KL1 vs. 3 watt mag

I built my first ever mod a little over a year ago. It's TV1L direct driven in a 3D host. When I made it I was pretty jazzed about it and thought it was great. My friends were quite impressed.

I was out walking the other night and grabbed my KL1 on an E2e body and the old mag. The KL1 KILLED my mag mod. At the distance I could put a spot with the mag I was lighting up the side a house with the KL1 but the spot wasn't even more intense like I would suspect from the large reflector. The spill wasn't great either.

Honestly I was shocked. I thought it would at least put up a fight with the 30 lumen KL1. I was using Nimh fresh off the charger. I suppose I should get a meter and see what's happening in there or upgrade the emitter.

Anyone else experience this? Just thought I'd share. The KL1 beam without spill is annoying if you're out looking for something you dropped in the dark etc. but I've gotten to really like it nevertheless.

I've never owned a KL1... but I have owned and built several TV1L/TV1K Mag mods and honestly, a UX1L Mag run at 937 ma is the farthest throwing LED light I own... It's maybe 20% better than a TV1L, mostly due to just the added lumens, I suspect and while I've played with older and newer KL1s and was impressed with them, I cannot imagine it could keep up with even a TV1L in a Mag reflector if fully direct driven on three fresh alkaline cells or a LiON cell.

So are you saying the spot of the KL1 was smaller than the mag, or that the mag was smaller, and the kl1 was larger but brighter?

NiMH and an L Vf binned luxeon probaby won't drive it very hard. Did you measure current at the tail cap and see how much current is actually getting to the luxeon?

Don't forget to account for the resistance in the Mag switch assembly.

modamag's analysis:

Not All Switch Are Created Equal!

My Luxeon III Mag mods absolutely kill the KL1. I suspect that yours is being significantly underdriven, or else you have damaged the emitter in some way.

I built a direct drive 3 watt UX1L mag cut down to a 1"D" size using a rechargeable battery...can't remember exactly what size the battery is but I have to say it out throws my 4 "D" stock mag with ease. It seems that most of the throw has to do solely with the reflector and the lens, but I think the direct driven rechargeable battery works perfect. I'll make one for anybody who wants to buy one.

The new E1L will trounce a normal 3D M^g for throw and spill, especially with a R123 cell.

YES, but Direct Drive 3D TV1L will BLOW the Kl1 outta the water in throw, with the reflector fully focusing it.

jayflash said:

The new E1L will trounce a normal 3D M^g for throw and spill, especially with a R123 cell.

Click to expand...

An E1L will trounce an incand 3D Mag for throw?

I don't think so...

I know we all like to knock Mag but the stock 3D Mag will throw about three or four times what the E1L will.

With a lot more RT to boot. I do, actually, own a 3D Mag. The E1L, distantly, trails as a tool of crowd control, too. Talk about exrtemes of design & price...Neat!

3D NiMH DD should use an emitter with a K Vf. Then you'll see somewhere between 700-1000ma to it. L it might not be getting even 700ma ?

First off, sorry for the somewhat confusing post.

It seemed that my KL1 threw as far as my mag but did so with a considerably more useful (larger) and equally bright hotspot. I not surprised that the KL1 has a larger hotspot but I thought the mag would be significantly brighter.

I do think that it is being underdriven (esp. on Nimh), or the emitter is damaged (it does have a strange artifact on the very edge of the hotspot), or there is some resistance somewhere, or a combination of several of these.

This is more of a "homemade and modified" question I guess but which converter could I add to run it in regulation at 750 or 1000 ma off of 3D nimh? I will do a search and see what I can learn. I know these questions have been asked a hundreds of times.

I know very little about electronics (hence my mag being DD) so any advice is welcome.

Thanks for all the input.

Daegan