Magic Shine

Myddraal
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Myddraal » Sat Jul 23, 2011 12:31 am

^The magic shines have a very wide floody beam. In fact so floody they don't throw all that far which is ok off road but not so much on the bitumen when you don't want to blind drivers and other riders (so I've read and seen from beam shots).

I've just ordered a couple of torches for cycling too after spending hours and hours reading up on all manner of things torch related; LED data sheets, drivers, hosts, drop ins, heatsinking,... - you name it. They won't be here for probably 3 or 4 weeks, but all reports indicate they can individually put the magic shines to absolute shame on high (though they can only run on high for a limited time as they're pumping out 10+W of heat) and the build quality should be a lot better.

Even though they use the same Cree XM-L T6 emitter as the 808e, they should each outclass it as well, especially for road cycling thanks to more throw and a better beam pattern from the reflectors. I'll be using them on medium so they don't burn up, but that will still be more than the MSs and for only $10 more than the 808e including four 18650 protected Li-Ion batteries, a charger and a battery case shipped.

Mounting is simple, sturdy, quick to remove/install and free with hose clamps, a rubber band bracelet and some old inner tubes.

This has benefits in being able to carry the lights with me so they aren't flogged and being useful off the bike. I can even run one of the torches off standard AAAs if I need to (not for long though, and probably not on high). It's not actually quite an ideal setup with regards to torch form factor (read heat dissipation) and batteries (life) but thanks to P60 drop ins and 18650s being the market standard it's the best you can get for your dollar at this price point.

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Xplora
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Xplora » Sat Jul 23, 2011 10:38 am

Always worth remembering that a torch is useful off the bike, while a bike light isn't. Any reason for thieves to borrow your lights is a bad one!

Review after the rain in Sydney for the last few days, which has been brutal at times.

The water WILL get into the connector, even if you are strategic and aim the male plug upwards, but it won't stop it working at all. I would recommend disconnecting at night to let it all dry out. Long term longevity of this setup? No idea but currently I'm not upset. It DEFINITELY got a heavy workout and you don't need to worry about it failing from one or two heavy days of rain. I still plan on mounting them permanently to the bike, it will be interesting to see it all coming together then.

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find_bruce
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby find_bruce » Sat Jul 23, 2011 6:18 pm

Xplora wrote:Always worth remembering that a torch is useful off the bike, while a bike light isn't. Any reason for thieves to borrow your lights is a bad one!

Review after the rain in Sydney for the last few days, which has been brutal at times.

The water WILL get into the connector, even if you are strategic and aim the male plug upwards, but it won't stop it working at all. I would recommend disconnecting at night to let it all dry out. Long term longevity of this setup? No idea but currently I'm not upset. It DEFINITELY got a heavy workout and you don't need to worry about it failing from one or two heavy days of rain. I still plan on mounting them permanently to the bike, it will be interesting to see it all coming together then.
Have you tried o-ring lube Xplora? A little on the male side of the connector not only makes it a bit easier to get on and off but has also sealed it well. No moisture even in heavy rain. No need to get any fancy dive light silicone lube I use hyrdoseal from Bunnings which was just a couple of bucks. Even works on the o-rings in the light head and my helmet mounted torch.

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Leiothrix
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Leiothrix » Sun Jul 24, 2011 5:22 pm

Hydroseal is a silicone based lube isn't it? If your light has silicone o-rings it is not a good idea to use silicone lube. The lube will make the rings swell and degrade, which can reduce their water resistance and make it rather difficult to unscrew.

Myddraal
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Myddraal » Sun Jul 24, 2011 5:41 pm

Um, silicone based is what you want for o-rings because it doesn't degrade the rubber. Petroleum based lubricants on the other hand do. You could be right, but I'm fairly certain you've got your greases backwards.

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Leiothrix
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Leiothrix » Sun Jul 24, 2011 5:56 pm

silicone grease on rubber o-rings is fine. Petroleum grease will destroy rubber o-rings in short order.

silicone grease on silicone o-rings on the other hand is not fine.

Myddraal
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Myddraal » Sun Jul 24, 2011 6:36 pm

Ok, checked the manual - I'm wrong. Silicon grease is "3) Sometimes ok for static applications", but definitely not 1) Fine, same for silicone oils. Other silicate compounds are mostly 2 or 3.

