# Powerful 7*Cree XM-L T6 6000LM 3-Mode Front Bicycle Light from LM



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Has anybody tried this light: 7 * XML T6? Seems to be very heavy - 480g but also quite moddable for higher power than stock  Uses just low-mid-high, has some kind of simple led indication ... can have some 3000 lm+


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

MK96 said:


> Has anybody tried this light: 7 * XML T6? Seems to be very heavy - 480g but also quite moddable for higher power than stock  Uses just low-mid-high, has some kind of simple led indication ... can have some 3000 lm+


Like all of these multi-LED lamps, output depends on the maximum output of the driver. Even with a 6A driver I doubt you could get it too far over 2000 lumen. Then even with a 6A driver you would need a very good battery capable of supplying that 6A.

Price is a little steep for a lamp like this sold without a battery. You buy this one and you are definitely rolling the dice.


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## Gharddog03 (Sep 25, 2013)

You would need a power plant to run this bad boy.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

I mean it is similar to trustfire x100 torch that has some 3000+. More leds usually mean high eficiency, but the weight seems to be a lot


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## purifier82 (Oct 13, 2013)

http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/skyray-7t6-review-872692.html

I've done the resistor swap mod, now it outputs about 3000 lumens I think


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Yes, I read that, but this light seems to have better case.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Could not resist and bought this one from lighmalls: SKU M1118. LM has also SKU M1139, so I asked about the difference and was told the only difference is the color: dark grey vs black. I found this light on alibaba shenzen gold runhui shop listed as 50W :eekster::skep: You might encounter there some of the popular lights reviewed here in forums. My light should be together with Skyray 6T6 on Monday/Tuesday in my mailbox (heads only, I don't buy batteries). If this 7 xm-l thing puts out about 3000lm out of the box it would be really nice, it is just the 480 grams I and my Syntace F99 stem are scared of  The light should have some voltage indicators and on/off button on the top of the body. Seems heatsinked well, but we'll see ...


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

A small prolog before a review comes to day/night-light, lights arrived today morning  Skyray 6T6 seems to be the same as S6 model, but with 6 XM-L T6 instead of 3. The 7 led light is indeed XM-L2! And heavier a bit, but not the advertised 480g. I hope they both will have 5.5/2.1 standard, because S6 has 5.5/2.5 and complicates stuff ...


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

I did just a quick measurements because I don't have much time right now and I was really curious about that "thing". But this purple&grey 7 XM-L2 draws some serious amps! 4A @ 8.4V, 6.6A @ 6.2V on high  Thermal transfer seems very good, since it heats up in hand at home quite quickly, has 3 modes: high(100%)-mid(~35-40%)-low(~5-15%)-off cycle and hidden strobe, doesn't have battery indication, but just small green, orange & red leds turning around at the back of the light. Buy 2 of them and you won't need more light  And just one more thing - the driver doesn't dim leds that much(nearly holds constant power) if you decrease the voltage way down to 4.9V.


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## Fat Biker (Mar 3, 2007)

Awwww come on dude where's the *full* review already ???

Don't keep us in suspense LOL

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaam shots please 

fat Biker


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

MK96 said:


> But this purple&grey 7 XM-L2 draws some serious amps! 4A @ 8.4V, 6.6A @ 6.2V on high


Quite interesting! It seems to be rare thing then: Chinese light not being underpowered... 

Have you opened it? What's about thermal dissipation path?


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Yep, I thought it would be underpowered to about 16W - that is the usual limit. No it waits for me to look at the innner stuff, but I am quite busy right now  I don't have a good feeling about the driver heatsinking - I think it heats up too much, but maybe I am wrong. The thermal path of the leds seems to be similar to skyray s6. But I definitely write more when I have more free time. The beam pattern seems to be due to reflector design a mix of flood & throw with a bit more flood - I need to take it for a ride. The light is interesting indeed! Ebay is selling these as 9000lm trustfire / fandyfire bike light. Would be interesting to look at the cell pack, but I don't buy that stuff


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

So finally I have some free time now to share my findings and experience with this light. It is probably the best I have found so far in terms of cooling, circuit and beam pattern among Chinese lights - designed to be a bar light, if you don't want to destroy your helmet due to weight. I don't have beamshots because yesterday night my hands were freezing enough in gloves as we have some snow & low temps, but I promise I post them here for you all also in comparison with Skyray 6t6, SS X2 and MJ-880. I am also waiting for the 2nd light head to make some shots with both of them and also to compare them if they are the same or not ...

