And...The 3-stage L0P mod!

[MillerMods]

Just played around with my new 1.5 watt high power L0P circuit layout a bit, and now I figured out how I'm going to do a 3 stage twist switch mod for the L0P. Using 2 leaf springs and 3 different ground zones, as the tail is twisted shut, first contact will drop through a 5 ohm resistor, second will drop through another parallel 5 ohm resistor, and finally no resistor to ground giving you high mode. All of this in about 1 1/2 to 2 twists of the cap. Circuit will cost $25.00 with just high mode, $30.00 with 2 stages, and $35.00 with 3 stages. Shipping is $5.00 for priority with conformation in the U.S. For international orders, add $2.00

[Lips]

MillerMods is a modding machine, keep up the good work.

[Erasmus]

MillerMods is going bananas!

[goldserve]

Is there anything that will work with AAA li-ions? I don't see myself using nimh. I don't mind charging li-ions. Thanks!

[JJohn]

Wow! I want a three stage! Very Low (>12 Hr runtime), Medium (around 6 hrs), and fairly high (2 hrs). When will this be possible? This is exactly what I have been waiting for. Paypal ready and waiting!

John

This will work with Alky's and my preferred E92 lithium primaries, right?

[xochi]

Is there anything that will work with AAA li-ions? I don't see myself using nimh. I don't mind charging li-ions. Thanks!

Is this an opening for you to start hawking your board, goldserv?

tsk tsk tsk

[VWTim]

I've asked about Li-ions before and it seems that there just aren't a lot of people wanting to run them. I would be interested in a setup tho. I just want to know what's going to be available by midweek? 5 stage? You don't sleep Miller, do you?

[goldserve]

Is this an opening for you to start hawking your board, goldserv?

tsk tsk tsk

In theory, I could make new PCBs and modify the design for the L0P but i don't see the market demand for li-ions on the L0P so i was just inquiring about an already made solution =P

[greg_in_canada]

Three levels sounds even better than 2, if they can be reliably accessed. $30 is a lot of money for me so I need to ask if your circuit comes with any kind of warranty (days/years/lifetime, parts/labor/both).

Thanks - Greg

[MillerMods]

Three levels sounds even better than 2, if they can be reliably accessed. $30 is a lot of money for me so I need to ask if your circuit comes with any kind of warranty (days/years/lifetime, parts/labor/both).

Thanks - Greg

I'll take care of my customers for a lifetime. I'll let everyone know when I've tested this design to make sure it's reliable. I think it will be very reliable, but it will definately need some abusive testing to prove it in. If it turns out to be a sucky idea, I'll be honest about it.

[greg_in_canada]

I'll take care of my customers for a lifetime. I'll let everyone know when I've tested this design to make sure it's reliable. I think it will be very reliable, but it will definately need some abusive testing to prove it in. If it turns out to be a sucky idea, I'll be honest about it.

Thanks. That sound good.

I'd rather have a reliable 2-level than a flakey 3-level.

Greg

[IsaacHayes]

Waiting for pics... Lets see it done! :whip:

[MillerMods]

Waiting for pics... Lets see it done! :whip:

It shall be done soon. Right now it's talk, but I'm good.

[MillerMods]

Is there anything that will work with AAA li-ions? I don't see myself using nimh. I don't mind charging li-ions. Thanks!

How much power do you want to get out of the li-ion? I can do some experimenting and see what I can do. Without a buck/boost circuit, you'd need at least a L-bin voltage if one of my current regulated boost circuit were to be used. I don't know that I've personally seen an M-bin voltage, but that would work easily with my circuit. I can try some different caps for their different ESR values and I should be able to get the current drive to 200mA and up. I have an L-bin voltage Lux that I can experiment with. The value of the drop resistor for the 2 stage mod will have to be high, otherwise the current through it because of the high voltage drop would smoke the resistor. I'd have to experiment with some different values to see what would work best.

[MillerMods]

Wow, so that's it so far, I thought there'd be a lot more interest in either of my posts about a multi-stage L0P. Don't sing it, bring it I guess, right?

[greg_in_canada]

You said you were waiting for PCBs so I'm (we're?) waiting to hear that they arrived and that things are testing out as expected. $80 USD is a lot of money for me (roughly my entire 2005 flashlight budget) but I'm still seriously condsidering spending it on an L0P with your 2 or 3-level mod.

I paid (last year) for an andrewwynn nano-3 and first reports are very positive though it appears the 3-level switch can be damaged by overtightening. Hence my reliable 2 vs flakey 3 comment.

I'm not trying to slight your work or your abilities but you are new to CPF and an unknown quantity at this point. So I think some people may hesitate to jump in until the rave reviews start appearing.

Greg

(I see you edited your comment while I typed my response, so my answer may not make complete sense to someone dropping in.)

[MillerMods]

Yea, I edited that last post because I thought I sounded whiney. Here's some pictures of my first mod to the L0P. No multi-stage yet, until I get the PCB's, but I've started tweekin' the circuit a bit getting it ready.
Here are some pictures of the stock on the left. I have mine set to draw 1300mA from the cell. Stock draws 825mA. With the 2 or 3 stage mod. runtime won't be a problem. BTW I'm being very careful and picky about what spring material I choose for the multi-stage switch(es). Reliability is a key point I'm focusing on.
I took pictures with different exposure settings to give a better idea.




I should have mentioned, both L0P's are about 3 feet from the wall.

[greg_in_canada]

The beamshots look impressive. Does the light get pretty hot at 1300mA from the cell?

In the bottom photo the left one is your (non-PCB) prototype and the right is the stock. Is that correct?

