In a stock Mag, the focusing works because the LED is mounted to the body of the light and the head moves in or out depending on how you turn it. As you tighten the head it moves in closer to the body causing the LED to sit further inside the reflector changing the focus of the beam. As you turn the head out the LED moves toward the rear of the reflector, again, changing the focus.
In the new XM-L module, the LED and pill is integral to the reflector and is permanently in one focused position. Instead of the LED being mounted in the body it is mounted in the reflector which is mounted securely into the head. You can turn the head, moving it in or out but the focus of the LED never changes because it moves with the head.
Frankly, I feel the focusing on the mags is a gimmick anyway. The beam is either focused properly for a tight hotspot or it has a massive black hole in the center of the beam. With the new module you will get a perfectly focused beam every time along with great smooth spill with little to no ringiness or goofy artifacts like you can get with the stock Maglite. You are going to LOVE the output of your MAg once you mod it and won't really miss the focusing adjustment.
EDIT: I rechecked your link to the module. I was originally misread the description thinking it was the T6 3-mode module I have in mine but it's the triple T6 module you are using. While it changes nothing in what I wrote above in regard to why you lose focusing, I can't speak for the beam quality first hand with that exact module but I do own a triple XM-L Trustfire torch with the same size reflector and lens size so I will still bet you will love the new Mag you create. I hear that particular module is under driven but it should still be amazingly brighter than any other single LED torch you already have.
just got my TR-3T6 in the post here in the uk and it appears is has a slight fault
a thermal cut out of some kind of voltage protection possibly when using high mode 1, stobe mode 4, or sos mode 5 which i assume also make use of the high output modes
the cut out occurs after a few seconds max this is on both 2 and 3 cell mode
im willing to send this back to the supplier but just wondered if there is an easy fix ?
i see what you guys mean regarding the protection within the batteries, can anyone recommend somewhere in the uk i could get some protected cells from? or will the ebay hong kong listed suppliers be ok?
I've owned my TR-3T6 (2 18650 version) since July. It's been a LOVEFEST so far. The only thing I hate about it is the disco modes. I'd love to change the driver with a 3 mode if possible without affecting reliability, or sacrificing brightness.. Any suggestions?
Are the LED's on these 3 x T6 and 5 x T6 lights always connected in parrallel? Why don't they connect them in serie? I just seems to be that the batteries would be able to supply the higher Vf and constant current of say 2.5-3A with a decent boost driver much easier. Then you can have 800-900 lumens OTF per T6! Or am I missing something?
I got my TR-J12 5 x XM-L a few days ago, it was held up by Australia mail redirection because i moved house over the new year, as we all know now the king Kong's are a no go fitment wise out of the box.
I'm impressed with the build quality of the light it works well and is much brighter to my eyes playing out the back at night in the dark then the TR-3T6.
First impressions is its a nice looking light, looks much better then the TR host,s and its going to be a decent run time torch.
I have not been able to do to much testing except for current draw and a bit of running in the back yard.
