Newbie who needs help

Hello everyone. It appears I've come to the right place as I've seen plentiful topics relating to the self-made flashlights you all have and you all just seem extremely diehard in this stuff.

So here is my issue:
I've got a 3C-Cell Maglite from, oh, a year or two ago and it still works great, but I want to convert it to an LED and I don't want to do any soldering or anything as I am not that adept at such things. I just want something I can plug in, kind of like the "Opalec LED conversion" for the 2AA-Cell Maglite I found on Google. I have had almost no luck finding one for my flashlight and I'd be very grateful if someone knew of some.

I'm basically trying to get my existing Maglite to put out as much light as it possibly can. And it is extremely important to me that the light does not dim during normal ueage. I'd prefer it to just stop working one day until I put new batteries in than see a loss in brightness.

The closest thing I found on these forums appears to be this: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Number=747564 but even that appears to be custom work with soldering and such.

Try an EverLed module. It's a 1 watt Luxeon bulb that is a direct replacement for your bulb. It can be used with any number of cells from 1 to 6, as long as the voltage doesn't exceed 9 volts, so you can try it in different flashlights if you want. I think they are around $40 or so. And they are regulated, so it doesn't get dimmer as the batteries get weaker. I have one in my Mag 3-C and I love it.

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Big_Ed said:
Try an EverLed module. It's a 1 watt Luxeon bulb that is a direct replacement for your bulb. It can be used with any number of cells from 1 to 6, as long as the voltage doesn't exceed 9 volts, so you can try it in different flashlights if you want. I think they are around $40 or so. And they are regulated, so it doesn't get dimmer as the batteries get weaker. I have one in my Mag 3-C and I love it.

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Will this thing put out a lot of light? I mean I've seen some incredible custom flashlights here and I'd love to have one that puts out enough light to equal this thing I saw...oh I think it was called a "Surefire L4." I probably have zero idea what I'm saying, but I hope you can decipher it and help me out. My only LED flashlight right now is this little "X5" thing I bought at Fry's Electronics that uses two camera batteries and has 5 LED's in it.

Oh and I hate how much heat gets put out by the incandescent bulb in my Maglite right now. It annoys me to no end. I think I just have extremely sensitive skin.

It's about as bright as the Mag 3C, but with a little less of a hot spot. It's well worth the money, too. The batteries will last longer. I have an Inova X5 too, in fact lots of CPF'ers do. It's a great light. Bright, even beam, lasts up to 20 hours on a set of batteries, and is built like a tank. As for the Surefire lights, well others will have to chime in about them. I don't own any (yet). They are highly regarded around here, though.

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Big_Ed said:
It's about as bright as the Mag 3C, but with a little less of a hot spot. It's well worth the money, too. The batteries will last longer. I have an Inova X5 too, in fact lots of CPF'ers do. It's a great light. Bright, even beam, lasts up to 20 hours on a set of batteries, and is built like a tank. As for the Surefire lights, well others will have to chime in about them. I don't own any (yet). They are highly regarded around here, though.

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At least I did something right by buying this iNova X5. Haha.

I'm just wondering what the best thing to do for my Maglite is. I'm unsure this lightbulb is what I was looking for. I was looking for something similar to the, uhh "Opalec Maglite LED Conversion kit."

1) Welcome to CPF

2) It will look better than the stock M@g bulb, but it won't be as bright as the L4. Reason being is that the EverLed is a 1W LED whereas the L4 is 5W. That being said, the L4 tends to produce a breautiful wall of light that doesn't project that far out. On the other hand, the EverLed will likely cast a less flood like beam and have more throw thanks to the larger reflector.

Brightness aside, which beam is better will depend on what you are using it for. More flood is better for close up work and more throw is obviously better for working with things at a distance.

As you have no doubt discovered, you have likely been bitten by the lighting bug. What this means is that you will have to buy several more lights to cover every possible basis you may encounter. I truly have pity for your bank account, as others no doubt will too.

The EverLED is a great replacement bulb, but have you considered a new LED flashlight? ElektroLumens has a 3 C-Cell aluminum flashlight that is powered by a Luxeon III LED (60-70 Lumens). It is called the FT-3C. It is not regulated, but they do have a 2 D-cell Luxeon III light that is regulated. Both lights are $49.99, just $10 more than the EverLED.

Outvit, Welcome to CPF,
Have a look at the Electrolumes Forum,
They have ready made 3 watt LED flashlights,
I have a few of their lights and have never looked back

For what you want, maybe you'd want to send your flashlight to a very experienced modder, and let them do all of that soldering work for you. .

Hey everyone. I went to Home Depot (4 local locations), RadioShack, ACE Hardware and Fry's Electronics. I could not find this LED light you mentioned I could get for my 3 C-cell Maglite. I, did, however, buy a new 3 D-Cell Maglite while I was at it.

I also did some searching on eBay and I found a place that seems to sell modified Maglites like I was asking about a few posts ago. Has anyone heard of these folks and are they reliable in delivery. If not, or if there are better places that have a very similar flashlight, then please tell me. The website is here and the original eBay auction I found the place at was here .

Anyone?