The moar you know...

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Xplora
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Xplora » Tue Jul 26, 2011 8:42 am

I'll look into it. Wikipedia for all strange queries, guys :)

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find_bruce
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby find_bruce » Tue Jul 26, 2011 2:03 pm

What is it about lubricants that attracts such passionate views, whether it is engine oils, bike chains or o-rings? :roll:
Leiothrix wrote:Hydroseal is a silicone based lube isn't it? If your light has silicone o-rings it is not a good idea to use silicone lube. The lube will make the rings swell and degrade, which can reduce their water resistance and make it rather difficult to unscrew.
For clarification the connection I was refering to does not appear to have a seperate o-ring - it is just moulded plastic with an interference fit

I have no idea if Hydroseal is a silicone based lube - there is nothing on the tube indicating one way or another. I know that the brown o-rings in my light have neither swollen nor degraded.

I would be amazed if the o-rings on a cheap chinese bike light are silicone - The lights are built down to a cost and I am betting that the brown o-rings are made from whatever is cheapest - last time I checked silcone o-rings were about 3 or 4 times the price of other materials such as ntirile.
Myddraal wrote:Ok, checked the manual - I'm wrong. Silicon grease is "3) Sometimes ok for static applications", but definitely not 1) Fine, same for silicone oils. Other silicate compounds are mostly 2 or 3.
Care to share a reference to the "manual" you are referring to. Unless I am mistaken, the o-ring in a bike light is static - once installed there is no movement between the o-ring and the parts.

l45er
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby l45er » Tue Jul 26, 2011 2:22 pm

sblack wrote:
l45er wrote:Works fine, seems to slip a little bit over bumps though (gloss finish on the bars probably doesn't help).
I was also having this issue and recently changed to hanging it under the bar instead of sitting it on top. I did it to clear the top of the bars to temporarily put something else on top but it seams to have fixed the slipping issue so it now lives under the bars permanently.
Just to report back - I tried this method of inverting the light (so it was mounted to the underside of the handlebars) and it did work much better.

It sort of rests on brake/shifting cables (as they route via the underside of my bars) this way but they don't seem to affect it. Thanks for the tip!

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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Myddraal » Tue Jul 26, 2011 8:45 pm

find_bruce wrote:
Myddraal wrote:Ok, checked the manual - I'm wrong. Silicon grease is "3) Sometimes ok for static applications", but definitely not 1) Fine, same for silicone oils. Other silicate compounds are mostly 2 or 3.
Care to share a reference to the "manual" you are referring to. Unless I am mistaken, the o-ring in a bike light is static - once installed there is no movement between the o-ring and the parts.
http://www.parker.com/literature/ORD%20 ... ndbook.pdf

Sometimes Ok implies don't do it unless you have to because it'll almost certainly cause issues, unless you specify a short service life for the part - which is obviously a bad thing.

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ldrcycles
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby ldrcycles » Thu Aug 04, 2011 7:38 pm

I bought this one off ebay and it turned up yesterday. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... K:MEWAX:IT

Tried it for the first time this evening and OH MY GOODNESS it is incredible. On the surface it looks pretty solid and the light just blew me away, super wide beam with a large spot in the centre which gets it a fair way down the road and the sheer quantity of light is fantastic. My Cree Q5 (claimed as 240lumen) which i thought was SOO bright was completely overwhelmed. Even if this only lasts a few months it will be worth every penny as i have literally seen the light and can now appreciate a 100ish lumen light.
"I must be rather keen on cycling"- Sir Hubert Opperman.

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Xplora
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Xplora » Thu Aug 04, 2011 9:13 pm

If your battery pack looks the same as the picture, make sure that water can't get at it. Not even a drop. It's not waterproof, and reports are that it is instant death for the battery. Either way... I ran my light this evening down a bike path I'd never travelled before, ample light for the purpose although I will say that I can see why you'd get the 1400 lumen alien light with the main lamp and 2 auxiliary lights, because seeing around the corner a little bit is very helpful.

