greenLED
Flashaholic
There's been some recent mention of a new 5 LED mod for the Mini-mag (Nerdnik). As we tend to grill new products here at CPF, I e-mailed the gentleman making these to learn more about his mod. He kindly let me post his e-mail for all to see; I only left names and e-mail addresses out. Without further ado:
Message 1:
[ QUOTE ]
I have let a torch do a solid run battery suicide in a bath tub and it went
for 317 mins before the light was unusable. I will do a second test very
soon just to compare results. I just started selling these modded lights as
a hobby a few months ago on Ebay. I work full time as an insurance broker so
my schedule does not always allow me too much time to work on the site and
tinker with my electronics hobbies. Hence the lack of run time on the site.
I will however make it a priority this evening or the next to update. Sorry
for the oversight, and thanks for bringing it to my attention.
I don't have an opalec to compare my light directly with. I can however make
an educated guess as to performance differences based on what I know about
the two
The opltec is a 3 LED mod for the minimag. So it will probably not be as
bright as my 5 LED mod.
Keep in mind the opaltec does have a dc/dc regulator circuit in it to keep
the output consistent from battery birth to battery death.
My mod on the other hand does not. It will give you a brighter light for the
first half of its battery life then level down to an equal brightness then
finally lesser brightness for the final part of its battery cycle.
The opaltec looks like a fine product and has advantages over mine as mine
has advantages over it (such as a few hours of brighter burn time vs
consistent dimmer output start to finish)
It all depends on what your looking for in a light. At first I started
building dc/dc units until I realized that I did not like the fact that
other than the unit suddenly dimming to a barely usable light there was no
pre warning that the batts were failing. Thats the problem with regulators.
Once the batteries can no longer provide the proper current to charge the
capacitor failure is immediate. Also I like being able to slip some E2s into
my unit and benefit from them on the beam and the runtime rather than just
the runtime with the regulator.
Although I have a slightly sarcastic tone of humor on my website the truth
is that everyone has a different preference on what they want in a
flashlight. There is no one light for everybody. Just look at all the mods
available out there and that fact will become apparent. Find one that suits
your needs best and then shoot the lock off the old wallet.
I don't offer the unit on my site as a drop in because I am pretty much
catering to a market that just wants to buy the light and be done with it.
If you would just want the led unit to drop into an existing case you have I
would be happy to send just that to you and subtract the cost of the light
and batteries from the order. Led Mod Only would be $15.00 plus S+H
I am not sure I understand your comment about my buddies goldfish, but
anybody that has nice things to say about my lights is greatly appreciated.
Where is CPF located, And what kind of products do they sell?
Thank you for showing an interest in my Mini-Mags.
Hope this info helps
Sincerely
[/ QUOTE ]
Message 2:
[ QUOTE ]
I would not mind you posting our correspondence at all on the Candle
Power Forum. I will get around to updating the web page tonight.
I see what you mean about my website leading you to believe I knew what
the CPF was. When I mentioned the other mods out there on my site I am
referring to mods I have seen on Flashlightreviews.coms mod page during a
google search one night. I just checked out the CPF forum and, I think I
will take your advise and register as a dealer on CPF when I get home from
the office. Looks like a lot of people post there.
As I said in the previous E-Mail I don't want to take any business from
other modders out there( even though my website does have a playfully smart
*** tone) Im just offering a different flavor of Flashlight for people to
consider. Most importantly, I make these lights because I enjoy doing It as
a hobby/ side job. Its a nice distraction from the Pandemonium of my full
time career.
I see what you mean about this goldfish guy as well. I had no idea that
someone could like my light that much. It pleases me that something I made
makes somebody happy. I will be sure to thank him once I register on the
forum for all the nice things he said.
Thank you again for your interest and advice. Feel free to ask me any
questions you may have in the future.
