I have a MiniMag LED that I have had for a few years now and I am wondering if I can do anything or get a drop-in to make it better.
I don’t think mine is a CREE, but it is LED. My MiniMag is one of the models that uses 3xAA batteries. It works pretty well, but not in the same league with these new 2xAA CREE models that they have now.
I’d like to be able to get it “fixed” to where it’s as good as the new MiniMags are now. That might be wishful thinking though. I don’t know anything about modding these things so I thought I’d post and ask you guys about it cause if you all don’t know, then I don’t know who would.
I’ve been told that mine is not a common minimag and that not many of them were sold. It still works and works pretty well, but I’d like it to be MUCH BETTER. If I can get it up to todays standards I won’t have to go and buy a new MINIMAG for my hunting pack or tackle box. I think they are great lights for those applications.
Let me know what you think about this light and whether anything can be done to it to improve it.
If it can be made to do what you want, Justin is the one that can do it.
It can be done, the question is how much will it take and will it be what you want when it get’s there. I have AA minimags with triples, XP-G2’s , MT-G2’s , just about however you’d want to do it, so yes, it can be done. You can also buy a Convoy C8 for $11, get a noctigon/XM-L2 and a Qlite and have 800 lumens pretty easy for about $20.
Or you can do the same with a Convoy S6, similar monies if not cheaper, and small like a minimag. Point being, there are options that might make customizing your old light less feasible.
Both of these take a larger 18650 cell with much higher capacity and hence brighter with good run times. And yet, in the case of the S6, the light isn’t much bigger than the cell it runs on.
I just thought that if it could be modded to make it into a good, modern light then it would be better than just letting it sit in a drawer somewhere never using it. As you said, at some point it would get where it would cost more to upgrade it than it would be to buy something else much better.
I figured I’d ask and see what the verdict was on it. If it’s not very feasible I’ll just put it in my car glovebox to use when needed and not worry about it.
Modding mini mags does not balance well in a cost/benefit analysis. Those of us who do them anyway don’t care. There’s plenty of info here if you choose to join the club. The BLF modding links thread contains many different Minimag mods. Look it over. If you see any you like any questions you have will get answered. What makes yours unique?
It’s nice that it’s 3x AA, because then you have 4.5 to 3 volts, which is perfect for 7135 current limiting.
With XP-G2 and 3x 7135 it would be a very usable 1 mode flashlight, with not much cooling issues, as it’s only around 3 Watt.
IRL 2x 7135 would probably be more than enough for close range.
AA batts don’t like high current anyway.
Supposedly because it’s 3xAA and it’s not a CREE light. It wasn’t long after I got mine that they were dropped from their website. I don’t know why cause it is a decent little light, but no where near what today’s AA lights are capable of putting out.
I’d like to try one of the MiniMAG Pro or Pro+. I think it would be a great light to have while fishing at night or in your hunting pack for getting to the treestand, getting back to the truck or cabin, finding a downed critter into the night hours and all the other stuff that pops up on a hunting or fishing trip. Besides, they can be used as a candle to light up the whole room or tent.
I guess I just have had a sweet spot for MAG lites and those new AA lights are nice, but are expensive. I also like the adjustable beam.
The one I have is not even close to my little SK68 clone I paid $3.45 for and I think those little lights are useful as they can be. I don’t know why everyone doesn’t have several. I know I’m gonna order more as soon as I can find out if there is a better one than the one I got from Amazon.
I’d like to mod my MiniMag, but I swear I don’t know that I could do it. If it is expensive to do, then I’ll just leave it as is and put it in my car.
the 3xAA Mini Mag is pretty rare as far as I know. Although obviously 3xAA's makes it long too.
The best/easiest upgrade is probably a Match p60 upgrade. Running the light on 3xLithium (1.5v) or 3xEneloop NiMh (1.2v) would give you a lot of choices.
But doing this mod will cause irreversible damage to the light.
It really is an easy mod to do.
The only thing to check is if the head is different, as latter LED MiniMags certainly used a different head to the incan ones. Not sure it's matter either way, but the dimensions are slightly different.
Couldn’t a copper pill be made to slide into the existing bore of the head, housing an Qlite driver at the base and a Noctigon with choice of emitter on top? With this being a slide in or slight press fit, there wouldn’t be any damage to the light, it’d run on 3 cells, and have modes. A TIR would probably be the best bet to focus the light as they are generally much shorter in length, allowing for optimization of the heat sink.
I wonder instead of drilling out the head, use a file and turn the threads off the P-60 dropin pill, this way you don’t have to permanently mod the flashlight and it leaves more meat in the flashlight for heatsinking
The AA Minimag I bought from OL doesn’t have any machining, just a copper pill for the alu star and a few wires for led+/- and the ano sanded from the end of the tube. Easy way to regulate it is with a single 7135 soldered to the pill. Don’t need lvp with alkalines.