Texas Poker by Photon Fanatic

[DBCstm]

Thanks Alex, wish we could.

Not only less power, but about half the power. Like driving 35mph down the Interstate Highway. Or like going from the 300HP Cadillac Seville STS Northstar to a Ford Escape with I4 at 170HP. (That's where I am since the Caddy got totalled) Sure, they both get ya there, but one does it with pizazz!

Still hoping that tiny bit of free space showing in the CAD renderings will allow a regulator to be stacked for more powah. Matt's trying, we'll see. In the end it's on me for wanting such a small light and I think it'll be just fine even with ~700mA. The point is to have a constant light source available at all times in a jewelry grade package that's extremely efficient and perfectly made. I have other lights for powah situ's, and a drop-in module on the way for a MagLite promising 2000 lumens for when daylight is needed at night.

Dale³ (Demolition Dan's Dad)

 

[tjswarbrick]

Thanks Alex, wish we could.

Still hoping that tiny bit of free space showing in the CAD renderings will allow a regulator to be stacked for more powah. Matt's trying, we'll see. In the end it's on me for wanting such a small light and I think it'll be just fine even with ~700mA. The point is to have a constant light source available at all times in a jewelry grade package that's extremely efficient and perfectly made. I have other lights for powah situ's, and a drop-in module on the way for a MagLite promising 2000 lumens for when daylight is needed at night.

Dale³ (Demolition Dan's Dad)

700mA on an XP-G2 in a light that small? Okay, it may not be over-the-top completely-useless bright. But that sounds plenty bright to me.
In a P60 or throw-head light, I drive 'em much harder, but when I use them I turn 'em down to medium anyway. On the P60 that's about 900mA and well over 200 lumens. I don't know what I'd do with a pinky-size light with a dinky, floody head that put out that kind of output. Besides show it off, and blind myself, of course.

Sorry, not trying to discourage you or derail the thread. Just encouraging you that "only" 700mA on an XP-G2 in this gorgeous little guy will Totally Rock.
More like the 240HP in an S2000. Sure, sometimes you want more. But it's actually plenty if you know how to use it, and it encourages you to be involved in how the product is used to maximize utility and enjoyment.

 

[DBCstm]

Thanks TJ, and of course you're right. It'll be plenty bright for a daily user. And I'm not so sure the head is "dinky" or even all that floody, it's using a dereelight reflector at 17mm wide so has a much better chance at having some real beam to it. Hope to show that pretty soon!

And yeah, put those 240 ponies to a full gallop! :devil:

D³

 

[Trave11er]

700mA on an XP-G2 in a light that small?

I have to agree here Although you've made it a challenge to understand the dimensions, I did manage to gather that this puppy measures just a bit over 3" which (compared to my Block Party's 4.7") is pretty damn compact and as such, a 700mA-driven XP-G S2 should be considered powerful imho :thumbsup: What was Matt's driver going to run it at, 1500mA?

So what do you think the end-result will be, roughly 200 lumens output? Very respectable for a ~3" host, if you ask me :devil:

If I were you, I'd play with it using the std. driver and when Matt has perfected his driver, send the light back to Fred for a rebuild. You're lucky enough not to have to deal with the additional hassle of Customs like us guys on the other side of the pond...

Last but not least, my Block Party's 2.7A driver and XM-L U2 can put out massive amounts of Lumen, but only in short cycles - short enough to make the max mode more of a "show-n-tell" than anything else. As cool as that Cu light-engine casing is, it would still be a difficult task to run it to the XP-G S2's max output "indefinitely"...

One of my other hobbies is overclocking PC gear (CPUs, GPUs, ...) and the cooling solution is usually exponentially larger than the surface that needs to be cooled...

Note to self:
Total length: 81mm
Dia @batt-tube 13mm @bezel 20mm

 

[tjswarbrick]

Thanks TJ, and of course you're right. It'll be plenty bright for a daily user. And I'm not so sure the head is "dinky" or even all that floody, it's using a dereelight reflector at 17mm wide so has a much better chance at having some real beam to it. Hope to show that pretty soon!

D³

You're right, not as dinky as I recalled. You made me go re-read the thread. Glad I did - Man! That thing is just beautiful!
I still think 700mA XP-2 on a single-cell pocket-sized light is plenty and then some for EDC.

 

[DBCstm]

Thanks guys, appreciate it. I'm new enough at all this to still be bitten by the power bug. But I'm seeing that a lower powered version will be much better in the long run with more useable settings and less heat to deal with.

Matt's original driver was going to run it at 1200mA, so it would have been in the 400 lumen neighborhood or close to it. So yeah, 200ish sounds more realistic for the size of it and I know that's still a great deal more light than could easily be had just a few years ago. Certainly more than most AAA format lights to be sure.

I believe we'll be running the big brother to the better known Nichia 219 Hi CRI emitter. This one is supposed to produce 475 lumens at 1.5A so it should still be in the neighborhood of 200 lumens. It's a nice white tint at 5000K, very comparable to an XP-G2 R5. Difficult to tell the difference except that the Nichia has a tighter beam pattern. And it's still just a bit warmer than the Cree, or at least the one I have mounted on copper stars here. Fred's got the lens on the way, so as soon as he get's that and does the finalizing it'll be on it's way to Texas! Yaaaayyy!!

Dale

 

[archimedes]

Thanks guys, appreciate it. I'm new enough at all this to still be bitten by the power bug. But I'm seeing that a lower powered version will be much better in the long run with more useable settings and less heat to deal with....

