CMG reactor vs. Inretech 2AA LS adapter

Tim_K

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here's a question for you LED gurus out there, how's the light ouput of the CMG reactor compare to the Inretech 2AA adapter? I'm contemplating which one should I get, they both use one 1W Luxeon Star and both uses 2 AA batteries, each have their pros and cons, mainly for CMG Reactor
Pro: Its a complete flashlight, it says it can shine and illuminate objects 75ft away.
con: There's a lot of talk about getting ones with greenish tint? Also the switch does not have a detent position for on and off.

For the Inretech 2AA adapter,
pros: flexiable, I can drop it in any flashlight that has similar desgin to the mini mags. I don't hear alot of compalints about the LS having greenish tint.

Cons: If I'm buying the kit version(which I am, since its cheaper)its only for the adapter, not a complete flashlight. They don't boast that it has a 75feet range so I'm not sure how far it will shine. And also I heard that its not recommended to use lithium batteries with the Inretech adapters whereas the CMG is?

So that's my situation, and no I can't buy both of them, I would love to since I have been a flashlight nut ever since I was a kid and now I have upgraded to LED flashlight nut, but still, budget would not allow me to do so, therefore I must pick one. Also I tried to find the ouput of these two lights and no literature that I found ever stated them in the same units for comparison, one of the sources say the CMG produces 198 some cd while others talk about the Inretech 2AA adapter in units of luminal or some unit that like that.

anyways, advices?

Tim
 

Empath

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It's strange, but unless I received a fluke, they may be pretty close. I have one Reactor and two Inretech modules. My first Inretech was superb, even rivaling my MadMax in output. My Reactor output is puke green. I got a second Inretech and it's a puke green as the Reactor. So, it may be the luck of the draw.

Regardless, I'd prefer the Inretech. The shape and the switch function doesn't appeal to me.
 

StoneDog

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I'd order the InRetech first (because you will get hooked and order others soon enough
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). I have one in my son's mini-mag and while it's not very white (very yellow-green actually) it produces a nice useable flood of light that is SO much better than the original incand bulb's lame beam.

Plenty of people here and at InRetech have used Lithiums and haven't reported any problems (that I know of).

If you don't mind shelling out an extra $10 or so you might want to consider the "sandwich" drop-ins that Dat2Zip usually has for sale.

I have one of his 500ma modules and I really, really like it. If you opted for the cheaper MadMax or BadBoy 400 you'd end up with a nice and very bright LS.

The sandwich modules and the Inretech adapter are completely different entities of course and were designed for different purposes (brightness vs battery life respectively).

Jon
 

BuddTX

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Between the two, I would recommend the InReTECH 2aa.

Why?

Well, I have an original CMG Reactor (I do not have the reactor 3) and an older INRETECH 2aa.

My Reactor was very green and not very bright. Also, the case big for a 2AA an is kind of awkward to turn on and off.

The mini-mag is a well designed body with lots of accessories that fit it (like holsters, and a bunch of nite-ize accessories) and it is easy to install and is brigher than my sample of the Reactor.

Realise that CMG came out with a reactor 3, and an improved body style of the reactor, that I do not have. Read other posts for comments on the reactor 3 and the improved body.

Realise that THE MANUFACTURER of the Luxeon Star is having color problems. Any flashlight company is subject to the color variations. If you got a real green one I am sure InReTECH will get you a whiter one.

The InReTECH is a nice combination of brightness and run time. Acceptable brightness and long run time. Much much better than the standard mini-mag bulb.

You want brighter? Get a marvelously designed dat2zip Bad Boy or Mad Max. Really bright, advanced electronics, but with shorter run times, AND they are a little harder to install and as dat2zip, while he has very professional products, is offering his design as a favor to us, and I would think that there is no waranty. (I am sure that he would replace one that was dead when you received it, but after that, I would feel uncomfortable asking him for a replacement 6 months later!) And I think they are a little more expensive than the InReTECH. He makes really nice products for us enthusiasts, and I am thankful that he offers us his handiwork!

