# Reviews of TLE-6EXB (2-3 C/D Maglite Drop in)



## xhackr (May 20, 2007)

I purchased and just received a TLE-6EXB from MattK at www.BatteryJunction.com which was my first purchase there and a great experience from the order and follow-up communication to the shipping. Frankly, I can’t believe I received it so quickly. 

I installed the unit in a 2D maglite hit the switch and it flashed once. I thought, oh no, there was a problem with the regulator, the LED was over driven and blew. Turned it off then on again and reproduced the flash. Checked the cells – 1.36v on each cell. Even though that’s just standing voltage, that should be good enough. Nonetheless, I put a fresh set of cells in and presto, the whitest, brightest light I could imagine from this old flashlight. Unfortunately I have little experience to compare the performance to, so take that accolade with a grain of salt. 

I know how standing voltage can be insignificant in testing a battery without a load, but I would expect that to play a larger roll in an older lead acid battery, not an alkaline. So, I am now wondering if I received a TLE-6EXA Rather than the B. If not, and it takes over 2.72V to drive this unit, I don’t think it can be appropriate for the claimed 2 cell application. 

BTW, this is my first performance LED light and my first post here after lurking for a bit and I have enjoyed the passion and technical expertise on this forum. However, I need another technical interest like a whole in the head.


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## Cydonia (May 20, 2007)

First off I must say Welcome to the forum 
I am now obligated to repeat the mantra of "Hold onto your wallet" as fair warning.

A very good and interesting first post. Gives a few things to think about...
Amazing that the boost can't function with cells at 1.36v. That means... so much of the cells potential will be wasted and not used. Thanks for this important report!

I certainly do hope "newbie" does a thorough review of this new TerraLux 6EX-B module. Like he did for the 6EX here. It might take him another month to get around to it though...if he does it at all. I'm impatient for reviews and a quick conclusion on new lights or upgrades.


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## WadeF (May 20, 2007)

I'm using mine is a 3D, so hopefully the 3D's, even when low, will still power it for awhile.


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## xhackr (May 20, 2007)

Cydonia said:


> First off I must say Welcome to the forum
> I am now obligated to repeat the mantra of "Hold onto your wallet" as fair warning.


 Thanks for the welcome and warning. I am well familiar with the latter. I read newbie's review. Is he/she an EE?



WadeF said:


> I'm using mine is a 3D, so hopefully the 3D's, even when low, will still power it for while.


Assuming my experience is by design and not a battery or unit issue, and it can be driven at 2.8v - all large assumptions right now - the extra cell will make a substantial difference, giving you a .9 average per cell. Of course I have no data that indicates it cannot require MORE than that. More information is need here.


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## AndyTiedye (May 20, 2007)

I have several 3D mags.

I wonder which is better: a TLE6EX with 4 C cells, or a TLE6EXB with 3 D's.


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## Cydonia (May 20, 2007)

AndyTiedye said:


> I have several 3D mags.
> 
> I wonder which is better: a TLE6EX with 4 C cells, or a TLE6EXB with 3 D's.



One also wonders what output difference exists between the 6EX on 3 cells and the 6EXB on 3 cells... the 6EX on 3 cells (running dim with low output compared to 4 cells) *might* produce the least heat of all these TerraLux modules overall. And the LED itself will certainly be contributing less heat due to it being underdriven. (Yet the 6EX on 3 cells is still far brighter than a MagLED on 3 cells.) So, the dimmest TerraLux configuration being the 6EX on 3 cells, and the coolest, should be the most durable from an overheating view? Hmmm :thumbsdow


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## scottaw (May 21, 2007)

I also ran into some old battery problems with mine. My light lit up enough to see fine w/ the xenon bulb, and same batts wouldn't give me more than a dim quick blick wih the led. But fresh batteries and it was great. Hopefully runtimes are decent, i would be pretty upset if im throwing away batteries that would still light up a stock flashlight. Other than that, it's a great light w/ this drop in, nice and bright.


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## Burgess (May 21, 2007)

Very interesting, folks. 


Thank you for yer' reports so far.



Still trying to decide which one to buy for my 3-D cell Maglite


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## customh (May 21, 2007)

I guess I am glad I havent ventured out and bought one of these like I did with the SSC minimag module, I'll sit on my haunches and wait this one out...


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## qip (May 21, 2007)

well got in in today its not fully night yet but the room i tested is pretty dark but what i see is output is not bad i can hardly differ from what i already have it may be a bit brighter ...the major issue i see that boggles me is what its doing in regulation ..in both 2 & 3 D i was amazed to see this regulated pulling 1amp from good batteries , i was stunned cuz it didnt look like 1amp was coming out the front , then i had 2 other batteries @ 1.37v it still tested @1amp but again it did not look good, NOW the real mind boggler i had 1 coppertop that was .7v and i used that with a good battery so theres a little over 2v total and it was pulling 700ma but there was no light coming out at all from the led ??? i added another battery and it pulled an amp and it was dimm .....so where all that current going ?



another thing maybe its just me but i had a hard time to even screw it in cuz the can was so short


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## Thujone (May 21, 2007)

xhackr said:


> I am now wondering if I received a TLE-6EXA Rather than the B.



It looks like they are color coded. If the body is black it should be the B, Gray the A.


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## xhackr (May 21, 2007)

qip said:


> another thing maybe its just me but i had a hard time to even screw it in cuz the can was so short


 It wasn't you, I did too. Without a reference point, I just thought that was normal. Although, I have been known to cross thread once or twice before. 



Thujone said:


> It looks like they are color coded. If the body is black it should be the B, Gray the A.



Ahh, thanks for that info. It's black. It looks like others are seeing some issues as well. Hopefully MattK can clarify some of the operational issues.


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## Delta (May 21, 2007)

I've been trying to screw this damn thing in for 15 minutes with no luck.


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## qip (May 21, 2007)

Delta said:


> I've been trying to screw this damn thing in for 15 minutes with no luck.




LOL i thought i was having a mental lapse too as it took a while to get it perfectly lined up to screw in


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## scottaw (May 21, 2007)

Took me a good 10 of messing with it to get it on there...don't break the boards...


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## Delta (May 21, 2007)

*WTF???*

Let me get this out of the way first....

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ARE YOU FRICKIN KIDDING ME??

This LED is *JUNK!!* I CANNOT believe what I am seeing. 

It comes on bright and white, and stays that way for like...5 seconds. At that point the transformation begins. 

As it gets dimmer, it also *CHANGES COLORS!!* Thats right! It starts turning BLUE. I don't mean kinda blue, or blue-tinted, I mean *B-L-U-E!!* Output goes to sh*t, *and this all happens in less than 30 seconds!!!* 

I tell you what.... I read about this miracle drop-in and thought to myself, you know, you don't have any big lights like the MagLite...a Maglite with an LED like my L2D would be kick ***! Boy did I get duped! 

TerraSux LED: $24.95
2 D-cell Maglite: $16.95
UCL Lens: $6.95
NI Grip N Clip: $7.00
3 D cell Mag: $18.95 (after finding out the Grip N CLip needs 3 cells)
_____________________________________________

Grand Total: $74.80 Wasted (more than that with shipping!)

Yep, coulda got Quite a few good lights (Including a Fenix P3D Natural) for that money.

Sure, someday I could build a Mag85 or something, but that does me no good now.


I'm sorry for ranting. I'm just so pissed right now I can't see straight. This is my first experience trying to upgrade a light and it was nothing but a big waste of money I really don't have to waste.


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## Delta (May 21, 2007)

whew....just breathe....breathe.....

You think I just got a bad one? Is this happening to anyone else?


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## qip (May 21, 2007)

for your 3d i would just get the tle-6ex ,that is still good and reliable ....mine hasnt turned blue but i wouldnt be suprised if it did as i put it in 3d for a minute and it got pretty warm and with the small heatsink it would only be a matter of time......im assuming something went wrong on the assembly line as why these modules are so small and something needs to be done with the volt buck/boost .....in the end its our fault as well as terralux ,they responding to our demands which was good on their part but it was kinda hurried from our inpatience  and so the product was not fully put through the test and have the kinks worked out


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## Delta (May 21, 2007)

qip said:


> and so the product was not fully put through the test and have the kinks worked out




I would say the product was put through any QA at all. Sure, If you flash it on for 1 second it looks good, but to go from blinding white to dim, tidy-bowl-blue in less than one minute, that's inexcusable.


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## sacredsucculent (May 21, 2007)

I just got mine today and installed it in about a minute. With fresh energizer D cells x 2, the light looked great for the first minute but then it dims and shows its true color: barf green! A terrible product. Stay away. I hope Malkoff will have more of his drop-ins available soon. 
:thumbsdow


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## Delta (May 21, 2007)

sacredsucculent said:


> I just got mine today and installed it in about a minute. With fresh energizer D cells x 2, the light looked great for the first minute but then it dims and shows its true color: barf green! A terrible product. Stay away. I hope Malkoff will have more of his drop-ins available soon.
> :thumbsdow



Wanna trade your barf-green drop in for my tidy-bowl-blue one?? At least yours works for a minute.

Thing is, it isn't even worth returning, money wise.

Matt K, I would recomend pulling this product to save yourself the headache. This product is WAAAY beyond bad. It is too bad to even warrant being saved as a back up light. This LED should have never been realeased. BTW, I'm not blaming you, I blame Terralux.


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## Creeple (May 21, 2007)

(Short term lurker, first time poster - I'll make an intro post later.)

Just to add to the seemingly growing tend - mine also appears to be greenish though not the entire beam. The hot spot is still white (though a bit less intense than after it was initially turned on) but I can definitely see some light pea-green tint to the area surrounding it.

Additionally, after leaving it on for a few minutes, the beam started to flicker, almost rhythmically and increasing in speed. Power cycling seems to help, briefly, while re-seating the entire drop-in has no effect that I can determine.

Finally, I challenge the idea that the consumers of this product (or any other) are in any way to blame for a lack of QA on the manufacturers end. Perhaps this is my being naive but I expect a working-as-advertised product in exchange for my money. Should that not be the case then I expect to exchange the _not_-working-as-advertised product for my money.


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## Dobbler (May 21, 2007)

I have three of these on the way -- I hope they don't suck.


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## Delta (May 21, 2007)

Dobbler said:


> I have three of these on the way -- I hope they don't suck.




Sorry, dude!


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## Cydonia (May 21, 2007)

Delta said:


> I tell you what.... I read about this miracle drop-in and thought to myself, you know, you don't have any big lights like the MagLite...a Maglite with an LED like my L2D would be kick ***! Boy did I get duped!
> 
> TerraSux LED: $24.95
> 2 D-cell Maglite: $16.95
> ...



 You're in this deep so may as well bite the bullet and get a 3 cell MagLED. 

Guess I was right when I asked what does "B" in the 6EX-B name stand for... "Beta?" Yup. They tried to make a Maglite upgrade on the cheap. So disappointing. Flashaholics would spend *Twice* this price for a *Good* Maglite drop in with quality efficient circuit design and components that were reliable. I may be hasty in saying this, but, damn you TerraLux for wasting our time with this utterly inadequate device. 


I had the 6EX for a brief time before selling it. Getting it threaded on was ok. Rotate the module backwards slowly and with light pressure to get the threads to align and bite first. Slowly thread it on. 




Dobbler said:


> I have three of these on the way -- I hope they don't suck.



Good luck man... think you're going to need it 

Oh yeah... I've reinstated my signature line again due to this turn of events  it applies more than ever these days... :thumbsdow


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## orbital (May 21, 2007)

No problems here! 2-D new cells
made sure I didn't touch the dome on install. (easier to turn light instead of trying to turn drop-in) and did not lube threads.
My color is, lets say warm white, not blue or green. All my LEDs are different color shades anyway.
Let you all know, as for tonight I'll run it more.


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## Phaserburn (May 21, 2007)

I've tried new cells in my 3C and 2D, and still can't get brightness higher than stock Magleds on my 2 Terralux units! One of the units also flickers.

:thumbsdow


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## WadeF (May 21, 2007)

Phaserburn said:


> I've tried new cells in my 3C and 2D, and still can't get brightness higher than stock Magleds on my 2 Terralux units! One of the units also flickers.
> 
> :thumbsdow


 
Do you have a Fenix P1D-CE, P2D, P3D to compare it against? My Terralux beats out the P3D in a beam shot at about 10-12 feet (brighter hot spot). Would the stock Magled's do this?


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## WadeF (May 22, 2007)

I was happy with this product at first, but after reading here I figured I better do more testing. I have the 6EXB in a 3D maglite. I left it on for several minutes. It slowly went from bright with a slight greenish tint to blueish and it did get dimmer. I was under the impression a LED should be better for long run times, but if you have to turn te light off after a minute or two and let it cool down, what good is it? I think MattK should see if Terralux would be willing to replace our units if they can solve this problem. He has a list of our orders, he could simply offer to send us a new unit if we pay for the shipping if Terralux will provide him with replacements free of charge. I think we were sold a defective product and I don't blame Mattk at all, but it would be nice if Terralux made good on this.

Also I had a hell of a time screwing it in too.  After getting Gene's drop in and seeing how he used a large amount of copper to help heat sink the LED I would be leary of other drop ins that don't have any kind of proper heat sinking.


