Spike Light - V3
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ahorton
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Sorry I can't accept any money yet. I'll wait 'till I have the parts.
I think It's up to 7 or 8 weeks now. Very unhappy with my machinist and I imagine it's not going to get any closer over the Christmas / new-year period.
I think It's up to 7 or 8 weeks now. Very unhappy with my machinist and I imagine it's not going to get any closer over the Christmas / new-year period.
I feel you pain, Ash. When I say, "It'll be done tomorrow" I really do mean the next day. It doesn't seem to be that way in manufacturing...
Still, those beamshots are great! What about a couple at some distance?
Are you really sure of this 30m waterproof rating? I just started cave diving and it would be useful to have a headlamp I could use in dry cave areas which could be taken underwater without worrying. I don't plan to rely underwater on your lamp because I have much more specialized lights for that, just need to be sure that 30 meters does not kill your Spike.
ahorton
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Price range is looking like $250-$300 (I'm thinking AUD but USD is close enough that I don't mind and I can use them anyway) without the 18650 cells or charger. One of the aims of this design was to let people work out their own 18650 preferences.
As for the 30m rating. I'll need to do a lot more testing to be sure. I've just tested a single prototype so far. All I did was put it in a bucket of water inside a pressure tank and hold the pressure at 300-350kPa (40-50psi) for a few hours. That's all my tank can handle but I'll be interested to try it at higher pressure oneday. My concern about 30m cave diving is not the pressure so much as all the other abuse it will take. Changing the 18650 cells with muddy hands and getting a small rock in the oring groove are the sort of things that kill a seal.
The lighthead has no moving parts penetrating the sealed body. The switch is magnetic (the button moves a tiny magnet on the outside of the body and a momentary reed switch inside closes and opens). This becomes a problem for compasses but only within about 100mm (and only seriously within about 75mm). -> I'll confirm these numbers again later on.
So the ways for water to get in the light head are:
1. Broken cable and water seeps along the wires. Not impossible. It's only a 4.5mm cable but it's pretty strong and can always be beefed up. At both ends of the cable, the electronics are potted, so water in the cable probably won't be a problem anyway.
2. Broken lens. The lenses are 3mm crown glass at their thinnest point (14mm at the thickest). There is an aluminium ridge protecting them so it'd need to be a very strong and direct impact.
3. Failed Oring. The surfaces are annodised 7075 aluminium and crown glass. Both are pretty hard and scratch resistant. The orings are all 2.6mm diameter. Like any oring, they'll fail without proper maintenance, but they are static and should last a very long time. I suppose they could be replaced with cheap quality or wrong-sized orings and that would cause a problem.
4. Broken aluminium body. You'd have to pe pretty rough with it. 7075 aluminium is pretty strong. Scratches and dents will happen, but a pierce or break seem unlikely.
The battery case is probably more prone to leaks because it gets opened and closed and has plastic parts.
1. The plastic surfaces might get scratched and ruin the oring seal. I've gone for 3.5mm diameter orings which are very forgiving of the surfaces (I tested by roughing up the surfaces and was surprised at how long it kept the seal). The surfaces can often be repaired anyway with a bit of fine grit sandpaper. If the lid is kept shut on the battery case, I don't see why it should ever get bad scratches. It does get opened and closed every time the cells are changed, so it will need maintenance.
2. The plastice parts may break. The thinnest part of the battery case is 2mm. I tried to keep the weight down but if you hit it with a hammer then it will eventually crack. For a really tough caving version, I may choose to increase it to 4mm at the thinnest but this will be too heavy to take jogging.
3. The mechanism that holds the battery case shut is virtually unbreakable. In the event that it gets lost (very unlikely, but I like redundancy) the battery case is also designed to be held closed with electrical/gaffa/strapping tape very easily. This may seem like a silly thing to design for, but since it is possible to remove the latch, I have to assume that someone will eventually lose it.
If/when the battery case floods, the cells will be ruined, but the lighthead should still be fine.
The Spike V3 was not designed as a caving headlamp. It was meant more for adventure racing in which it'll never go deeper than 2m. A worst case might be capsizing a kayak in salt water. For that purpose I think it's over-designed and very reliable. For cave diving, it's probably good enough, but it's not over-designed.
Other options that spring to mind are Kevinm's new P60 host or the Rude Nora, Sten, Scurion etc. These are all designed with caving in mind and may offer a better gaurantee. It could depend on what sort of beam you want too.