Yes, don't forget the non-linear response to light "by eye", so that 2x lumens will not look (anywhere near) 2x bright.

It will provide (less than) half the runtime, and (more than) double the heat, though ... :devil:

 

[Mattaus]

I'm gutted about the regulator issue

I don't think I got a reply yet from Fred regarding room for chip stacking. If its possible I'm sure he'll let me know....

If the FLUPIC is the only way to go I SWEAR I will design a new driver in the future that will fit and give you what you want. Not sure how (hence why its not what I'm doing for Fred now) but I'll figure something out Lol.

- Matt

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[DBCstm]

Matt, not a problem. Seriously. I simulated the output from the Nichia that we'll be using and it'll be excellent. I have some 7135 chips binned at 380mA. With 2 chips stacked on a SinkPAD and the backside ground soldered to one of the incoming pads just for a solid ground and to hold them, when I hooked it up to the Nichia 219 I have on a copper SinkPAD I saw .72A on my DMM. Now I know these are binned at 380, but Hank gave a report a day or two ago that the Qlite 105C driver isn't putting out the 3.04A claimed because his factory found that the chips are actually running 360 instead of 380. If this is true then the 2 chips would yield 720mA and that's exactly what I got.
I have this SinkPAD with Nichia 219 in 5000K on a copper bar, set a MiniMag reflector on it for simulation, and the beam is quite nice. Lot of output there at this power level so I think I'm gonna be happy with this. I wanted to see what kind of output that would give before it got done and this proves to me that the 700mA will be more than sufficient. According to the Nichia spec sheet it makes 140 lumens at 350mA, 475 lumens at the max 1.5A. So in theory at 700mA we should have 280 lumens. That means in the real world I should see some 200+ lumens OTF.

This shows me that the mini 3" light hanging around my neck and used primarily for close-up illumination should serve me very well with ample power on tap when needed. The deeper reflector Fred's using should really make it shine!

Thanks Fred, for mastering the details once again! I really appreciate it!

Dale

 

[DBCstm]

Oh, and archimedes? Just for the record? When hooking up this bare LED to a Li-ion in direct drive it's pulling 1.61A and it's blinding....when hooking it up to .72A, well, it's blinding! lol. I first hooked it up and it was so bright I had to get the DMM to see if it was indeed in DD, but nope, just running a "measly" .72A. Pretty dam* instense! So it's still easily bright enough to need a warning label....

Thanks guys for the input, appreciate it.

Dale

 

[archimedes]

....When hooking up this bare LED to a Li-ion in direct drive it's pulling 1.61A and it's blinding....when hooking it up to .72A, well, it's blinding!....

LOL ...

BTW, on the SureFire website, they define "tactical light output" as 50 lumens or greater

 

[DBCstm]

Fred has received the lens and has it installed in the bezel with double O-rings for water-tight peace-of-mind. He's working on the light engine and hopes to have it up and running today! Sweet news indeed!

Dale

 

[DBCstm]

A side by side comparison of Nichia 219 goodness:

At 1.61A

DBC_April 25, 2013_114930 by genie in a black box, on Flickr

At 720mA

DBC_April 25, 2013_114943 by genie in a black box, on Flickr
Yeah yeah, my wife blew the first one. But it's at f/5.8 1/2 second shutter at 100 ISO, in Manual mode...both shots the same settings on a Canon G1x.

 

[DBCstm]

Thought I'd share the last of Fred's build pics. He's got the light completed, boxed up, and in the mail! So I'm a proud expecting parent of a Photon Fanatic Special! Just a few days from delivery and I don't even have a proper name picked out!

This shot shows Fred preparing the heat sink for the reflector, a DereeLight heavy aluminum unit with a beefy ring around the mouth that will also help connect things to the copper heat sink for excellent heat dispersal

Texas Poker_WIP-60 by genie in a black box, on Flickr

And here's the reflector itself, nicely built!

Texas Poker_WIP-61 by genie in a black box, on Flickr

Don't ya just love how the parts Fred works with seem to merge into one? Perfect fit of this orange peel reflector, of course! Should make a very nice beam...

Texas Poker_WIP-62 by genie in a black box, on Flickr

Perfectly mated, one of the best compliments of reflector and emitter I've seen...sweeeeeet!

Texas Poker_WIP-63 by genie in a black box, on Flickr

Now tell me, is this a thing of beauty or what? Remember, this little pill is about a 1/2" wide, exquisitely made and flawlessly executed. The epitome of Photon Fanatic. Can't wait to see it in action...

Texas Poker_WIP-64 by genie in a black box, on Flickr

And the rest of the pics will be up to me, should be here in a few days...maybe Monday but probably Tuesday. I'll be on pins and needles til then!!!

Thanks again Fred! You are definately THE MAN! :rock:

 

[Mattaus]

That emitter/reflector combo picture is awesome!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Congrats Dale,

It's looking absolutely amazing!

Can't wait to see some beamshots and perhaps now that the first is just about there, the second will be easier

Tgwnn

 

[climberkid]

Holy perfection!

 

[smarkum]

Absolutely stunning! I'm SO glad I found this thread!!!!
Congratulations Dale . . . and Fred. You guys did GREAT!

 

[DBCstm]

Thanks Guys, I don't know about any second Guy...I'll let you do all the research and development from here on out, this stuff is Taxing! :tired:

She's supposed to be here Monday! Pins and needles edge of the seat time!

I might just turn to drinking, I think it's cheaper than flashaholism.

Dale

 

[climberkid]

It may be cheaper but its not as rewarding. And you can't really help other people if drinking becomes your hobby.