(I just thought of this) 45deg. angeled mirror, on a 1cell flashlight

I just got done reading about the ZEBRALIGHT and thought of this.

If you use/own any of the CREE 1 cell hand helds this should work, atleast it does in my mind.
Has anyone tried a mirror at about a 45degree angle with a rubber connector on a handheld? If the mirror is positioned with its edge on the end of the bezel you should get the same beam pattern right?

Now you put the light with mirror assembly attached in a head strap and you have a cree headlamp. To adjust the "pivot" either the o-rings or whatnot holding the handheld to the headstrap must be loose enough to allow the body of the handheld to turn, while still holding its desired angle, or the mirror's connector must turn on the head asembly.

So can anybody tell me whear to get a decent 1" diameter mirror, so ican build a prototype?

Or one of those kid's periscopes I played with when I was a kid, two reflectors in them!

What do you guys gals thik?

Joseph13 said:

Has anyone tried a mirror at about a 45degree angle with a rubber connector on a handheld? If the mirror is positioned with its edge on the end of the bezel you should get the same beam pattern right?

What do you guys gals thik?

Click to expand...

Yeah, I had the same kinda thoughts, but wasn't gonna say it out loud. :tinfoil:

an interesting idea, a flip-up/flip-down mirror. however,...


why not just make or purchase a JakStrap for $5 or less? Nite-Ize also makes one with two concentric elastic loops of two different sizes to accomodate a wide range of flashlight diameters. however, it only points forward (unless the wearer angles the strap when wearing it, then you can get it to point the beam downward) and is NOT elastic (Nite-Ize touts this as a feature, but i find it less than desirable as it is either too tight or if a bit looser tends to want to move since it has no tension on it, not being elastic). maybe i just have a funny shaped skull??? YMMV with the Nite-Ize.


the adjustable version (JacStrap II ???) will handle most anything you'd ever want on your head (even a 3C-cell flashlight - not that i'd recommend doing such). it will definitely handle a 4AA (6VDC 2x2 battery arrangement like Pelican StealthLites and UK 4AA eZoomLED flashlights).

being side mounted is NOT a big deal, IMO. IME (in my experience), the light's hot spot projecting forward can still be essentially centered even while on the side of the head.

i dumped headlamps (though i still collect them - a real addict) for a Fenix mounted in this way last year.

i've also sewn a small loop of elastic from a fabric store to the front of my homemade "JakStrap" to allow a smaller Fenix L0D-CE to be mounted there (mainly for downward task/proximity lighting). I can push the homemade JakStrap back up on my "buzzed" skull (if not wearing a hat or cap) to allow its beam to project more forward.

so, i can have two different flashlights on my homemade jackstrap at the same time and still weigh a fraction of my favorite PT Apex headlamp.

when i'm wearing a ballcap, the stiff brim will accommodate a CR123 or AA Fenix, using a AA clip out of a $4.95 MiniMagLite Accessory kit being clipped to it.



Now back to the mirror suggestion:

The mirror suggestion will effectively block some light from going forward, necessitating that the user lifts their head all of the time to look forward (if on the move) instead of just raising their eyes a bit to see forward (of course if a lot of light is needed forward, then one still needs to lift one's head to direct the beam forward).

obviously, the mirror suggestion works better for task/proximity lighting where you pretty much always want the light directed down.

it's an interesting idea, but like most (not all) of them, if it was a truly great idea someone would already be making money off such an idea by actually manufacturing something to sell. that's not to say the with a bit more thought someone might come up with a decent product. please don't let my words discourage anyone from trying, remember, i'm just a "half-watt"!!

I hope this reply clarifies what I wrote about.

half-watt said:

"an interesting idea, a flip-up/flip-down mirror. however,...

Now back to the mirror suggestion:

The mirror suggestion will effectively block some light from going forward, necessitating that the user lifts their head all of the time to look forward (if on the move) instead of just raising their eyes a bit to see forward (of course if a lot of light is needed forward, then one still needs to lift one's head to direct the beam forward)."

(My Response)Apparently there is some missundertstanding Half-watt, The mirror blocks zero light, I know because I held my wife's handheld vanity mirror against the head of a Fenix L2D lastnight after posting this Idea. I did not have a protractor handy but it was 45degree angle =/- 3degrees and I had the same beam pattern (as the stock light produces) at a 90degree angle to normal direction of projection of light.