Outvit, the Everled that everyone has mentioned is not available, as far as I know in retail outlets. You can check them out either at Ledsupply or Brightguy or even Led_Replacements who has some ads running in the Dealer's Thread. I'm not familiar with the site you pointed out for modified Mags, but there are a few others out there as well, that offer simple 'drop in' modules like the Everled, from manufacturers like Tektite, Epeion, etc. Check them out too, but Everled is by far the most versatile.

You can find Dealers for the EverLED here:
EverLED

And for other LED Replacements here:
Quality Items

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Stanley said:
Outvit, the Everled that everyone has mentioned is not available, as far as I know in retail outlets. You can check them out either at Ledsupply or Brightguy or even Led_Replacements who has some ads running in the Dealer's Thread. I'm not familiar with the site you pointed out for modified Mags, but there are a few others out there as well, that offer simple 'drop in' modules like the Everled, from manufacturers like Tektite, Epeion, etc. Check them out too, but Everled is by far the most versatile.

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What other places sell these modified Maglites? The stores you pointed out do not seem at all reputable. Personally, I'm hesitant to order anything from them. Which is why I'm looking for personal experiences from members here...and recommended sellers.

Yep your new here alright, Brightguy has an absolutely impeccable spotless record and have some of the best prices and selection anywhere! I send all my friends to them first because of their outstanding reliability.

I guess I should hasten to add that I have NO relationship with them, except that I've been a very happy customer for several years.

GregR

uh dude, ledsupply is legit, i have bought stuff from them and the service was top nnotch, and brightguy? I don;t see what;s not reputable here...

I think what you'll find is that, compared to the website you included, the regulars here are very very happy with the service they get from these vendors. If you really want to take advantage of a lot of very smart people, pay attention, and spend some time on the site. If you do a search on Everled you'll be able to find out a lot in short period of time. These are the best flashlight people in the world; you will not go wrong by listening to them.

Outvit, the sites may not look like much to you, but the ones I mentioned earlier have good track records, especially here on CPF. Do a search in the 'Cheers n Jeers' section of CPF for these dealers, and you'll see what I mean. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Oh and by the way, the Everled is not a Modified Maglite... it and the rest of the names mentioned (Epeion, Tektite, etc) are just 'drop in' modules, i.e. you just replace the stock incandescent PR bulb with this PR Led bulb in the Mag, and you're good to go!

Your best bet is an EverLED. I have several, and I recommend them highly. They've given new life to a few older flashlights that would ordinarily have been discarded or relegated to rot in the back of a drawer in the garage.

The maximum brightness *not* be quite as bright as an incandescent's. It *will* give a nice beam that doesn't change tint as the batteries run down (did you notice that your incandescent Maglite's beam gets yellower as time goes on). The EverLED is regulated, so you will get about the same level of output over most of the lifetime of your batteries, but it will dim somewhat when the batteries are close to being expended.

Pros (vs. incandescent):
Longer battery life
Better beam tint over the lifetime of the batteries
Don't have to worry about blown bulbs under impact or shock
Don't have to worry about the bulb burning out (at least for 100,000 hours...)
Simple "mod": just drop the EverLED in, and you're done.
Cheaper than commissioning a complex mod

Cons:
Not quite as bright as an incandescent bulb rated for similar voltage with fresh batteries (but the average brightness over the lifetime of the batteries will be better - basically you give up some maximum brightness with fresh batteries in exchange for better overall brightness as they run down)

Now if you want an unbelievably bright flashlight, there is no shortage of ideas around here /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

You could:
- Buy a Surefire 10x Dominator
- Buy a Magcharger and replace the stock lamp with a Welch-Allyn 1180 lamp, and the stock lens with a UCL or Borofloat lens (both available from flashlightlens.com)

Either of these will get you 500+ lumens for about 20-30 minutes.

Or if you're a Costco member, get yourself a 10 million candlepower Thor spotlight, for about $26. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin07.gif

I have ordered from LEDSupply, Brightguy and Quality Items and the only problems I ever had were Quality Items backorders. I can't really consider that a problem although others have mixed experiences with them it seems.

Orders from LEDSupply and Brightguy were expedited and I am very satisfied. (Note that LEDSupply is in the list of EverLED dealers on the WWW page in my orignal post).

Outvit, the Everled has a PR type base - same as the original M@G bulb. It is regulated (3-9v) and heat protected and works well in my 3D M@G and an El Cheapo 3D plastic lite I have in my closet. It comes in standard (drops into M@Gs) and reverse (Some 6V lanterns) polarity. It is a side emitter and so has some artifacts.

The LED Replacement bulb from Quality Items is unregulated and suited for 3C/D cell M@gs. It has an integral heat sink that screws on to the post in the MA@. It is a 3W unit and I like the amount of light it puts out. Some people have expressed concern over the heat sinking and the fact that it is unregulated. I find it well suited for my purposes.

I use an Otokoyama OP PMR or a Darkzero sputtered reflector and I really like the beams. You can do a search for threads related to both on CPF. There is also a new batch of light and medium orange peel reflectors - thread in BS/T I think.
The sputtered reflectors do a lot to smooth out the beams from both the side-emitting EverLED and the High Dome LED Replacement bulb.

Hope this helps a bit.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif