Hi guys, been trawling through this forum trying to figure out a few things for a D-maglite LED build, but getting a little confused on a few points.
Probably best to start by saying what I want the light for- I currently have a UK SL4 eLED dive light, but for night diving I'm not too happy with the very narrow beam, and would like some more light than it gives (claimed 400lm).
So, I want to build a canister light with a better beam and more power/brightness. I have access to some machining and custom glass, but my problems are with LED and lens selection.
I've been thinking about using a single XM-L with a decent output, or possibly a combination of 2/3/4 LEDs mounted with lenses. I'm trying to get my head around lens configurations, but from what I gather, I have two options-
1- mount a single LED below the head on a heatsink, then use a single lens in the head itself
2- mount 1+ LEDs in the head itself, with individual lenses?
I'm not sure how the lens config will work with multiple LEDs, do they each have a small lens that can go over the top, or they sit in a mount with lenses over the top of each LED?
I'm trying to achieve a light with plenty of brightness, and a fairly wide beam (at least, wider than my UK, which has a roughly 1ft dia beam at 10ft). I'm not too sure if I want a little spill or not, hence I'm not sure whether to go aspheric. Can someone who's diving with them comment?
Can anyone help me to understand what's what, and possibly give a recommendation on configs?
Thanks
Semi
Probably best to start by saying what I want the light for- I currently have a UK SL4 eLED dive light, but for night diving I'm not too happy with the very narrow beam, and would like some more light than it gives (claimed 400lm).
So, I want to build a canister light with a better beam and more power/brightness. I have access to some machining and custom glass, but my problems are with LED and lens selection.
I've been thinking about using a single XM-L with a decent output, or possibly a combination of 2/3/4 LEDs mounted with lenses. I'm trying to get my head around lens configurations, but from what I gather, I have two options-
1- mount a single LED below the head on a heatsink, then use a single lens in the head itself
2- mount 1+ LEDs in the head itself, with individual lenses?
I'm not sure how the lens config will work with multiple LEDs, do they each have a small lens that can go over the top, or they sit in a mount with lenses over the top of each LED?
I'm trying to achieve a light with plenty of brightness, and a fairly wide beam (at least, wider than my UK, which has a roughly 1ft dia beam at 10ft). I'm not too sure if I want a little spill or not, hence I'm not sure whether to go aspheric. Can someone who's diving with them comment?
Can anyone help me to understand what's what, and possibly give a recommendation on configs?
Thanks
Semi