[redbeans]

Just wanted to share my build. Thanks to Achesalot, .40AET and il2mb. Your builds blazed a great path for me to use as a guide.

I tried to make something that would be repeatable and require as little work as possible, particularly work with expensive tools that I don't own. I ended up coming up with something that can be done with a soldering iron, drill, screwdriver, plexi-glass knife and a file. I have a Dremel and grinder, so I used those to make it easier, but the knife and file would have been fine.

I ordered the aluminum tube precut from onlinemetals.com along with a precut L angle piece for the LED mount. I used the basic idea from il2mb's 'DIY done cheap' for my housing. However, to avoid drilling and tapping into the aluminum wall, I used threaded rods to 'sandwich' the light together between two pieces of plexi-glass.

(http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=355347)

For the electronics, I pretty much used achesalot's copper head page as a guide. I had trouble finding a 5k pot though, so I opted for a three position switch and resistors from Radio Shack.

(http://bikeled.org/copperhead/Copperhead.html)

Thanks again for everyone that shared instructions and tips. You guys made this a very easy project for a novice to complete.

By the way, it's incredibly bright. I can already see my store bought light getting retired.

 

[il2mb]

great job red...

I like the simplicity of your design.

I'm also thinking of selling my "store bought light." If it wasn't a Wilma I probably would have already done it. The DIY lights are just too much fun to build and as those who have built one discover - they perform just as good and cost a lot less.

Bob

 

[.40AET]

Looks great! Did you/can you take pictures of the switch and how to wire it? Someon is going to try the same thing in the switch thread. Looking forward to beam shots.

 

[redbeans]

Switch

Looks great! Did you/can you take pictures of the switch and how to wire it? Someon is going to try the same thing in the switch thread. Looking forward to beam shots.

Thanks for the compliments, though we all know it doesn't look great! (Particularly compared to some of the machined masterpieces.) It just works great.

Here are the details on the switch. I used a three position, center-off toggle switch. With the Lux-Drive 03023-D-E-1000 buckpuck, more resistance produces more current. So, the center-off position is full power for the light. Wiring either position one or position two without a resistor (no resistance other than the minimal amount from the wire) would have given me full off. However, since there would still be some drain from the buckpuck, I opted for medium/full/low instead of medium/full/off. I power the light off by disconnecting the power cord.

Here are some pics of the switch.

There are two sets of three contacts for wiring, and I wired to the far contacts. I soldered the wire on and used heat shrink to insulate the connections.


Here is a rough wiring diagram. (Remember that 'Center-Off' on the toggle actually produces full power.)


I used a 560-Ohm resistor and a 1.5k-Ohm resistor. I would not recommend the 1.5k, as the light output seems to be very similar to full power. Something lower would be better, maybe in the neighborhood of 800 Ohms. I just soldered the resisters inline on the wire and then covered them up with heat shrink tube.

 

[msxtr]

Nice light!!!! how you holder the optics??

Greetings - Saludos

msxtr

 

[redbeans]

Nice light!!!! how you holder the optics??

Greetings - Saludos

msxtr

Thanks.

The optics are held in mainly by pressure from the front glass. The lens holders have tabs that keep the pressure from the glass on the holder instead of the lens (so you don't get scratching). I also used a dab of silicone adhesive around the base of the lens holders. I was hoping to avoid this. However, my installation wasn't precise enough, and one of the lens holders wasn't getting enough pressure to keep it perfectly in place. The silicone took care of that just fine.

 

[penquissciguy]

Since you have two sets of contacts, you could wire the power from the battery to the other set of contacts so that power is only connected to the buckpuck in the two ON positions. That way, you could have a HI - OFF - LO arrangement.

Ken

 

[redbeans]

You're right. Great point. I didn't even think about wiring it that way. I might actually do that. I could eliminate my 1.5k resistor since it's not very useful and leave that circuit open for full power.

Good call.

 

[mtnpat]

Please answer a question on the switch/resistor setup. I have the same driver and have been unable to find a mini 5k ohm pot, so I was thinking of going the switch route (actually after reading this, and comments by rockymtnway I want to try using a switch instead of a pot anyway).

My questions to help me understand how the switch/resistor setup works are:

1) what would happen if I were to twist the CTL and REF wires off the driver together? Would I get zero current, full current, smoke the unit?

