Maxa Beam question??

BeastFlashlight

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Correct me if I'm wrong please, all the model advancements for the Maxa Beam has been for the battery advancement and not the light itself correct? I've seen the 1207 battery, I've seen the 1307, and now they have the LifePO4 1308 & 1310...However, for all the lights for sale that I see with varying batteries the light itself is always MBS-410.

Was there an even older model that you just don't see anymore that wasn't MBS-410? THe reason I ask is because sometimes in the past I recalled seeing 7,000,000 candle power instead of 12,000,000 candle power. I basically can get a brand new MBS-410 (light only) for $600. I want to buy it and just focus on buying a battery & charger elsewhere, but I don't want to make a mistake and get a 7,000,000 candle power instead of a 12,000,000. So if it says MBS-410 It's totally a 12,000,000 one correct? Thanks.

...one more thing, it says MBS-410 (2041). I don't know what the 2041 means
 
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BeastFlashlight

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Oh damn, thanks, that's a crucial piece of information for me to find out! Strange how they've changed accessory model numbers so often but the gen 2 & 3 lights are both 410 hmm. Damn that is one hell of a jump from Gen 2 to Gen 3
 

BVH

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Here is some info in an email exchange with Annie at Peakbeam about my upgrading of one of my Gen2's to nearly Gen3.

"The new (old) lamps, lenses, and power connectors from the 2400N kits are installed along with the handles, new reflector and Gen. 3 board. We got the following CandlePower ratings:

Gen. 2 Light with Cleaned Reflector and 2400N Lamp: 7,400,000 CandlePower

Gen. 3 Light with New Enhanced Reflector and 2400N Lamp: 11,900,000 CandlePower (tried both 2400N lamps in this reflector but this one was highest)

Just out of curiosity, our production manager also tested a brand new UXL-75PB lamp in your Gen. 3 light and got 12,800,000 CandlePower. You are likely getting a lower reading with the older 2400N lamps because our spec has changed slightly since 2007 (when that lamp was originally shipped out) and we test and rate the lamps differently now"


Annie is great to work with!! I did my upgrades in Summer of 2011. I paid just under $400 for the enhansed Gen3 reflector (includes Alum casting) and just under $400 for the Gen3 PC board. As you can see, I used a Gen3 lamp but not the very latest. The difference was about 900,000 CP.

I don't know todays prices but they do (did) give a CPF discoount. Note that you can ask for "latching Hi" programming for Gen3 lights only if you elect to get the 10AH LiFePo4 battery. This allows unlimited time in "Hi" until the battery is depleted whereas with the other chemistry batts, "Hi" time is limited. IIRC, I paid an introductory price of $450 for the LiFeP04.

There are still differences in an upgraded "Gen2-to-Gen3" light and a factory Gen3 light. I don't know them all but the factory Gen3 light has a better focus mechanism and improved lamp alignment systems.
 

BeastFlashlight

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Oh ok thanks a lot!! Your post has me now leaning towards just going the extra mile and going with the best, nice detailed response
 

sven_m

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However, for all the lights for sale that I see with varying batteries the light itself is always MBS-410.

Actually. With one exception: While two variants were sold (7.5MCP and 12MCP), around 2009/2010, the latter was named "MBS-410-A", even on the type plate.

I basically can get a brand new MBS-410 (light only) for $600. I want to buy it and just focus on buying a battery & charger elsewhere, but I don't want to make a mistake and get a 7,000,000 candle power instead of a 12,000,000.

There are two variants of the host (power/control board): Gen 2 and Gen 3. The serial number field reflects this, it ends with either G2-xx or G3-xx.
However the difference is "only" 75W vs. 85W.
The huge CP jump rather comes from an improved reflector. I don't know if all Gen 3 were sold with the improved reflector.

If I have the same offer in mind as you, zoom into the 3rd picture, it reads "G3-12".
And if you find out the serial no, PeakBeam might be able to tell you more.


...one more thing, it says MBS-410 (2041). I don't know what the 2041 means

That 2041 isn't related to MaxaBeam, but specific to the seller you saw.

By the way, if you buy a light without battery, a 4S LiFePo RC battery (~13.2V) might be a good alternative. I'm running my light this way.
 

BeastFlashlight

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There are two variants of the host (power/control board): Gen 2 and Gen 3. The serial number field reflects this, it ends with either G2-xx or G3-xx.
However the difference is "only" 75W vs. 85W.
The huge CP jump rather comes from an improved reflector. I don't know if all Gen 3 were sold with the improved reflector.
Hmm, i would assume then that a '12,000,000 CP' version that is brand new and has the LiFePO4 battery would surely come with the 85W, apparently not true, the one on BrightGuy's website is $2,500, has all the up to date parts BUT says 75W?? All the new ones aren't 85W?
 
