tail switch for min mag

I am trying to decide to order one or not. What have been your expierences with these tail switches? are there any real benefits to them? it looked to me like it would be easy to accidentally turn on, is this the case? Thanks for the info...

later, snapper

I have a Ram tailswitch (good luck finding them) that I rather like. It doesn't stick out much like the Krill switch does. as for accidental turn-on, for any extended period of carry, I'd suggest twisting the the head to the off position. Of course, that kind of defeats the purpose of the tailswitch in a way, I suppose.

I needed a switch that would be flush when depressed because I wanted to be able to use my Litebite (a slip-on mouthpiece for a minimag).

--Scrimmy

I have the "Kroll International Mini MagLite AA Backswitch", ordered from Brightguy.com. Bought it with my Opalec conversion. It has been bouncing around in my pack for months now and is solid.

Snapper;

If interested, I have found the Ram tailswitches at Fry's Electronics. I have one, and (so far) I like it. No problems with it turning on accidentally.

If there are no Fry's in your area, I believe they have an web site you can order from.

Hope this helps.

Mike

I wish y'all would have told me about Fry's when I asked about them 2 weeks ago! You don't know what I had to go through to get them!

--Scrimmy

Originally posted by Brotherscrim:
You don't know what I had to go through to get them!

--Scrimmy

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">But that's half the fun - finding them!

I just received 4 of the Ram Tail Cap Switches not more than 30 minutes ago. check here:

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/3407283

The switch has a VERY soft action with a barely audible click. In the "ON" position the Minimag can be placed in the "candle" position.

I paid $31.89 for 4 of them (included $1.98 tax and $5.99 2nd day shipping)

I bought a RAM switch at a local gun shop. I like the sturdy metal housing vs. the plastic-housed Kroll switch (which I haven't tried). Not that I think the plastic wouldn't hold up, but because I see this light as a potential weapon.

The RAM looks like it would keep water out of the flashlight, but not out of the switch mechanism itsself. The RAM does not increase the overall length of the flashlight (slightly shorter). The switch is more recessed compared to the Kroll. It can be pressed partially down for a momentary-on mode, but overall has a cheap feel to the action. Note that if you use a tail switch, you lose the spare bulb compartment and lanyard hole.

Several have reported failing RAM switches on this forum. I looked through the available stock at the store and noticed some quality variability. Many springs were not well centered and the epoxy used to seal the battery side of the switch somethmes didn't fill the entire cavity. Those may have worked fine, too, but I picked out a good one and it's working well for me so far.

A potential problem I see with the Ram switch is the length and stiffness of the spring (I'm trying very hard not to giggle right now...Anyway).

I plan on using a MadMax with the Ram, and I am worried it might crush the sandwich, so I'm gonna trim the spring a little, just to be sure.

--Scrimmy

The ram tailswitch does have a lot of problems, after a while, most of them will stop working if used a lot. The problem is not with the switch itself, but the connection between the switch mechanism and the body of the tailcap. I posted something a while ago on how to fix it, but I forgot where. Basically, take it apart, and either bend the contacts to press against the body or solder a wire on to it to give it better contact. And even easier way I found is just to put a few drops of electircally conductive epoxy on it, and everything works great.

Also, if you take the switch apart, you can stick an extra spring in there to make it a little stiffer. And you can fix it if the switch doesn't sit straight on the body.

Originally posted by Lurker:
Several have reported failing RAM switches on this forum.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I fit in this category and will NOT be spending anymore money on these. However, they will probably be OK for a light that is stored and not used...

By contrast, I have not heard of any problems with the Kroll switches, but I don't have any to comment on..

I have both, and the Kroll is superior.

The RAM is part aluminum and part plastic. The RAM has a soft button, and is quiet. The plastic outer ring will separate from the aluminum base easily. This sucks. I don't like the soft button, it feels cheap. Also, while the RAM switch is partly recessed, it is still VERY easy to accidently turn on.

The Kroll has plastic threads, but the exterior is encased in a single membrane of tough rubber. It takes a satisfying amount of pressure to turn on. The housing can be tightened onto the mag lite such that it is quite water resistant. I have had no problems with my Kroll. Also, the Kroll is much easier and reliable to use in the momentary-on method.

if i get one of these, does the head still need to be loosened to turn the light on?

Yes, but only slightly. The two advantages of the tail-cap switch is that the mini mag lite can be pre-focused to whatever position you like. Then you only have to click it on, and have the same beam pattern every time. The second advantage is that it saves time and you can operate the light easily with one hand.

Another incidental advantage is that you get a redundant lock-out switch. By storing the light with the head turned all the way down, the light must be clicked on and the head rotated in order to turn the light on. By doing this you are, of course, taking away from the aforementioned advantages.

thanks avatar, just wanted to know if i could use it with inretech and keep the head tight while using the tail switch only. no need to focus and a tighter unit overall.

The inretech is a prefocus with the LS optics, so no need to worry about focusing. The focus you get, depends on the optics unit itself. I have not seen any Nichia based dropins from inretech. The only one that has that is techass.com and uses the minimag reflector and no modification of the light. Just replace the minimag bulb. You have 2 tries to get it in correctly (reverse and correct polarity).