change your maglite to L.E.D.
- Thread startertechieman33
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techieman33
Well-Known Member
TBNAudioEngineer
Member
LED Fanatics
RadioShack LED are far overpriced for the quality of the LED. If you want cheap, AND QUALITY LEDS order from superbrightleds.com You can get 10mm leds for under $2. I use them for my car in the headlights, turn signals, and brake lights. The very best on the market currently are Luxeon LEDs. They have 1watt, 3watt, and even 5watt leds. They are very pricey with some near $45 per led, but nothing is nearly as bright.
Jonathan G. Phillips
WDLI - Canton, Ohio
Audio Engineer / LED Fanatic
RadioShack LED are far overpriced for the quality of the LED. If you want cheap, AND QUALITY LEDS order from superbrightleds.com You can get 10mm leds for under $2. I use them for my car in the headlights, turn signals, and brake lights. The very best on the market currently are Luxeon LEDs. They have 1watt, 3watt, and even 5watt leds. They are very pricey with some near $45 per led, but nothing is nearly as bright.
Jonathan G. Phillips
WDLI - Canton, Ohio
Audio Engineer / LED Fanatic
hmm.. this is an interesting conversation.. I think what I would do is convert two 2AA minimags... one with a standard white LED and one with a red LED so I can read a script in the dark without losing my nightvision as badly.
I also own a 4 D cell maglight that works great as a flashlight and also, as my friend dubbed it, a "people beater".
I also own a 4 D cell maglight that works great as a flashlight and also, as my friend dubbed it, a "people beater".
techieman33
Well-Known Member
it's no fun to just put red gel over it during a show, it's nice to have an actual red l.e.d. One reason is the batteries last forever.
I'll have to look into superbrightleds.com, that would be nice to have some more powerful l.e.d's.
At one time i had something like 5 maglite's converted to l.e.d. a red, blue, yellow, white, and a green. But I have lost most of them over the last year or so, all i can find now is the blue one. I always seem to lose maglites.
And I call my 4 D-cell maglite the german shepard killer, one of my friends told me that on one of packages for one, he saw that they were guarenteed to kill a german shepard, and that sounded kinda cool, so that's what i call it.
I'll have to look into superbrightleds.com, that would be nice to have some more powerful l.e.d's.
At one time i had something like 5 maglite's converted to l.e.d. a red, blue, yellow, white, and a green. But I have lost most of them over the last year or so, all i can find now is the blue one. I always seem to lose maglites.
And I call my 4 D-cell maglite the german shepard killer, one of my friends told me that on one of packages for one, he saw that they were guarenteed to kill a german shepard, and that sounded kinda cool, so that's what i call it.
i admit. I have returned to the maglight world. I'm not saying that i've dropped my cell led light yet. My reasons? the LED on my Cell is good for close distances and general flood, but when it comes to working on specific projects or using your mag as a security guard, the mag is much better becasue it focuses.
The best thing that i have found for when you're working in confined spaces is a head lamp. it does make you look like a geek, but boy is it ever handy
The best thing that i have found for when you're working in confined spaces is a head lamp. it does make you look like a geek, but boy is it ever handy
scarlco
Member
Although modifying a mag yourself is by far the cheaper alternative, I've done business with this site: www.theledlight.com - they've got almost everything, including the flashlight conversion kits.
My newest, favorite, and by far most expensive light is the Inova X0. It's 1 LED at 1 watt, and the brightness is comparable to my scorpion. Uses the same batteries, but lasts MUCH longer. I've got the Inova X5 and X1 as well - both have their purposes. The X5 is a great little wide source of light, while the X1 is extremely focused - great for those tight areas backstage. I call it my 'mini-spot', and the darned thing is almost bright enough to use as one... if it's really dark on stage, that is.
My newest, favorite, and by far most expensive light is the Inova X0. It's 1 LED at 1 watt, and the brightness is comparable to my scorpion. Uses the same batteries, but lasts MUCH longer. I've got the Inova X5 and X1 as well - both have their purposes. The X5 is a great little wide source of light, while the X1 is extremely focused - great for those tight areas backstage. I call it my 'mini-spot', and the darned thing is almost bright enough to use as one... if it's really dark on stage, that is.
I've tested the two major players in self-contained LED upgrades for MiniMags, the Opalec NewBeam and the TerraLux MiniStar 2. The Opalec review appeared in TD&T magazine (the official publication of USITT) some time back, and both that and the new MiniStar review will appear on my new review/tips/stories from the road site once I get it up and running (by the end of the month, I expect).
For the short version, both are about $30, and both are great. Both feature voltage step-up circuits that allow the light to put out a constant light level for hours and hours, long after a standard MiniMag has become useless. The NewBeam has three LEDs and is available in white and blue (the blue is available from Rose Brand, the white from various online dealers); it also has a fourth dim red LED that serves as a low battery indicator.
The MiniStar2 has one side-firing LED, which means that, with it's custom reflector, it is still focusable, which the NewBeam isn't. It is brighter than the NewBeam, but doesn't last quite as long. It doesn't have a low battery indicator, you'll have to judge by when the step-up finally gives in and the light level drops.
Both are pretty sturdy and will take a drop well.
