[robdeanhove]

Right, after a few failed attempts I've made my own LED lights and they've now got a few months use out of them and have proven durable so I thought I'd post them up here for you all to see & benefit from the fruis of my labour

Mark 1 = Triple Luxeon 3W runnng @ 1000mA using a fraen triple lens and 50mm plumbing compressin fitting tha was used to house my DIT halogen lights for the previus 5 years

Mark 2 = Single 3W head light at 100mA with single fraen lens all inside a 35mm film cannister. The klow power consumption means I can helmet mount a featherweight Lithium Polymer battery and still get a 4hr burntime

Mark 3 = Single 5W Luxeon with Luxeon optic in 22mm plumbing pipe (inspired by similar lights on an earlier thread)

All of these can be made easily from aprts available at your local hardware store. My triple 3W is as bright as my mate's 13W Lumicycle HID in a "car park test" but produces a nicer white light, so I'm pretty chuffed. Specially when combining it with a super light lithium polymer battery designed for model planes.

There's also a LONG discussion on these together with several other people's attempts and a photo step-by-step "how to" post on singletrackworld, the UK site I also visit:

SINGLETRACKWORLD LED LIGHTS THREAD

Hope this is interesting and/or useful to some of you!

 

[langen]

very interesting indeed! answered a couple of q's i had.. thanks for sharing!

 

[sick4surf]

Kool!

Do you know if those LEDs can be overvolted without burning out?

I run a 14.4 volt cordless drill battery to power my 20w halogen spot and get about 1 hours worth of light. I usually carry two batteries.

I'd like to switch to the low power LEDS and get more run time but didn't want to burn out the expensive super bright LED in my experiment.

 

[Stuart B]

Kool!

Do you know if those LEDs can be overvolted without burning out?

I run a 14.4 volt cordless drill battery to power my 20w halogen spot and get about 1 hours worth of light. I usually carry two batteries.

I'd like to switch to the low power LEDS and get more run time but didn't want to burn out the expensive super bright LED in my experiment.

http://www.lumileds.com/pdfs/DS46.PDF

This says forward voltage of 3.9V per LED is typical to acheive absolute max current of 1000mA for a 3W white luxeon. If you put 4 in series theyed probably be OK, as long as the battery voltage doesn't exceed 15.6V (3.9 x 4) at all like when fully charged. Or buy a buckpuck that will take the battery voltage and limit the current to suitable levels.

Mk3 looks cool! How well is it sealed? Where did you buy that bar mount?

Stu

 

[robdeanhove]

Kool!

Do you know if those LEDs can be overvolted without burning out?

I run a 14.4 volt cordless drill battery to power my 20w halogen spot and get about 1 hours worth of light. I usually carry two batteries.

I'd like to switch to the low power LEDS and get more run time but didn't want to burn out the expensive super bright LED in my experiment.

The LEDs are driven by a 1" square driver which is in all the housing's you can see. This is essential as you need to regulate the current to drive these thing as they have no internal resistance. The beauty of the driver is you can put in any voltage as long as it's above a minimum depending on how many LEDs you have in series (or below depeding on whether you get a step up ot step down controller). The advantages of this are that the light doesn't dim as the batteries drain and stays at full brightness right through and also I can run thm off both my 14.8V lithium polymer battery and my 13.2V NiMH battery I made for my original homemade halogen lights

You can see the driver if you jump to the link in the middle of the thread below where I've done a little photo "how to" section:

HOMEBREW LED HOW TO

Be a bit patient with the link as it's a bit picture heavy!

 

[sick4surf]

Holy Cow! Good thing I waited for that page to load.

That's the best info on home brew lights I have seen. Thanks for the tips!

 

[robdeanhove]

Holy Cow! Good thing I waited for that page to load.

That's the best info on home brew lights I have seen. Thanks for the tips!

Cheers sick, it's been one hell of a discussion!