Sincerely
[/ QUOTE ]
He was not aware of the existence of CPF, so I invited him over since it seems he is a flashaholic at heart. I can't get one of these just yet /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/broke.gif but it seems a step up from the dimmer Opalec. Hopefully reviews will follow.
Message 1:
[ QUOTE ]
I have let a torch do a solid run battery suicide in a bath tub and it went
for 317 mins before the light was unusable. I will do a second test very
soon just to compare results. I just started selling these modded lights as
a hobby a few months ago on Ebay. I work full time as an insurance broker so
my schedule does not always allow me too much time to work on the site and
tinker with my electronics hobbies. Hence the lack of run time on the site.
I will however make it a priority this evening or the next to update. Sorry
for the oversight, and thanks for bringing it to my attention.
I don't have an opalec to compare my light directly with. I can however make
an educated guess as to performance differences based on what I know about
the two
The opltec is a 3 LED mod for the minimag. So it will probably not be as
bright as my 5 LED mod.
Keep in mind the opaltec does have a dc/dc regulator circuit in it to keep
the output consistent from battery birth to battery death.
My mod on the other hand does not. It will give you a brighter light for the
first half of its battery life then level down to an equal brightness then
finally lesser brightness for the final part of its battery cycle.
The opaltec looks like a fine product and has advantages over mine as mine
has advantages over it (such as a few hours of brighter burn time vs
consistent dimmer output start to finish)
It all depends on what your looking for in a light. At first I started
building dc/dc units until I realized that I did not like the fact that
other than the unit suddenly dimming to a barely usable light there was no
pre warning that the batts were failing. Thats the problem with regulators.
Once the batteries can no longer provide the proper current to charge the
capacitor failure is immediate. Also I like being able to slip some E2s into
my unit and benefit from them on the beam and the runtime rather than just
the runtime with the regulator.
Although I have a slightly sarcastic tone of humor on my website the truth
is that everyone has a different preference on what they want in a
flashlight. There is no one light for everybody. Just look at all the mods
available out there and that fact will become apparent. Find one that suits
your needs best and then shoot the lock off the old wallet.
I don't offer the unit on my site as a drop in because I am pretty much
catering to a market that just wants to buy the light and be done with it.
If you would just want the led unit to drop into an existing case you have I
would be happy to send just that to you and subtract the cost of the light
and batteries from the order. Led Mod Only would be $15.00 plus S+H
I am not sure I understand your comment about my buddies goldfish, but
anybody that has nice things to say about my lights is greatly appreciated.
Where is CPF located, And what kind of products do they sell?
Thank you for showing an interest in my Mini-Mags.
Hope this info helps
Sincerely
[/ QUOTE ]
Message 2:
[ QUOTE ]
I would not mind you posting our correspondence at all on the Candle
Power Forum. I will get around to updating the web page tonight.
I see what you mean about my website leading you to believe I knew what
the CPF was. When I mentioned the other mods out there on my site I am
referring to mods I have seen on Flashlightreviews.coms mod page during a
google search one night. I just checked out the CPF forum and, I think I
will take your advise and register as a dealer on CPF when I get home from
the office. Looks like a lot of people post there.
As I said in the previous E-Mail I don't want to take any business from
other modders out there( even though my website does have a playfully smart
*** tone) Im just offering a different flavor of Flashlight for people to
consider. Most importantly, I make these lights because I enjoy doing It as
a hobby/ side job. Its a nice distraction from the Pandemonium of my full
time career.
I see what you mean about this goldfish guy as well. I had no idea that
someone could like my light that much. It pleases me that something I made
makes somebody happy. I will be sure to thank him once I register on the
forum for all the nice things he said.
Thank you again for your interest and advice. Feel free to ask me any
questions you may have in the future.
Sincerely
[/ QUOTE ]
He was not aware of the existence of CPF, so I invited him over since it seems he is a flashaholic at heart. I can't get one of these just yet /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/broke.gif but it seems a step up from the dimmer Opalec. Hopefully reviews will follow.
