Built: The Everyman's Triple XM-L 3-mode NiMH Optic

[Techjunkie]

It appears that's not your fault though . You are only powering the main board (2.8A) if you have connected it like the schematic above.

Thats because I think the schematic is incomplete . The schematic shows two wires connected to the slave drivers. The PWM wire from the master board and the current wire to the led. What is feeding the slave boards with power? They still need to be connected to a power source as the master driver board.

If I'm wrong I'll edit this post, because it will only confuse people :x.

Epsilon, the schematic isn't incomplete in the way you described. That's how to wire this setup, but with one small but important correction, I forgot to draw the ground wires on the last two, the way I had described in post #7 above, "heavy copper wire was used on the outside edges of them"

Contrary to what you suggested, if you were to power the 2nd and 3rd directly, the VDD would have no mode effect because the 7135s would always be at full blast. Think of the VDD as the power source for all the 7135 chips. When it's on, they're on. When it's off, they're off. The controller chip powers that VDD lead on and off rapidly to create the PWM modes. Full blast is constant on and the lower power modes are just very rapid on-off cycles.

I'll edit the photo to include the ground wires to avoid further confusion.

Sorry Rich!

 

[simplec6]

whered ya get the xml stars and are they u2 or t6? What did you use to glue the stars to the heatsink?

 

[richpalm]

I'm convinced the setup works... my mistake was not trying a fourth cell right from the get-go. 3 cells (3.6V) just didn't have the power. I'm not gonna change anything back now-it's already overabused from rewiring-but definitely gonna save this info, and thanks!

UPdate-Changed my mind and reworked the hack job wiring... I was afraid of problems. I put it all back the way TJ's drawing is and it works fine-on four cells. Still experimenting with reflectors... anyone got the Ledil Booms for XML's.

A twist-I added two 7135's to each board, so the LED's will each see ~3.5A. If someone could help me out with reflectors I'd really be grateful!

The thing turns the entire hillside and every house into daylight!

Rich

 

[simplec6]

What size XML stars are those and where did you source them? Are they t6 or u2? Is the only thing holding them on the two screws each? How do you screw into copper (just drill a pilot hole?).

Thanks!

 

[Techjunkie]

What size XML stars are those and where did you source them? Are they t6 or u2? Is the only thing holding them on the two screws each? How do you screw into copper (just drill a pilot hole?).

Thanks!

They're 20mm T6 stars, sourced from KD. I use a #3 48tpi tap bit to thread holes pre-drilled with a bit sized right for that tap (I think it's #47, but double-check my memory against any bit-tap size table). The screws are, of course, also #3 48tpi. Between the stars and the heatsink, I apply Arctic Silver 5 thermal goo.

 

[Epsilon]

Epsilon, the schematic isn't incomplete in the way you described. That's how to wire this setup, but with one small but important correction, I forgot to draw the ground wires on the last two, the way I had described in post #7 above, "heavy copper wire was used on the outside edges of them"

Thanks for the updated schematic , my bad indeed.

 

[Quest4fire]

Thanks for sharing an imaginative build Techjunkie! I don't have any nimh c cells laying around, but i've got plenty of eneloops. How do you think 9 eneloops set up in a pack 9S3P would work out in a 3D mag? Sag issues?

 

[Techjunkie]

Thanks for sharing an imaginative build Techjunkie! I don't have any nimh c cells laying around, but i've got plenty of eneloops. How do you think 9 eneloops set up in a pack 9S3P would work out in a 3D mag? Sag issues?

3S3P would work but you'd need a very good carrier designed for (very) high amperage. Also, you'd only have 6AH in a light that could fit 10AH, but either way that's more than my 4.5AH config here.

 

[Quest4fire]

3S3P would work but you'd need a very good carrier designed for (very) high amperage

Oops, I think that's what I should have said, if you mean three separate stacks of three eneloops in series for 3.6V nominal and 6000 mAh. I guess three D nimh would be a better option for higher mAh but I do already have the eneloops sitting idle, waiting on a project. I do like the idea of reducing heat in the driver circuit boards by keeping vbatt in that 3.6V nominal range.

