Note that there are at least 12 photographs of the TriLight-III on this page; please be patient.
TriLight-III Adapter, retail $130-$150
Manufactured by InReTECH
Last updated 03-06-06
When you get one of these, DON'T be stupid and aim it at your face and push the button. You'll get a rather unpleasant surprise if you do.
The TriLight-III comes as both a retrofit you can put in your own 4-cell Mag, or as a complete, ready-to-use flashlight if you don't have a 4-cell Mag in the house, garage, office, car, truck, or whatever.
What distinguishes a TriLight-III from an original TriLight is that the TriLight-III uses the new Luxeon Star III, a high powered LED from LumiLEDs that is rated for 3 watts, instead of the 1.2 watts the original LS LED is rated for. So you can spend less money on it than you would on a Helios adapter, and you'll still have a really bright flashlight.
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The tested unit was provided as a complete flashlight; pressing the rubber button on the barrel turns it on and off.
Functionally, it is pretty much like a regular Mag-Lite, except that there is no beam width adjustment. Batteries are loaded from the rear.
If you are retrofitting your own Mag with this product, the following steps should take care of it:
Unscrew the head, and set it aside.
Unscrew the collar that holds the light bulb in (as you would for replacing the bulb), and remove the bulb. Do not replace the collar you took off when you removed the old bulb. Throw the collar in a drawer or somewhere else you can find it in case you ever want to go back to a regular bulb.
Screw the head assembly back onto the Mag's body.
Now, unscrew the TOP of the head (this is the lens retaining ring), from the main part of the head assembly as you would do to change the lens.
Remove the reflector (throw it in the same drawer as the bulb collar).
Put the TriLight-III module in the opening in the flashlight's barrel, and screw it into the bulb holder (clockwise) until it stops turning.
Place the acrylic optics over each LED, skinny side down. Be sure the flashlight is held perfectly upright here, or the optics might fall over or fall off.
Screw the top of the head assembly back onto the bottom of the head assembly. The plastic lens should hold the acrylic optics in place and not fall off.
Do not aim at face. Place on a hard surface. Light fuse and get away.
To change dead batteries, unscrew & remove the tailcap, dump the dead batteries in the nearest garbage can (or the dead battery box, if your community has a battery reclamation program), and load four new D cells in, button (+) end first. Finally, screw the tailcap firmly back on. Done with that, fun ya!!!
Measures 1.84 amps (approx. 613.33mA per LED) in a 4-D cell Mag on my DMM, with the DMM set to the 20A scale to help minimise shunt resistance error.
This is a tough light, right from the get-go. The body of the unit is made by Mag Instruments.
Although I've knocked over and dropped this light a few times, I haven't tried to drown it in the toilet, or bash it against a steel rod more than a few times - I stop when the downstairs neighbor starts beating on his ceiling with a toilet plunger handle, letting me know he can hear me beating the devil out of the flashlight and that I ought to stop.
I know most people don't go around running over flashlights, but I did run over it with my 400lb electric chair as part of my durability testing, and caused no damage to the flashlight.
When the TriLight-III is thrown, it hits the floor with that characteristic, loud, Mag-Lite-like clanging sound; but it just comes right back for more. Punishment like this would cause a regular incandescent light bulb to blow out, but the TriLight-III is like that insipid rabbit on the TV commercial - it just keeps going, and going, and going...
Each LED is served by its own high-power SMD resistor, like the electronic experts say they ought to be. The PCB is affixed to its heatsink slug with screws, so it can't come loose and ruin the LEDs. I tried to take the lens retaining section off the flashlight head so I could examine the LEDs and heatsink slug, but I was not able to. So that part of the test will have to be done by somebody who bought the TriLight-III as a module, rather than as a complete flashlight.
Update 01-21-04: I managed to unscrew the lens retaining ring so I could exchange the original Trilight III adapter with a new and improved one. So I guess I won't have any pictures of the original one, since I mailed it off already.
While I'm certain the optics in the TriLight III aren't the standard NX-05 optics like you might find in the original TriLight (note the three concentric rings in each one), I honestly don't know what they are. So please stop emailing me about them.
Update 01-22-04: The optics in my Trilight III are acrylic Fraen types; the module would normally ship with acrylic NX-05 optics as you might normally associate with Luxeon Star LEDs. So the question can finally be put to rest.
