L.E.D. UPGRADE COMBO KIT

L.E.D. Upgrade Combo Kit, retail $11.99 (www.rightaid.com)
Manufactured by Nite Ize (www.niteize.com)
Last updated 05-06-09






Wel, thuh kompanie thaat maiks thuh Nite Ize retroafittz kant spel thuh werds "night" orr "eyes", but they still make an excellent product.

This is a product designed to replace the incandescent light blub in your Mini-Mag with LEDs. The white LEDs do not have delicate filaments to break when your Mini-Mag is dropped or thrown, and LEDs don't normally burn out after a couple of dozen hours like incandescent flashlight bulbs do.

The Nite Ize L.E.D. Combo Upgrade Kit consists of a three-LED module that replaces the bulb in the flashlight, a reflector ring that turns the light on and off, and a tailcap switch that also serves to turn the unit on & off. The LED module in the kit has a step-up circuit built in that allows the white LEDs to operate at full power from the two AA cells the flashlight uses.


SIZE



To use the kit, you'll need to have or purchase a Mini-Mag flashlight - this is the type that runs from two AA cells, and has a twist-to-light bezel. Install the batteries in the Mini-Mag first.

  • Unscrew and remove the Mini-Mag's head, and set it aside. Remove the incandescent bulb while it's burning - do not remove the batteries.

  • Remove the bulb by pulling it straight out with your fingers.

  • Grasp the flashlight head firmly, and unscrew the metal ring at the lens-end.

  • Remove the reflector, and replace it with the reflector ring furnished with the kit.

  • Screw the metal ring back on the flashlight head.

  • Install the Nite Ize adapter by inserting its two round pegs into the holes once occupied by the bulb. Push the adapter straight down; don't twist or try to force it in at an angle. Use gentle but firm pressure to insert the adapter.

  • If the Nite Ize adapter did not light up, remove it, turn it 180° (to reverse the position of the two pegs), and reinsert it. It will light up when you have it in correctly.

  • Screw the flashlight head back on, and tighten until the flashlight goes out and the head stops turning. The head only needs to be finger-tight. Do NOT overtighten it, because something might become broken if you screw the head on too tight. Turn the Mini-Mag's head counterclockwise until it lights. Unscrew and remove the original tailcap, and screw the tailcap switch on that was supplied with the kit.

    Press tailcap button lightly and hold it that way to get intermittent light; release it to turn the light back off.

    Press the tailcap button a little more firmly until it clicks and then release it to turn the flashlight on in continuous or hands-free mode. Press and release the button the same way to turn the flashlight off.

    Functionally, the finished flashlight is pretty much like a regular Mini-Mag, except that there is no beam width adjustment. Batteries are loaded from the rear.



    This light uses the same 2 AA cells as the original Mini-Mag, and they're loaded and unloaded the same way. Unscrew the tailcap, dispose of the old AA cells (or recycle them, if your community has a battery reclamation program), slide two new AA cells in with the button-end (+) positive going in first, and screw the tailcap back on. This battery change is easy when compared to some other flashlights, and you should be able to accomplish it in total darkness.

    Measures 127.8mA on my DMM's 400mA scale.



    As a flashlight, the unit is reasonably sturdy (as all Mag-Lites are), and is of a proven physical design. Mag Instruments (of which Nite Ize has *no* affiliation!) has been making flashlights for years, and they have a long track record for durability.

    Smacking the unit ten times against a steel rod (five near the tailcap, and five on the side of the bezel) caused no visible damage other than possibly some slight marring of the ribbing on the bezel, and the adapter itself was not damaged in any fashion.

    The assembled flashlight is weather- and water-resistant, and has at least some degree of waterproofness. When the tailcap was removed, the unit was relieved of its batteries, and that dreadful suction test was performed, no leakage was detected. I don't know how waterproof it is, but you would not kill it if you dropped it in a puddle, slush pile, snowbank, or similar.

    The light consists of a wide spot with soft edges. The light has a slight bluish tint, but if you showed a roomfull of people the beam and asked them to tell you what color they saw, everybody in that room would holler "WHITE!!!" in response to that query. I think I can pretty much guarantee you that.



    Beam photograph at ~12".
    Measures 62,700mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.



    Beam photograph on a wall at ~10 feet.
    Those colored graphics toward the left are my "Viva Piņata" posters, and that clock on the right that looks like a gigantic wristwatch is my Infinity Optics Clock.
    You may also be able to see two of my SpongeBob SquarePants plush (Squidward Tentacles and Patrick Star) and a Digimon plush (Greymon).


    Spectrographic plot
    Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this flashlight.
    USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.


    ProMetric analysis
    Beam cross-sectional analysis.
    Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.




    TEST NOTES:
    Test unit was purchased at a Right Aid store in Federal Way WA. USA on 05-03-09.

    Product was made in China.
    A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


    UPDATE: 00-00-00



    PROS:
    Easy to install
    Decent brightness for a 2 cell product


    CONS:
    Renders the original flashlight no longer focusable


      MANUFACTURER: Nite Ize
      PRODUCT TYPE: LED bulb retrofit for Mini-Mag
      LAMP TYPE: 5mm white LED
      No. OF LAMPS: 3
      BEAM TYPE: Wide spot with smooth penumbra; three blobs in corona
      SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/momentary/off on tailcap
      BEZEL: Metal; LEDs and reflector protected by plastic window
      BATTERY: 2xAA cells
      CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 127.8mA
      WATER RESISTANT: Yes (when assembled)
      SUBMERSIBLE: Yes, to shallow depths anyway (when assembled)
      ACCESSORIES: Reflector, tailcap switch
      WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

      PRODUCT RATING:

      Star Rating





    L.E.D. Upgrade Combo Kit * www.niteize.com... and www.niteize.com...






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