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## vic2367 (May 22, 2007)

wow,,,some bad reviews ,,,


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## scottaw (May 22, 2007)

Mine is fairly blue, but i was assuming this was normal. I've seen plenty of led's with worse tints. Also i haven't had any flickering yet, ad i've run it about 15 minutes straight, nothing changed for me. It's gonna take some long term testing, but it seems like a lot of people got duds here. Im comparing mine against a P2D with probably half dead batts, turbo beats the mag, high is about the same. Oh well, i put it in a mag i already had, and when my UCL lenses get here, i was gonna buy those anyways. One of these days im going to find a malkoff, this was really just to tide me over until then anyways.


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## Burgess (May 22, 2007)




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## Matt Sutton (May 22, 2007)

I got 2 units in the mail today, one for me and one for my dad for father's day. I installed mine in my 2C unit without a hitch and it lit up fine with well used cells. I wanted to compare it to my other lights, so I put in some fresh Energizers. I was really impressed until I compared the beam to my L2D-CE and my TLE-6EX in a 4D host. It's got a very green tint. I left it on for 25 minutes and while it did dim and get very hot, it did not turn blue.
Is it possible that the green tint is coming from the light shining through the exposed parts of the circuit boards rather than from the emitter?


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## qip (May 22, 2007)

Matt Sutton said:


> I left it on for 25 minutes and while it did dim and get very hot, it did not turn blue



Its gettin hot with it pulling so much current and its not even getting to the led , when i gave it 2 old batteries it wont light but it was still drawing 700ma draining the battery ..somethings wrong


ironically enough my 2d setup now is what terralux should have been , i got the 6exb cuz when i had the zetex module i couldnt run it in 3d safely but that has changed..when i had new fresh cells i couldnt use the zetex in 3d as it pulled 1amp and it was really bright but got to hot but 2d was fine as it only pulled 550ma off new fresh cells , now that the cells have had some use and gone to 1.4v the zetex now is perfect as it pulls 480ma in 2d and 700ma in 3d which i just tested today and this is the ideal setup as it wont get too hot and this had the same output as the 6exb "when it works".....which is what puzzles me as to why my zetex module @480 matches the output as the 6exb @1amp , the 6exb is wasting energy


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## mmmflashlights (May 22, 2007)

Good luck to everyone on their refunds and/or replacements. :eeew:  

Sounds like either a complete lack of quality control or a poorly designed product regardless of the manufacturing process, either way :thumbsdow


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## xhackr (May 24, 2007)

WadeF said:


> I think MattK should see if Terralux would be willing to replace our units if they can solve this problem.


I would like hear MattK's take on the previous posts in this thread.

Anyone care to suggest an alternative drop in solution for a 2 cell Mag?


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## Matt Sutton (May 24, 2007)

I've had some time to experiment with my 2C Mag/UCL/TLE-6EXB during the forum downtime. My biggest gripes at this point are short runtime, excessive heat, and green tint. It smoked my reflector during a 35 minute constant run. It began to flicker and completely died at about 40 minutes. That was with fresh Energizers. I put the stock bulb back in and those same batteries lit it just fine. So much for this claim on their spec sheet.



> INTENSE BRIGHT LIGHT output comes from the brightest LED
> available, producing 140 Lumens of light output. Electronic regulation
> means the light does not fade as the batteries drain, so its
> light output holds up even after a long run time. The light intensity
> ...


I've been really happy with the 6EX in my 4 cell Mag and I was hoping for similar results with the B version. It's still better that the stock incan bulb, but it's definitely not worth $25.


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## xhackr (May 24, 2007)

Well, there clearly is an issue here. Either manufacturing, engineering, or both. The performance is not acceptable. Perhaps for a 2 cell application the OEM Mag would be a viable alternative. Any thoughts?


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## Modern_Major_General (May 30, 2007)

With all the bad reviews, I wonder if a TLE-5EX with a BA-1 Bulb Adapter would make a better 2 cell setup.


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## qip (May 30, 2007)

you still need a way to heatsink that , the ba-1 has plastic in it which i think would melt , but i have seen a fivemega ceramic gold pr bulb adapter that might work


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## Durango360 (May 30, 2007)

Mine was a pretty sad blue as well after about 30 seconds of operation.

On closer inspection with a magnifying glass, the pill was not touching the meager heatsink on one side. I used a toothpick to jam some thermal paste into the side that was lifted and then pushed down on the edges of the pill to allow proper contact. I've ordered some thermal epoxy so that I can unsolder the pill and do a proper repair.

This seems to have fixed the problem. Should I have had to do this? Absolutely not but it's easier than the hassle of returning it.


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## Modern_Major_General (May 30, 2007)

qip said:


> you still need a way to heatsink that , the ba-1 has plastic in it which i think would melt , but i have seen a fivemega ceramic gold pr bulb adapter that might work


 
I doubt it would melt. The TLE-5EX normally rests on plastic in the Mini-M*g and it doesn't melt that. Naturally you couldn't expect it to be as bright, but it might solve the short battery life people have been experiencing with the TLE-6EXB on 2 cells.


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## Cydonia (May 30, 2007)

These are some bad experiences reported so far. Anyway, I've ordered 4 SSC P4's from Deal Extreme and plan on upgrading my MagLED's instead. TerraLux really dropped the ball on this one. But then again, they dropped the ball real good on the MiniStar 2 Extreme too... they are trying to do too much on too little R&D... and trying to sell at too low a price point.


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## xhackr (May 30, 2007)

I have been speaking with Matt in email, and yesterday I had a long conversation with Tony, the Principal of TerraLUX. Beyond being an extremely affable guy, he was very interested in the issues I experienced. I will be shipping him my flashlight, batteries, and module for his analysis. After speaking with Tony, I received an email from Matt that TerraLUX will be processing the returns on this module to facilitate their investigations of these issues. 

There is definitely a problem here, but it is a pleasure dealing with Matt and Tony, both professional, conscientious businessmen. It is a refreshing experience from an all too common take the money and run business culture. 

TerraLUX website - http://www.terralux.biz/

Take a look at these bios, EEs from Caltech and MIT, with Tony holding a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Brown University - 
http://www.terralux.biz/about/meet_the_team.htm I’m pretty sure these guys will figure it out.


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## Derek Dean (May 30, 2007)

Thanks for the update xhackr. I was looking forward to this drop-in, and will probably still get one when Tony gets the problems sorted out.


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## Modern_Major_General (May 31, 2007)

Derek Dean said:


> Thanks for the update xhackr. I was looking forward to this drop-in, and will probably still get one when Tony gets the problems sorted out.


 
Dido I'd very much like to hear what you find out xhackr.


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## Yota (May 31, 2007)

Anyone care to suggest an alternative drop in solution for a 2 cell Mag?[/quote]


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## AndyTiedye (May 31, 2007)

I use a TLE-6EX in a 2-cell mag -- with a pair of AW C cells.
For the "C" Mag, get the spacer to handle the extra length.
For the "D" Mag, the extra length is enough so you only need to stretch the spring a little.
A bit of thinwall PVC pipe keeps the rattles away.


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## rolling (May 31, 2007)

When i turn mine on it flickers. When the flickering stops I hear a high frequent sound. When the sound stops the bulb gets so hot it beginns to dim and gets greenish. Not worth the money and especially not the high shipping cost to europe.


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## JAS (May 31, 2007)

Thank you for the posts. I just happened to run across the Fleabay list for this and I got interested, but then I read the posts here and no I have pretty much lost ALL interest in this. My first thought was to replace the genuine Mag LED that I bought some months back, but no way now!


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## barkingmad (May 31, 2007)

Shame they didn't do a bit more testing... 

Can't imagine it is just a bad batch?


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## rolling (May 31, 2007)

Well, i thing that was the first batch. And it looks like they did not test at all.


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## bguy (May 31, 2007)

Well, I ordered one on Monday when CPF was still down. Along with the Minimag cree. Now that I read this, I hope I won't be let down. Terralux has always seemed to have good products before.

Batteryjunction shipped first thing Tuesday, so I expect to have it in hand by Friday or Saturday. From the items description, I expect it to be better than the MagLED I already have. I have a couple 3D mags, so I can do beam comparisons. 

Bradley


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## orbital (May 31, 2007)

.

I have no reason to advocate TerraLUX, but I have to say mine are fine.
No flicker, no funny colors ect.... I have one for my Dad 2D, and one for myself 2C (midnight blue)..
The SSC color of both are more warm white as compared to most of my CREEs which are toward the cooler white.

These drop-ins are more for runtime, many hours is a nice change as compared to my other lights which are much less.
I'm quite happy with mine.

.


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## WadeF (May 31, 2007)

orbital said:


> .
> I have one for my Dad 2D, and one for myself 2C (midnight blue)..
> .


 
I wonder if the problem is only showing up in 3 cell mags. I have mine in a 3D and in a few minutes it goes to blue and isn't nearly as bright. I'll have to give MattK a call and see how we should go about getting a replacement.


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## Delta (May 31, 2007)

bguy said:


> Well, I ordered one on Monday when CPF was still down. Along with the Minimag cree.




A Cree Minimag? Huh?


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## BSBG (May 31, 2007)

I ordered two.

One is a little orange tinged, but the other is a nice white. Leaving them on for 4-5 minutes produced no color shift with either. Compared to a MagLED in a 3C, the Terralux seems a tad brighter in a 3d. A 2C seems about the same brightness. Not scientific, but that's all I've got...

Overall, I don't think they are bad, but I am not blown away either.


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## mitchfried (May 31, 2007)

I've got two, both in 3D bodies. No problems, running fine. I also have the earlier TLE-6EX running in a 2D, but powered by two 3A to D, resulting in 9 volts. That's a little brighter. Finally, I have one of the original high output 2D Malkoff's, which appears brighter and whiter than the Terra's. 

Based on my experience, I would say some of you received bum units, and that the good ones are worth the money.


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## WadeF (May 31, 2007)

mitchfried said:


> I've got two, both in 3D bodies. No problems, running fine.


 
How many minutes did you leave yours on?


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## qip (May 31, 2007)

does yours get hot after a few minutes.... mine seemed fine too when i used it , it did not turn blue or flash and had nice output BUT i then ran a multimeter to it and the numbers dont lie something was wrong ...if you expect this to give you runtime and it cant drive the batteries down to .8v each then theres no way you get good runtime when it cuts out to short


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## mitchfried (May 31, 2007)

I'm on now, will report back in 30 minutes.


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## mitchfried (Jun 1, 2007)

OK, ran the 3D for 60 minutes. Uneventful, maybe dimmed slightly, but I'm no scientist like some of you guys, so no measurements. It started right up again after I ended the run. The head was left hanging over a table, meaning there was air cooling only. The head itself wasn't even warm. I took it apart to check the heat of the module itself. My finger says "Hot!" 

Maybe I just have a good one, or perhaps the other posters just were unlucky? My second 3D was sent to Chicago as a gift, so I can't compare.


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## griff (Jun 1, 2007)

cool


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## WadeF (Jun 1, 2007)

mitchfried said:


> OK, ran the 3D for 60 minutes. Uneventful, maybe dimmed slightly.


 
Good to know there are working units out there. Mine would dim and go very blue in 3-5 minutes. You wouldn't be able to miss it if you had this problem.


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## cbubu (Jun 1, 2007)

When I got the TLE-6EXB, the heatsink was slightly moving : in fact the LED bottom didn't have a good contact with the heatsink. I unsoldered one pin of the LED and put thermal adhesive between the LED bottom and the heatsink. 24 hours of curing and now the TLE-6EXB is perfectly working with a 2C : I tried last night during 30 mn and no flicker, no change of tint, still bright ... may be just a defective initial gluing which doesn't allow the LED to be cooling ?


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## 276 (Jun 1, 2007)

i am glad i read this thread before buying one


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## bguy (Jun 1, 2007)

Delta said:


> A Cree Minimag? Huh?


In addition to the TLE-6EXB I have coming, I also order a TLE-5EX for the minimag.

Personally, I'm not buying new Mags as hosts for these "bulbs" as for the price of the bulb, I could buy a whole cree based light. I'm just getting these things as updates to lights I've had around for 20 years.

*Bradley*


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## mitchfried (Jun 1, 2007)

I have three of those new minimag drop ins and they work perfectly. Not as bright as some of my Chinese lights, but I like the form factor and they do get oohs and ahhs from non-flashaholics.


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## griff (Jun 1, 2007)

drop ins are cool


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## MattK (Jun 1, 2007)

Hi Folks,

Sorry that I'm just now replying to this thread but I didn't know about it until a customer and CPF member pointed it out to me last week and then CPF was down the next day. DOH!

Anyway, We've shipped almost 200 of these units and at last count have had like 8 RMA requests so clearly the issues some users are experiencing are not endemic to the product.

I've now tested 4 units and not been able to reproduce the problem, nor has TerraLUX using a controlled power supply at various voltages. TerraLUX tests every unit before shipping but only for a brief period.

I suspect that what we're looking at is a manufacturing defect on a small number of pieces, not a design defect, as the boost circuitry being used is a modified version of that being used in the TLE-5 and TLE-5EX - a proven circuit design with 10's of thousands of units on the market. 