The light is relatively heavy - 280g for the head itself (my 8Ah li-po with pack is about 350g). Leds are XM-L2's probably T6 bin and from the yesterday ride it seems it is a 3B/C//4C tint or something close enough to neutral white. I already wrote the design of the relector is smooth & deep enough to expect some decent flood & throw and with nice tint (comparing it with my thrower MJ880 XM-L U2 clone from KD that seemed much more cooler white than this 7 XM-L2). @Archie your friends called you an approaching locomotive, mine called me a coca-cola truck driver  Dimensions from Lightmalls are correct:Length*Head diameter *Tail Diameter=76.0*63.5*53.2MM, but the weight is overstated. It is powerful as LM site says - powerful enough due to amp draw:4A @ 8.4V, 6.6A @ 6.2V on high (32-36W). You can estimate the output is high enough to expect something between 2000-3000lm. I just wonder how long will it run with the "usual" cheap pack that some variants come with. I hope after reading that review this light won't be screwed and cloned that much as SS X2 and MJ-880 clone  On ebay you can find it as a Trustfire/Fandyfire 9000lm bike light sold only with battery pack and a lot of them has been sold, but nobody wrote some kind of review.

Anodizing and the final look of the light is very good, better than SS X2 or MJ-880 clone. Approx. similar to Skyray S6 and 6T6 - the original ones.

The driver circuit is also a very decent work with good soldering everywhere besides the led's MCPCBs - but I comment that later. One disappointment is that the driver circuit si glued to the back of the body which can be unscrewed exactly alike the one that Skyray S6 has. Geeee I almost torn and twisted my cables into a single spiral!!! If you like to take that light apart do it with great caution!!! I just wonder how they assembled the whole light without screwing the cables. They might attach the driver from the inside with some instruments after the back cover had been put on its place. It still remains a mystery for me. I had a tought time to take the light apart see that cables and then screw them back correctly. But the light works after that procedure. One might want to attach the driver in a different way. The driver hides some decent beefy inductor and five (you read correct) less beefy but still powerfull mosfets and some other stuff. I think the case & driver can handle much more current due to driver components & thermal path of the whole light. Unfortunately main component marks have been sanded off (uC also)  Capacitors are an average common quality, but at least they are marked as 105 deg. C and are easy to replace for solid ones.

Thermal path is the best one you encounter between Chinese lights - together with Skyray S6 and perhaps Skyray 6T6: 7 led MCPCBs connected in series resting on a 5mm thick body of the light. Yes the leds are easy to replace - easier than on the Skyray 7T6 reviewed by Archie but there is another disappointment. The main leads are thick enough but the leads connecting the series of MCPCBs are way too thin to experiment with current sense resistor mod  You would like to change them for a 22/24 AWG. The leds or wires were also poorly soldered, it seems this has been done by hand and not in the oven 

The UI is quite usable - high(100%)-mid(~30-35%)-low(~5-10%)-off cycle and hidden strobe. I experienced this in real use last night so I changed the values from my previous post. You read again correctly - it starts from high mode but for me it is better than low. The mode button is on top of the light - that blue thing. The light doesn't have memory mode and battery indication, just those crazy green, orange, red leds flashing one after another at the back of the light. My friends asked me what game was I playing during the ride  If you plug the light to the power source the main mode button is also not lit. It is lit green only if the light is powered on some of the modes. It comes with a metal bracket instead of plastic one and with silicone rings but I changed it to my preferred & strong Cateye H-24. The power line is usual 5.5 * 2.1 and a solarstorm X2 like - screwable with silicone o-ring. One important thing is that the mode button is not waterproof. It is a pity since the whole light is. But you need to add 2 o-rings or drop some silicone to make the button waterproof 

Summarizing all I wrote here it is a nice buy even if the price is not that cheap as one SS X2 but close enough to 2 x MJ-880 clones. You get probably the most powerful light from CN with nice tint, XM-L2 T6 emitters. UI is acceptable but battery indication would be nice to have  It is quite heavy, but heatsinked very well and can be modded further.