The thread got to 409 posts before the editor asked us to start another thrad as it got too big :-D But from it several people have had a crack too and there's been some damn good alternate & better ideas come out of it.

I think it made a lot of people aware of just how good LEDs are and/or how good they're going to be in the future

 

[Low_Rider]

Thanks for posting!!

I agree it's taken too long for people to get around the whole idea that a "LED" device can be measured with an output of watts rather then milliwatts.

Yes, Luxeons and Cree's and other new "high-output" devices are still "Light Emitting Diodes", but the technology used is so very different to a conventional 5mm LED!!

It's great to see more people becoming aware of the possibilities of these devices, and it's even better to see more and more people playing with them, and creating lights which are lighter, brighter, and longer burning then many commercial HID systems.

All I can suggest to those building their own lights is to make sure they have a good read of the datasheets of their device of choice before building the light. If you satisfy the specifications, you can't go wrong.

Cheers, Dave.

 

[Psycho Banshee]

Would these work well for a lighting system?

http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2035

 

[robdeanhove]

http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2035

In a word - NO

Nowhere near bright enough. Those are lights to be seen by only not to see by. You'll need at least 3W-4W of LED which is roughly equivalent to 10W Halogen overvolted to 13.2V (well from my trials it is)

 

[robdeanhove]

Thanks for posting!!

I agree it's taken too long for people to get around the whole idea that a "LED" device can be measured with an output of watts rather then milliwatts.

Yes, Luxeons and Cree's and other new "high-output" devices are still "Light Emitting Diodes", but the technology used is so very different to a conventional 5mm LED!!

It's great to see more people becoming aware of the possibilities of these devices, and it's even better to see more and more people playing with them, and creating lights which are lighter, brighter, and longer burning then many commercial HID systems.

All I can suggest to those building their own lights is to make sure they have a good read of the datasheets of their device of choice before building the light. If you satisfy the specifications, you can't go wrong.

Cheers, Dave.

While we're on the subject of the Cree LEDs, does anyone know of a good source for the Cree LEDs and/or any suitable optics? I haven't been able to find a source in the UK?

Cheers in advance for your help!

 

[Psycho Banshee]

So I would need something more like this?

http://www.optotech.com/data_sheets/MR1612volt_brochure.pdf
or this...
http://www.lightingfx.com/item--5-5W-MR16-LED-Bulb--ecoxt

 

[robdeanhove]

https://www.optotech.com/data_sheets/MR1612volt_brochure.pdf
or this...
https://www.lightingfx.com/item--5-5W-MR16-LED-Bulb--ecoxt

No, that's all far too expensive, although possibly easier to package. You want something like this:

You'll also need a lens and an led driver specific to the power/current requirements of the LED you choose.

If it all sounds a bit complicated just speak to the nice people at USE (https://www.use1.com) and get the new Exposure Turbo Bar Light & Joystock Head Torch combo, that's ultra pimpy!

 

[adam90xj]

Roddeanlove:
I've read every post on the single track fourum ! Awsome job ! The question i have is where the best place to purchase lux 3's in the US. I like the rank t's at Dotlight but i'm a little hesitant to order overseas. Would http://www.ledsupply.com/k510002.html be a good start? Where would the best place to purchase a triple lense be in the US?

Thaks for the advice in advance.
Adam

 

[robdeanhove]

Roddeanlove:
I've read every post on the single track fourum ! Awsome job ! The question i have is where the best place to purchase lux 3's in the US. I like the rank t's at Dotlight but i'm a little hesitant to order overseas. Would http://www.ledsupply.com/k510002.html be a good start? Where would the best place to purchase a triple lense be in the US?

Thaks for the advice in advance.
Adam

www.ledsupply.com looks like it would be fine, or try www.lumileds.com but I've no experience with either.

For the record: I bought all my 3W Luxeons and triple lenses from dotlight and their service was excellent. They answered all my queries promptly too when I was asking about their products. No reason to be afraid about overseas, it's hardly like Germany is the 3rd world now is it!