I've been using the MiniStar lately since I am FOH and there's so much other light around that I typically don't need the blue (although of course I could get another and gel it blue), but it's a pretty close toss-up between the two. Brightness vs. battery life and a low-batt indicator is basically what it comes down to, since I never change the focus on my MiniStar. Before I got the MiniStar, the NewBeams served me quite well--I used the white for load-ins and outs and the blue for show calls throughout all of the '03-'04 tour of "The Full Monty", and it never let me down.
FWIW, I have also swapped out the tailcaps of all three of my lights (white NewBeam, blue NewBeam, MiniStar2) with Kroll rubber pushbutton tailcap switches. You push them in partway and they act as momentary switches, all the way and they click on. It's really only a MiniMag in body now, LOL. Since I had the Mags lying around, and the upgrade kits are cheaper than tactical lights anyway, and AA batteries are much easier to come by for cheap than the various odd batteries that the bright tacticals usually use, it was a no-brainer for me.
Best,
Andy
P.S.-There's another brand of switch out there, too, the Ram Instrument Tailcap Switch. I do NOT reccomend it in any way, shape, or form. I liked the design better, because it's a knurled knob with an inset button, but the button is wired backwards so that the momentary shuts it off, rather than on, and of the two I ordered, one didn't work right out of the box. Eek!
For the short version, both are about $30, and both are great. Both feature voltage step-up circuits that allow the light to put out a constant light level for hours and hours, long after a standard MiniMag has become useless. The NewBeam has three LEDs and is available in white and blue (the blue is available from Rose Brand, the white from various online dealers); it also has a fourth dim red LED that serves as a low battery indicator.
The MiniStar2 has one side-firing LED, which means that, with it's custom reflector, it is still focusable, which the NewBeam isn't. It is brighter than the NewBeam, but doesn't last quite as long. It doesn't have a low battery indicator, you'll have to judge by when the step-up finally gives in and the light level drops.
Both are pretty sturdy and will take a drop well.
I've been using the MiniStar lately since I am FOH and there's so much other light around that I typically don't need the blue (although of course I could get another and gel it blue), but it's a pretty close toss-up between the two. Brightness vs. battery life and a low-batt indicator is basically what it comes down to, since I never change the focus on my MiniStar. Before I got the MiniStar, the NewBeams served me quite well--I used the white for load-ins and outs and the blue for show calls throughout all of the '03-'04 tour of "The Full Monty", and it never let me down.
FWIW, I have also swapped out the tailcaps of all three of my lights (white NewBeam, blue NewBeam, MiniStar2) with Kroll rubber pushbutton tailcap switches. You push them in partway and they act as momentary switches, all the way and they click on. It's really only a MiniMag in body now, LOL. Since I had the Mags lying around, and the upgrade kits are cheaper than tactical lights anyway, and AA batteries are much easier to come by for cheap than the various odd batteries that the bright tacticals usually use, it was a no-brainer for me.
Best,
Andy
P.S.-There's another brand of switch out there, too, the Ram Instrument Tailcap Switch. I do NOT reccomend it in any way, shape, or form. I liked the design better, because it's a knurled knob with an inset button, but the button is wired backwards so that the momentary shuts it off, rather than on, and of the two I ordered, one didn't work right out of the box. Eek!
In the picture above, from your website, the heads of both of your flashlights are silver, rather than the black like the body. Is this because of the LED retrofit, or did you just buy them that way? I'm seriously considering buying one of these, as well as that tailcap switch, so I'd like all the information I can get.
P.S. I tried to ask this question via the comments section of your site, but it didn't work.
Hey Simon,
Your post at the site did actually work, it just is set up to require me to approve posts before they appear right now, until I can get a good comment spam blocking system in place.
Anyway, I hadn't mentioned that, but I'll talk about it when I put up the post about the tailcap switches. The multi-colored body I did, swapping parts from multiple Mags. Over the years I've had various color combos--I used to have a set of black and blue ones where the black head was my white light and the blue had a blue gel, for example. If you look closely, the one on the left in that photo is silver, while the one on the right is pewter, if you want to get technical
)
So, short answer, nope, nothing to do with the LED upgrade, I just like to be able to tell mine apart form everybody else's really easily.
--A
Your post at the site did actually work, it just is set up to require me to approve posts before they appear right now, until I can get a good comment spam blocking system in place.
Anyway, I hadn't mentioned that, but I'll talk about it when I put up the post about the tailcap switches. The multi-colored body I did, swapping parts from multiple Mags. Over the years I've had various color combos--I used to have a set of black and blue ones where the black head was my white light and the blue had a blue gel, for example. If you look closely, the one on the left in that photo is silver, while the one on the right is pewter, if you want to get technical
)So, short answer, nope, nothing to do with the LED upgrade, I just like to be able to tell mine apart form everybody else's really easily.
--A
Alright, great. I, on the other hand, like the one color thing. And the light is either in my hand or in my belt pouch, so it's chances of getting lost are slim!
I'm looking foreward to reading your review of the tailcap switch. It seems like a really good idea, hopefully it's put into practice well.
I'm looking foreward to reading your review of the tailcap switch. It seems like a really good idea, hopefully it's put into practice well.
jyenish
Member
I carry two flashlights. I have my mini mag on my belt with my multitool and my LED is in my tool pouch. I like how bright the mag is when doing repair work or even just when I need a flashlight outside the theater. However during shows the LED is great for just enough light to see. If you don't mind having two lights it works well for me
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