I think I pointed out all the necessary attributes I wanted and described that light properly enough. Hope you all understand my review, if not please pardon my typos and mistakes since I am not a native speaker  If you have any questions besides beamshots which I add later write them and we discuss them in this thread. I also read a thread on the BLF forum where the light dind't work out of the box (dated October 13) - who knows why, maybe torn cables by assembly.

Now I stop writing the review and I post some shots of the light and its inner things although some you may know already:

front views:















driver details:






















heatsinking:








leds & cables replaced by hands:








reflector& its mounting















hole for a bracket screw with my cateye H-24:








assembled light:


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Sorry for still not posted the beamshots here. I have a small update, the second light came and has only XM-L with cool white, the first one has XM-L2 with some neutral white from their comparison. The driver is and works the same and needs the same amount of power.


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

Excellent review *MK96*; thanks! :thumbsup:



MK96 said:


> It is powerful as LM site says - powerful enough due to amp draw:4A @ 8.4V, 6.6A @ 6.2V on high (32-36W).


That's interesting: it seems to be rare case of "not underpowered" chinese light then.



> I just wonder how long will it run with the "usual" cheap pack that some variants come with.


Don't even try that! 



> One disappointment is that the driver circuit si glued to the back of the body which can be unscrewed exactly alike the one that Skyray S6 has. Geeee I almost torn and twisted my cables into a single spiral!!! If you like to take that light apart do it with great caution!!! I just wonder how they assembled the whole light without screwing the cables.


Probably, it is the result of quick fix to bypass missing parts required for proper assembly. On another SkyRay lights I've seen, the driver was mounted on separate aluminium ring.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Thanks *-Archie-*!

It is really making me wonder about the quality of the pack the light would come if I order it with the pack together. One might step into the dangerous territory of exploding batteries :eekster:.



-Archie- said:


> Probably, it is the result of quick fix to bypass missing parts required for proper assembly. On another SkyRay lights I've seen, the driver was mounted on separate aluminium ring.


As I had the light apart I didn't see anything that would accomodate such ring as Skyray S6/3T6 and 6T6 use. The inner of the light body is flat without thread for the ring. This of course just complicates things if you want to disassemble it for some reason - no surprise you can end up with torn wires  But I could imagine this solution keeps the driver cooler as it is quite powerfull.


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

MK96 said:


> As I had the light apart I didn't see anything that would accomodate such ring as Skyray S6/3T6 and 6T6 use. The inner of the light body is flat without thread for the ring.


It doesn't have to be threaded: I've seen designs with driver pressed into aluminium bezel, simply inserted in the case (similar to the LED pill) and fixed by rear cover.



> But I could imagine this solution keeps the driver cooler as it is quite powerfull.


Maybe. But IMHO it would be more logical to glue it to the same inner surface of case (on the side opposite to LEDs) then. In any case, the manufacturer is the only one who knows true answer...


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

That would be a solution, but you loose access to the screws holding the reflector if you use a glue. I was thinking a similar way to change the driver placement: glue the driver to some thick pill adding thermal paste to the opposite led side and fasten the driver using the back cover with some longer screws finally securing the driver to its place.



-Archie- said:


> But IMHO it would be more logical to glue it to the same inner surface of case (on the side opposite to LEDs) then.


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

MK96 said:


> That would be a solution, but you loose access to the screws holding the reflector if you use a glue.


You're right, I've missed that.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Nice review MK. I'd love to see a beam shot of the seven LED. Heck, I'd settle for a good description of the beam pattern. 

The (purple) 7-up looks big. As long as some one doesn't mind the size of the lamp there should be enough light coming off the bars ( with a nice beam pattern ) to satisfy anyone.