Anthony Catalano, the Founder/Principal of TerraLUX, has asked that anyone experiencing a problem please contact TerraLUX directly and not BatteryJunction for a return/exchange as they'd like to quickly get as many units in hand as possible that are exhibiting the issue. I want to be clear though - all Seoul SSC P4's typically run a bit blue - they want the DOA units, the units that turn VERY blue, very fast etc.

TerraLUX can be contacted as follows:
TerraLUX, Inc. 
1501 Lee Hill Road, 
Unit 4
Boulder, CO 80304

Ph: 866-498-1564
Fx: 303-942-3584

[email protected]

Tony is a busy guy so most likely you'll be talking to Jen who will arrange any call tags etc that are necessary. Jen's fantastic (I've been trying to steal her for a while now (SHHHH)) so please be nice to her - as I know you will be. 

Thanks again for all of your great orders, kind words and understanding.


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## bguy (Jun 1, 2007)

Well, I got my order today, and I'm disappointed. First thing is, it wouldn't stay on for more than 1 second. Also, the Terralux is greener, and doesn't seem as bright as the MagLED. What happened to the "up to" 150 lumens they advertised?

I played with unscrewing and screwing it back on, to make sure it was threaded in right. And it was. Same result, blink, and off. I did apply battery directly, and it works. So it's not outright defective. I think it's due to the uneven pointy blob of solder on the end of the bayonet. But one shouldn't have to fix these for them to work. After I filed it flat it works better, but still blinks out randomly. I then tried it in the other Mag bought at the same time about 10 years ago, and it seems to work fine.

As I said, I'm disappointed. I expect an SSC replacement to exceed what I have from a Luxeon. If I didn't have the MagLED, I'd be thrilled to have something this bright. But it appears to be dimmer due to it being a little more floody. I would reccommend sticking with the MagLED for anyone thingking of it, since it's cheaper, brighter, and whiter. 

I did an 11 min run to see if it faded and color shifted like many people comnmented on. I used a MagLED left off as a base for comparison. It didn't do anything major. But it did appear to shift to green a little more, and get a little dimmer. I took the head off and the LED base was "OUCH!" hot. Probably 150- 160F.

As for the TLE-5EX for my minimag, I like that! But then Maglite didn't come out with a dropin to compare it to. It's got a smooth floody beam about as bright as a moded Elly. But the Elly is pretty ringy. It doesn't throw like the 3AA minmag LED, but I did say it was floody. And the 5EX is warmer color than the 3AA Mag.

Bradley

*Edit:* I wanted to add that order processing and shipping from Batteryjunction was wicked fast! I ordered really late, and when I woke up I had a ship notification.


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## WadeF (Jun 1, 2007)

I'll give TerraLUX a call on Monday. I posted some beams shots on my web gallery here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/wadefulpng/Flashlights

The last 4 pictures are the TerraLUX going from white to blue. The last two pictures are the most accurate as I locked the exposure, focus, and white balance to daylight. The first two, where the beams are brighter, I locked the exposure, but not the white balance, however they still came out pretty accurate.

Also the unit gets almost too hot to touch. Is that kind of temperature normal, if the unit was working properly?


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## mattchase (Jun 3, 2007)

I have a question about my TerraLux LED. I noticed that it is soft and a bit squishy, more like a clear rubber bubble than a plastic LED. Is this normal? I checked 2 of my other LED lights (a Luxeon I and a Luxeon III) and both are hard plastic as I had expected them to be.

I haven't done any testing with mine yet to see if it suffers any of the problems listed in this thread, I've only turned it on long enough to shine around the room then back off again. I'm hoping to get a lux meter next week so I can do some readings with it and then will let it run for awhie and see what happens.


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## Modern_Major_General (Jun 3, 2007)

That is normal.


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## pokkuhlag (Jun 3, 2007)

MattK said:


> Hi Folks,
> 
> Sorry that I'm just now replying to this thread but I didn't know about it until a customer and CPF member pointed it out to me last week and then CPF was down the next day. DOH!
> 
> ...



MattK, you gotta check this mini review out. It explains the possible failures on this module:

http://www.molalla.net/~leeper/tle6exb.htm


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## Durango360 (Jun 3, 2007)

This is what mine looked like before I fixed it by adding thermal compound under the pill that was not touching the heatsink on one side. All is well now.

My UCL glass arrived after I took these pics...what a difference!












Fenix P3D on left





Underexposed 2 stops:


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## MattK (Jun 4, 2007)

pokkuhlag said:


> MattK, you gotta check this mini review out. It explains the possible failures on this module:
> 
> http://www.molalla.net/~leeper/tle6exb.htm



Doug and I are in direct communication - I'm all over it.


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## Burgess (Jun 5, 2007)

Mini-Review, indeed ! That's an *awesome* analysis !


TerraLux oughta' hire this man to review their circuit designs --

*BEFORE* they begin mass-production ! 



Newbie, you REALLY know yer' stuff, my friend ! :wow::goodjob:

:bow: -- :bow: -- :bow: -- :bow:



- and to *pokkuhlag, *thank you for the link to Newbie.


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## scottaw (Jun 5, 2007)

So, i've posted this thread a few times, seems i got super-lucky with mine. Good tint, didn't dim after a few minutes use, great light, etc. Just added a UCL lens last week with the LDF, wow, awesome, pretty much exactly the light i wanted it to be. So i take it camping to get some real use out of it, and test it out in "real world" conditions.....and some jackoff steals it while im asleep. "ohhh a maglite, i'll take this" and the most annoying part....he thought he was getting a sweet $15 flashlight, when in reality he got a $50ish awesome flashlight. Will i rebuild it? probably not, i have other lights that work for my needs, but i've had that mag for over 10 years, and i really liked it. Oh well.


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## eyeeatingfish (Jun 5, 2007)

Whats the difference between the EX and the EXB?
Same price form what i can tell... Am i missing something obvious?


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## customh (Jun 5, 2007)

Yep eyeater, yer missing something obvious. The ex is for 3-6 cell mags while the exb is a boosted "version" of the ex for 2 and 3 cell mags.


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## ltnguyen (Jun 5, 2007)

My disappointment with vendors like Matt of Batteryjunction is that sometimes it takes lots of people complaining until they believe that a product they're selling may have an unfortunate manufacturing defect. I bring this up so vendors could give customers the benefit of the doubt early on and not wait until enough complaints are mounted to be more conciliatory. By the way, my TLE-EXB appears fine, even when left on for more than 5 minutes--so I am not complaining about the product personally--just about the way vendors initially (the emphasis is on initially not after a dozen complaints) handle complaints of product defects.


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## WadeF (Jun 5, 2007)

Called Terralux, very easy to deal with.They will send me a replacement and upon receipt I will mail back my defective unit. Hopefully the replacement will work. For those have properly working units (maintains full brightness with no color shift after 5-10 minutes), how hot are your drop-ins getting? Mine current defective drop-in gets too hot to touch.


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## pilou (Jun 5, 2007)

OK, so if you have a 3D mag, would you go for the TLE-6EXB or the TLE-6EX? And of course, why?


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## WadeF (Jun 5, 2007)

pilou said:


> OK, so if you have a 3D mag, would you go for the TLE-6EXB or the TLE-6EX? And of course, why?


 
I maybe wrong, but I was under the impression the 6EX is rated at 100 lumens, while the 6EXB is rated at 140 lumens.


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## eyeeatingfish (Jun 5, 2007)

customh said:


> Yep eyeater, yer missing something obvious. The ex is for 3-6 cell mags while the exb is a boosted "version" of the ex for 2 and 3 cell mags.





So the EX version runs fine, its the EXB that is having the problems?


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## mattchase (Jun 8, 2007)

I did a runtime test of mine last night and it worked fine (thankfully!). The module hissed like crazy after about 10 minutes and continued for about 30 minutes before it quieted down. That was a little concerning, I noticed that in the detailed analysis link above the same hissing was seen so it's not just my module.

Here is the runtime graph (Mag 2C, Duracell Alkalines):






I don't believe I had the flashlight perfectly aligned and I didn't follow the CPF Light Meter Benchmark procedures (still reading that thread!), so the max lux reading above isn't really accurate. I tried to focus the lens to spot as well as I could for this test. I'm going to finish reading the Benchmark thread and see about doing the max lux reading again. The runtime portion of the graph should be fairly accurate.

I tested the batteries on my ZTS tester before starting which showed them to be at 100% (they were unused, sat about 2 weeks on my shelf). I didn't test their starting voltage. I have 2 other batteries from the same package that show 1.506v each on my DVM, so it is probably safe to assume the two I used were about the same. After letting the flashlight / batteries sit overnight, I tested the batteries again and they show 60% on the ZTS, 1.388v and 1.389v on the DVM.


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## eyeeatingfish (Jun 8, 2007)

So what does all of that mean?


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## Matt Sutton (Jun 9, 2007)

> So what does all of that mean?



It loses almost 20% of its brightness after the first 15 minutes of constant use, and the runtime is about 2 hours to 50% brightness.


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## ltnguyen (Jun 9, 2007)

Has anyone with a non defective EXB ever measured the stability of light intensity and found it to be substantially as what Terralux promotes as seen in the following ad under Benefits, paragraph 1 (http://www.terralux.biz/products/documents/TLE-6EXand6EXBFlyer.pdf)?

I really want to believe that the defects are only a minority--help me with some positive and proven testimonies. Otherwise, I can only conclude that Terralux is falsely advertising this product.


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## Cydonia (Jun 9, 2007)

mattchase said:


> I did a runtime test of mine last night and it worked fine (thankfully!). *The module hissed like crazy after about 10 minutes and continued for about 30 minutes before it quieted down. That was a little concerning, I noticed that in the detailed analysis link above the same hissing was seen so it's not just my module.*





Hmmm.. it gets weirder and weirder.


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## qip (Jun 9, 2007)

mine did make a squealing sound but it was only with batteries that were 1.3v when i was testing on a multimeter


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## mattchase (Jun 9, 2007)

Yeah, it really worried me at first, I was afraid something was venting and that it would explode. Fortunately it didn't.


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## mattchase (Jun 9, 2007)

ltnguyen,

According to my milk carton light box test (in case you aren't familiar with this, see here and here) using Rayovac alkaline batteries, I got about 9050 lux. Using the info from FlashlightReviews.com that equals 125.795 lumens (9050 / 100 = 90.5 x 1.39 = approx. lumens). Keep in mind this is an inexact testing procedure, it could very easily be more or less, and as we have all learned Terralux appears to have some QC issues, so my module could be brighter or dimmer than others. 

Edit: I should point out that I'm using 2 cells, and this module is rated for up to 3 cells. Adding another 1.5v would increase the brightness some.

Edit 2: I just manually added a 3rd cell to my light and now get 10,500 lux (a little higher on one reading, so I went conservative). That would mean 145.95 lumens with 3 cells. Bear in mind that I took a few readings over a few minute period and each one was a little lower than the previous, so those power levels are constantly decreasing. You won't get these levels rom the flashlight for very long, but you will get them for a few minutes with new batteries.


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## 2xTrinity (Jun 9, 2007)

> Edit: I should point out that I'm using 2 cells, and this module is rated for up to 3 cells. Adding another 1.5v would increase the brightness some.


If the module worked as advertized (that is, regulated output) then adding the extra battery would make NO difference -- the entire idea of a regulator circuit is that it's supposed to maitnain a constant current at the LED, adding extra batteries would mean that it should draw less current at hte batteries, leading to a longer runtime.

Of course, this drop-in isn't working as it should. For one thing, it's very inefficient -- I have mine set up side-by-side with a Maglite that I modified myself with a heatsink, seoul emitter, and boost driver for about the same price as the drop-in. Brightness is higher on the heatsinked light (which delivers 500mA to the emitter) AND power consumption is lower. The light I built draws about 700mA from two cells, the terralux draws over 1A. Add to that, the heat in the dropin (of which there is more) has nowhere to go. 

I would recommend the custom-build route now for anyone who might otherwise be interested in a drop-in. You end up with good heatsinking, and LED with choice of tint, in exchange for a little bit of work, but for about the same overall price.


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## WadeF (Jun 9, 2007)

I'm waiting for my replacement to show up. Hopefully it will work better than the first unit I received which dimmed and shifted blue after 5-7 minutes. It's dissappointing to hear that even a properly working drop-in will dim slowly as the batteries drain. I thought it was supposed to maintain a constant level of brightness most of the way through the life of the batteries.

Would there be any quick and easy ways to improve the heat sinking of the drop in? Such as wrapping copper wire around it, or copper mess, and have it extend out to the body of the mag? I wonder if the slow dimming is more to do with the build up of heat than a change in battery power.


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## 2xTrinity (Jun 9, 2007)

WadeF said:


> Would there be any quick and easy ways to improve the heat sinking of the drop in? Such as wrapping copper wire around it, or copper mess, and have it extend out to the body of the mag? I wonder if the slow dimming is more to do with the build up of heat than a change in battery power.


I don't think so. It isn't like the MagLED module where there is actaully a temperature sense that changes the current to keep the temperature under control. If you read the linked thread with a very detailed review it's clear that Terralux simply dropped in the cheapest booster module they could find which is inherently _not_ regulated across the typical voltage-range of 2-3 alkaline cells, and averages only 75% efficiency on 3 cells (a simple resistor could do better for efficiency in that operation), and 40% efficiency on average for 2 cells.


