Cutting a 2AA Minimag in half for LED use?

KDOG3

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I was wondering if it was possible to cut a 2AA Minimag in half, rethread the end, and put one of those small terralux LED bulbs in there with a rechargeable battery. Has this been done? or can be done?
 

Lynx_Arc

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There is a member that gets together a group buy now and then to have them cut down and rethreaded in a lathe, as for the LED module I am unsure but with a litium ion battery it should work similarly to 2 AA 1.5v cells if the module can take a slight overdrive when the lithium battery is fresh.
 

Bradlee

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KDOG3,

As Reptilezs and Lynx_Arc have said it has been done. Tru_blue (spelling?) has made and sold a good number of "micromags" (1xAA cut-down minimags) and reefphilic has organized a couple of group-buys of hard anodized, cut down minimags.

I have tried a terralux module in my 'micromag' with a Ni-MH rechargable and the light output is pretty pitiful. It would seem that the only logical rechargable battery would be a li-ion; a 14500 (e.g. Source ) would fit.

I am tempted to try a li-ion in a ministar 2 equipped micromag myself, but don't want to ruin the emitter since terralux claims the ministar 2 has a max voltage of 3.5 V.

-Brad
 

vcal

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[ QUOTE ]
Bradlee said:
KDOG3,

As Reptilezs and Lynx_Arc have said it has been done. Tru_blue (spelling?) has made and sold a good number of "micromags" (1xAA cut-down minimags) and reefphilic has organized a couple of group-buys of hard anodized, cut down minimags.

I have tried a terralux module in my 'micromag' with a Ni-MH rechargable and the light output is pretty pitiful. It would seem that the only logical rechargable battery would be a li-ion; a 14500 (e.g. Source ) would fit.

I am tempted to try a li-ion in a ministar 2 equipped micromag myself, but don't want to ruin the emitter since terralux claims the ministar 2 has a max voltage of 3.5 V.
-Brad

[/ QUOTE ]
You also may have noticed......
CPFer Ladean is now selling a "micromag" with a superior deeep reflector-and is offering it at reduced price if you order by Sunday night b4 11:59pm.

Also, a great solution to your battery problem for your micromag is to use 2.6V, instead of an inadequate 1.5 or (too much) 3.6V Li-Ion.
-Use 2 of the 450mAh NimH 1/2AA cells and you will have a pocket screamer, that won't ruin your emitter!

You can order these unusual size cells from: www.batteryworldcenter.com ($1.75.US each)
 

AuroraLite

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Hi, KDOG3!

I'd have a humble write up about minimag mod, and in it, there is all kind of comparison/build instruction between different kind of mods.

The Lux I RY0J MM lite sandwich will fit your bill nicely--it could be used for either 1AA or 2AA (2AA will last around 3 hours) and it is fairly bright. Or the 5 leds mod is also a do-able solution which is a flood light that will last many, many hours.

Have fun with your new Ministar2! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

KDOG3

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Aurolite: I copy/pasted that "write up" to MS Word and its 83 pages!!! Man, why don't you write that up as a book?
 

AuroraLite

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KDOG3,

Really? 83 pages? Get out of here...you must be kidding me. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/str.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I never did count the pages myself, and only did some word count from various sections when it was almost completed. All I know is that CPF probably has a limitation on how many words per post, and that's why section 3 was chopped in half. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Anyway, thank you for viewing and your kind words, and hope you had enjoyed yourself! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

KDOG3

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Those are NEAT. I got to get one! Do you make them? How much do you want for the version with the 20mm reflector?
 

Vikas Sontakke

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If you pick up an *entire* 2AA MiniMag from Walmart or Target, you spend $8.89. But if you had to cut the tube and rethread it, you get to spend over $30+shipping.

Only in America!

- Vikas
 

Mags

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Micro mags have been around longer than my membership (not long). In fact, Micro mags are what brought me to CPF. A Micro Mag with a MadMax was my first luxeon light. Its very nice, and bright for its size with many options.

Edit: Actually, brightness depends on your light engine. Also, I remember reading somewhere that you can put a solitaire bulb in a micromag. Does this work well? Even though it is easily beatable, I thought it was an interesting concept.
 

Ledean

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Mags
You can certainly put a solitiare bulb in a micro/mimimimimag. It will be a much better beam than the solitiare because the reflector is bigger in the minimag, teh run time being longer.
Another easy mod is to use the regular mimimag bulb and put a 14500 li-ion battery in it. This thing is much brighter than a 3 volt driven bulb. The bulb is overdriven at 3.7

[ QUOTE ]
Mags said:
Micro mags have been around longer than my membership (not long). In fact, Micro mags are what brought me to CPF. A Micro Mag with a MadMax was my first luxeon light. Its very nice, and bright for its size with many options.

Edit: Actually, brightness depends on your light engine. Also, I remember reading somewhere that you can put a solitaire bulb in a micromag. Does this work well? Even though it is easily beatable, I thought it was an interesting concept.

[/ QUOTE ]
 

nemul

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what if you replace the LuxI SE on the Ministar2 with a LuxIII K or L Vf along with a high voltage rechargable. can the ministar2 circuits take it?
 

Ledean

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You can replace the led in the ministar and run it on regular lithiums.
The maximum voltage that it can handle is around 3.6 V and since the voltage of a freshly charged li-ions is 4.2 It is certainly not advisable. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[ QUOTE ]
nemul said:
what if you replace the LuxI SE on the Ministar2 with a LuxIII K or L Vf along with a high voltage rechargable. can the ministar2 circuits take it?

[/ QUOTE ]
 

Ledean

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The circuit cannot handle the high voltage.

AuroraLite has posted an excellent reference guide.
DRG which stands for Dummy Reference Guide has plenty of stuff to read in there and yes, lots of pictures.
Thanks again AuroraLite
 
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