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## Fat Biker (Mar 3, 2007)

Hi 

Is there a "guaranteed" source for this light with the L2 ?

It seems a pity that even from one supplier there is zero consistency 

Thanks

Fat Biker


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Nope I don't think so. Even on ebay you can find XM-L2 and XM-L version. I recently saw one head on ebay for $44 but seems to be original XM-L T6. Changing it to L2 means give another 7 x $5. I think I got an L2 to write a super duper review  Then I got a second unit with just an XM-L. I ordered a third one for a friend so we'll see what comes  The only consistency seems to be the circuit inside. The XM-L version is the original one, XM-L2 version is a hand-made replacement from someone. But as an usual warning for chinese lamps you have to check it before using it. This can be done through the mode button hole with a tiny usb camera if you don't want to mess with wires. One might check aliexpress if there is someone who could sell an XM-L2 version. But even with XM-L it is a lot of light with a weight of about 2 MJ 880 clones.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

I am playing with an idea to contact lightmalls if they could sell XM-L2 versions. If they sold one already to me, I think it won't be a problem.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

MK96 said:


> I am playing with an idea to contact lightmalls if they could sell XM-L2 versions. If they sold one already to me, I think it won't be a problem.


Probably not worth bothering with. Eventually the Chinese will use the XM-L2 with more lamps but for the time being they likely have a large stock of XM-L emitters sitting on the shelves. Personally I'd like to see more lamps using XM-L2 "U2". So far only the more premium brands seem to have the brighter emitters. That will change by next year but for the time being: If you want the L2's you might consider doing a mod. Sadly the XM-L2 emitters are hard to find even for people looking to do mods. Hopefully that will change by next year as well.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

So it is better to wait for a while and not throw some bucks for XM-L2 replacement leds.

I added promised beamshots of the 7-up candle in the end of the post, if you are not patient just scroll down 

Here is the metal mount used by this light originally:
























And this is the setup I finished today to take it for a quick test ride:

PCB w/ dual power cable








The twins 








Anyway I managed to do at least some crappy beamshots on a tonight ride to not keep you all in suspense . No snow and finally no fog, but I didn't have camera tripod with me  I held my camera in hand, so the MTBR settings 1.6 sec is a time I can't hold in my hands. Everything was setup according to MTBR camera settings. Camera is Panasonic Lumix FZ-18. The left light is XM-L2 and the right one is XM-L.

Low mode:








Medium mode:








High mode:








High - in dual mode


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Another small update, third lamp has arrived - XM-L T6 only and cool white. So the first one with XM-L2 I got was something unusual  :thumbsup: OTOH the electronic circuit is the same, so await 32-36W of power drawn. I tested this light or wanted to test it with MJ880 clone pack from KD but the protection stopped the pack. The KD pack won't let out more than 4A from the cells. Considering this be cautious when buying this light with an ordinary cheap cell pack - perhaps the PCB would come without current limiter and that would be really really bad :nono::skep::eekster:


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## MammothSlacker (Jan 3, 2014)

and the lord said let there be light


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Judging from the beam shots the low and medium settings look pretty lame. With so many emitters I would of thought the medium setting to be a bit brighter. Then again it could just be your photos. Nothing wrong with the high mode, looks to have lots of flood.

I noticed some graininess to the photos, were you using a tripod?


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

It could be my photos without a tripod. The noise could be coming also from the jpeg compression  I will try to take better ones using a tripod and a nice piece of flat land  I would like to take some beamshots to compare with other popular lights ssx2, mj 880 clone, skyray 3 XML and 6 XML but that needs more time to do it.
The high has lots of flood and the other modes also. It is the smooth reflector design having usual flood and a hotspot. The draw from 8.4V li-po at 7.53V is:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

I use low pointing more downwards as a commuting mode, uphills usually low on both lights on rough terrain. Dual 7 XML is for me quite a happy setup and usually I have a small backup light head (X2, MJ880 clone) and emergency torch.



Cat-man-do said:


> Judging from the beam shots the low and medium settings look pretty lame.