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## WadeF (Jun 9, 2007)

So if it uses horrible regulation, and the LED dims at a constant rate as the batteries drain, why does TerraLUX state this:

"LONGER BATTERY LIFE results from the higher efficiency of the LED compared to the standard bulb. This product contain the TerraLUX LED Light Engine®, so it maintains a constant light output over the life of the batteries. "

From everything I'm reading this statement is totally false. Shouldn't we all be screaming at TerraLUX for lying to us and practicing false advertising? I think they should replace our units with something that actually does what they claimed it would do.


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## Matt Sutton (Jun 9, 2007)

It's ironic that they used the latest high efficiency LED but paired it with cheap and inefficient circuitry. I'm personally done with Terralux unless they can somehow make good on their advertised claims.


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## Cydonia (Jun 9, 2007)

Matt Sutton said:


> It's ironic that they used the latest high efficiency LED but paired it with cheap and inefficient circuitry. I'm personally done with Terralux unless they can somehow make good on their advertised claims.



Well, TerraLux was trying to compete with similar priced drop in's. So, you know, to keep costs down... this is what one gets. Apparently Terralux crunched the numbers and found it is not worth it for them to make a higher priced M*g drop in. MattK mentioned this a while back in a thread somewhere.


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## ltnguyen (Jun 9, 2007)

Help me all you technical people as I am not one myself...since Terralux claims the same performance for the 6EX as for the 6EXB, why aren't we seeing as much complaints in the 6EX? Did Terralux just use different circuitry for the 6EX as opposed to the EXB?


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## eyeeatingfish (Jun 9, 2007)

So are there any problems with the EX or is it just the EXB?


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## ensile (Jun 9, 2007)

Cydonia said:


> You're in this deep so may as well bite the bullet and get a 3 cell MagLED.
> 
> ... Flashaholics would spend *Twice* this price for a *Good* Maglite drop in with quality efficient circuit design and components that were reliable....


 
When are they going to learn.


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## rayonebay (Jun 9, 2007)

2xTrinity, Is there a how to already posted on how you did the mod on your maglite. I believe I would be happier doing mine as a mod, than going the dropin route. For now there still seems to be too many problems with dropins for the 2c.


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## mattchase (Jun 9, 2007)

As has been mentioned, Terralux is just doing what everyone else does, overstating their performance through misleading marketing. That's why we do these tests! I certainly hope Terralux takes all this to heart and fixes things (and if they felt like sending me a "fixed" module that would be a nice touch  ).

I'm not entirely unhappy with my drop-in, the price was easy enough to swallow and I am lucky that mine does put out decent light. That said, I almost built my own module like 2xTrinity did, knowing it would be a better module and probably not cost any more. But I'm still very new to flashlight modding and decided I wasn't quite ready to build my own. However, I'm starting to feel more confident and so my next drop-in will be one I put together myself!


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## ltnguyen (Jun 12, 2007)

xhckr,

I was told by Tony that someone with a sent in flashlight has issues with the 6EXB. Their test people found that the flashlight was using batteries that had a list expiration year of 2004. I believe the 6EXB wasn't properly positioned also. In short, they put in new batteries, re-positioned the 6EXB and did a 5 hour run time on the flashlight and found no problems.

While Tony did not name names--I wonder if that person was you? If you got your flashlight back and it was operator error, let us know so we don't think more negative of Terralux than is imputed.


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## WadeF (Jun 12, 2007)

ltnguyen said:


> I was told by Tony that someone with a sent in flashlight has issues with the 6EXB. Their test people found that the flashlight was using batteries that had a list expiration year of 2004. I believe the 6EXB wasn't properly positioned also. In short, they put in new batteries, re-positioned the 6EXB and did a 5 hour run time on the flashlight and found no problems.


 
I wonder how the drop-in can be improperly positioned. Doesn't it just screw in? Would bad batteries (low voltage) cause the LED to go blue?


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## xhackr (Jun 12, 2007)

ltnguyen said:


> xhckr,
> 
> I was told by Tony that someone with a sent in flashlight has issues with the 6EXB. Their test people found that the flashlight was using batteries that had a list expiration year of 2004. I believe the 6EXB wasn't properly positioned also. In short, they put in new batteries, re-positioned the 6EXB and did a 5 hour run time on the flashlight and found no problems.
> 
> While Tony did not name names--I wonder if that person was you? If you got your flashlight back and it was operator error, let us know so we don't think more negative of Terralux than is imputed.


That could have been me, and while I have not received my flashlight back yet - I’m sure I will - I was aware of the date of the batteries at the time of testing. Regardless of that date the batteries tested good, and I can assure you the module was properly installed. Additionally, mattchase’s test with new batteries shows a final runtime of 143 minutes with a similar standing voltage of my batteries that failed to drive the unit. This corroborates my results. 

If you would like to discount several other posters’ experience here including mattchase and myself – no offence taken as I am a new poster without a proven track record here - take a look at Doug’s test results at - http://www.molalla.net/~leeper/tle6exb.htm

It is, as with all his reviews, very detailed and technical. In summary, it shows there are issues both in manufacturing and in engineering. Accordingly, I have asked for a refund and I will not be pursuing this product further.

Best wishes to everyone involved here.


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## acatalano (Jun 12, 2007)

My name is Tony Catalano, President of TerraLUX Inc. I'm sorry to see that some of you are having problems with the TLE-6EXB. I wanted to discuss some of the issues you have raised and address them to the extent I can.

1.Power consumption/runtime: The Samsung LED that is used in the product is rated at 140 Lumens at approximately 3Watts. With 2 cells this means the unit should draw about 1 Amp. This is normal. Run time should be 5-6 hours with 2D cells.

2. Flickering-So far we have only received one unit back from a customer and have run lots of tests to try to experience what this customer was seeing. We did see flickering at low battery voltages, shortly before the light went out. Because the TLE-6EXB draws lots of current, battery voltage UNDER LOAD is much lower than measured with a DVM. Even though the customer's batteries showed 1.3 V (each), under load this dropped considerably turning the unit off. Of course without much of a load, voltage rises and the unit can turn on again. This process repeats causing flickering. If new batteries don't solve the problem, please send the unit back to us. 

3. Color-The Seoul LED now in use for this product has the fluorescent material suspended above the semiconductor die. While this gives a high light output, the blue light from the LED travels along different optical paths which means the color of the light may be non uniform, especially when viewed at different angles. It also means that the spot that is formed will be more diffuse than an LED with a truely clear lens such as the LumiLED and Cree products. In any event the "blue" and "green" colors one sees should be akin to "blue" stars in the nightime sky, i.e., a slight cast, not a primary color! In any event, I feel the 140 Lumen rated output of the product is worth the variation in color, IMHO...

4. Other problems-We often ask customers to return their flashlight with the product that is giving them problems. In the one TLE-6EXB that was returned to us, we found the rear spring (negative battery contact) did not make good contact, a fairly common problem. The batteries were also dead and had a 2004 expiration date. Nonetheless, we did see the flickering, but only when the batteries were nearly exhausted.

5. If you have problems! Please call or write to get an RMA to return the unit. We intend TerraLUX products to be the best on the market and if you are having problems we need to know!


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## WadeF (Jun 12, 2007)

Thanks for the response Tony. I am waiting for my replacement in the mail and I hope there will be no issues with it. I will send my unit back for testing as soon as I receive the replacement. Most people complaining reported their units turning blue after a few minutes of run time. Have you experience this or have an explanation for it? 

My current unit on start up:







My current unit after 5-7 minutes:






My camera's focus, exposure, and white balance were all locked.


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## customh (Jun 12, 2007)

Curious Tony, what do you think about Newbie's breakdown of this product? (http://www.molalla.net/~leeper/tle6exb.htm) I have known him to be very knowledgeable and he says you are using cheap chips? Is this so?



acatalano said:


> My name is Tony Catalano, President of TerraLUX Inc. I'm sorry to see that some of you are having problems with the TLE-6EXB. I wanted to discuss some of the issues you have raised and address them to the extent I can.
> 
> 1.Power consumption/runtime: The Samsung LED that is used in the product is rated at 140 Lumens at approximately 3Watts. With 2 cells this means the unit should draw about 1 Amp. This is normal. Run time should be 5-6 hours with 2D cells.
> 
> ...


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## pilou (Jun 12, 2007)

I would like to ask again this: for a 3D mag, what would be the best choice, a 6EXB or a 6EX. What would be the differences?

Thanks.


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## bguy (Jun 12, 2007)

I don't think I have a defective product. I just don't think it lives up to what I would have expected from Terralux, and from what an SSC should be capable of. I don't have tons of testing equipment, so I can't give graphs of what it's doing.

What I know is, I have 2 3D mags. MagLED works in both fine. the 6EXB flicks out after half a second in one, and works in the other. It's not my batteries as they are new, dated 2012 Duracells. And as noted they work with the MagLED. 

Second, it seems it's putting out a slightly larger spot of nearly equal brightness as a MegLED. But at the same time, after just 3 minutes, the 6EXB is so hot I can't touch it. The MagLED after 3 minutes is just warm. This can't be good for the 6EXB. For all the heat it's putting out, I'd expect it to be blindingly bright compared the "old technology" Luxeon that is half as effecient.

It's not worth returning since it's still fairly bright, and I'd have to ship it back. But I wouldn't buy another unless something changed in it. So Pilou, just get a MegLED.

Bradley


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## f22shift (Jun 12, 2007)

2xTrinity said:


> I would recommend the custom-build route now for anyone who might otherwise be interested in a drop-in. You end up with good heatsinking, and LED with choice of tint, in exchange for a little bit of work, but for about the same overall price.


 
do you have a link to steer in the right direction on how to custom build?


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## mattchase (Jun 12, 2007)

Hi Tony, thanks for posting some info for us and working with those having problems. My only concern with my unit is the noise it makes when operating, is this something you are aware of happening or is it a bad sign?


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## Derek Dean (Jun 13, 2007)

f22shift said:


> do you have a link to steer in the right direction on how to custom build?


http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=163902


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## eyeeatingfish (Jun 13, 2007)

So should we just get the 6EX instead of the 6EXB? The 6EX is still brighter than the stock bulb right?


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## WadeF (Jun 13, 2007)

I got my replacement 6EXB today. Initial impressions are it seems better, but the tint is cooler (bluer) than my original. It also gets to hot to touch after it's been on awhile. However, it doesn't appear to dim as much or get as blue as my original drop-in. However, after about 10-15 minutes of run time it does dim a tad and shifts a bit more towards blue. Here are some beam shots, nothing real scientific here:

6EXB on the left in a 3D mag (with 3 D's), Gene's Malkoff drop-in in a 2D mag (with 3 C's) on right:






6EXB at 36 feet (in my basement) on startup, I have the camera set to under expose, probably a bit too much, and white balance locked to daylight:






6EXB after about 15 minutes, appears to be a tad dimmer and a tad bluer, same exposure, same white balance:






Same camera settings with the 2D and Gene's drop-in:






Can't see much, but the Fenix P1D-CE on turbo, same distance, same settings:






Here's what Gene's drop-in looks like with a more normal exposure, at 36 feet:


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## tman11 (Jun 21, 2007)

Whew, I'm glad I read this. I almost pulled the trigger on one today until reading this post.


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## xhackr (Jun 27, 2007)

I thought I would post an update here and perhaps clarify a few things.

First, welcome to the board Tony. There have been some questions asked of you after your single post here. It would be great if you could address them. One in particular is your response to the review of your product here - http://www.molalla.net/~leeper/tle6exb.htm



acatalano said:


> Flickering-So far we have only received one unit back from a customer and have run lots of tests to try to experience what this customer was seeing. We did see flickering at low battery voltages, shortly before the light went out. Because the TLE-6EXB draws lots of current, battery voltage UNDER LOAD is much lower than measured with a DVM. Even though the customer's batteries showed 1.3 V (each), under load this dropped considerably turning the unit off.


 
Being aware of the difference between standing voltage and voltage under load as I pointed out in the first post of this thread, I did have an opportunity to test these batteries under load before I sent them to you. 



acatalano said:


> In the one TLE-6EXB that was returned to us, we found the rear spring (negative battery contact) did not make good contact, a fairly common problem. The batteries were also dead and had a 2004 expiration date. Nonetheless, we did see the flickering, but only when the batteries were nearly exhausted.


 
There are two concerns I have here. The first is your reference to the rear spring not making good contact. Interestingly, when I received this light back from you, the rear spring was completely dislodged from the tail cap. I did not think you attempted to operate the flashlight in that condition and I simply attributed that to the shipping of the light, much in the way I would have anticipated you to do upon your receipt. Secondly, independent of the date of these batteries, when I shipped them to you they were not nearly exhausted, in fact both tested well in standing voltage and voltage under load. 

Subsequently I purchased an OEM Maglite LED replacement for this light, and it is has been working very well for the last couple of weeks with the exact same 2004 batteries I sent you. 

Thank you for taking the time to post here and again welcome.


