MINI-MAG LED (3xAA)

Mini-Mag LED (3xAA), retail $27.97 (www.lowes.com...)
Manufactured by Mag Instruments (www.maglite.com)
Last updated 07-17-07




Mag Instruments has always been known for making decent quality adjustable-beam incandescent flashlights; they have gotten into the LED racket as of late with a selection of products - this is just one of them.

It looks like a Mini Mag.
It smells like a Mini Mag.
But it produces this brilliant bluish-white light, instead of that sickly yellow glow we've all come to know & love {cough, sputter, sound of a wall-mounted porcelain urinator flushing} from Mini Mags.

This flashlight features a Luxeon III LED at the bottom of a mirror-smooth reflector, has an adjustable beam width, and comes in an aluminum body with a trio of AA cells in the barrel to feed the LED with.


SIZE



Mag Lites are sometimes sold with batteries.
This sample came with the batteries, and they were already installed.

Once you install batteries, the light itself is easy to use. Just turn the bezel (head) counterclockwise to turn it on, and turn it clockwise to turn it off.

The beam can be adjusted from a tight spot to a wide flood by turning the head one way or the other.



To change the used AA cells, unscrew the tailcap until it comes off. Tip out the old cells (if any), and then slip in three new AA cells, positive (+) end first. Don't hold the light vertically and drop them in because that can damage the switch. Rather, hold the light horizontally and slide them in. This way, they won't smack into the switch contact with any real force.

With all three of the cells in place, screw the tailcap on. The spring will have substantial tension on it, so don't be afraid to push on the end while turning until you catch the threads. Then tighten it until it stops.

Measures 144mA on my DMM's 4A scale.



For years, Mag Lites have been known to be among the most durable of all commonly available flashlights. They're made of aluminum, and are sealed with O-rings throughout. You can use them as a hammer in an emergency. Then again, a good number of flashlights now being produced can be used as flashlights cum hammers.

Because this is a loaner, I won't throw it against the wall, stomp on it, try to drown it in the toylet bowl or the cistern, run over it, swing it against the concrete floor of a patio, bash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannonada (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piņata" too much again - candiosity is usually checked with a scanner-type device on a platform or a handheld wand), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, or inflict upon it punishments that flashlights may have inflicted upon them. Therefore, this section of the laser's web page will seem a bit more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.

It appears to have a Type II anodizing on all of its exterior surfaces.

Though Mag Lites aren't rated as being submersible, they are water resistant and should survive accidental falls into shallow water just fine if you pick them out of the water right away. This unit passed "The Suction Test" I performed on it, so it should indeed be water-resistant; possibly even submersible to shallow depths too.

The bezel (head) can be removed completely and the flashlight stood on its tailcap for use as an electronic "candle". Please note that the unit will no longer be waterproof or even water-resistant when used in this fashion, so please do not place it directly under the drip in a leaky tent if you decide to use it this way.






Beam photograph (narrow focus) on the test target at 12".
Measures 1,106,000mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.



Beam photograph (narrow focus) on the test target at ~20".
Distance is increased to allow the spill beam to be seen.



Beam photograph (wide focus) on the test target at ~20".
Measures 44,700mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.
Distance is increased to allow the spill beam to be seen.



Beam photograph on a wall at ~10 feet.
Those rectangular graphic things in the upper left quadrant of this photograph are marquees from:
Nintendo ''R-Type''
Super Tiger...er...uh...Konami ''Super Cobra''
Midway ''Omega Race''
Sega ''Star Trek''
Williams ''Joust''
Venture Line ''Looping''
Universal ''Mr. Do!'s Castle''
Jaleco ''Exerion''
Gremlin/Sega ''Astro Blaster''
Atari ''Tempest''
Gottlieb ''Q*bert''

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

And that graphic toward the right is:
A "BIG SCARY LASER" poster sent by www.megagreen.co.uk


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


ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis.


ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis.
Same as above, but with wide focus to show that dreadul "doughnut hole".
Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.



TEST NOTES:
Test unit of this and one other product was loaned to me by a website
fan on 07-03-07, and were received on the afternoon of 07-17-07.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:



CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: Mag Instruments
    PRODUCT TYPE: Handheld flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: White Luxeon III LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Adjustable from spot to flood
    SWITCH TYPE: Twist bezel on/off
    CASE MATERIAL: Aluminum
    BEZEL: Aluminum; LED & reflector protected by plastic window
    BATTERY: 3xAA cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 144mA
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: Unknown; possibly to shallow depths
    ACCESSORIES: 3xAA cells, belt holster
    WARRANTY: Lifetime

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Mini-Mag LED (3xAA) * www.loews.com...






Do you manufacture or sell an LED flashlight, task light, utility light, or module of some kind? Want to see it tested by a real person, under real working conditions? Do you then want to see how your light did? If you have a sample available for this type of real-world, real-time testing, please contact me at ledmuseum@gmail.com.

Please visit this web page for contact information.

Unsolicited flashlights appearing in the mail are welcome, and it will automatically be assumed that you sent it in order to have it tested and evaluated for this site.
Be sure to include contact info or your company website's URL so visitors here will know where to purchase your product.


WHITE 5500-6500K InGaN+phosphor 
ULTRAVIOLET 370-390nm GaN 
BLUE 430nm GaN+SiC
BLUE 450 and 473nm InGaN
BLUE Silicon Carbide
TURQUOISE 495-505nm InGaN
GREEN 525nm InGaN 
YELLOW-GREEN 555-575mn GaAsP & related
YELLOW 585-595nm
AMBER 595-605nm
ORANGE 605-620nm
ORANGISH-RED 620-635nm
RED 640-700nm
INFRARED 700-1300nm
True RGB Full Color LED
Spider (Pirrahna) LEDs
SMD LEDs
True violet (400-418nm) LEDs
Agilent Barracuda & Prometheus LEDs
Oddball & Miscellaneous LEDs
Programmable RGB LED modules / fixtures
Where to buy these LEDs 
Links to other LED-related websites
The World's First Virtual LED Museum
Legal horse puckey, etc.
RETURN TO OPENING/MAIN PAGE
LEDSaurus (on-site LED Mini Mart)



This page is a frame from a website.
If you arrived on this page through an outside link,you can get the "full meal deal" by clicking here.