Terralux MicroStar1 for AAA Mini Maglite?

Has anyone tried the new Terralux MicroStar1 for the AAA Mini Maglite shown HERE

Looks very interesting. Surface mount LED - wonder how that fits into a reflector, and for the first time, it's available for the AAA MM, not just the AA.

$20 is affordable, too. NOOOOOOOOOOO.........TEMPTED!!!!

holly crap!! I want one!!

Don't buy the SpotMiser, though. The LED fell off mine the very first time I was putting it into my headlamp.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/takeit.gif
Shuld have a runtime plot by this time next week!

Really really impressive. I've always wanted a drop in LED for the 2 AAA. Is this a side emitter or high dome emitter. I ask cause the factory beams in my side-emitting Mini-star 2 really sucks my opinion says. If this also is a side emitter, I'd have to get some kind of LDF lens to fit the AAA in order to keep me happy.

Their web site says that it is a surface mount Nichia LED.

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Roy said:
Their web site says that it is a surface mount Nichia LED.

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A Nichia at 20 lumens? I thought Nichias at 3 lumens was overdriven? Has Nichia leds improved since when Arc made AAA and AA using Nichias?

interesting! 20 lumens with that runtime? (although they exaggerated the runtime of the ministar2 also, so we'll see)
what kind of nichia is this anyway? "consumes 0.7 watts"
would be interesting how long it runs (regulated?) on a single AAA cell for a solitaire mod =)

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rdshores said:
Has anyone tried the new Terralux MicroStar1 for the AAA Mini Maglite shown HERE

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I bought one of these, got it this last weekend; great service from Pcoketlights.com. The module though, is something else.

I tried it in a MiniMag AAA and found the beam to be absolutely the worst I've ever seen. Maybe mine is a bad sample, but it has *very* yellow center spot surrounded by a bluish-white ring surrounded by a *very* yellow ring. The yellow is a "dirty" yellow and I believe it is aggravated by the use of a reflector because if I remove the head from the Mag, the light looks quite white when viewed head on; but when viewed from the side it turns very yellow.

It's also quite weak in running on 2xAAAs, easily overpowered by every 1xAAA and 1xAA light I have except the Arc and Dorcy AAA. I compared it to the following lights:

Nuwai 1AAA
Nuwai 2AAA
Arc AAA
Dorcy 1AAA
A Chinese 8 led 1AA
A Chinese 12 led 1AA
The stock bulb

Nuwai 1AA, +20%
Nuwai 2AAA, +2X
Dorcy 1AA, +0 (equal)
Arc AAA, -50%
Chinese 8 led 1 AA, +2x
Chinese 12 led 1AA, +3x
Stock bulb, +0 (equal)

It goes without saying that all the other lights have far better beam quality. Basically, this module is a downgrade from the stock bulb.

I next tried it in a Mag AA. The brightness now approaches a useful level, probably 15-17 lumens and the beam quality improves slightly but it's still worse than any other I've tried.

I stopped testing at this point, seeing no further reason to continue.

Sorry for the negative review, but I really can't recommend this module at all.

Al

Ouch!

Al, I must thank you. You just saved me $20, I was thinking.. 20 lumens and the first credible AAA module - well, maybe not the first credible one after all. Temptation cured. I'm not buying a $20 'upgrade' for a $10 light and end up with a worse beam than the Streamlight Jr Lux, which reminds me, I need to get one.

Sorry - like I said, maybe I got a bad one but I have to call it the way I get it. I hoped for better too, I've got a bunch of AAA Mags sitting around waiting for a real upgrade.

By the way, I used lithiums for testing so there's nothing more to get.

Al

Will this thing fit into a solitaire?

I just ordered one from TheLedLight a few days ago. Hopefully I'll have it by the end of this week. The 2AAA has always been my favorite M^G light. We gel them blue (which knocks down the already dim output) and use them for operating sound/lighting equipment.

I'll let you know how it looks when it comes in.

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Donovan said:
Will this thing fit into a solitaire?

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Apparently so, I have yet to see one. Waiting on more reviews. If it works OK, it be *the* long-awaited LED drop-in for the Soli, IMO.

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KevinL said:
Ouch!

Al, I must thank you. You just saved me $20, I was thinking.. 20 lumens and the first credible AAA module - well, maybe not the first credible one after all. Temptation cured. I'm not buying a $20 'upgrade' for a $10 light and end up with a worse beam than the Streamlight Jr Lux, which reminds me, I need to get one.

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Indeed. I won't be buying this either.

Dang, looks like I'll have to hold out on this as well...

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but can you guys suggest better (or more decent) alternatives for a drop in that'll fit both a AA and AAA minim@g? Apart from the MJLed of course, which is extreme value for money...

Received mine today! I have it on the test rig and so far the runtime to 50% of max brightness is about 5 hours with alkaline AAA batteries. When the alkaline plot is finished , willstart a plot using the Lithium AAA batteries. Should have the results posted tomorrow.

EDIT: WRONG Q.

Will an MJLED fit in a modded solitaire? (ream out the reflector) and will it work and be bright with a 1.5 AAA? VDG

voodoogreg,

Yes, it will fit. I didn't have the 2AAA MM here when it came in so I dropped it into a solitaire. The cell was fairly fresh. MS1 was MUCH brighter and MUCH whiter than the stock bulb. I almost reamed out the reflector on the spot, but I want to try it out on the 2AAA first. If I don't like it in the 2AAA it will definately go into the solitaire.

To me it looks like the reflector would need to be shortened from the back rather than reamed, to make it fit together right.

I don't know what the runtime would be -- but I would think it would have to be better than stock.