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Matt@PeakBeam

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Hi everyone,

Just wanted to clear up a few points, as there is some understandable confusion regarding the different versions of the Maxa Beam.

The G3 and the G2 that are often referred to deal exclusively with the electronics that run the light. G2 covers everything except the very first few batches of searchlights in the late 80's to when G3 was introduced in late 2004. Within the broader G2 and G3 categories there are many different revisions as improvements were made to the searchlight. A G2 light might be 3 MCP or 6 MCP depending on when it was produced, and a G3 light might be 6, 7.5, or 12 MCP depending on when it was produced.

All Maxa Beam searchlights should have a serial label that identifies a model number (most commonly MBS-410) and serial number (currently G3-20Y M#####). The G#-## part of the serial number will tell you the exact version/revision of the searchlight and the M##### is basically the actual serial number of the light.

While this can sometimes be confusing, a lot of it has to do with being a product that is predominantly used by the military. Adopting this system has allowed us to continually make improvements to the functionality and performance of the searchlight while maintaining form and forward and backward compatibility.

I want to emphasize that we strongly recommend anyone thinking about purchasing a Maxa Beam online to contact Peak Beam with the model and serial # of the Maxa Beam you are considering purchasing. Whether sellers do it knowingly or not, there are a lot of old searchlights for sale with descriptions that are copy and pasted directly from our current website.

I'll clarify a few other points in a separate post, but hope that at least helps clear a few things up.

-Matt
 

Matt@PeakBeam

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Hmm, i would assume then that a '12,000,000 CP' version that is brand new and has the LiFePO4 battery would surely come with the 85W, apparently not true, the one on BrightGuy's website is $2,500, has all the up to date parts BUT says 75W?? All the new ones aren't 85W?

That is likely an oversight when BrightGuy went to upgrade their description. All new searchlights are 12MCP and run at 85W High. We will reach out to them about updating the description
 

Matt@PeakBeam

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Actually. With one exception: While two variants were sold (7.5MCP and 12MCP), around 2009/2010, the latter was named "MBS-410-A", even on the type plate.

There are two variants of the host (power/control board): Gen 2 and Gen 3. The serial number field reflects this, it ends with either G2-xx or G3-xx.
However the difference is "only" 75W vs. 85W.
The huge CP jump rather comes from an improved reflector. I don't know if all Gen 3 were sold with the improved reflector.

This is mostly true. Gen 2 capped at 6MCP, and Gen 3 started at 6 MCP in 2004 both running at 75 W. These initial Gen 3 lights were just G3 (no G3-xx)

The increase to 85W and the resulting increase to 7.5MCP came in 2006 and is designated by G3-12.

Later that year we introduced enhanced reflectors as an option with a separate "-A" model number, i.e. MBS-410-A, MBS-430-AY, etc.

In 2011 we made the enhanced reflector standard across all searchlights and this was designated by G3-20. All "-A" model numbers were discontinued at this time.
 

Mr. Tone

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Thanks for clearing all of this up for us. It is great to see someone from PeakBeam here and responding to threads about their products. :thumbsup:
 

sven_m

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Great, thanks Matt! That answers a lot.
I'm so interested in the history, that I spent quite some time with searching archive.org and googling specs in PDFs and presentations
but closing one knowledge gap always opens two new :)
 

BeastFlashlight

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Thanks Matt, now I can totally turn to this thread for detailed info. Matt one more question please, can you give a brief comparison between the 1308 and 1310 Lithium Iron batteries? Are you giving up any beam intensity with the 1308 (in exchange for the luxury of being able to bring it on an airplane). I know that if I put higher amp IMR batteries in some of my LED lights they will run brighter, so I'm assuming the 1310 will slightly outshine the 1308. Thanks
 

Matt@PeakBeam

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The Maxa Beam's output is regulated, so you will not see any difference in output. The 1310 is just the higher capacity version of the 1308. You will get a little more runtime but will sacrifice a little bit as far as weight, charge time, and cost.

We are currently phasing out the MBP-1310. Its Watt-Hour rating falls over the limit for Class-9 dangerous goods for air transport. A lot of countries won't accept class-9 dangerous goods, and the fees/paperwork associated with shipping these batteries can be prohibitively expensive.

If you live in the U.S. or Canada and can have the batteries shipped to you ground and don't plan on taking them on passenger aircraft, none of that applies to you. Then it would just come down to if you value that extra runtime for that extra cost. Both batteries use the same chargers/cables.
 

stingray3

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Wow this certainly is an interesting and very informative thread especially with Matts clarifying posts! I dont have one yet. But have been looking in the possibility of getting one soon.
 
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