HELIOS

HELIOS, 3x 5W LS + Mag body, retail $200-$230
Manufactured by InReTECH
Last updated 07-08-06




OK, now this thing is bright!! You definitely don't want to aim this flashlight at your face and push the button!
Housed in a 6-D Maglite body (one way you can get yours), the HELIOS slashes a hole in the night with 3 five-watt white Luxeon Star LEDs, making it the 2nd most powerful LED flashlight money can buy!!! Shine this sucker around in a black alley or snag it during a power failure and you won't be left in the dark!!!


SIZE:



Use the HELIOS as you would use a big Mag-Lite; because it uses the Mag's body. Press the button on the barrel to get light, press it again to get dark.



The six D cells used by this giant (3 5W LS LEDs) are said to last about an hour, so you'll want to bring spares if you take the HELIOS on your next camping trip. I did not have this sample long enough to meter its current consumption, so your mileage may vary. :-P'

Unscrew & remove the tailcap, and dump the dead batteries in the nearest garbage can (or the battery disposal box, if your community has a battery reclamation program), and load six new ones in button (+) end first, then screw the tailcap firmly back on. Done with that, ya!!!

Update... on the 20A scale on my DMM, I measured 1.52 amps of current consumption, so the D cells get hit pretty hard yet should last more than just 1 hour.

I'd estimate a set of alkaline Duracells or Energizers should last approximately 8 hours to half-brightness; much longer than that to extinction.




This is a tough light, right from the get-go. The body of the unit is made by Mag Instruments; I did not have the pictured unit long enough to thrash & bash, so I don't yet have any test results for this section.



Beam photo
Measured an amazing 930,000 mcd! :-O
Used a LM631 light meter for testing.



TEST NOTES:
Test unit received 01-28-03 and needs to get passed on by 01-29-03 - so this page may be incomplete for the time being.


UPDATE: 05-15-03
I have a second loaner sample of this flashlight, so I ought to be able to run additional tests on it as time permits.


UPDATE: 05-30-03
I went to Rat Shack and got some new "D" cells for the light today, and measured 1,003,000mcd of light coming out the business end. I used a Meterman LM631 light meter for this test, just like before.


UPDATE: 04-29-04
Measures 1.18 amps and 900,000mcd on a set of six 2,000mAh Radio Shack NiCd cells. These cells are fresh off the charger, and were "broken in" by their previous owner, so I know I didn't do anything incorrectly.

I used a Meterman LM631 light meter for this test, just like the tests I ran before.


UPDATE: 07-18-04
I installed CadResearch reflectors (with the three legs removed) into the HELIOS, tested it with a set of 5,000mAh NiCd cells (that were purchased on Ebay a few weeks ago), and obtained the following results:

Measures 960,000mcd, versus the 340,000mcd it measured before I removed the reflector legs.
So yes, that's what I'd term as a "significant improvement".

Here is a picture of its beam at approximately 4 feet with the cut-down reflectors:


With alkaline cells, the intensity reading should exceed 1,000,000mcd. I don't have any new alkaline D cells, or the money to buy them, so I cannot verify this with a meter reading.


UPDATE: 03-06-06
InReTECH is now closing its doors because the owner can no longer keep it operational. This and all other InReTECH web pages will be kept available for the benefit of current InReTECH product owners.


UPDATE: 07-08-06
As a "thank you", a long-time fan of this website sent me a HELIOS among several other items (a SureFire E1e, seven "3-to-D" battery adapters, and some incandescent flashlight blubs along with the HELIOS), so it's only fair that this HELIOS make the big time - being published on this web page!!!




Beam photograph at ~12".
Measures 1,260,000mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrometer plot of the LEDs in this flashlight.
Ocean Optics USB2000 Spectrometer on loan from TWO-CUBED.



Beam photograph at ~10 feet.

Those rectangular graphic things at the upper left are marquees from:
Midway ''Omega Race''
Sega ''Star Trek''
Williams ''Joust''
Venture Line ''Looping''
Universal ''Mr. Do!'s Castle''
Jaleco ''Exerion''
Gremlin/Sega ''Astro Blaster''
Atari ''Tempest''

upright coin-op arcade video games from the 1980s.

And that red star thing on the marquees is from an American DJ Laser Widow.


PROS:
Stands up on its tail - if you balance it carefully
Very bright
Durable when used in a Mag as directed
Easy to install in your own Mag if you wish
Can also come pre-installed if you can't find a 6-D Mag in your area


CONS:
Very large and heavy
Does not focus like the original Mag did


    MANUFACTURER: InReTech
    PRODUCT TYPE: Drop-in mod for 6D Maglite
    LAMP TYPE: Luxeon Star LED, 5W white
    No. OF LAMPS: 3
    BEAM TYPE: Central hotspot with soft fall-off
    SWITCH TYPE: Rubberised pushbutton on barrel
    BEZEL: LS "New Style" Optics, protected by Mag's lens
    BATTERY: 6x alkaline "D" cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 1.52 amps with alkaline cells
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes, splash-resistant
    SUBMERSIBLE: Not that I'm aware
    ACCESSORIES: None I know of
    WARRANTY: 1 Year

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating









HELIOS *






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