I ordered one of the Terra Lux MiniStar 2 luxeon drop-in modules (Model TLE5...) from Dan at Tactical Warehouse, and received it in the mail yesterday. This is the SE bi-pin module designed for MiniMags and other 1 or 2 cell flashlights.
First of all, I hafta say that I was pleasantly suprised at the color and amount of output of the TerraLux. It's not as bright as a Dat2zip sandwich by any means, but it's not bad...and it's a HUGE improvement over a stock MiniMag's output. Then again, what isn't /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif!? The one I received is brighter than an Inretech module on alkalines, but not quite as bright as an Inretech module on lithiums...it falls somewhere in between. But a couple of big advantages that the TerraLux module has over any of the numerous Inretech modules I've had is: 1) The color of light is MUCH whiter than any of my Inretechs. The one I received is a very nice white, with no discernable shades of blue, green, violet, etc. 2) It's regulated (or at least semi-regulated, I think), so for the life of the batteries the output should be fairly steady. See Roy's run-time plots...he has this particular model plotted. For those of you that have never seen an Inretech module's out-put for comparison, I also compared the TerraLux module to my Inova X5. The TerraLux is EASILY twice as bright as my X5, about 30% brighter than my SL 4AA 7 LED, and easily out-throws both of them as a result of using a reflector.
One of the things I didn't like about the TerraLux is that with the MiniMag's reflector, the beam quality was pretty poor. If beam quality is important to you, you'll DEFINITELY want to use some WriteRight with this module. The WriteRight will reduce your output a slight bit, but will be nice and smooth...it's a fair trade. A textured or faceted reflector would work much better with the TerraLux than a smooth one does.
Another area where the Terralux does extremely well is using the MiniMag in candle-mode. The side-emittor does an outstanding job of putting light where you normally would want light when using a MM in candle mode...off to the side!
The TerraLux Ministar 2 won't win any awards for amount of output or for being a "pioneer" product of regulated LED technology...But in my opinion, it's a very worthwhile product at a very reasonable price. At twice the intensity of an Inova X5 the output is more than adequate for most lighting tasks, the color of the output is very white, and the fact that it gives you another option to breathe life into a dust-gathering old MiniMag, makes this a good "bang for the buck" product. The instructions don't say NOT to use lithium AA's with the TerraLux, so in true-flashoholic form...I AM using lithium AA's with mine /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif! So far there's been no ill effect with the lithiums, and I've kept the light on for up to 15 minutes at a time. The module does get hotter with the lithiums than it did with alkalines, but only by a slight amount. I didn't take any temp measurements...just the ol' fashioned "grab-n-hold" method.
Sorry about my inability to post pics...I hope my observations will be of use to some of you none-the-less!
PJD
First of all, I hafta say that I was pleasantly suprised at the color and amount of output of the TerraLux. It's not as bright as a Dat2zip sandwich by any means, but it's not bad...and it's a HUGE improvement over a stock MiniMag's output. Then again, what isn't /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif!? The one I received is brighter than an Inretech module on alkalines, but not quite as bright as an Inretech module on lithiums...it falls somewhere in between. But a couple of big advantages that the TerraLux module has over any of the numerous Inretech modules I've had is: 1) The color of light is MUCH whiter than any of my Inretechs. The one I received is a very nice white, with no discernable shades of blue, green, violet, etc. 2) It's regulated (or at least semi-regulated, I think), so for the life of the batteries the output should be fairly steady. See Roy's run-time plots...he has this particular model plotted. For those of you that have never seen an Inretech module's out-put for comparison, I also compared the TerraLux module to my Inova X5. The TerraLux is EASILY twice as bright as my X5, about 30% brighter than my SL 4AA 7 LED, and easily out-throws both of them as a result of using a reflector.
One of the things I didn't like about the TerraLux is that with the MiniMag's reflector, the beam quality was pretty poor. If beam quality is important to you, you'll DEFINITELY want to use some WriteRight with this module. The WriteRight will reduce your output a slight bit, but will be nice and smooth...it's a fair trade. A textured or faceted reflector would work much better with the TerraLux than a smooth one does.
Another area where the Terralux does extremely well is using the MiniMag in candle-mode. The side-emittor does an outstanding job of putting light where you normally would want light when using a MM in candle mode...off to the side!
The TerraLux Ministar 2 won't win any awards for amount of output or for being a "pioneer" product of regulated LED technology...But in my opinion, it's a very worthwhile product at a very reasonable price. At twice the intensity of an Inova X5 the output is more than adequate for most lighting tasks, the color of the output is very white, and the fact that it gives you another option to breathe life into a dust-gathering old MiniMag, makes this a good "bang for the buck" product. The instructions don't say NOT to use lithium AA's with the TerraLux, so in true-flashoholic form...I AM using lithium AA's with mine /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif! So far there's been no ill effect with the lithiums, and I've kept the light on for up to 15 minutes at a time. The module does get hotter with the lithiums than it did with alkalines, but only by a slight amount. I didn't take any temp measurements...just the ol' fashioned "grab-n-hold" method.
Sorry about my inability to post pics...I hope my observations will be of use to some of you none-the-less!
PJD
