And...The 3-stage L0P mod!

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MillerMods

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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
 
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Erasmus

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Re: And...The 3-stage L0P mod!!!!

MillerMods is going bananas! :p
 
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goldserve

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Re: And...The 3-stage L0P mod!!!!

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

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Re: And...The 3-stage L0P mod!!!!

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?
 
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xochi

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Re: And...The 3-stage L0P mod!!!!

goldserve said:
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?:awman:

tsk tsk tsk :xyxgun:
 

VWTim

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Re: And...The 3-stage L0P mod!!!!

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

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Re: And...The 3-stage L0P mod!!!!

xochi said:
Is this an opening for you to start hawking your board, goldserv?:awman:

tsk tsk tsk :xyxgun:

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

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Re: And...The 3-stage L0P mod!!!!

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

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Re: And...The 3-stage L0P mod!!!!

greg_in_canada said:
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

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Re: And...The 3-stage L0P mod!!!!

MillerMods said:
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
 

MillerMods

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Re: And...The 3-stage L0P mod!!!!

goldserve said:
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.
 
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MillerMods

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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? :wave:
 
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greg_in_canada

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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.)
 
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MillerMods

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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.
 
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greg_in_canada

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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

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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

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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
 
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