oblong hotspot on mini mags

I have 4 aa mini mags and one aaa mini mag.
I have noticed that the hotspot on each of these
Have been an ugly oblong blotch. I really like mini mags
and the color temp they have, but that hotspot bothers me.
I did some looking and I noticed that the bulb itself was crooked.
I don't mean that it was crooked in the bipin socket, but the glass part was made crooked/warped.
Also, I have noticed that all but one had some wiggle in the head when turned on.
The other 4 are recent (2 years old or less) but the good one is from Christmas 2006. It had a good
tight head until I sent it off to be fixed. I told them I liked the tightness of the head and to leave
it like that. They just about rebuilt it, but they put a thinner o-ring on it where the head screws onto the body. The old one was thicker. Now it is loose like the others and
the LED (the one from Britian--100 lumen) that I put in it has an oblong hotspot also. I like leds, but the government is pushing them while making incans obsolete.
What is yall's opinion on this?

I think the oval beam shape has more to do with the shape of the filament, rather than the shape or uniformity of the glass.
Unlike LEDS which can have square or even round phosphors that can easily give very symmetrical beams when paired with reflectors, filaments tend to have elongated profiles because that's just what they are: elongated pieces of metal which glow when current passes through them.

I find that the xenon bulbs which have short filaments(compared to the stock krypton) have overall better beam profiles. The tungsten coils on them seem to be more compressed so they have shorter lengths instead of the loose coils on the krypton, even if they have roughly the same number of coils.

I have also learned that a quick blast of clear spray paint onto the reflector to texture/stipple it works wonders for cleaning up the beam, giving less throw but a much better looking and softer beam.

As for the head, I replaced the Oring on mine with a thicker one which tightened up operation considerably. The wiggle was still present but I could live with that.

That beam pattern characteristic is fondly referred to on CPF as a cornflake beam pattern hot spot, it is a feature. Simply embrace it, own it, don't fight it.

I kinda thought also that they were hopeless and I just
needed to accept them the way they are, and I do enjoy them--
it's just that since last week when I got my 2aaa mini mag that
I was able to fix it better. I got it to see if it had a better beam
pattern than the 2aa models and was very disappointed to see that it was
the same. I started to throw it out the window riding down the highway, but
when I was able I took off the head and the glass bulb was really warped. I
bent it back till it seemed kinda straighter when I turned the flashlight body
and when I put the head back on I got a much better pattern--not perfect, but better.
Maybe that isn't the case on all of them--I haven't tried real hard on the 2aa's yet, but
last week something had to give on that most recent purchase. It almost turned me off to mags
and I have more of that brand than any other flashlight.

Don't get me wrong fellows, I do respect yall's opinion. I just wanted to share my theory with
the forum based on what I discovered and see if anyone else did any tinkering also. Seems like
on the 2d and 6d the pr based bulbs vary from bulb to bulb and found 1 or 2 aftermarker pr based
bulbs to be bent in reference to the glass in the pr base. I have no experience with those new fangled
bipin bulbs in the bigger flashlights, but that first maglite of mine--a 2d (late 90s) with 2 white star krypton bulbs
was impressive until I had to buy replacments for it. Rayovacs at walmart--those bulbs were dim, but were cheaper
and lasted longer. Should have mail ordered the quality bulbs from mag, but they were expensive. Guess you get what
you pay for.

I think you'll be happy with the bipin replacements for the bigger Mags. Those generally give better beam patterns owing to the filament shape and arrangement, and you can tweak their position in the reflector a bit by bending the lamp legs(i.e. bend while installed in the light, just like the Minimags). You'll find a position where it will give a very tight, even spot.

greenpondmike said:

Don't get me wrong fellows, I do respect yall's opinion. I just wanted to share my theory with
the forum based on what I discovered and see if anyone else did any tinkering also. Seems like
on the 2d and 6d the pr based bulbs vary from bulb to bulb and found 1 or 2 aftermarker pr based
bulbs to be bent in reference to the glass in the pr base. I have no experience with those new fangled
bipin bulbs in the bigger flashlights, but that first maglite of mine--a 2d (late 90s) with 2 white star krypton bulbs
was impressive until I had to buy replacments for it. Rayovacs at walmart--those bulbs were dim, but were cheaper
and lasted longer. Should have mail ordered the quality bulbs from mag, but they were expensive. Guess you get what
you pay for.

Click to expand...

