Do i really have that many Minimags?

MacTech

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I know, my collection can't compare to a hardcore flashaholic..... yet.... but i think i have a somewhat respectable collection of Minimags for a newbie, and all but one are modified....

Minimags4.gif

from left to right...
beat up black Mini; stock incan, used as an "electric candle" for power outages
Gold mini; UV LED jury-rigged setup with hand drilled lens and running off 4 1/2 AA 3.6V lithiums
Black mini; upgraded with Nite Ize LED retrofit kit, LEDs have a slight yellow/greenish cast
Blue mini; same as the above black Mini, but the LED's are more bluish
that said, they're still whiter than the incan Mini

and a few more pics, ironically, the "moody" lighting on the lights standing up was with a Kensington FlyLight USB powered LED light off my keyboard....
Minimags3.gif

Minimags5.gif


and some shots facing the camera to see the difference in light temperature and balance...
Minimags.gif


oh, and i also retrofitted Mom's Minimag with the LED kit as well, she was always complaining about the bulbs burning out (guess she drops it a lot....) and it running out of battery power too soon, and since she never used the focusing feature, the LED retrofit makes the most sense for her
 

cratz2

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Umm... Does that UV light really run on 4x1/2AA Lithiums... 14.4 volts to one single LED?
thinking.gif
 

Roy

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These are all shelf queens

collection.jpg


...and there's some more scattered around the house somewhere!:crackup:
 
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greenLED

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All modded! You're doing pretty good! I believe turbodog has the most complete minimag collection, followed by Roy, and God knows who else. I'm missing dark blue and hot pink as far as obtainable solid colors go (light blue and bronze if I took all solid colors into consideration). I'm still undecided as to whether I want the Nascar fade, the Flaglite, and the Americana set. If you're interested in some other colors, check this thread for a GB I'm trying to get going.
 

MacTech

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cratz2 said:
Umm... Does that UV light really run on 4x1/2AA Lithiums... 14.4 volts to one single LED?
thinking.gif
well, all i can say is it hasn't burned out........yet, and i don't see any fluctuation or dimming of the LED yet

the original squeezy light it was in put out such a pathetic throw that unless you were in a pitch black room, you needed to be practically *resting* the UV LED on the thing you're trying to illuminate

in it's current config, i can light up my flourescent yellow diving mask on the floor that's about 5 feet away, i also found an old magnifying lens thingy out in the attic, it's a solid blob of optical plastic that acts as a magnifier and light gatherer all in one, you can rest it on a newspaper or book and not need supplimental illumination, the top is convex, bottom and sides are flat, i was originally going to try to use it on the green laser pointer i have coming (standard 5 milliwatt ThinkGeek Greenie II) to try and burn stuff <evil> (yes, i know...now, that 5 milliwatt won't burn *anything*, won't even heat it up....)

when i put the flat side on the end of the UVMag, it casts a tightly focused UV spot that's usable 15-20 feet away....

so now, i'm on a quest to find a cheap plastic fresnel lens (like those cheap flexy book magnifiers) to cut out a collumator lens for the UVMag....
 

greenLED

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Are you sure those 1/2 AA's are lithiums? Could be NiMH... then you'd have 4x1.2= 4.8V a simple explanation of why the UV hasn't gone :poof:
Maybe? :thinking:
 
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Ledean

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Roy,
you got a great collection.
My eyes seems to be going to that empty spot. Is it crying for a charcoal or a nascar?
 

cratz2

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Another popular option for a Minimag mod is an MJLED with a drilled out or modded reflector. Nearly as bright (if not slightly brighter) than the Nite Ize from a single 100mA LED so you get better throw and a tighter beam.

And you totally need a charcoal or pewter Minimag anyway so you might as well give in. In my opinion, the charcoals and pewters are the classiest looking Mags.

As for collections, I need to set up and take a pic someday but as of this morning, I have 17 Minimags, Quest clones and Greatneck clones and only one is stock. Most of them have single 3mm, 5mm, 8mm or 10mm LEDs in different colors and brightnesses, plus two different RGBs, three different UVs, one white Lux I, one Lux III blue-ish cyan, 2 Nite Ize, 2 MJLEDs. Right now my favorites are the THC3 LEDs in green and blue... VERY bright, even just on 2 cells. I'm thinking about getting one of the new style TLE-5s and would like to build one red-orange and one royal blue Lux III driven to at least 700 ma.
 
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Ledean

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cratz2,
You have 17 minimags and no pictures ? I am waiting to see it.
I am building my collection and after seeing roy's excellent collection I guess I am waiting for some more colors before I post mine.

You can really never have enough minimags till you get all the colors. They are a classic design.
 

cratz2

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They aren't all Minimags... actually, just two of them are Minimags... The rest are Quest and Great Neck clones. Those Quests come from ****'s Sporting Goods in 3 packs (one red, one silver and one blue) and have tail clickies. They used to be $7.49 for a pack of three, but the last two packs I got were only $4.99/3.

Pics... pics... I think this is all of them... But I do think the cyan 3mm is in there twice. And sorry for the crappy pics... they were just taken to keep beamshots in order... not really 'staged'.

IMG_1754a.JPG


IMG_1864%20Groupa.jpg


IMG_1801%20Groupa.jpg
 

cratz2

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Yup! Decent (but not outstanding) quality, tail clickies, come apart easy as pie and cost about one sixth as much as a real Minimag...
buttrock.gif


Biggest issue I have with them is they come with three colors in the pack... I'd much prefer them to all be silver and I could paint or otherwise mark them for what they are... That's why I have the 'complex color matrix' of mismatched heads and tails and bezels on some of them... that's how I can tell them apart without having to turn the on.
 
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