Page 3 of 3

PostPosted: Dec 22, 2006 4:54 pm
by driggs
FiddleCaver wrote:Anybody know if the mag is regulated. I'm just guessing that it's not, which means that it should be brighter with NiMH batteries. Am I on track?


If it's regulated, then it's not regulated well. NiMH batteries will give you a more "regulated" constant light output than will alkalines (due to the flatter discharge curve of NiMH batteries) but it won't be "brighter" except perhaps on average.

See http://www.cpfreviews.com/MiniMag-2AALED.php

Image

Red curve is NiMH runtime, blue is alkaline runtime.

I'm sticking with my Fenix L2!

:idea:

PostPosted: Dec 23, 2006 10:34 am
by hewhocaves
i just bought one last night. (i'm a sucker for anything said on these forums). Dear sweet baby Jesus it's bright!!

I bought the 3AA variety for $27- at Lows (the 2AA variety was 24). 3AAs seems to still fit on the helmet withougt it sticking too far over the edge (considering we've tossed things like carbide lamps on, i wouldn't worry about the length of the light).

the focusing is pretty good. We were a pleasantly surprised about how much you could focus it overall. I'll probably drag it underground over MLK weekend and see how well it works in some of the bigger WV caves

John

PostPosted: Dec 23, 2006 11:36 pm
by paoconnell
NZcaver wrote:For those of you who prefer using AA NiMH's... the runtime on the 2xAA Minimag LED is apparently even better with those than alkalines. :woohoo:

See candlepower forums - http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... ge=2&pp=30


I think one might need to be careful with using NiMH AAs with flashlights, per one of the digital camera forums I read occasionally. Unlike many electronic gadgets (like digital cameras), flashlights with regular bulbs will draw down a NiMH battery far more than it's supposed to be. However, I don't know if LED flashlights (which don't draw as much current as a lightbulb) will damage NiMH batteries or not.

OK EEs--let's get some thought going on this.

Pat O'Connell

PostPosted: Dec 24, 2006 2:47 pm
by driggs
paoconnell wrote:I think one might need to be careful with using NiMH AAs with flashlights, per one of the digital camera forums I read occasionally. Unlike many electronic gadgets (like digital cameras), flashlights with regular bulbs will draw down a NiMH battery far more than it's supposed to be. However, I don't know if LED flashlights (which don't draw as much current as a lightbulb) will damage NiMH batteries or not.


As mentioned in the links posted previously, this light abrubtly shuts down when the batteries reach 0.95 volts. It will not damage NiMH batteries.

Of course, this means that you'd better have your spare set of batteries handy when it suddenly goes dark on you!

3 watt mini mag

PostPosted: Jan 22, 2007 1:19 pm
by pebblepoint
I too bought the 3 AA model. Saturday's trip was 5 1/2 hrs on one set of batteries and they still look good. It was on constantly so I could check how long it would last. Outstanding light. I'm using these as my 3 primary sources in the future to save pack bulk and weight.
don
little egypt grotto
carbondale

Mini mag led

PostPosted: Jan 22, 2007 2:16 pm
by Tony Anders
How did the mini mag led shine in the caves. The LED we have used in the caves have sort of displaced or not really shine a real far distance. I take them for backup lights for sure, but when trying see or look at something in a distance I was curious as to how the 3 battery light worked.

Thanks

Re: Mini mag led

PostPosted: Jan 22, 2007 3:02 pm
by JoeyS
Tony Anders wrote:How did the mini mag led shine in the caves. The LED we have used in the caves have sort of displaced or not really shine a real far distance. I take them for backup lights for sure, but when trying see or look at something in a distance I was curious as to how the 3 battery light worked.

Thanks

Maybe the LED you're using are of the nichia variety. They have internal reflectors and aren't as bright by themselves compared to a 1 or 3 watt Luxeon style (which is what is in the minimag). The new 3 watt that this thread is about is a side emitting, 3 watt. It uses the reflector of the maglite itself to focus a tight beam. I would suggest youi pick one up at walmart, etc.., save the receipt, and try it out in a dark room. You could easily cave with this light as a primary if you had to.

PostPosted: Feb 6, 2007 10:43 am
by CaveGimp
I got a 2AA 3-watt mini-mag as a present a few months ago and strapped it to me helmet as a backup. I liked it so much on the first cave trip I used it instead of my Petzl Zoom. The Apex is my next purchase, but for a backup light it has pretty good output and at least the bulb won't be broken when my main goes dead. It was a tight crawly Arizona cave so the light was almost too much. I'm very happy with it.

PostPosted: Feb 6, 2007 4:41 pm
by ooohfishy
I purchased an INOVA X03 LED flashlight (2, 3V batteries) it's a 3.9 Watt LED. Pretty bright. Purchased at Target for $50.

As far as ruggedness goes over the MAG, I'm not sure.

But the size of the flashlight and the power is pretty impressive to me.

My friends got me (as a b-day gift - rare for a girl to request a FLASHLIGHT for her birthday...) a Surefire 9P flashlight - runs off of 3, 3V batteries.

My Surefire feels much more rugged than the INOVA. But I'm not a flashlight pro.. so Idunno.

PostPosted: Feb 6, 2007 4:53 pm
by NZcaver
ooohfishy wrote:I purchased an INOVA X03 LED flashlight (2, 3V batteries) it's a 3.9 Watt LED. Pretty bright. Purchased at Target for $50.

As far as ruggedness goes over the MAG, I'm not sure.

But the size of the flashlight and the power is pretty impressive to me.

My friends got me (as a b-day gift - rare for a girl to request a FLASHLIGHT for her birthday...) a Surefire 9P flashlight - runs off of 3, 3V batteries.

My Surefire feels much more rugged than the INOVA. But I'm not a flashlight pro.. so Idunno.

Those are nice, bright, expensive flashlights. I'm sure they'll do fine caving. As discussed in other threads, many cavers tend to gravitate towards headlamps, flashlights, cameras, and other in-cave devices that use AA batteries. The batteries are cheap, easy to get most anywhere, you can use alkaline OR NiMH rechargeables to your heart's content, and (best of all) you can swap them back and forth between devices on a trip. Also most flashlights that use 3v CR123s tend to have a fairly short battery life, in my experience.

My 2 cents... :grin:

PostPosted: Feb 6, 2007 8:45 pm
by YuccaPatrol
Before I got my Apex, I only had a 5+ year old Black Diamond headlamp. The LED's were not fantastic from the era and the halogen bulb burned batteries too fast.

So I bought one of the 3AA models and strapped it to the side of my helmet. Very nice light and like other said, almost too bright in tight areas.

My 3AA MINI-Mag is definitely my #1 backup and was great as my primary.