In my experience the cheap bulbs suck, Mag PR based kryptons are a little better, but still not all that good. I don't know why mag went to the bi pin xenons/bulb holders, as I have never had luck with them, they seem to be designed to prevent good focus, though they are brighter and whiter than the kryptons. The ones to get, if you can find them, are the old Mag PR based Xenon bulbs - getting hard to find but worth the effort! If you really want to get your 2D Mag tho shine, get a couple of 3 AA to D cell SERIES adapters that triple the Voltage and run a 5 or 6 cell Mag PR xenon on Eneloops, basically gives your 2D the output of a 6D Mag.

Yes, there are soo many options out there. I guess since I now have several 2ds I can try
different things if the good Lord is willing and I have the money. I do like my 6d mag--it's just so
big, but it will light up and define a pile of dirt way off in the distance that my ml50 (611 lumens)
also lights up, but doesn't define well--like it's almost unseen. Seems like the mound is grayish with the
ml50, but reddish with the 6d. Would be nice to have that power in a 2d modified.

The nasty artifacts are mainly due to the mirror finish reflector. If the artifacts are really bothersome, look into reflector "Sputtering" (I think that's how it's spelled).

It's a great way to get a nice smooth beam, although it will kill the throw of the light.

Yeah, I don't want to kill the throw. The rings and donut doesn't bother me at all. It takes me back
to time when I was younger-- when I would stay up till 4:30am working on wife's car because I enjoyed it
even though I had to get some sleep and be at work by 8am. Back then, early 90s a flashlight was just a tool and I used whatever I
had-dorcy 2d, rayovac 2d and 2c, rayovac roughneck 2aa and 2d and 2d/2c industrial rayovac. Couldn't justify spending $20 for one of those fancy maglites, but after my first wife died
I indulged myself with a 2d maglite. I just want the hotspot to be kinda roundish--shouldn't be that hard for mag to accoumplish on a new mini mag, but I still like them and I guess accept what can be done
and not worry about what can't. Maybe I need to pray for the ability to let well enough alone.

A company called flashlight lens dot coming has lenses called accrylite. It is a lightly focused ultraclear accrylic lens that really cleans up a beam while still allowing about 97% of original output.

Check 'me out.

I have 3 lenses that came in this month from flashlightlens.com, but I don't know if
that's what they are. What I ordered was polycarbinate that was next to the best they had. If that doesn't satisfy me I will try for the better one or go glass.
That's a nice looking maglite bykfixer.

That is an ML25. I sorta hot wired the IT version with 2-18500's and a 4 cell bulb. The beam was such that I tried these lenses and really liked them. So I used one on the LT version in the photo.

I swapped bezels from a red IT and the one in the photo for a cool retro-ish look.

Bykfixer, I have the LT 3c version of that light. They put out well and they have good throw.
Most of all--that 18 hour battery life. I like the IT version also and have read your reviews of
both versions. On my last post I mentioned that I had gotten some polycarbonate lenses from flashlightlens.com--
I was mistaken. What I have is 3 of their hardcoat acrylic lenses and 3 more of the same (I think) shipped with my
mag reflectors from crimescenetools.com, so I think I have them coming out of my ears lol.

I outfitted my newer Maglites with those. The glass is so thick that it leaves a big gap between the bezel and head.

If you set the factory mag reflector next to your new one you will see that yeah, it's noticeably clearer.

I think it's a mini mag thing. Mine does the same and I noticed it the first time I ever used one. I believe the incan solitare I have did the same thing. I do remember you could change the position of the hotspot by tweeking the head. I believe adjusting the bulb on the pins helped some. It never really bothered me, but at the same time I don't miss it lol

I got one of those incan solitaires and the beam quality, well, the hotspot is good. Hey bykfixer-- I have a pronounced
scratch on my ML25 and was wondering if I ordered a lense for it I might just get one for my ML50 to let more light through.
Are the lenses on both lights about the same size?

No. ML25 is 40.05mm iirc. I do not know the number for ML50 but it is about a 1/4" bigger. Flashlight lens has lenses for ML25 and 50.

Oh, ok. Well, at least they have them. Seems like mag is like the Remington 870 of flashlights--accessories everywhere.

Bykfixer, I thought flashlens.com sent me the disfused ones instead and I liked them but I sent an email telling them
that I think they made a mistake. They sent me one back saying they would make it right if they did, but did I take off
the plastic covering/protector? I checked, and sure enough I found out the hard way that they got my order right--crystal clear lens.
At least now I know how the disfused works and I like it also lol. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but with the Lord's help I get by.