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## WadeF (Jun 27, 2007)

My original unit would dim and go very blue within the first 10 minutes of operation. The replacement starts with more of blue tint than my original, but doesn't seem to dim as much or go as blue after running 15-20 miuntes. However, the replacement does flicker, but it's not that noticeable, but it is there. It's like it is shifting in brightness when it does this. Maybe the circuit is adjusting the boost to the LED? Be funny if they sent me xhackr's original unit after they felt it tested fine.


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## pilou (Jun 27, 2007)

I think for anyone with a 3D mag, the TLE-6EX is obviously the better choice. But for $25, you can add a few more dollars and get a nice new light. The big Mags are impractical mastodons for most people. SO I am wondering whether it is even worth getting the Mag replacement bulb, unless it is priced $10 or so. Sometimes, it is not worth salvaging a giant carcass.


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## MattK (Jun 27, 2007)

Pilou - It's quite simple; a big Mag modded with a TLE-6EX* will run for a huge amount of time on cheap, widely available batteries. 20 hours of ~150 lumens for the price of 4 D cells turns what is otherwise a dinosaur into a fantastic emergency light. Also, the Mags have huge reflectors which equals huge throw - so now you have a great emergency light with tons of brightness, LONG and CHEAP runtimes and great throw. Show me any new light that can touch the output and throw for $25, never mind the runtime.


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## barkingmad (Jun 27, 2007)

pilou said:


> I think for anyone with a 3D mag, the TLE-6EX is obviously the better choice. But for $25, you can add a few more dollars and get a nice new light. The big Mags are impractical mastodons for most people. SO I am wondering whether it is even worth getting the Mag replacement bulb, unless it is priced $10 or so. Sometimes, it is not worth salvaging a giant carcass.


 
Not everyone wants a small light - I have both and both have their uses. Mag's with LED drop-ins have huge runtimes and if you already have a Mag there are not a lot of options for a new light with 140+ lumens for only $25.


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## pilou (Jun 27, 2007)

I know, I know, I am just finding a reason not to spend $25  While the Mag is impractical as a carry light, and while there are many better options for emergency room lights, there is nothing like it to illuminate your backyard from an upstairs bedroom, and that is why I have my 3D Mag under the bed  . I suppose I will just have to throw it in my next order.

But Matt, for a 3D Mag, would you recommend the 6EXB or the 6EX? It seems like the 6EX is a more dependable unit?


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## customh (Jun 28, 2007)

The exb is seeming to have some issues, for the buck, the ex is great and mostly dependable.


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## WadeF (Jun 28, 2007)

Will the 6EX only give ~150 lumens in 6-cell?


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## JamisonM (Jun 28, 2007)

Here's a bit of info on the TLE-6EX. It's very informative.
http://www.molalla.com/~leeper/terralux.htm


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## WadeF (Jun 28, 2007)

I see it has similar issues to the TLE-6EX. I guess I will avoid Terralux until they can start using better quality circuits and heat sinks.


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## Carabidae (Jun 28, 2007)

I can vouch for the TLE-6EX, I've been using it since I purchased it from batteryjunction when they first came out and have had no problems with it as of yet. I've had it on for 40 mins straight and saw no noticable dimming or blueing of the light and I had it at the maximum recommended voltage of 9v. Of course there are lemons in the bunch, but I would recommend the TLE-6EX, I've even put together a couple of lights for others who use them constantly and I hear nothing but good things about it. Just my .02 cents.


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## barkingmad (Jun 28, 2007)

WadeF said:


> Will the 6EX only give ~150 lumens in 6-cell?


 
Apparently it will in 4-6 cell...


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## customh (Jun 28, 2007)

WadeF said:


> I see it has similar issues to the TLE-6EX. I guess I will avoid Terralux until they can start using better quality circuits and heat sinks.


I agree, but the ex seems ok for most people, and for the buck compared to a MagLED or a Malkoff, it's pretty good value.


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## pilou (Jun 28, 2007)

JamisonM said:


> Here's a bit of info on the TLE-6EX. It's very informative.
> http://www.molalla.com/~leeper/terralux.htm




Thanks for the very interesting link. Based on efficiency, it seems like the best choice for a host is a 3D mag. It even seems like the TLE-6EX should run fine with 2D Mags, although the fact that there is a separate 2-3 cell model indicates that I must have missed something looking at the graphs.


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## Timdog68 (Jul 16, 2007)

Any update on these units?
I have three 3D Mags awaiting upgrades.
Is the TLE-6EX(3-6 cell) the unit to get or is the TLE-6EXB(2-3 cell) the better choice.
I'm looking for something that doesnt change color or brightness when on for hours.
Is there a better,more reliable brand?
Thanks,
Tim


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## qip (Jul 16, 2007)

cant help you because of your offensive avatar :laughing: get the exb :devil:
















j/k get the 6ex  or a malkoff ...actually get both since you have 3 mags ....my yanks in the gutter


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## jerry i h (Jul 28, 2007)

To echo a previous post, boy am I glad I read this thread before I spent my hard earned $$$ on one of these. Forgive my rant, especially since I am a newbie (to this BB, but not to LED flashlights), but shouldn't a drop-in m*glite mod based on a SSC P4 have flashaholics dancing in the aisles? Yet all I read on this thread is grumbling and tepid approvals (not to mention a well meaning but disappointing post from an executive of the manufacturing company in question). Add to this some reviews I have been reading on flashlight reviews: Everled, genuine Maglite 3 watt drop-in, and Terralux-Jupiter drop-ins, all decrease in brightness to 50% or even 33% after a few minutes of continuous usage. 

May I assume that all of the problems in the previous paragraph have a common cause: cr*ppy heatsinking and resultant heat build-up in the electronics? C'mon, people, how hard can this be to solve? Makers of dedicated LED flashlights using lithiums (fenix, surefire, etc.) do not seem to have this problem. If you are going to specify, as does Terralux for m*glite, that your mods must be used in a specific flashlight, then you already know exactly what the bulb holder's shape and size is. In this case, it should be engineering duck soup to figure out how to get a chunk of metal in the PR-shaped base to make a first rate heatsink (I peeked into the bulb holder of my 2D, and thought of a several ways of wedging a chunk of metal into there). 

I do not mean to pile onto a niche manufacturer who seems to be having problems (wait, yes I do), but are the charges of using cheap, obsolete semiconductor parts true? If so, do not feel bad; apparently, M*glite has done the same thing in their LED drop-ins.


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## nmanchin (Jul 31, 2007)

so, i'm eager to try one of these out. i've got the regular EX installed now in my 3C mag. i'll be installing the MagCTower soon. 

1. do we think terralux has taken any action to improve the quality. if not yet, might they have a new unit in the works (after all they are on "sale")

2. will the heat sink improve the color shifting effects. seems most people are experiencing problems even before serious heat is introduced :thinking:

the EX seems super stable in a 3 cell for now. i would just like a little more output.


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## xhackr (Jul 31, 2007)

nmanchin said:


> so, i'm eager to try one of these out. i've got the regular EX installed now in my 3C mag. i'll be installing the MagCTower soon.
> 
> 1. do we think terralux has taken any action to improve the quality. if not yet, might they have a new unit in the works (after all they are on "sale")
> 
> ...


Despite overwhelming evidence, TerraLUX has denied there are any issues with this product. It would be difficult for them to fix an issue that they have denied exists. 

I don’t know why – or where - they are on sale, but sales are driven by several factors including products that don’t move. 

If you are looking for leading edge performance an alternate platform might be your best solution. Alternatively, an upgrade path for these classic Mags is a worthwhile endeavor and I think Mag has done it well enough within the limitations imposed on the original design while maintaining a lower price point. I have the OEM LED upgrade and I am very satisfied. 

It appears the TerraLUX MiniStar 5 Model TLE-6EX for 3 to 6 C/D cell flashlights also has issues. More information on that can be read here - http://www.molalla.net/~leeper/terralux.htm That review showed engineering and QC issues. 

If you must have the hottest performance from your 2, 3, or 4 C/D cell Mag then Malkoff might be your best bet. While I have no personal experience with his mods, they are highly regarded here. http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_3&products_id=15


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## nmanchin (Jul 31, 2007)

i think i'll just enjoy the EX for what it is at this point...a trunk light :ironic:


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## MattK (Jul 31, 2007)

"overwhelming evidence"

Let's see; thousands of units shipped. A handful of complaints, one of the complainants had their flashlight AND upgrade brought into TerraLUX where it was found that it had dead expired batteries and dirty contacts.

Early units (long gone) were hand-assembled and a few were shipped that worked on shipment but failed shortly after because of an assembly flaw - those units have all been replaced or at least the buyers offered replacements and 1000's of units have shipped without incident since.

Buy hey; don't let me stop anyone from repeating second hand information and other peoples opinions without any personal knowledge or experience of your own.

Here's 11 positive reviews I found in 2 minutes posted by people who have actually bought and USED the units:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2086076&postcount=1

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2087355&postcount=16

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2086083&postcount=2

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2086262&postcount=8


https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2086100&postcount=3

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2092246&postcount=34

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2088927&postcount=12

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1725865&postcount=1

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2029708&postcount=1

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2030254&postcount=54

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2061865&postcount=130

About 90% of the 'negative' posts are just what I see above - someone repeating what they heard elsewhere - we call that hearsay and there's a reason hearsay isn't admissable in court.


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## Timdog68 (Aug 1, 2007)

MattK said:


> "overwhelming evidence"
> 
> Let's see; thousands of units shipped. A handful of complaints, one of the complainants had their flashlight AND upgrade brought into TerraLUX where it was found that it had dead expired batteries and dirty contacts.
> 
> ...


 

Matt,
I am still in the market for 3 units to upgrade my 3D maglites.
All things being equal I would like the higher lumen module if color and brightness are steady.
Which unit would you reccomend?
Thanks,
Tim


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## MattK (Aug 1, 2007)

Hi Tim,

I'd probably go with the TLE-6EXB over the TLE-6EX for a 3 cell Mag. The data isn't all in yet but it seems that the EXB stays at the higher output levels longer; basically it will be brighter for longer but have a slightly shorter overall runtime.


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## GregY (Aug 1, 2007)

jerry i h said:


> angry rant about heatsinking


 
This has been discussed lots of times in lots of places. 

The problem with Mag dropins is not heat-sinking, but rather having a good thermal conduction path from the heatsink to the body of the light (and from there to the outside world, mainly your hand). The problem is with the Mag design itself. Unless you a) change the internals of the light so you're no longer talking 'dropin' or b) do something crazy like Malkoff and build a conductive 'bridge' from the LED to the body of the light into your dropin (which means $$$), you're going to have thermal problems.

Custom lights don't have to worry about compatibility with an existing body that was not designed with heat transfer in mind. Any of the "good" lights you mentioned will get warm when you run them, and in fact they are using the body of the light to take the heat from the heat sink, and from there to transfer the heat into your body. Yes, by design.

So it's hardly fair to rant on people, question their competence when they are dealing with design limitations you don't even seem to realize.


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## FrogsInWinter (Aug 1, 2007)

xhackr said:


> Secondly, independent of the date of these batteries, when I shipped them to you they were not nearly exhausted, in fact both tested well in standing voltage and voltage under load.
> 
> Subsequently I purchased an OEM Maglite LED replacement for this light, and it is has been working very well for the last couple of weeks with the exact same 2004 batteries I sent you.


 

acatalano, what is your response to the above statements?


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## nmanchin (Aug 1, 2007)

i just ordered an exb for my 3c mag. i'll be installing the magCTower and will be using a thermal grease to make sure it's well connected to the body/bulb holder... can't wait to see how it responds. at this point (20 for the body, 20 for the heatsink, 10 for some mineral glass, 32 for the drop in. i easily could have bought something else, but i wanted long runtime/ easily available off the shelf batteries. plus, with the mag, if the drop in craps out i'll have a spare something or other in the tail cap... and if it does work and realiably produce 150 lumens i don't think the price will be grossly out of reason.


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## barkingmad (Aug 1, 2007)

I am sure a Malkoff is better (certainly from the reviews) - I can't comment for sure as mine is 'on it's way' but it's not really a like for like comparison as remember it *is* 3x the cost and requires a reflector mod (or buy a new reflector with it).


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## f22shift (Aug 1, 2007)

nmanchin said:


> i just ordered an exb for my 3c mag. i'll be installing the magCTower and will be using a thermal grease to make sure it's well connected to the body/bulb holder... can't wait to see how it responds. at this point (20 for the body, 20 for the heatsink, 10 for some mineral glass, 32 for the drop in. i easily could have bought something else, but i wanted long runtime/ easily available off the shelf batteries. plus, with the mag, if the drop in craps out i'll have a spare something or other in the tail cap... and if it does work and realiably produce 150 lumens i don't think the price will be grossly out of reason.


yeah a mrv  or malkoff :nana:


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## nmanchin (Aug 1, 2007)

problem is, i just don't like the size of a "D" flashlight, even if it is a 2 cell.


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## MattK (Aug 1, 2007)

barkingmad said:


> I am sure a Malkoff is better (certainly from the reviews) - I can't comment for sure as mine is 'on it's way' but it's not really a like for like comparison as remember it *is* 3x the cost and requires a reflector mod (or buy a new reflector with it).



