stock Maglite bulb.

It's that big hole in the reflector that causes the dark spots and rings. A good filament can cover up most of that. I tried a bulb that had the filament going up and down instead of side to side. It was a much better beam. But it was a vacuum bulb and didn't last long.

------------------
"A knifeless man is a lifeless man"
-Nordic proverb

Ok, where can I get a Xenon Star from? Thanks.

Doug


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by DavidW:
I had the 3 white LED and 3D Mag-Lite combo. It's not worth it. I don't know if it was just my light or a design problem. But it seemed to be erratic. The bulb would flicker and sometimes not turn on. Using an Energizer 3D light fixed it. So I think there's something about the Mag-Lite switch my LED bulb didn't like. The Mag-Lite works flawlessly with a Xenon Star now. I gave the LED to a BF member.

It wasn't very bright and it looked better without the reflector. But it ran forever. I never could get a continuous run-time I'd always give up around 100 hours and shut it off or someone else shut it off for me.

I recommend incandescent bulbs for the Mag-lite. And ready-made LED flashlights like the Lightwave 2000 or Trek 7.

I am getting a bug to try it again though. I'll get another red and green one and see if they'll survive 4AA use.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I bought a LED Corp PR-3 bulb unit and I must say I was disappointed in its power. While it can focus quite nicely, it's practically useless unless used in a tight beam- it's just too weak otherwise. Plus, it gets a major "black hole" in the center when you spread the beam. On the plus side, it draws only about 50 milliamps, isn't too expensive, is easy to install, and does work fairly well when focused tightly. I found it nearly useless for close-up work. In a big torch like the 3-D, you expect a lot of power to justify lugging that much weight around. This bulb would make more sense in a smaller 3-AA body.
chet

Doug, give the people at www.carleylamps.com a call.

------------------
"A knifeless man is a lifeless man"
-Nordic proverb