2) what would happen if I left the CTL and REF wires disconnected, no switch, pot, resistor, nothing? zero current, full current?

thanks

 

[redbeans]

Please answer a question on the switch/resistor setup. I have the same driver and have been unable to find a mini 5k ohm pot, so I was thinking of going the switch route (actually after reading this, and comments by rockymtnway I want to try using a switch instead of a pot anyway).

My questions to help me understand how the switch/resistor setup works are:

1) what would happen if I were to twist the CTL and REF wires off the driver together? Would I get zero current, full current, smoke the unit?

2) what would happen if I left the CTL and REF wires disconnected, no switch, pot, resistor, nothing? zero current, full current?

thanks

OK,

1) If you twist CTL and REF w/out resistance, your light will go off.

2)If the CTL and REF wires are disconnected (maximum resistance), you will get full power to the LEDs.

As for not being able to find a pot, I saw this one in another thread. Looks like a good option.

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=3310Y-001-502L-ND

By the way, can anyone confirm the following. The pots have three terminals, but only two need to be wired to the REF and CTL, the center and one of the end terminals. Is this correct?

 

[notaknob]

buckpuck?

Please answer a question on the switch/resistor setup. I have the same driver and have been unable to find a mini 5k ohm pot, so I was thinking of going the switch route (actually after reading this, and comments by rockymtnway I want to try using a switch instead of a pot anyway).

2) what would happen if I left the CTL and REF wires disconnected, no switch, pot, resistor, nothing? zero current, full current?

You'll have the equivalent of the 3021-D-N-1000, which is a buck cheaper than the 3021-D-E-1000. You'll get full current as redbeans described.

 

[penquissciguy]

You're right. Great point. I didn't even think about wiring it that way. I might actually do that. I could eliminate my 1.5k resistor since it's not very useful and leave that circuit open for full power.

Good call.

Thanks. I'm currently planning out my first LED light build and the thought occurred to me when I saw the switch in your light. I really would like to do a 5K pot with a built-in switch in my light, but I haven't been able to find a pot with the right combination of resistance, size, and built-in switch locally. A DPDT switch with center off like you've got is probably the simplest alternative and is a whole lot easier to waterproof, too.

What power connector are you using on your light? I like the small size and the threaded collar.

Ken

 

[redbeans]

What power connector are you using on your light? I like the small size and the threaded collar.

Ken

It is a Turck M8 receptacle that I salvaged from something else. They are very nice. It mates with cables that have either threaded connectors or push on connectors (which I will use if I put it on my helmet).

 

[.40AET]

By the way, can anyone confirm the following. The pots have three terminals, but only two need to be wired to the REF and CTL, the center and one of the end terminals. Is this correct?

I have one pot with 3 terminals. I put it on a meter and the center was the common. Of the 2 outside terminals, one made it go from 0-100 and the other made it go from 100-0. It allows you to change whether it goes from hi to low or low to high as you turn it clockwise.

 

[rockymtnway]

In quick response and posted elsewhere, I got the following results in my own test with a 3021:

470 ohms = 134ma
690 ohms = 273ma
800 ohms = 340ma
1k ohms = 439 ma
1.22k ohms = 530 ma
1.7 ohms = 685ma
2k ohms = 760ma
open circuit = 950 ma

 

[mtnpat]

Since you have two sets of contacts, you could wire the power from the battery to the other set of contacts so that power is only connected to the buckpuck in the two ON positions. That way, you could have a HI - OFF - LO arrangement.

Ken

Does this look correct to make the arrangement you are talking about?

 

[penquissciguy]

Does this look correct to make the arrangement you are talking about?

That looks right to me.

Ken

 

[redbeans]

In quick response and posted elsewhere, I got the following results in my own test with a 3021:

470 ohms = 134ma
690 ohms = 273ma
800 ohms = 340ma
1k ohms = 439 ma
1.22k ohms = 530 ma
1.7 ohms = 685ma
2k ohms = 760ma
open circuit = 950 ma

rockymtnway, I saw your post with this, and I actually used it to pick out my resistors. Do you have any idea why the 1.5k ohms resistor seems to give me very close to full power (based on light output)? Looking at the light output curves for the LEDs, the relationship between current and light output is almost linear between 0 and 1000ma. However, when I use the 1.5k ohm resistor (which should give me an output of less than 685ma) I get a beam that is very nearly full strength.

 

[achesalot]

Nice job redbeans! Simple is good.
Looks like a lot of good info and discussion going on here.

 

[Pitto]

nice, where did you get the plug / lead setup?