 

[Techjunkie]

Oops, I think that's what I should have said, if you mean three separate stacks of three eneloops in series for 3.6V nominal and 6000 mAh. I guess three D nimh would be a better option for higher mAh but I do already have the eneloops sitting idle, waiting on a project. I do like the idea of reducing heat in the driver circuit boards by keeping vbatt in that 3.6V nominal range.

Then the XML is the perfect emitter for the project, with it's very low Vf. AAs will sag under load more than larger C or D cells, so you'll want to start with low Vf LEDs when using only 3 in series for each LED. You'll also want to eliminate resistance as much as possible, but you're already off to a good start there by using a Maglite as the host. The Mag switch and host are very low resistance to begin with compared to the clickies & contacts found in cheaper hosts. Of course, you could also go single XM-L which would further reduce sag from draw and increase runtime, but who am I to give that advice when my Big Red runs an SST-90 from AA cells?

 

[Quest4fire]

Eight AA Duraloops providing 4.8V in that torch proved to be too much power to direct drive the SST-90 with, driving it to more than 14 Amps.

14 AMPS!!! You Sir are a bona fide abuser of eneloops. Shame!:whoopin:The SST-90 and a rebel reflector are a nice combination. Good Work!

 

[richpalm]

....but who am I to give that advice when my Big Red runs an SST-90 from AA cells?

You inspired me yet again-just got back from Walmart with a red 2D host!

I wanna do another one of the Everyman's with a 3C host, 4 sub-C's, same driver setup but with neutrals. Be great for night walking, neutral is much easier on the eyes. Broke now though...

Rich

 

[Techjunkie]

You inspired me yet again-just got back from Walmart with a red 2D host!

I wanna do another one of the Everyman's with a 3C host, 4 sub-C's, same driver setup but with neutrals. Be great for night walking, neutral is much easier on the eyes. Broke now though...

Rich

You should browse my "my lights" link in my signature sometime. There's 70+ lights in the LED section that have been modified by me in some way, all on a pretty conservative budget, and most of the good ones have links to their build threads.

 

[Mattaus]

Hey Techjunkie, sorry for stalking you through your threads 'n all but I have another question...what heatsinks do you use for these triple mods? Are they custom jobs or can they be purchased somewhere? I did read through your "My Lights" post but either suck at reading or it's not specifically dealt with. I've been using the H22A heatsinks for my single magmods but obviously those sit flush with the end of the Mag tube and thus not high enough to make contact with the back of the 3-Led reflectors you use for these sorts of mods.

Any information would, again, be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[Techjunkie]

Hey Techjunkie, sorry for stalking you through your threads 'n all but I have another question...what heatsinks do you use for these triple mods? Are they custom jobs or can they be purchased somewhere? I did read through your "My Lights" post but either suck at reading or it's not specifically dealt with. I've been using the H22A heatsinks for my single magmods but obviously those sit flush with the end of the Mag tube and thus not high enough to make contact with the back of the 3-Led reflectors you use for these sorts of mods.

Any information would, again, be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

For this three 20mm star build, I used a machined flat PES-D heatsink. You can still get one from the Sandwich Shoppe, here. (They also sell a C sized version.) If you're using three separate reflectors instead of a tri-optic, then it's easier to center the stars if you get a Perfect TriStar sink, like this and this.

 

[richpalm]

if you get a Perfect TriStar sink, like this and this.

For the D size, 50 bucks for one... no way, much as I'd love it for my next build. I used this one. AA'd a flat aluminum disc on to it and went from there... not ideal but it worked.

Rich

 

[Techjunkie]

For the D size, 50 bucks for one... no way, much as I'd love it for my next build. I used this one. AA'd a flat aluminum disc on to it and went from there... not ideal but it worked.

Rich

Wow, I never even looked at the price for the D-size one. I just assumed it cost the same as the C-sized tri-sink, ~$20. 2x the cost is surprising. It must be a supply/demand thing. Also, I notice the machined flat one with no lip that I first linked to is gone from the page. They still have the flat ones with the lips though.

 

[Mattaus]

Yeah I stumbled across the D-size heat sinks when trying to figure out what you used and was surprised you'd use something like that in a build that was supposed to be "cheap" lol. At least I know what to look for now. Thanks.

 

[richpalm]

I emailed the SS... wonder if it's a typo.

 

[vestureofblood]

How is the beam in this light? Are there artifacts, rings? On a scale of 1-10 how smooth is it?