Want BRIGHTEST? BEST COLOR? Next time Mr. Bulk offers another LGI (Long Gun Illuminator) get one, but they are even more expensive. BUT you have to jump quick!
 

Anarchocap

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BuddTx,
Ditto on the LGI!
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As I've been raving the past few days, its been one of my best purchases!

Tim_K,
I have neither of the two options you are looking at, so I can't really comment on them. I do have other Luxeons, and a dat2zip MadMax would be a few dollars more, but is adjustable for output. You could have the best of both worlds if you want to go for run-time one day and brightness the next.

Also Tim, you might want to check out the Opalec NewBeam. But its not going to be Luxeon bright (3 Nichias), its going to be for run-time.

Lastly, don't believe the Reactor claims of 75 feet. Both my Dat2Zip BadBoy 400 and my Arc LS1r2 are supposed to be about the same output as the CMG Reactor, but even if you get a good one, illumination at 75 feet is going to be an extremely relative term. A reasonable illumination brightness is going to be more like 25 ft for good detail, and maybe 50 ft if you get a good Luxeon for moderate detail. You might be able to light up things at 75 ft away in complete darkness, but you're probably not going to get much detail from it.
 

JimM

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I have 2 InReTECH adapters in minimag AA lights. I think they are much brighter with lithium batteries than with alkalines or rechargeables.

The InReTECH adapters I have are the WHITE ones.

I don't have a CMG Reactor or Dat2zip module, so I can't be of much help there.

Jim
 

Tim_K

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Cool, thank you all for your inputs so here are some further questions.

Does the InreTech 2AA accept recharable batteries? I'm trying to be economical here and so I'll be using rechargables for my light.

From what I'm reading, the DC/DC circuit in the sandwhiche ones by dat2zip is designed precisely for recharable batteries, so it sounded perfect for me, however it sounds like the madmax version is slightly dimmer than the 2AA? (from Empath's post) if so then I'll probadly be going for the Badboy 500ma, but that means I'll have to spend $40, twice that of 2AA, is the price worth it? is the 500ma significantly brighter than the Inretech? And how hard is it to install a Badboy or madmax? Compare to the drop in installation of the Inretech?

Tim
 

doubleganger

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The reactor 2 now has detents for both off and on. My reactor 2 and inretech on fresh lithiums (at $5 for 2) start out at about the same brightness and light quality as my badboy 400. The badboy has constant light output but a runtime of only about two and a half hours on either alks or nimh. I have the reactor 3 and like it second only to my LGI which is brighter but with shorter run time. My Reactor 3 is WAY brighter than any of the 2AA lights that I have. On alkaline or nimh batteries the reactor 3 takes about 3 hours to dim down to the brightness of the 2AA lights. It also has a lifetime warranty. It's just too bad it's physically so ugly.
 

shiftd

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yes, Inretech adapter accepts rechargeable, but you will get mediocre performance because of the lower voltage for rechargeables. Inretech's do accpets lithium except for the amber, yellow and red luxeons.
Madmax starts brighter than bb but gradually dimming while either bb maintains brightness over time. If you asked is it worth it, i would have to answer yes. Regulated and can accepts anything that is AA.
for instalation, from scale 1 to 10, bb instalation is one step above from inretech. But, both is a very easy to change. You need at most 5 minutes to complete the installation.

As for Reactor (original), you HAVE to use lithium to get proper performance from it.
 

doubleganger

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Nimh batteries won't light the inretech 2aa. For any decent brightness you have to use lithiums.

The sandwiches work great with nimh batts but with runtimes of only a couple of hours.

Install of the sandwiches is really easy.
 

doubleganger

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by the way, the reactor 3 works great on 3 nimh batteries if you wait overnight after taking them out of the charger. Otherwise you take a big chance if killing the light.
 