Thanks - Greg

[MillerMods]

The light does get fairly warm, but very comfortable to hold. Bottom left is a cut down version of the PCB I had made for the L1P. I was barely able to get away with it but I managed.

[greg_in_canada]

Darn my (first) reply got lost. Attempt #2...

Thanks for the answers. The cut-down looks very nice.

Can you give me an estimate of the current draw when the 5 ohm and two parallel 5 ohms are in the circuit. I'm trying to estimate what the brightness steps will be like.

My ideal would be 100mA, 300mA, and 1000mA battery draw (roughly 25, 75, 250 mA to the LED) but I don't know if that is possible from parallelling resistors.

Thanks - Greg

[JJohn]

Wow, so that's it so far, I thought there'd be a lot more interest in ... a multi-stage L0P.

I think many are waiting to see what you can do and waiting for a review/specs of a prototype. There is excitement for what you are doing. Just check how many people read your post. If you can build it (a small, reliable multi-stage AAA that can use standard common batteries) people will come. I will certainly want more than one and I think you can do it. There will be a long list of interested people.

Keep up the creative work (and keep an eye on the Peak Pacific too as this would also be a good base to work from),

John

[Weep]

So, I just noticed this (and then, via user's posts search, the other related threads) and have a few questions...

1. What components are you using? (Well, it can't hurt to ask! )
2. Is your circuit current-regulated, semi-regulated, or just a voltage boost?
3. If it's at all regulated, would the multi-level capability maintain regulation (at a lower level), or would it just drop the effective battery voltage so it deregulates to a low direct drive+resistor mode?

Depending on regulation this might be the closest thing I've yet seen to what I'd consider my perfect EDC... Work some magic and get a focusable beam in the deal too and it WOULD be my perfect EDC!

[Solstice]

{popcorn}

Lack of multistage is what has kept me from outright buying an L0P, but if you can pull this off, it looks like my wallet will be dieting again. Perhaps you could work something out with 4sevens to keep the total cost of the modded light under $80? Just a thought- if the light will work as advertised, it is worth the loot.

I'll look forward to seeing if you can come up with something similar for the Peak 1AAA luxeon when that comes out.

Its a wonder why, when there is so much demand for consistantly reliable multi-stage in these lights, that the companies themselves don't encorporate it into their production designs. Cost? Time constraints?
Ah well, if they did, you wouldn't get this piece o' buisness .

[MillerMods]

So, I just noticed this (and then, via user's posts search, the other related threads) and have a few questions...

1. What components are you using? (Well, it can't hurt to ask! )
2. Is your circuit current-regulated, semi-regulated, or just a voltage boost?
3. If it's at all regulated, would the multi-level capability maintain regulation (at a lower level), or would it just drop the effective battery voltage so it deregulates to a low direct drive+resistor mode?

Depending on regulation this might be the closest thing I've yet seen to what I'd consider my perfect EDC... Work some magic and get a focusable beam in the deal too and it WOULD be my perfect EDC!

It's semi-regulated. Power out is cell draw, 800mA for instance times cell voltage, say 1.2 volts minus 13% loss in step-up conversion equals .83 watts to the lux. The output power will decline proportionally with cell voltage decline which is better than you might think because the voltage doesn't vary as much with one cell as when compared to multiple cells.

I will use a drop resistor and that will have about a 10-15% power drop. Not bad at all, considering you'll get about 8-12 hours of runtime (depending on the battery chemistry) with 25-35mA of drive to the lux.

The high mode can be specified by the buyer and I can set it up to drive the lux from anywhere between 150mA to 400mA, and there is NO drop resistor involved with that.

BTW, once the reflector/lens assembly is loosened, you can position the reflector up and down by twisting it so it can go from spot to flood. You can also all together remove the assembly and then you have candle mode. Nice Huh?

[greg_in_canada]

This is sounding better and better. Assuming 25mA to the Luxeon on low and 250 or 300mA on high, is 75mA or so on medium feasible?

Thanks - Greg

[MillerMods]

This is sounding better and better. Assuming 25mA to the Luxeon on low and 250 or 300mA on high, is 75mA or so on medium feasible?

Thanks - Greg

75mA to the lux on medium can be done with no problem.

[Weep]

It's semi-regulated. Power out is cell draw, 800mA for instance times cell voltage, say 1.2 volts minus 13% loss in step-up conversion equals .83 watts to the lux. The output power will decline proportionally with cell voltage decline which is better than you might think because the voltage doesn't vary as much with one cell as when compared to multiple cells.

Fair enough.

BTW, once the reflector/lens assembly is loosened, you can position the reflector up and down by twisting it so it can go from spot to flood. You can also all together remove the assembly and then you have candle mode. Nice Huh?

Oooh, really? Would you be willing to post a beamshot of the beam quality (or lack thereof...) defocused to broad flood (as wide as it gets before severe ringing appears)? Yes, I realize it was never intended to function that way, so it might be pretty bad - I'm just curious.

[MillerMods]

Here are some shot's of the L0P with the bezel assembly loose and used to focus the beam.






And here it is in candle mode.

[greg_in_canada]

That is cool. I think your wall needs some washing though

Does running in candle mode reduce the heatsinking of the light?

Thanks - Greg

[Weep]

Great shots, thank you! Looks pretty good, actually...

I'm actually quite interested in this. The only things missing from my theoretical "dream light" are current regulation including dimming, and momentary activation (in addition to constant on), but those would probably be a lot more expensive, or downright impossible without increasing the light size quite a bit... So all things considered, this is looking pretty appealing!