Beam photo at ~12".
Measures 741,000mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.
The brownish color is not really what you'd see;
the picture directly below is more accurate.
Beam on the wall-ceiling corner from ~6 feet away.
New version (01-21-04) of the Trilight III.
Beam on the wall-ceiling corner from ~6 feet away.
TriLight-III lighting up a window of used up old insulaters about 15 feet away.
TEST NOTES:
TriLight-III adapter plus the 4-D flashlight it fits in were received 11-10-03. I promised I would get it up on my website as soon as I could, so here ya go.
I don't break promises (well, I *try not to* anyway), so there.
I also received several other articles from InReTECH along with the TriLight-III, so I'll try to get them on this website when I can. One of the articles I received was UV-reactive stamp pad ink from Leo at www.inretech.net/pslab. I don't have a stamp pad or stamps; guess this gives me a reason to buy them the next time I have some money lying around. :)
Oh, and this is the FIRST TriLight-III ever to be made - thank you Mike!!!
The TriLight-III adapter is $130 by itself, or $150 with a 4-D Maglite body.
UPDATE: 01-21-04
The Trilight III has been improved - the new model now measures 820,000mcd instead of 741,000mcd like the original.
In my opinion, the color of the new sample is also slightly better - it's just slightly cooler than the light produced by the original Trilight III. However, color is more of a subjective thing, not something I can quantify with any kind of meter. You may prefer a cooler color, or a warmer one.
I mailed off my original Trilight III module, so I do not have the two to perform any comparitave analyses - please do not ask me to compare the two because I cannot.
Here's the new version of the Trilight III, as pictured above.
Just in case you missed the picture I posted above. :-)
UPDATE: 06-19-04
I was supplied with three CadResearch reflectors to use in leiu of the acrylic optics that come with the TriLight III.
First thing I noticed is that I didn't want to screw the lens retaining ring all the way on, or else risk cracking or breaking the reflectors
and/or glass lens in my TriLight III.
Acrylic optic on the left, CadResearch reflector on the right.
Here are the results I obtained with the existing batteries already in the flashlight:
Original optics: 610,000mcd
CadResearch reflectors: 790,000mcd
IMPORTANT: I don't have and can't afford new D cells for this test, otherwise I'd have installed new batteries in the flashlight for these tests.
Before
After
Both photographs were taken at ~5 feet, for consistency sakes. The flashlight and camera were precisely positioned before each shot, to ensure the distance would not vary between the "before" and "after" photographs.
UPDATE: 07-18-04
I cut the plastic "legs" off the reflectors, loaded the TriLight III with four 5,000mAh NiCd cells, and re-ran the test:
Before
After
Measurements, using a Meterman LM631 light meter:
Optics: 633,000mcd
Reflectors: 1,500,000mcd
As you can see in these photographs, the beam is considerably narrower with the reflectors than it is with the acrylic optics.
Both photographs were taken at ~4 feet against an off-white wall, for consistency sakes. The flashlight and camera were precisely positioned before each shot, to ensure the distance would not vary between the "before" and "after" photographs.
UPDATE: 08-04-04
I have decided to add the TriLight III to the Trophy Case, as I think it is a good enough product to deserve that honour.
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.
PROS:
Really {vulgar term for having intercourse} bright!!!
Assembled flashlight is reasonably durable
Never have to worry about blowing out a blub
Batteries are easy to find pretty much anywhere.
CONS:
Flashlight is large & heavy. Not a pocket flashlight.
Initial cost is quite high.
Pushbutton switch on barrel could let in water
MANUFACTURER: InReTECH
PRODUCT TYPE: Drop-in module for 4-cell Mag Lite
LAMP TYPE: Luxeon Star III LED
No. OF LAMPS: 3
BEAM TYPE: Narrow flood, no artifacts
SWITCH TYPE: Rubber covered pushbutton on/off on barrel
BEZEL: LEDs and optics protected by plastic lens
BATTERY: 4x D cells
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 1.84 amps (1,840mA)
WATER RESISTANT: Yes, splash-resistant at minimum
SUBMERSIBLE: No
ACCESSORIES: None
WARRANTY: 1 year
PRODUCT RATING:
TriLight-III module *
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