I've decided that you can't have too much light. The extra confidence you get from being able to see at night is worth every penny, and my eyes aren't fantastic so somewhat fuzzy eyes plus dim light makes avoiding potholes etc almost impossible, particularly if you're knackered already.

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Kenzo
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Kenzo » Fri Aug 05, 2011 10:50 am

ldrcycles wrote:I bought this one off ebay and it turned up yesterday. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... K:MEWAX:IT

Tried it for the first time this evening and OH MY GOODNESS it is incredible. On the surface it looks pretty solid and the light just blew me away, super wide beam with a large spot in the centre which gets it a fair way down the road and the sheer quantity of light is fantastic. My Cree Q5 (claimed as 240lumen) which i thought was SOO bright was completely overwhelmed. Even if this only lasts a few months it will be worth every penny as i have literally seen the light and can now appreciate a 100ish lumen light.
About how long did it take for delivery? .. I am considering buying one as a gift for someone's birthday in 16 days time....

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MichaelB
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby MichaelB » Fri Aug 05, 2011 11:39 am

ldrcycles wrote:I bought this one off ebay and it turned up yesterday. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... K:MEWAX:IT

.....

Crikey, that's a good price. About $20 odd cheaper than Dealxtreme !!

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Re: Magic Shine

Postby stevage1 » Fri Aug 05, 2011 7:34 pm

I had one of the P7/MJ-808 lights (http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/R7LI4N0LI). It's on its last legs - battery life is down to 45 minutes and the light switch doesn't work anymore. I was looking at one of the MJ-872 lights, but considering the price of the eBay one just posted, might just go that route instead.

Is there a good middle ground at the moment? I'm really after battery life more than anything - I do a bit of cycletouring, so being able to get 10-20 hours would be great (of reduced brightness obviously :)) Or do I just buy more battery packs...how much do they go for?

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Re: Magic Shine

Postby stevage1 » Fri Aug 05, 2011 7:35 pm

Whoops, and the other thing I meant to ask - if I do just get a replacement, what's the recommended way to waterproof the battery pack? I usually carry it in my jersey pocket, with the light mounted on my helmet...

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ldrcycles
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby ldrcycles » Fri Aug 05, 2011 8:54 pm

Bought it on the 26-7 and got it on the 3rd, pretty quick i reckon. I'm definitely not expecting it to be waterproof, it might look reasonably good quality on the surface but there's no point risking it, plus i can't stand riding in the rain anyway so not a problem.
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find_bruce
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby find_bruce » Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:19 am

MichaelB wrote:Crikey, that's a good price. About $20 odd cheaper than Dealxtreme !!
Cheaper than DX used to be, now less than US $45

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utopia
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby utopia » Sat Aug 06, 2011 11:18 am

How does the cree T6 compare to the ssc P7? is the battery life much different?

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Kenzo
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Kenzo » Sat Aug 06, 2011 11:48 am

ldrcycles wrote:Bought it on the 26-7 and got it on the 3rd, pretty quick i reckon.
Thanks..! Have bought one now... hopefully they deliver to me as quick as they did to you. 8)

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Xplora
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Xplora » Sat Aug 13, 2011 2:18 pm

Weird battery issue. BUT I have dropped the batteries a few times from the bike saddle to the biek rack... the jury is out just now. Take care of your batteries, bit hard to blame MagicShine for my abuse.

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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Marty Moose » Sat Aug 13, 2011 2:44 pm

Depends on what battery you have! If its the older style with open ends silicone them across the ends and where the wire exits. If it is in a rubber pouch no need same as the new big with the voltage check. I consider mine as water proof as any other lights and they have never leaked or let me down.

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Re: Magic Shine

Postby find_bruce » Sat Aug 13, 2011 3:02 pm

Xplora wrote:Weird battery issue. BUT I have dropped the batteries a few times from the bike saddle to the biek rack... the jury is out just now. Take care of your batteries, bit hard to blame MagicShine for my abuse.
What's your wierd battery issue? I have had to resolder a few connectors in mine so may be able to help.

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Xplora
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Re: Magic Shine

Postby Xplora » Sat Aug 13, 2011 6:03 pm

Didn't connect when I plugged it into the light :O however I tried plugging it into the wall to recharge and it didn't connect there either. Jiggled the connection to the battery and it came good, started charging. :|

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