Medium is OK for me. What did you mean by writing low is also lame? Should it be brighter?


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

MK96 said:


> It could be my photos without a tripod. The noise could be coming also from the jpeg compression  I will try to take better ones using a tripod and a nice piece of flat land  I would like to take some beamshots to compare with other popular lights ssx2, mj 880 clone, skyray 3 XML and 6 XML but that needs more time to do it.
> The high has lots of flood and the other modes also. It is the smooth reflector design having usual flood and a hotspot. The draw from 8.4V li-po at 7.53V is:
> [email protected]
> [email protected]
> ...


I just meant that ( judging from the photos ) the medium and low didn't look bright enough. I figure that a lamp with 7 leds should have a have an output of at least 1800 lumen ( on high ). Medium should be about 800-900 lumen, low somewhere around 250-300 lumen. To me the photos look like [email protected] est.400 lumen and low...well, the photo showed almost no light. This could just be the camera or the camera settings.

I've noticed that with some of the Chinese made lamps that sometimes the lower settings are not very usable. I have a DX quad XM-L lamp that fits this description. High is fine but the lower medium level is only usable for slow climbs ( IMO ). The Bikeray lamps I had were the same way. On the other hand the SSX2 and SSX3 clone have three very usable and well spaced out mode levels. Same can be said for the basic Tri-clone lamp I own.

Lamps like the Gloworms and Gemini lamps all have a version of 
( programmable ) step-less dimming that allows the user to dial in the output of each mode. I'd like to see more Chinese lamps incorporate the step-less dimming feature. That said, a 7-up lamp with step-less dimming would be sweet.


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## lucia84 (Jan 13, 2014)

Wow, that is a flood! But it also throws enough judging from beamshots. Cheapo setup anyway.


MammothSlacker said:


> and the lord said let there be light


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## chick0 (Apr 4, 2009)

Sorry if this was mentioned in the tread already, but im currently reading this on my phone on the train and its proving tricky  

Could someone tell me what battery packs to buy for one of these units..


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

It depends how much runtime do you need. One 7-up light draws about [email protected] from fully charged 8000mAh li-po cell and ending with about [email protected] So my recommendation is some 3000mAh and up panasonic cell and pack starting from 4 cells and up. Lot of choices: Mr. Lee, MtbRevolution, ... , Pannovo case and 4 protected panasonic cells.


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## chick0 (Apr 4, 2009)

MK96 said:


> It depends how much runtime do you need. One 7-up light draws about [email protected] from fully charged 8000mAh li-po cell and ending with about [email protected] So my recommendation is some 3000mAh and up panasonic cell and pack starting from 4 cells and up. Lot of choices: Mr. Lee, MtbRevolution, ... , Pannovo case and 4 protected panasonic cells.


Thanks, that's exactly the info i was looking for 

I almost bought one of these, but am now thinking i will stay well clear.

8500lm 7* Cree XML-T6 MTB mountain bike bicycle front head lights lamp set | eBay


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

That one has Archie, but he swapped the resistor to push more current to leds.


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## Whitedog1 (Feb 3, 2009)

MK96 said:


> It depends how much runtime do you need. One 7-up light draws about [email protected] from fully charged 8000mAh li-po cell and ending with about [email protected] So my recommendation is some 3000mAh and up panasonic cell and pack starting from 4 cells and up. Lot of choices: Mr. Lee, MtbRevolution, ... , Pannovo case and 4 protected panasonic cells.


Mr Lee batteries?? tried to find them but was not lucky!
Can you please give me some more Infos! 
Thanks!


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

I don't want to advertise it  But here is the link to his ebay shop: hunk_lee | eBay


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## Whitedog1 (Feb 3, 2009)

ahhh ok, thank you - now i understand who is Mr Lee ;-)


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

The light dropped the price at LM to $47.5. I wonder if anything has changed inside it :skep::eekster:


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

A comparison of XM-L and XM-L2 version with the Trustfire TR-D014 is in this thread


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## Mr. Doom (Sep 23, 2005)

That is truly a ridiculous amount of light.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

In what sense?


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