 

[Psycho Banshee]

Triple 5w luxeon star w/ 4 hour runtime

Does anyone know where to find any lenses to fit three 5w luxeon stars in the U.S.? What special considerations would I need to take into account to make this light system? I would want a lambertian pattern, right? How many/what kind of drivers would I need? What size and kind of battery would you suggest? The last light I made was just too heavy and now I am looking to build something lighter. Thankx for any help.

 

[baker]

Roddeanlove:
I've read every post on the single track fourum ! Awsome job ! The question i have is where the best place to purchase lux 3's in the US. I like the rank t's at Dotlight but i'm a little hesitant to order overseas. Would https://www.ledsupply.com/k510002.html be a good start? Where would the best place to purchase a triple lense be in the US?

Thaks for the advice in advance.
Adam

I've used the Sandwich Shoppe for LED supplies with good success. Good prices, selection, and customer service. I have built a 1x3w and 3x3w using stuff from this shop. Check out their 3w luxeons here:

https://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/index.php?cPath=48_52_29_33

Here is a good guide to deciphering the bin codes:

https://home.comcast.net/~theledguy/bin_codes/

My TriLuxIII is:
3 tv1j led's
3 ims 20mm reflectors
1 Perfect Tri Sink
1 momentary switch
1 n size power jack
1 cutdown mag d body
1 cateye qr mount
1 nflex driver (5 levels of brightness)
1 14.8v 4ah li ion battery

Here is a pic

The light isn't quite finished (still test-riding before I really seal it up), but I like it so far. A little too spot-like for me. I'm trying an LDF lens next to make it more flood-like.

baker

 

[adam90xj]

Wow.... I think i want a full sized mag-lite to mess around with

I'm having a tough time determining the most cost effective method. I don't want to screw up and order the wrong thing being bound in the DIY world with very little margin of cost to step over to the cost of a manufactured counterpart.

Do you have any pictures of the beam spread on the stubby maglite? How much did the final product cost? What is your runtime on the 14.8 4000mah battery?

I'm thinking that I would be able to get about 2hrs runtime on a 2400mah battery. I would purchase two packs so as to have a fully charged backup but with the option of carrying just one to help reduce weight.

Do you think 2 hrs is asking to much? I currently have a Jetlites phantom single beam 20w i3. The light does what it is suposed to but that battery is a freaking BLOCK. I can get 2 hrs of good burn time on that.

Thanks for all the great info.
Adam

 

[baker]

Some of this stuff I already had, so the end cost was
less to me, but here it is (shipping not included):

$39 - 3 tv1j led's
$16 - 3 ims 20mm reflectors
$11 - 1 Perfect Tri Sink
$3 - 1 momentary switch
$3 - 1 n size power jack
$15 - 1 cutdown mag d body
$6 - 1 cateye qr mount
$25 - 1 nflex driver (5 levels of brightness)
$70 - 1 14.8v 4ah li ion battery w/ charger

$188, with shipping from different sources, it was easily over $200.

You can get a Cateye Triple Shot at aebikes for $231 (only 1 level of
brightness and no li ion battery, but a done deal):

http://aebike.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=30&SKU=LT4125

Run time is about 5 hours on full power. So your goal of 2 hours
on a 2400 mAH battery (assuming 14.8v) is reasonable.

Frankly, I think an overdriven halogen w/ a li ion battery is probably
still the most economic and effective solution. Either that, or the
cheapo batteryspace.com (trailtech) HID/li-ion setup (which I also
have). LED's are almost there...

I may try to capture some beamshots, but don't hold your breath...

baker

 

[adam90xj]

How do you think the led's compare to the trailtech setup?

I've read that they are as bright, brighter, or not nearly as bright. To be honest i've never had the chance to mess with a HID light in the field (only on displays @ the LBS). So it's difficult for me to compare a yellowish 20w halogen to a blueish white 13w HID to a 9w triple led setup.


Again thanks for the info !!

Adam