As for the 30m rating. I'll need to do a lot more testing to be sure. I've just tested a single prototype so far. All I did was put it in a bucket of water inside a pressure tank and hold the pressure at 300-350kPa (40-50psi) for a few hours. That's all my tank can handle but I'll be interested to try it at higher pressure oneday. My concern about 30m cave diving is not the pressure so much as all the other abuse it will take. Changing the 18650 cells with muddy hands and getting a small rock in the oring groove are the sort of things that kill a seal.
The lighthead has no moving parts penetrating the sealed body. The switch is magnetic (the button moves a tiny magnet on the outside of the body and a momentary reed switch inside closes and opens). This becomes a problem for compasses but only within about 100mm (and only seriously within about 75mm). -> I'll confirm these numbers again later on.
So the ways for water to get in the light head are:
1. Broken cable and water seeps along the wires. Not impossible. It's only a 4.5mm cable but it's pretty strong and can always be beefed up. At both ends of the cable, the electronics are potted, so water in the cable probably won't be a problem anyway.
2. Broken lens. The lenses are 3mm crown glass at their thinnest point (14mm at the thickest). There is an aluminium ridge protecting them so it'd need to be a very strong and direct impact.
3. Failed Oring. The surfaces are annodised 7075 aluminium and crown glass. Both are pretty hard and scratch resistant. The orings are all 2.6mm diameter. Like any oring, they'll fail without proper maintenance, but they are static and should last a very long time. I suppose they could be replaced with cheap quality or wrong-sized orings and that would cause a problem.
4. Broken aluminium body. You'd have to pe pretty rough with it. 7075 aluminium is pretty strong. Scratches and dents will happen, but a pierce or break seem unlikely.
The battery case is probably more prone to leaks because it gets opened and closed and has plastic parts.
1. The plastic surfaces might get scratched and ruin the oring seal. I've gone for 3.5mm diameter orings which are very forgiving of the surfaces (I tested by roughing up the surfaces and was surprised at how long it kept the seal). The surfaces can often be repaired anyway with a bit of fine grit sandpaper. If the lid is kept shut on the battery case, I don't see why it should ever get bad scratches. It does get opened and closed every time the cells are changed, so it will need maintenance.
2. The plastice parts may break. The thinnest part of the battery case is 2mm. I tried to keep the weight down but if you hit it with a hammer then it will eventually crack. For a really tough caving version, I may choose to increase it to 4mm at the thinnest but this will be too heavy to take jogging.
3. The mechanism that holds the battery case shut is virtually unbreakable. In the event that it gets lost (very unlikely, but I like redundancy) the battery case is also designed to be held closed with electrical/gaffa/strapping tape very easily. This may seem like a silly thing to design for, but since it is possible to remove the latch, I have to assume that someone will eventually lose it.
If/when the battery case floods, the cells will be ruined, but the lighthead should still be fine.
The Spike V3 was not designed as a caving headlamp. It was meant more for adventure racing in which it'll never go deeper than 2m. A worst case might be capsizing a kayak in salt water. For that purpose I think it's over-designed and very reliable. For cave diving, it's probably good enough, but it's not over-designed.
Other options that spring to mind are Kevinm's new P60 host or the Rude Nora, Sten, Scurion etc. These are all designed with caving in mind and may offer a better gaurantee. It could depend on what sort of beam you want too.
Last edited:
ahorton
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Delivery of the aluminium parts was 2 months late, but I finally got the news that they were ready a few days ago. Hopefully I can collect them tonight or tomorrow.
Sadly, I'm very busy with both work and family right now, so they're going to sit on the shelf for a little while.
As for trail running, I think they're great. I designed them for runners who want to see more than just their feet.
Sadly, I'm very busy with both work and family right now, so they're going to sit on the shelf for a little while.
As for trail running, I think they're great. I designed them for runners who want to see more than just their feet.
ahorton
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I've always made my own headbands. In the past, they were just 25mm elastic, but now they are 38mm for the V3. The wider elastic makes it much more stable on the head. The V3 also has curved plastic brackets that hold the elastic and headlamp parts together. These make a torque-arm that stops the heavy things (mainly the battery) from twisting on the elastic. Add to all this the fact that the V3 is much lighter and now I don't feel any bounce when I go running.
Battery pack has always been on the back of the head for me. Some people have requested longer cables for belt or pack mounted batteries and that was pretty easy to do too.
PS, I finally collected the parts today. All looking good. Just need some time to assembly one now.
Battery pack has always been on the back of the head for me. Some people have requested longer cables for belt or pack mounted batteries and that was pretty easy to do too.
