Mini-Mag w- 5mm led

Greetings all,

I recently put a 5mm led on my mini-mag and it works but is not bright at all. What could i add that will make bright?

What say you?

You're lucky that you've not blown that 5mm LED if you've just dropped it in like a replacement bulb. If you don't regulate current to a LED, it may well fry.

No single 5mm LED will ever be able to compete with a typical bi-pin halogen bulb (not even the 100mA "high-current" models). The output simply isn't enough and there's no way to deal with the heat in that package even if you could get the output high enough.

You might try one of the commercial drop-in LED replacement modules, such as a the Terralux or Newbeam if you're looking for something simple. led-replacement.com has a number of easy-to-install modules in addition to those I previously mentioned.

If you want more output or want more hands-on/do it yourself, you might check out some of the "sandwich" modules offered by "The Sandwich Shoppe," which can soup up your mini-mag well beyond the capabilities of the stock bulb.

For the basic 5mm led direct drive in a mini-mag use the lithium 1.5V (Actually 1.7v) batteries.

The basic 5mm LED needs between 3.2-3.5 volts and two 1.5 volt alkilines just don't cut it.

You could also use the Kodak Oxi-alkline(sp?) batteries. These are about 1.7 volt intended for cameras. The problem with them is that their voltage drops quicker than the lithiums.

That said I have two mini-mags in my emergancy kits loaded with lithiums. They are slightly brighter than an Arc-AAA.

wwglen

The first question might be, what LED did you use?

radio shack led

what does a 3mm led do? will it work better than the 5mm?

Personally I'm much happier with 5mm LED's from lsdiodes.com (the 12000 mcd ones) than I was with the ratshack variety- give it a try.

You CAN run a 5mm LED in direct drive in a MiniMag. However, two AA cells will run it quite dimly since white LEDs typically require 3.6 volts to operate at spec. Lithium AAs will make it a little brighter, but you'll still be running at only 3.4 volts on a fresh set. You CAN safely overdrive most white 5mm LEDs with three N cells for 4.5 volts, but you'll need either a conductive spacer to take up the extra space in the MM's body since 3 N cells are shorter than 2 AA cells, or you can run it with 2 N cells and 1 AAA cell which is pretty close to the length of 2 AA cells. This was how I modded my very first incan to LED...and I still have it, and it still works like a champ! I know they say not to mix battery types, but I've been running this same light with a combination of 2 N cells and 1 AAA cell in this light for over 3 years without a problem. You will need to bore out the reflector hole of the MM to accomodate the 5mm LED...and since it's a direct drive set-up, run-time is pretty impressive! You'll also have to file or Dremmel down the tabs on the LED's leads to make it fit in the bulb socket, but that's a simple operation. It makes a GREAT "stumble around the house at night light" with great run-time!

PJD

If you want bright, you need a Luxeon in your minimag. Take a look in "The Sandwich Shoppe".

I use 10,000MCD red and green LED DD in mini mags for a longass run time of light and keep a regular bipin bulb and a spare LED in the base .

PJD,
If i were to use N cells, do i have to use another batt to take up space or could i use something else?

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Kryosphinx said:
what does a 3mm led do? will it work better than the 5mm?

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3mm usually fits the existing hole in the reflector, but they are normally only about half as bright as a 5mm - the reflector isn't that hard to bore out.

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junior said:
PJD,
If i were to use N cells, do i have to use another batt to take up space or could i use something else?

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any low-resistance filler should work...i've even been known to use aluminum foil before.

i was thinking of a piece of wood the same diameter and size of AA.

What say you?

If it is a white LED most probably it is under powered at 3 volts

The package that the led came in states that the Forward (supply) voltage is 3.6typ 4.0max....

What batteries should i go with?

I want to make this light work....you guys here at CPF have made me want to make this light work

What say you?

Would 2 aa at 3volts each kill it then?

2 Lithium AA is about as bright as ARC AAA or Infinity Ultra. Should have insane runtime!

3 N Alkaline is brighter. Quite nice in fact. But I don't expect it will stay bright for very long. N cells are dinky little farts!

2lith's run at 3.0volts. Is that enought to run the l5mmled? The led package states it could take 3.6 volts with max up to 4.0. Any suggestions?

I have several running like this (3v and 3.4v) with no problems, bright enough for my purposes, not as bright as stock though. I used the lsdiodes.com 5mm LED listed as 12,000mcd.