+1 

Exactly. I've never seen it either but I don't have to - Gene's driving it harder because he's developed a way to heatsink it. Comparing the 2 is pointless and theres plenty of room in the market for both.


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## qip (Aug 1, 2007)

i have both 6ex and malkoff i value both equally....each to me has 2 different purposes , the malkoff in a 1dmag running off 3 e2 lithiums for a pocket powerhouse also "with extensions for options using D batteries " and the 6ex for blackout runtime in 4D which does still put out great output


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## barkingmad (Aug 1, 2007)

MattK said:


> +1
> 
> Exactly. I've never seen it either but I don't have to - Gene's driving it harder because he's developed a way to heatsink it. Comparing the 2 is pointless and theres plenty of room in the market for both.


 
It's a bit like trying to compare a Ferarri (Malkoff upgrade) to a VW Golf (Terralux) - but as you say there is plenty of room for both.

Most people think a standard incan Mag is 'good' - or are we all just snobs!


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## MattK (Aug 2, 2007)

Hmm, I think I'd go with a Porsche (TerraLUX) vs a purpose-built Race car (Malkoff) - one is a high performance production unit, the other a limited availability, 'custom' item. The VW Golf analogy isn't really fair given the very high performance the TerraLUX unit IS capable of.


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## xhackr (Aug 2, 2007)

MattK said:


> Let's see; thousands of units shipped. A handful of complaints...


That's faulty logic. While this is a very popular forum - perhaps even the most popular flashlight forum - most people that own flashlights don’t even know about this forum, much less post here. There are two very detailed reviews from a well respected, technically competent (EE?) member here that documents several issues. Here - http://www.molalla.net/~leeper/tle6exb.htm and here - http://www.molalla.net/~leeper/terralux.htm 



MattK said:


> ...one of the complainants had their flashlight AND upgrade brought into TerraLUX where it was found that it had dead expired batteries and dirty contacts.


I don’t recall dirty contacts. I do recall he found the rear spring loose. That same contact was loose when I received the flashlight back – It was due to shipping the light, and is easily corrected. Attributing that to the failure of this module is rather silly. Expired batteries do not mean dead batteries. I tested the batteries, and they tested good – standing voltage and under load – before and after shipping the light. In fact, those very same “dead batteries” are still working in the same flashlight with Mag’s OEM LED. I don’t use that light much, but those batteries today are still working just fine.

There are many people satisfied with products that are more expensive and perform inferior to other products. A list of those people does not prove a product does not have QC and engineering problems. In fact, when I installed fresher batteries I was initially impressed with the module. Further investigations proved otherwise. Most people will not test this unit as thoroughly as some here. 

On June 4, 2007, you said in response to Newbie’s review of this module, “Doug and I are in direct communication - I'm all over it.” We never heard back from you on that. Can you refute his findings regarding the engineering issues with TerraLUX’s products?


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## xhackr (Aug 2, 2007)

MattK said:


> Hmm, I think I'd go with a Porsche (TerraLUX) vs a purpose-built Race car (Malkoff) - one is a high performance production unit, the other a limited availability, 'custom' item. The VW Golf analogy isn't really fair given the very high performance the TerraLUX unit IS capable of.


 I enjoy the automotive analogies, and can’t help seeing this being more of a British comparison – “Lucas, the prince of darkness.”


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## MattK (Aug 2, 2007)

xhackr said:


> That's faulty logic. While this is a very popular forum -



Yes the forum is popular but I'm making a statistical argument and numbers don't lie. I know exactly how many units we've shipped and how many RMA's have been issued.



> There are two very detailed reviews from a well respected, technically competent (EE?) member here that documents several issues.



I'm not an engineer and with all due respect to Doug I've been given information directly contradictory to some of his comments regarding circuit design. Regardless the product works as advertised (ok, 99.5% of the shipped units work as advertised, .05% have been reported defective and replacement/refunds offered/given as requested.) so Doug's information while interesting and potentially of value to the engineers at TerraLUX is frankly irrelevant to most consumers - even CPF buyers. TerraLUX sells a product at a price point that is advertised to do something and it does just that - the circuit design argument is absurd in my opinion. To crap on a product because you've taken their circuit apart and think it could/should be better/different is worthless in my opinion unless you go out, build a product and offer it for sale. Even worse IMO is the mindless, unreviewed repitition of OTHER PEOPLES OPINIONS as FACT; that's just mob/lemming behavior.

If someone thinks they can do it better, please, by all means go ahead. Gene's tried to do that and clearly succeeded to some extent but he has a product that I doubt he's actually making any money on, cannot produce in sufficient quantities or offer to the market at a price more in line with what most buyers are willing to pay.



> There are many people satisfied with products that are more expensive and perform inferior to other products. A list of those people does not prove a product does not have QC and engineering problems. In fact, when I installed fresher batteries I was initially impressed with the module. Further investigations proved otherwise. Most people will not test this unit as thoroughly as some here.



I've posted very clearly that some EARLY HAND MADE UNITS HAD QC problems; This issue has long since been resolved and all of those customers have been taken care of. I have also now posted links to *CPF BUYERS*happy reports/reviews of the product. 



> On June 4, 2007, you said in response to Newbie’s review of this module, “Doug and I are in direct communication - I'm all over it.” We never heard back from you on that. Can you refute his findings regarding the engineering issues with TerraLUX’s products?



I'm not an engineer and with his blessings I forwarded most of Doug's comments directly to the engineers at TerraLUX because, like most readers I suspect, I don't know WTF Doug was saying in 1/2 of what he wrote so I passed it on to those who would understand it and if necessary/desirable take action.

Yours was not the only unit/flashlight brought in 'whole' by TerraLUX to investigate the issues that arose so there is no need to get defensive regarding my other post as I don't actually think I was talking about you in my other post. The bottom line here I think is that you had an issue and EVERY EFFORT was made to resolve it and when it had been resolved, IIRC, you asked for and received a refund. 

Regarding the Lucas joke that's simply not fair; Lucas built crap for decades. TerraLUX has a few bad eggs and resolved the issue causing the problem quickly and professionally. The TerraLUX units is very clearly a high performance item for 99.5% of it's buyers.

My apologies if this post seems harsh but I'm pretty sick of the same comments being made ad nauseum, all too often by people who have never even seen or used the product. I'm sorry that some units were shipped that had some quality control problems - it's cost me and TerraLUX some time and money but we've made everyone right on this and THAT should be the focus of the discussion with regards to defective TLE-6EX's.

Is there a product on the market that may be superior? Sure; it costs 3 times as much and it's very difficult to buy as they're handmade and the builder cannot meet demand. The TerraLUX modules wors great, have a very reasonable price point and have made THOUSANDS of happy users while perhaps a few dozen people had to seek a replacement or refund which they received without hassle.


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## barkingmad (Aug 2, 2007)

MattK said:


> Hmm, I think I'd go with a Porsche (TerraLUX) vs a purpose-built Race car (Malkoff) - one is a high performance production unit, the other a limited availability, 'custom' item. The VW Golf analogy isn't really fair given the very high performance the TerraLUX unit IS capable of.


 
I meant VW Golf as it was like being an upgrade for 'everyone' - perhaps we should call it VolksLED being a direct drop-in for mass-market and it could always be a GTi!


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## JamisonM (Aug 2, 2007)

Matt, I’d like to hear, if it’s alright, what the problem was with these early units. I’d also like to hear what terralux has told you that contradict Doug’s findings with his modules if possible. I ask because, even though I’m not an engineer either, I still find it interesting and like to have a through or at least better then the average user understanding of my gadgets. 

Why are these modules changing bins with some people just plain failing with others? While this, as you said, has only happened to a small percentage of customers and those that it did happen to have be set straight; I still can’t help but ask myself just what the problem was. In both cases, it seems heat was an important factor. SSC’s know to be sensitive to heat and the components of the module, driver and LED, producing it and not having it anywhere to go. Doug’s review shows the temperature of the modules rising above the point water boils at. May I assume that the flaw in the early units had something to do with heat management? 

If the temperature of the unit rises to high; power is lowered and the unit drops to a safer and temperature or something similar to what the magled drop-in modules do? Or was the problem something more along the lines of that this amount of heat shouldn’t have ever been created? An example being that there is an acceptable amount of heat that the components can function properly in and that the flaw was creating way too much heat. Now, I'm probably way off, but I’d still like to hear your input on the problems and my ideas. Thanks.


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## cam94z28 (Aug 2, 2007)

Aside from having a yellow hue that's a bit too much for my taste, I haven't had the problems mentioned here with my 6EXB. I have the 2D Mag-LED that originally came with the Magled Drop-In. The problem or "bug" I have though, is that without the head screwed on, if I try to turn it on it usually flickers and goes off. Sometimes It will flicker several times and stay running. With the head screwed on it works fine.


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## MattK (Aug 2, 2007)

barkingmad - Okay - so long as we're talking GTI I'll go along with that. Full disclosure: I've driven nothing but VW's and Audis for err 10 years now.  

JamisonM - The early units were literally hand assembled and it looks like some of the earliest units made didn't get enough thermal epoxy which connects the emitter to the base and helps the emitter transfer heat to the heatsink/shroud resulting in blue shift and premature failure because the thermal path was 'stunted'. All of the units were tested on a becnhtop power supply prior to shipment to dealers but they're only tested for a few seconds for function so....

Regarding circuit design I'll get the details again; the engineering speak was a bit beyond my ken frankly.

cam94z28 - I'd try this: remove the emitters and batteries. Clean the battery contacts with a pencil eraser or similar, clean the PR base (where the led screws onto) the same way (both the threads and the contact in the bottom)then screw the emitter on as tightly as possible.


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## JamisonM (Aug 2, 2007)

MattK said:


> JamisonM - The early units were literally hand assembled and it looks like some of the earliest units made didn't get enough thermal epoxy which connects the emitter to the base and helps the emitter transfer heat to the heatsink/shroud resulting in blue shift and premature failure because the thermal path was 'stunted'. All of the units were tested on a becnhtop power supply prior to shipment to dealers but they're only tested for a few seconds for function so....
> 
> Regarding circuit design I'll get the details again; the engineering speak was a bit beyond my ken frankly.


I see, thanks. I can't wait.


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## itguy07 (Aug 2, 2007)

Just got the 6EB from Battery Junction today :thumbsup: (Thanks - ultra fast shipping). Popped it into my old 3D Mag and it seems to be a good one - ran it for about 10 mins on some old, expired in 2002 Duracells with decent juice and it didn't shift or anything like that.

However, when I first turn on the light it flickers for about 1-10 secs, almost as if something is charging up. Then it's steady for about 5 mins and it flickers a little more. 

I think it may be the batteries but wanted to see if this was normal for a regulated light. I also think my switch may need a cleaning - if I touch it I get a faint flicker. Any tips on how to clean the contacts of the Mag switch?

So far, I think I like the U/G - it should suit my use very well - I'm not in need of ultra long runtimes. It is bright and that's what I wanted.


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## scottaw (Aug 2, 2007)

All this s**t talking is hilarious. If you got one and you liked it (me) then you're a happy customer, the end. If you got a bad one Matt did all he could to replace/appease everyone, should be the end. But everyone just keeps dumping a pile of s**t on Matt and terralux. Why not revolt against surefire, they're cree lights seem to have a much worse working percentage than these drop-ins....oh yea, and they're a wee bit more expensive. 

Thanks Matt for being a stand-up guy and trying to resolve the few problems that were found, and for making the rest of us happy with a good product.


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## redledz (Aug 3, 2007)

I sat on the fence for a while before getting one myself. That review from mollala.net really made my tech spec head say no noo at first, but my 4d was just so unhappy so I said wth. I am very happy I got it. I was outside comparing its throw to my dmini. Not a big difference really. The larger reflector on the mag puts out a bigger spill beam also for indoors. Here's a quick shot of it compared to a tlux 1w ministar at about 20ft.

http://www.robards.org/~dmard/terralux.jpg


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## frosty (Aug 3, 2007)

Well said Matt.


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## MattK (Aug 3, 2007)

Gents - Thanks for your words of support - it's very much appreciated. Obviously I've grown a bit frustrated with this situation so it's nice to have some understanding. *takes deep breath*

itguy07 - Thanks for your patronage. Flickering is usually a result of a contact issue; this should prove helpful: http://www.orderoutdoors.com/msr_2.html


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## pilou (Aug 3, 2007)

MattK said:


> ... a few dozen people had to seek a replacement or refund which they received without hassle.




I think this last bit should settle things.


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## itguy07 (Aug 3, 2007)

MattK said:


> itguy07 - Thanks for your patronage. Flickering is usually a result of a contact issue; this should prove helpful: http://www.orderoutdoors.com/msr_2.html



Thanks! Is there anything I can clean in the switch assembly or is it a replacement sort of thing? Since this light is old and has seen little use would this most likely clear up with use (sort of how volume switch contacts get less scratchy with use)?


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## MattK (Aug 3, 2007)

We don't sell Mag's so frankly my experience with the mags themselves is somewhat limited to my own uses thus I'm not really sure - you might want to ask in the Incan forums because there's a lot of Mag experts over there.


