Lights
(Early 2014)
I milled a few new ones on the Hurco mill, they didn't turn out great. I prototyped a new controller using a few AMC7135 CC linear regulators in parralel with an MSP430 for controlling them. Linear was reasonable from a single cell given my high drive current and the high forward voltage of the LED. It starts dimming fairly quickly though as it goes out of regulation. I made a switcher for higher efficiency and constant brightness.
I was having trouble waking up in the morning, my room didn't get much light in the morning. This alarm clock light's goal was to fix that, it also lights my room and changes color temperature throughout the day. It has 9xCree XML2-T6 warm white LEDs and 3xPhatlight PT54 red LEDs
I milled a few new ones on the Hurco mill, they didn't turn out great. I prototyped a new controller using a few AMC7135 CC linear regulators in parralel with an MSP430 for controlling them. Linear was reasonable from a single cell given my high drive current and the high forward voltage of the LED. It starts dimming fairly quickly though as it goes out of regulation. I made a switcher for higher efficiency and constant brightness.
I was having trouble waking up in the morning, my room didn't get much light in the morning. This alarm clock light's goal was to fix that, it also lights my room and changes color temperature throughout the day. It has 9xCree XML2-T6 warm white LEDs and 3xPhatlight PT54 red LEDs
(Mid 2013)
After building my first headlight I realized several things I wanted to change about it, so I am currently building a second version:
The old one wasn't bright enough
I didn't like that it required a hobby charger to charge
It was too rectangular
I also wanted to make it easier to upgrade and more future proof. Now the LEDs are easily replaceable, the lenses are as well and they are standard Carclo 20mm optics. They should be available for a long time to come.
I really like the mount. For bike-lights I feel there are two ways to go about it, make it extremely difficult to remove such that a thief would have to be extremely determined to actually take it, but it can still be vandalized and its often awkward to charge on your bike.
The other option is to make it easily removable. I have seen alot of commercial lights that use O-rings or plastic clip mounts but I don't really feel they are that durable or easy enough to remove that I would be willing to do it whenever I left my bike. They also often have cords that you have to unplug and untangle from your frame.
My light uses a magnetic mount, I just slap it on my bike, there is some electrical tape to protect the magnets and to increase friction and it is easy to remove, a strong tug removes it, but it holds its position well.
Edit 9/15/13
In a feat of stupidity I machined a hole in the top of my light. Then when patching the hole I hammered it with a ball-peen hammer, trying to anneal the aluminum. Instead all I accomplished was denting it significantly. I TIG welded it and built up the top surface a .15 inches for re-machining, but I didn't alternate sides when welding and the whole top half banana-ed. This light died. I still use my old light now on my bike, with a hard mount to make removal non-trivial.
After building my first headlight I realized several things I wanted to change about it, so I am currently building a second version:
The old one wasn't bright enough
I didn't like that it required a hobby charger to charge
It was too rectangular
I also wanted to make it easier to upgrade and more future proof. Now the LEDs are easily replaceable, the lenses are as well and they are standard Carclo 20mm optics. They should be available for a long time to come.
I really like the mount. For bike-lights I feel there are two ways to go about it, make it extremely difficult to remove such that a thief would have to be extremely determined to actually take it, but it can still be vandalized and its often awkward to charge on your bike.
The other option is to make it easily removable. I have seen alot of commercial lights that use O-rings or plastic clip mounts but I don't really feel they are that durable or easy enough to remove that I would be willing to do it whenever I left my bike. They also often have cords that you have to unplug and untangle from your frame.
My light uses a magnetic mount, I just slap it on my bike, there is some electrical tape to protect the magnets and to increase friction and it is easy to remove, a strong tug removes it, but it holds its position well.
Edit 9/15/13
In a feat of stupidity I machined a hole in the top of my light. Then when patching the hole I hammered it with a ball-peen hammer, trying to anneal the aluminum. Instead all I accomplished was denting it significantly. I TIG welded it and built up the top surface a .15 inches for re-machining, but I didn't alternate sides when welding and the whole top half banana-ed. This light died. I still use my old light now on my bike, with a hard mount to make removal non-trivial.
(Updated Early 2013)
This is the first version of my bike headlight. It is machined out of 6061-T6 aluminum plate. Through building it I have realized several things I would like to change on my second version. This light has two Cree XML2-U2 leds driven in series at 2.2 amps off of two 18650 batteries in series. I realized I made this light too physically small which made assembly a nightmare and I dislike needing to use a hobby charger to charge it.
This light outputs around 1400 lumens, and is still used today on my bike.
This is the first version of my bike headlight. It is machined out of 6061-T6 aluminum plate. Through building it I have realized several things I would like to change on my second version. This light has two Cree XML2-U2 leds driven in series at 2.2 amps off of two 18650 batteries in series. I realized I made this light too physically small which made assembly a nightmare and I dislike needing to use a hobby charger to charge it.
This light outputs around 1400 lumens, and is still used today on my bike.
(Updated December 2012)
I have had a long-standing fascination with flashlights. In 2009 I modified a Maglite to house a smaller aspheric lens. While I loved that light, I wanted one with a more focused output. I used a 75mm lens in this light. A Harbor Freight flashlight was used as a host. I strip the anodizing and powder coated the light white. There is an eight ounce aluminum insert for heat sinking. The outer case is positive and the internal insert is negative, using the powdercoat to separate the two.
The led is a Cree XRE Q5 ez900 die led. This is different than the standard XRE Q5 led which has an ez1000 die, which is much larger. This results in higher surface brightness. I chose a XRE series led because it has a narrower projection, 100 degrees rather than the standard 120 degrees for the XPE, XML, and XPG LEDs. This allows more of the light to hit the lens without any sort of accessory reflector or optics. It is directly soldered to a copper plate and overdriven at 2.5 amps, 250% the max it is rated for and outputs roughly 500 lumens.
I haven't tested it to the limit standard manufacturers do as I do not have the equipment. Manufacturers usually measure how far a light can throw until it is 1 lux, which is roughly the same brightness as moonlight. I have tested my light out to a half mile and it still easily lights up a house at that distance.
The second light is a small stainless steel light I made with a CREE XML driven at 2.1A
I have had a long-standing fascination with flashlights. In 2009 I modified a Maglite to house a smaller aspheric lens. While I loved that light, I wanted one with a more focused output. I used a 75mm lens in this light. A Harbor Freight flashlight was used as a host. I strip the anodizing and powder coated the light white. There is an eight ounce aluminum insert for heat sinking. The outer case is positive and the internal insert is negative, using the powdercoat to separate the two.
The led is a Cree XRE Q5 ez900 die led. This is different than the standard XRE Q5 led which has an ez1000 die, which is much larger. This results in higher surface brightness. I chose a XRE series led because it has a narrower projection, 100 degrees rather than the standard 120 degrees for the XPE, XML, and XPG LEDs. This allows more of the light to hit the lens without any sort of accessory reflector or optics. It is directly soldered to a copper plate and overdriven at 2.5 amps, 250% the max it is rated for and outputs roughly 500 lumens.
I haven't tested it to the limit standard manufacturers do as I do not have the equipment. Manufacturers usually measure how far a light can throw until it is 1 lux, which is roughly the same brightness as moonlight. I have tested my light out to a half mile and it still easily lights up a house at that distance.
The second light is a small stainless steel light I made with a CREE XML driven at 2.1A