PS, I finally collected the parts today. All looking good. Just need some time to assembly one now.
excellent! I'm very interested in perhaps ordering one from you. Do you include your homemade headband in the kit or is that something needing to be specified at time of order? What is the total weight of your kit (with and without the two batteries)?
Last edited:
ahorton
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The headband has always been part of it.
The weight I'll need to get back to you on.
Sorry no pics yet. I still want to present the whole thing as a finished product this time around.
The weight I'll need to get back to you on.
Sorry no pics yet. I still want to present the whole thing as a finished product this time around.
ahorton
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Ok, I got the scales out and did a quick mass test now that I have every part:
Part; V3 mass ; V2 mass
Front:
lighthead = 59g ; 112g
Front bracket = 12g ; 19g
(subtotal = 71g; 131g)
Back:
battery pack = 59g; 115g (V2 included the 18650s and half the cable, so the comparison should be more like 14g)
back bracket = 8g; 0g
2x18650 =94; 0g
(Xtar 2600)
(subtotal = 161g;115g )
Sides:
Elastic headband = 44g; 29g
(including plastic sliders for adjusting)
Wire = 12g; 6g (again, this is only half the wire, the rest is in the battery pack)
(subtotal = 66g; 41g)
Total = 298g; 287g
Without cells = 204g; 193g
More than I was hoping for but that's ok. The V2 on my desk massed in at 287 but the big difference is where the mass is.
The lighthead has gone on a serious diet (112g->59g) so with the bigger bracket you hardly notice it's there. It's now about the same as an Ay-Up for those who've played with them but I think my bracket is a tiny bit lighter. The thickness is now 29mm instead of 34mm and the centre of mass has moved about 5mm closer to the back.
The elastic has got a little heavier, and if you include the brackets then it's 48g for the V2 against 64g for the V3. I've found it doesn't matter much how heavy the headband is because there's no moment on it so it doesn't twist or bounce. It just hangs on your head.
The heaviest part in the V3 is the new battery pack and this was inevitable once I started moving towards replaceable 18650 cells + waterproof case. It's got a great big 60x65mm curved bracket (shown earlier) to stop it bouncing around and so it's actually ended up more comfortable than the much lighter V2 battery which didn't have a bracket.
For the real weight weanie, it's possible to use the V2 style battery pack (fine for rain but not submersion and you can't swap the cells) with the V3 elastic, brackets and lighthead. Then the total is 256g which is getting a bit better but is just beaten by a V3 with only one 18650 cell at 251g.
Part; V3 mass ; V2 mass
Front:
lighthead = 59g ; 112g
Front bracket = 12g ; 19g
(subtotal = 71g; 131g)
Back:
battery pack = 59g; 115g (V2 included the 18650s and half the cable, so the comparison should be more like 14g)
back bracket = 8g; 0g
2x18650 =94; 0g
(Xtar 2600)
(subtotal = 161g;115g )
Sides:
Elastic headband = 44g; 29g
(including plastic sliders for adjusting)
Wire = 12g; 6g (again, this is only half the wire, the rest is in the battery pack)
(subtotal = 66g; 41g)
Total = 298g; 287g
Without cells = 204g; 193g
More than I was hoping for but that's ok. The V2 on my desk massed in at 287 but the big difference is where the mass is.
The lighthead has gone on a serious diet (112g->59g) so with the bigger bracket you hardly notice it's there. It's now about the same as an Ay-Up for those who've played with them but I think my bracket is a tiny bit lighter. The thickness is now 29mm instead of 34mm and the centre of mass has moved about 5mm closer to the back.
The elastic has got a little heavier, and if you include the brackets then it's 48g for the V2 against 64g for the V3. I've found it doesn't matter much how heavy the headband is because there's no moment on it so it doesn't twist or bounce. It just hangs on your head.
The heaviest part in the V3 is the new battery pack and this was inevitable once I started moving towards replaceable 18650 cells + waterproof case. It's got a great big 60x65mm curved bracket (shown earlier) to stop it bouncing around and so it's actually ended up more comfortable than the much lighter V2 battery which didn't have a bracket.
For the real weight weanie, it's possible to use the V2 style battery pack (fine for rain but not submersion and you can't swap the cells) with the V3 elastic, brackets and lighthead. Then the total is 256g which is getting a bit better but is just beaten by a V3 with only one 18650 cell at 251g.
Last edited:
maddog
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alright feb is coming up .... any news? i really need a new light for 2012!
ahorton
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Yeah I think it's going to happen in the first half of Feb. Just got to get through some other stuff first.
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