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## nmanchin (Aug 4, 2007)

ok, i got my EXB (thanks for speedy service MattK at battery junction). it's installed in a 3c mag with the MagCTower from download. i had been running the EX before. the EX ran flawlessly. i probably did several 30 min-1 hours test with it. with the heat sink, it never even got warm. 

with the EXB. i put it in. ran flawlessly for an hour. no color change, just nice white light. it's too light out to tell a output difference. and get this, with the heat sink, it barely warmed up. still cool to the touch after an hour. 

however....now i'm getting flicker mixed with high pitch noise on startup. after 30 seconds it's back to normal(steady bright white light). seems to be absolutely consistent. :thinking:

all of this testing has been done with the same batteries which i have to admit, i have no idea where they are at in their lifespan.

you can certainly feel the heat sink working with your hand on the barrel. i'm still on the fence about the exb, but the MagCTower is absolutely brilliant!

i'm going to do a 2 hour test soon just to see. the longer intervals are what i'm concerned about anyway. for my use, if this light comes on, it will be on for a while...


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## xhackr (Aug 6, 2007)

MattK said:


> I'm not an engineer and with all due respect to Doug I've been given information directly contradictory to some of his comments regarding circuit design.


 With all respect to others, Doug is an impartial party to the performance and sales of this unit, while TerraLUX is not. As Doug is a very competent third party, I and many are more likely to give him authority here. 



MattK said:


> …so Doug's information while interesting and potentially of value to the engineers at TerraLUX is frankly irrelevant to most consumers - even CPF buyers.


 I don’t see that at all, thus your frustration with the posts of people who own and/or have read Doug’s technical review and agreed this unit to have serious issues. It appears Doug’s information is relevant to them.



MattK said:


> …the circuit design argument is absurd in my opinion. To crap on a product because you've taken their circuit apart and think it could/should be better/different is worthless in my opinion unless you go out, build a product and offer it for sale.


With all respect, what I see as absurd is your belief that unless a person builds a better product, their technical review of that product is worthless if it is negative and they don’t build a better product. If that were the case, there would be no third party, unbiased reviews of any products. Doug’s review is well a balanced, impartial review of this and other products and provides a great value to those interested in the technical aspects of these units. If he finds shortcoming in his reverse engineering, so be it. I am grateful he has taken his own, uncompensated time to do so. 



MattK said:


> Gene's tried to do that and clearly succeeded to some extent but he has a product that I doubt he's actually making any money on, cannot produce in sufficient quantities or offer to the market at a price more in line with what most buyers are willing to pay.


 It probably would be best to let Gene speak to his profitability and production goals.




MattK said:


> I've posted very clearly that some EARLY HAND MADE UNITS HAD QC problems;


 What is very disappointing to me is that Tony Catalano came to this board only once, apparently just for damage control, and never acknowledged a production problem with this product. Instead he attributed it to dead batteries, that were not dead, and a contact issue that did not exist in application. 



MattK said:


> …I don't know WTF Doug was saying in 1/2 of what he wrote…


 Making this statement and then disparaging Doug’s unbiased review give me pause. 



MattK said:


> Yours was not the only unit/flashlight brought in 'whole' by TerraLUX to investigate the issues that arose so there is no need to get defensive regarding my other post as I don't actually think I was talking about you in my other post.


 I wasn’t defensive in the least, and surprised you would even suggest that. I am now even more surprised after your further statement above. Are you saying there was more than one customer that returned their light that TerraLUX claimed whose batteries were expired, dead, and with a supposed contact issue? If so, I would find that very suspicious. If not, then my connection to your narrative describing those claims by TerraLUX and myself only makes sense. Other than the inaccuracies stated - dead batteries, that were not dead, and a contact issue that did not exist in application - I am fine with the example, and again, not defensive in the least.



MattK said:


> …when it had been resolved, IIRC, you asked for and received a refund.


 Yes I did. I never suggested otherwise.



MattK said:


> …Regarding the Lucas joke that's simply not fair;


 Matt, it was a joke and I told it as such. I didn’t think you would take it personally, my apologies.



MattK said:


> it's cost me and TerraLUX some time and money but we've made everyone right on this and THAT should be the focus of the discussion with regards to defective TLE-6EX's.


 I understand, but you really should not attack the people who have posted their opinions about this product in the negative because you lost time and money on a TerraLUX issue. While important that you have done what you could do make things right, I don’t think that should be the focus of this discussion to the exclusion of the all the issues with this unit. Even if TerraLUX has addresses the quality control and productions issues, the engineering ones still remain.


----------



## MattK (Aug 6, 2007)

-Doug's ideas are just blue sky until implemented. I'll get more details as to why his suggestions were problematic.

-I'm willing to be that most of the people reading Doug's post, like myself, don't understand 1/2 of it. To simply repeat what you don't understand is called faith - not fact but unfortunately when information, or misinformation get's repeated often enough many will take it as fact - right or wrong.

-The cost of parts for Gene's mod has been discussed already in this very thread and profitability for his or similar projects is germane to the conversation since some of you have complained, after reading Doug's post, that TerraLUX should have done it like this or that without consideration for the cost of doing so and how that would be reflected to the consumer in retail pricing.

- Like most people running a business Tony is very busy and has to allocate his time carefully; he made some time to make that single post at my behest. He never had the intention nor did I expect him to continue to post to the thread.

- "I don't know WTF Doug was saying in 1/2 of what he wrote" Again, I am not an engineer and, if it needs further clarification, simply did not comprehand aspects of his post.

- I am aware of 2 users that had their entire lights brought in by TerraLUX. It's possible I've mixed the details of each.

Again, I wasn't seeking to attack anyone but I am, as I clearly stated, frustrated by people posting or linking ANOTHER PERSONS OPINIONS AS FACTS THAT THEY THEMSELVES HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED AND/OR DO NOT UNDERSTAND. As a matter of fact it seems to be that the majority of BUYERS who have posted THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE seem to be happy with the unit and the service which they have received.


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## WadeF (Aug 6, 2007)

I found Doug's review of the product to be comprehensive and exposed what was causing some of the problems, or at least explain the short comings, of the 6EXB. For the price, it's an acceptable product. Doug did mention other components that would improve the performance, and I believe he mentioned how much more the components would cost. 

I had problems with my original unit, sent it back to Terralux, never heard if they tested it or found any problems with it, if the did find problems, they kept t quiet. The new unit wasn't much better, at least it doesn't dim and shift color as much, but the tint is worse than my original unit. I may try buying another unit just to see if the newer production runs are improved over what Terralux sent me as a replacement.


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## itguy07 (Aug 7, 2007)

Just an update on mine - I'm running it in a 3D Maglight with Expired in 2003 Duracells....

Flickering has all but disappeared since I started more heavily using the light. Must have been dirty contacts. I plan to run these batteries out before putting new ones in.

I ran the light tonight in 85 degree heat while mowing the lawn (got a late start and it got dark). Runtime was about 45 mins and it held up great. Near the end the output got a little dim and there was some bluing of the light. Very useable light, even after 45 mins. The head of the Mag did begin to get warm and I bet some heat was beginning to transfer out there.

Definitely happy with this light for the $ I paid for it. May not be for the ultra long runtimes, but for what I want (great output for the under 1 hour runtimes) it's perfect.


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## WadeF (Aug 9, 2007)

Got my new 6EXB from BatteryJunction.com today. Initial impression was the tint is MUCH better on this one compared to the replacement TerraLUX sent me for my initial defective unit. My replacement also flashes noticeably (brighter and dimmer), and the new one seems better but I still see a change in intensity now and then. I don't know if this is something with the regulation or what, but it's much better on the new unit. 

I haven't run the new unit for any length of time yet to see if it dims, shifts tint, etc. I may try that later today. Here are some bounce test shots showing the difference between the old unit and the new unit. Same exposure, white balance set to daylight, shots taken one after the other:

Old 6EXB (replacement sent to me direct from TeraLUX):





Here is the new 6EXB:





I also noticed a problem with my replacemet (older) 6EXB. When projected on the wall with an aspheric lens you can see the emitter, and part of it is dark! So the entire emitter (or whatever) isn't lighting up, so that maybe the reason for the poor tint. I don't know if I should bother sending it back to TerraLUX again. What are the odds of getting two defective units? Did they send me someone else's defective unit thinking it was fine? Do they check replacement units before just sending them out so they are sure not to screw their customers over twice? 

I'm glad I finally got an acceptable unit. Only took three tries, and the final one at my own expense. At this point I'm sick of going back and forth with Terralux, if they want to save face and make good they can just send me a whole new unit, that they test to make sure it's working, without requiring me to ship back a 2nd defective unit at my expense. I was never compensated by Terralux for the shipping costs I paid to return my first defective unit. All I got was another defective unit for my trouble. :thumbsdow

Here are pics of the defective 6EXB where part of the LED is dark. When I first noticed this I checked for dirt, dust, etc, and didn't see anything and cleaned the LED to be sure, the problem remains:





Here is the new 6EXB throug the same Mag head with the same lens:


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## Timdog68 (Aug 14, 2007)

MattK said:


> Hi Tim,
> 
> I'd probably go with the TLE-6EXB over the TLE-6EX for a 3 cell Mag. The data isn't all in yet but it seems that the EXB stays at the higher output levels longer; basically it will be brighter for longer but have a slightly shorter overall runtime.


 
Hi Matt, Just got back from vacation,Thanks for the response.
Quick question about runtime.
I saw a graph on a 4D light with the 6EX and was impressed but the 6EXB only last about 45 minutes according to a post on page 6.
What is your estimate for lumens and runtime for both versions in a 3d light?
Thanks,
Tim


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## mitchfried (Aug 14, 2007)

I own the TLE-6EX and the B version, as well as two of the Malkoffs (early and later version). They are all good for the price. I would bet my life on the Malkoffs, and bet my friends' lives on the Terralux' The friends get theirs from me as gifts for $25.00 and I get mine for three times the price (because I'm worth it ).


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## MattK (Aug 14, 2007)

Tim,

I'd expect a runtime of 12-15 hours on 3D's. Which post are you referring to?


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## Timdog68 (Aug 16, 2007)

MattK said:


> Tim,
> 
> I'd expect a runtime of 12-15 hours on 3D's. Which post are you referring to?


 
I was refering to post #173 but he was using outdated batteries so I wanted a better feel before deciding on which one to go with.
Is the 12-15 hours for the exb or ex version and what is the estimated reallistic lumens for both units on a 3d light.
Thanks,
Tim


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## MattK (Aug 16, 2007)

The 12-15 hours was based upon testing for the 6EX but I would expect similar performance from the 6EXB - actually I'd expect less runtime from the 6EXB because it will stay brighter...so, if you want runtime go EX, if you want brighter for longer go EXB.

Lumen count of ~140 at the emitter is very realistic - out the front I don't know but it is way brighter than an Inova T4/T5 and plays in the same output class as a LumaPower M1.


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## meuge (Aug 16, 2007)

I just received a TLE-6EXB which I used in my Mag3D, and I have to say that I am VERY impressed. A quick bounce test in my bathroom revealed that this likely puts out a bit MORE light than Fenix L2D-CE on Turbo. But the best part is the tint. The SSC in this dropin provides the most beautiful warm white color I've ever seen come out of an LED. It makes the XR-E Cree in the L2D-CE look blue by comparison. 

I've spent a few minutes giggling like a little girl after seeing the focused beam light up a tree at >100m. 

I haven't encountered any flickering issues, nor have I seen any blueing of the light... but I haven't run it for that long. 

Anyway, a very impressive product from TerraLux.


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## SuperTorch (Aug 17, 2007)

Whats the mA output when used with 2D's and the TLE-6EXB and is that higher than just a resistor in a non regulated TLE-DB3 or whats the Diamonds version. For instance if the Diamond K2 resistor allows around 1000mA why not buy it and mod it with a Seoul P4. The $24.95 for the TLE-6EXB looks resonable but if the 2D(My Fav) is only 400-500mA then I'm left still wanting. 600+ would be nice but I think thats takes 3D's to get there.


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## MattK (Aug 17, 2007)

C'mon SuperTorch, you've participated in every one of these threads - you know exactly why they cannot be run at an amp. 

Hint: It's the same reason the TLE-6K2 could not be run at an amp ...

Hint #2: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/142987&page=3


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## SuperTorch (Aug 17, 2007)

Well I didn't know they all had the same temp output and thought some may run cooler (20% that could be the difference). I didn't mean to infer they should be at a 1.A . I don't know why they just don throw in a metal reflector and then run them at a 1.A I beleave you'd sell a truckload at $39.95 for that set up I'd pre-ordered at that. Anyway I just wanted to get amp numbers for the updated 6EXB on a 2D. I just want someone to tell me its not 500mA I just need a tad more since the LED is capable of so much more light. Still I think the price is very reasonable for the unit. I guess I think 700mA with a P4 shouldn't melt the reflector and the extra 200+mA would e a big plus, Oh well I still may get one because of the price it's DAMN SURE worth more than the $10 extra from a Mag LED bulb (even though I think those are resonablly price as well).


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## MattK (Aug 17, 2007)

I don't recall the exact current but I think it was 6XX.

The reflector melting isn't the only issue. There's no adequate thermal path in the Mag to dissipate the heat. Heat leads to declining output and shortened emitter life.