Stefan

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Can you explain why you should wait from when the charging stops to the time you install them? I'm a little confused on why 3 freshly charged nimh's would kill the light.
 

snuffy

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My BadBoy 500 is brighter than my InReTECH 2-AA when both are ran on alkalines but the InReTECH 2-AA is quite a bit brighter when ran on lithiums. For only $20 I don't think you can beat the InReTECH for value.
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Tim_K

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Alright, thanks alot for all of your inputs, I guess I'll be getting the Inretech one instead since it is brighter than the BB 500ma using lithium batteries. I guess I'll have to reserve the light for use only in unusal circustances and use my current 3 LED cluster flashlight for everyday choirs. I got one of these 3 AA 3 LED lights, great for reading at night before bed time and it take NiMHs very well. Other than the fact that I'll be wasting lithium battery for such mundane choir as nighttime reading, I think with the bright LS I'll be blinding myself in a few sec.

A thought came to my mind about using NiMH batteries in the Inretech 2AA one, have you guys tried using 2 NiMH plus one button cell lithium battery? I tried this with early 3 LED flashlights(different from the one mentioned above), when I use just 2 NiMH in the 3 LED cluster light, the output is very poor, but then I went and bought a 1.3v or something like that button battery and added it into the flashlight, and it shone brightly as if I had two alkalines in it. You guys think this will work with the Inretech 2AA as well?

Tim
 

shiftd

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I also did the same of what you do. I think it will work as long as the luxeon is not thirsty of amperage as the button cell only gives a small fraction of mA from what an aa cell would gives. I tried running it with my 7 led cluster soldered together in a maglite and despite the voltage they gives, the brightness still lower from when i used 3 nimh together. it is like a fraction of 75%. But tried it nonetheless. Be wary though, do not mix rechargeables (nimh or nicd) with other type of batteries. You might want to consider using one aa, one aaa, and one lr44 battery. They fits nicely inside the minimag despite the mismached witdh. try using this arrangement with stock bulb. It will not burn the bulb by even a tiny bit because very small current going there from the coin cell despite the voltage.
i heard luxeon takes 350 ma, so i think this will not work. Btw, luxeon are rated (i think) 3 to 3.5 V, so you might consider used up some of the coulomb inside your battery to bring the voltage down, thus preventing any burn out.
whew, this is just a suggestion from a beginners type mode (stage 1 from a total of 10) so, your mileage may vary
 

doubleganger

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Originally posted by Stefan:
Can you explain why you should wait from when the charging stops to the time you install them? I'm a little confused on why 3 freshly charged nimh's would kill the light.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">because the voltage is higher right after charging.
 

doubleganger

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By the way, the answers to all of your questions can be found in the existing posts. Use the search function and read, read, read before you make your final decision.
 

StoneDog

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What?! Inretechs are brighter than BB500's when given Lithiums?! No way - at least not for more than a few minutes.

I fired my "white" Inretech up next to my BB500 and there was absolutely no comparison - the BB was much brighter. I can't believe lithiums will make that much of a difference.

Jon
 

Jonathan

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An Inretech 2AA adapter _might_ be brighter than a BB500, but I would not bet on it; it is simply possible that it would happen sometimes.

The Inretech and the BB fit two different roles.

The Inretech is a direct drive adapter. No electronics to hurt the efficiency. No electronics to fail. The battery is directly connected to the Luxeon, and the current flow will be set by the balance of the Forward Voltage of the LED, the Incremental Resistance of the LED, the Voltage of the batteries and the Internal Resistance of the batteries.

The BB is a _regulated_ boost converter. It steps up the battery voltage to whatever is needed to push the program current through the Luxeon. A BB500 will _always_ push 500mA through the Luxeon, as long as there is enough battery voltage (1.6 to 3V or so) and something isn't broken.

Because of the _range_ of diode and forward voltage, with the Inretech adapter you will have something of the luck of the draw. If you happen to get an adapter with a low Vf, then high current will flow though it and it will be bright. If you get an adapter with a high Vf, then low current will flow and it will be dim. If you get really unlucky than too much current will flow and it will smoke
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If you get really, really lucky, then just the right amount of current will flow to make the light brighter than a BB500 without damage.

Also note that there are variations in the _efficiency_ of the Luxeons, and given two with the exact same current flowing through them, you can expect that one would be brighter than the other.

Hope that helps your decision making.

-Jon
 
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