TerraLUX could very easily run these at an amp - it's just a few components that need to be switched. As a matter of fact we recently did a custom order batch of modified TLE-6EX's with outputs to the emitter at 1.0-1.5A (to a luxeon red/orange LED, long story) but without a thermal environment conducive to these current levels you'll first damage the emitter and then the electronics.


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## SuperTorch (Aug 17, 2007)

MattK said:


> *TerraLUX could very easily run these at an amp - it's just a few components that need to be switched. As a matter of fact we recently did a custom order batch of modified TLE-6EX's with outputs to the emitter at 1.0-1.5A* (to a luxeon red/orange LED, long story) but without a thermal environment conducive to these current levels you'll first damage the emitter and then the electronics.


 
Now your just being a teese. Well 600+ on 2D's is a lot better than I thought since I thought is was designed to output better at 3D's and I figured that would max out a 600+mA. Well my point is 850 ought to be workable with just a reflector, anyhow I know you guys are trying to give everybody what they want and it's easier said than done. At 600mA regulated 2D I think for $24.95 I'll probably get one maybe wait on free shipping


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## MattK (Aug 18, 2007)

ST - I kid you not 'we' did indeed make em - but they were going on a custom heat sink so put down the crack pipe. 

Oh when I say 'we' made them it means I took an order and they did all of the work.

First you wanted 500+. Now you want 850. Dude - you're just making up numbers now.

For the $3-4 the shipping will cost (24.95 -1.25 (5% coupon) = 23.70) so call it $27-28 delivered uh why are you waiting? For $2? 

PFFTT you've been talking for like 8 months now. - don't make me post links from the 6K2 thread where you said, 'I'd buy it if...' and this item outperforms that by a factor of 2.


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## Nicoby (Aug 18, 2007)

I bought the TLE-6EXB, I didnt have a problem screwing the drop in to my Mag 3D. it does take a few seconds to realize that the drop-in and the Mag has to be aligned to get the thread coincide.


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## SuperTorch (Aug 18, 2007)

MattK said:


> ST - I kid you not 'we' did indeed make em - but they were going on a custom heat sink so put down the crack pipe.
> 
> Oh when I say 'we' made them it means I took an order and they did all of the work.
> 
> ...


 


OHH I see someone who thinks he can use LOGIC on the boards to make a point. How do you know I hadn't caculated the 5% off myself. Next paycheck my friend I'll call your bluff, unless I buy a DLP projector those forums are almost as insane as this one.


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## robo21 (Aug 24, 2007)

I have a few 3x D cell Maglites and 1 5x D cell Maglite and having just gotten hooked on lumens (or maybe I always was and didn't realize it until I found CPF and all you guys) I would like to find a nice bright drop-in for my Maggies. 

Any recommendations? I like the idea of one with the copper heat sink.


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## mdocod (Dec 18, 2007)

wow this is a long thread... figure this would be the place to post my experience with these modules:

I just received 4 in the mail. I bought 4 2D mags from lowes back on black friday ($10 ea) so I could put together some gifts (multi-color, LED upgraded mags)... So this should make for a low price performer, $35 isn't bad.....

3 of the 4 seem to work flawlessly. All very reasonably bright, color is fine, etc etc... I had no problem threading these onto the mags, there seemed to be a lot of complaining about this but I had no problem, I had a LOT MORE trouble dealing with the threads on the tailcaps of the mags...

the forth is a dud. It flickers so violently it immediately made me sick feeling. I've tried swapping it to different hosts and tightening and loosening it and stuff and nothing seems to alleviate it. It blinks most violently on start up, then starts to settle down after about 30 seconds on. 

IF it's a simple fix, (like need to just re-solder an easy to get to contact up top or something), then I might check into it... but if not I'm going to just shoot an email over to BJ and see if we can exchange this dud.


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## ElectronGuru (Dec 22, 2007)

mdocod said:


> the forth is a dud. It flickers so violently it immediately made me sick feeling. I've tried swapping it to different hosts and tightening and loosening it and stuff and nothing seems to alleviate it. It blinks most violently on start up, then starts to settle down after about 30 seconds on.



Same experience here. 5 brand new 2C hosts and 5 TLE-6EXB's. 4 of them perfect and 1 of them flickering for seconds into operation. I exchanged it for another and now have 5 perfect lights. 

The black LED bases btw, look wicked good sitting under UCL: http://www.flashlightlens.com/


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## CandleFranky (Dec 22, 2007)

I have the TLE-6EXB in a MagLight 2D. There are no problems with flickering, but the "most powerful LED-Upgrade for MagLight in the world" is a lot of darker then the original MagLight Upgrade LED. 

How is this possible? :mecry:


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## Celeritas (Nov 21, 2009)

Has anyone got recent experience of the EXB? Can they now be considered reliable? Any other similarly priced drop-ins to recommend for a 3D?


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## outersquare (Nov 22, 2009)

necro

i have a 6D w/ terralux and 2d rebel mag, the rebel is brighter..

buy a rebel mag for the money..


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## Celeritas (Nov 22, 2009)

outersquare said:


> necro
> 
> i have a 6D w/ terralux and 2d rebel mag, the rebel is brighter..
> 
> buy a rebel mag for the money..


 
I'm looking for a drop-in to make my unmarked 25 yr old Mag 3D more than just a pretty club. ;-)


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## MattK (Nov 22, 2009)

How old is the TerraLUX in the 6D?


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## outersquare (Nov 22, 2009)

mine was from late 2007


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## MattK (Nov 23, 2009)

Yah, just a matter of timing with the LED's. Newer/current models are, unsurprisingly, brighter.


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## SEMIJim (Nov 29, 2009)

Celeritas' question remains: Can these now be considered reliable? Originally, buyers talked of them turning blue and getting dim after just a few short minutes of constant-on. Is this problem history?


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## SuperTrouper (Nov 29, 2009)

I can only speak for the three of these that I've purchased in the past week: I've not noticed any behaviour like this when they've been on for 10-15 minutes at a time.


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## MattK (Nov 29, 2009)

SEMIJim said:


> Celeritas' question remains: Can these now be considered reliable? Originally, buyers talked of them turning blue and getting dim after just a few short minutes of constant-on. Is this problem history?



Yes - that was like 2.5 years ago and it was only some of the earliest units ('unfortunately' many of the early production units were purchased by early adopters here..).


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## SEMIJim (Nov 29, 2009)

Thought that might be the case. Thanks for the follow-ups, guys.


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## jsholli (Dec 13, 2009)

I just received one of the 'new design' rebel TLE-6EXB emitters from a different seller; I thought it was a mistake at first because it looked so different from the big chunks I've got in the past. 

I haven't ran this yet against the old version; does anyone know if there any change in performance?


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## SuperTrouper (Dec 14, 2009)

One thing I've recently noticed having these running side by side with the new Rebel D cell Maglites is that the tint on these drop-ins seems to be a little warmer than the Rebel.

The Rebel looks like a whiter white by comparison. I didn't really notice this until I was shining both lights at a wall overlapping the emission patterns.


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## jsholli (Dec 14, 2009)

Thank you; I also noticed this terralux rebel to be whiter than the P4 versions which have a blue/purple tint. I noticed a much bigger difference between the outputs of the 3D compared to my 3C and 2C...the 6D is quite equal to the 3D, but I suppose this is somewhat off topic.

I should swap out the P4 with the rebel in my 3D to compare to the 6D for a more controlled comparison and will update with photos if I ever get the opportunity to do it.


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## Arnulf (Dec 19, 2009)

This is confusing....which terralux 6exb should I buy for my maglites....they both have the same name but look totally different?:thinking:

http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-6exb.html

OR

http://www.led-replacement.com/tle-6exb.html


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## jsholli (Dec 19, 2009)

Arnulf said:


> This is confusing....which terralux 6exb should I buy for my maglites....they both have the same name but look totally different?:thinking:
> 
> http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-6exb.html
> OR
> http://www.led-replacement.com/tle-6exb.html


 
They are supposed to be the same in output, just different versions...the black one uses a P4 and the silver one uses a rebel LED. If you look hard at the pic and notice the caption, both sites are selling the newer vesion. Unless there is some old stock out there, the P4 version [with the black base] appears to be gone.


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## Arnulf (Dec 19, 2009)

jsholli said:


> They are supposed to be the same in output, just different versions...the black one uses a P4 and the silver one uses a rebel LED. If you look hard at the pic and notice the caption, both sites are selling the newer vesion. Unless there is some old stock out there, the P4 version [with the black base] appears to be gone.



I know nothing about flashlight tech......I just use them and need a reliable upgrade for my maglites....on ebay some say "terralux tle exb mini star"?

Is this the old tle-exb?








and this the new version?


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## jsholli (Dec 19, 2009)

Correct...the larger units are "old" and IMO seem to have more trouble with heat dissipation and having off-tints [being bluer than white]. Here are some beamshots of my 6D with an old version and my 3D with a new version. This is the closest comparison I could post since I don't have two 2-3 cell lights of the same kind.

The 6D with the old P4 is on the left in all shots...new rebel in a 3D on right.













I also had some shots at about 5 yards, but my new camera doesn't have the manual options that my old one had, so the shots are worthless compared to the real thing. Don't rip me for my dirty lenses...both are AR coated UCL from flashlightlens.com. ---just a note on the P4 version: by the time I got these shots (about 10 mins) the old style had gotten so warm that it had hazed over the lens with gas from either 1: lube in the light or 2: fumes from the reflector or something else getting really warm.

My opinions on these versions are pretty strongly favoring the new one now. It was not at hot as the old one, and it gave more flood and whiter light than the old P4. The only thing I have against the new version is that it seems harder to get a tight spot from the rebel, whereas the old P4 was easily honed in to the perfect spot. Also, there are numerous imperfections in the beam when using the rebel for flood only. But, I feel more confident that a cooler LED is a more reliable one...I'd take an egg-shaped hot-spot over no light at all any day!


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## Arnulf (Dec 19, 2009)

jsholli said:


> Correct...the larger units are "old" and IMO seem to have more trouble with heat dissipation and having off-tints [being bluer than white]. Here are some beamshots of my 6D with an old version and my 3D with a new version. This is the closest comparison I could post since I don't have two 2-3 cell lights of the same kind.
> 
> The 6D with the old P4 is on the left in all shots...new rebel in a 3D on right.
> 
> ...



Thanks my friend....I appreciate the help.:thumbsup:
So if I order one...I will get the newer version....who did you buy from?
My maglites are not cherry either...they are work horses.


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## jsholli (Dec 19, 2009)

Arnulf said:


> Thanks my friend....I appreciate the help.:thumbsup:
> So if I order one...I will get the newer version....who did you buy from?
> My maglites are not cherry either...they are work horses.


 
Not sure if you will absolutely get the new version from every source...there's bound to be some old stock out there, but I sent you a PM with the link where I got mine. They have the new version pictured and it is what I received [I thought it was an error at first, but later learned otherwise].

Best of luck, I only have a single model to represent the new stock---hopefully there's not as much varience in quality in the rebel LEDs as I percieve in the older P4s


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## Arnulf (Dec 19, 2009)

jsholli said:


> Not sure if you will absolutely get the new version from every source...there's bound to be some old stock out there, but I sent you a PM with the link where I got mine. They have the new version pictured and it is what I received [I thought it was an error at first, but later learned otherwise].
> 
> Best of luck, I only have a single model to represent the new stock---hopefully there's not as much varience in quality in the rebel LEDs as I percieve in the older P4s



Sorry about the slow reply....we have family over for a Holiday get together....Thanks for the info....and I will prolly give that seller a try.


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## MattK (Dec 21, 2009)

FWIW we're offering the new version.


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## Arnulf (Dec 21, 2009)

MattK said:


> FWIW we're offering the new version.



I will buy 2 if you will sell them to me @ $15 a piece....pm me if you will go fer it.


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## jsholli (Dec 31, 2009)

Just an update for the curious types out there: the new drop-ins for "2-3 cells only" will fry quickly if ran in bigger lights...I was searching for a 6v compatible drop-in of this new rebel design and definately ruled out the newest version of the tle-6ebx. Appearantly, 4.5v is its max rating for a reason :ironic:

The good part of my bumble was that when I reinstalled my tle-6ex, the LED broke free of the heatsink before my eyes [possibly explaining the extreme blue tint in my pics]---now I plan to remove the old collar and make a new heat sink for it. Viola, 6v drop-in found; now to get it to fit the other light's collar, achieve correct height for proper beam pattern, etc, etc...

Moral of the story: following the OEM instructions is good in this application!!!


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## Arnulf (Dec 31, 2009)

I installed the Terralux TLE-6EXB in my 2 C maglite and my 3 D maglite.....the 3 D maglite is much brighter.


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## SRB (Mar 30, 2010)

I'm in for one when they are back in stock. Sounds like they are a big improvement over my poor old 3D's incandescent.


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## [email protected] (Apr 12, 2010)

SRB said:


> I'm in for one when they are back in stock. Sounds like they are a big improvement over my poor old 3D's incandescent.



Pretty much anything would outperform you old incandescent Maglight, for the more technically minded a DIY upgrade would yield even better results A-la LED quad emitters P7/M-CE :thumbsup:

FWIW digging up old threads is generally discouraged


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