I never said Nite-iez, or a Jacksrap would not work as the head strap.

However the flashlight would sit on the forehead with the mirror attached and not off to one side as one would normaly wear a handheld that projects inline with the body tube

Half-watt,
"obviously, the mirror suggestion works better for task/proximity lighting where you pretty much always want the light directed down."

I am going to have to dissagree with this. Task/proximity lighting or long distance are both unobstructed.
I.E. if mirror is attached at a fixed angle, body of flashlight is then rotated (inline with the body tube) to change the beam angle from parallel to line of sight looking at, lets say like 500feet out (and no I am not saying a P2D has this range, it is just a good refrence immage in my mind). If you have close work to do rotate the head so center of beam or hotspot is in your desired working range. The mirror is fixed so you effectively end up with the old school style military angle head flashlight, without the "L-shape" body. I am thinking 1-1/4" PVC elbow with 1" diameter mirror set in the bend of the elbow. Cut or grind off what blocks the reflected light, and use o-rings or tape to hold in place.

And Just for the record, I don't want to make a dime off this idea, I thought it would help people get more use out of what they already own.

If I can get parts today or this weekend I will post images so none of us have to put up with my poor descriptive skills.

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I think it's a great idea.....

Spec-ops uses the idea and does something similar with its flashlight holsters by redirecting the light for navigation in low light situations.

Unless the mirror is "shrouded" you may end up with a lot of spill light which may or may not be desired.

A mirror that rotates around the head would be neat.

the ability to strap it to a shoulder strap, or belt.

You could wear it on your belt.... rotate the head around and direct the light in any direction... Voila! instant hands free.

disconnect from your belt... put it on an elastic band and slap it on your head.

your only problem will be aesthetics... but then... there isn't much sexy about a headlamp.

J13,

a thousand apologies. meant to give no offense, but obviously i did. again, please accept my apologies. like i closed the other post, don't let me words stop you from coming up with a clever way to make it work. after seeing how my extremely poor wording could be understood, i'm thinking that i should have used "half-wit" instead of "half-watt" as my CPF alias.

so sorry that i worded my post so poorly that it came across like i was insinuating that you might be after money. my $$$ point was only that very often that is what drives many (not all) good ideas nowadays, and that if it was both a real viable and practical solution someone would, in all likelihood, being selling something akin to it already. however, this is not always the case as there are still many good ideas just waiting to be discovered.

i know that you didn't say a headband wouldn't work, again so sorry, i worded my post so poorly as to lead a reader to believe that you had. for my tastes, the headband has more of the K.I.S.S. (keep it short [and] simple) approach to it, which often, but not always, characterizes a good design.

the description in your reply is quite clear and i now have a better mental image of what you're thinking of. pretty clever. some decades ago, as a kid, had a toy periscope that worked on a similar principle that you're describing. your reply is not poorly worded at all.

you're right Nikola Tesla was a pure genius (hundreds of patents - many quite remarkable, maybe 600+, but don't quote me as to the number as my memory isn't so good any longer). if not for the hunchbacked, dwarf-like, bulbous headed c.p. steinmetz (whose appearance, which belied his genius, almost had USofA immigration stop him from entering the country) strongly disagreeing w/edison and instead wanting to transmit AC, we might have the requisite sub-stations, what?, every half-mile or so for DC power transmission. what edison may have lacked in genius, relative to tesla, he sure made up for with hard work and persistence though, wouldn't you say?


many thanks for your understanding and patience with an old man and his poor writing style. i would like to see your pics when you get a chance.

take care.

to half-watt,

I took no offense to your response. Please forgive me for any tone my reply took other than trying to clarify.

Sincerly,
Joe

The dimensions I gave for the PVC elbow were wrong, I went by Home Depot and found a 1/2" by 3/4" elbow very close to the size needed.

I have cut the 3/4" section flush with the outer diamiter of the 1/2" section. I still need to do some material removal on the inner diamiter of the 1/2" section so the head of my P2D will slide all the way in. In addition the seating position of the mirror also requires slight material removal. once these are done I will glue in the mirror.

If all goes well I will beable to post pictures by tonight.

half-watt said:

J13,

you're right Nikola Tesla was a pure genius (hundreds of patents - many quite remarkable, maybe 600+, but don't quote me as to the number as my memory isn't so good any longer). if not for the hunchbacked, dwarf-like, bulbous headed c.p. steinmetz (whose appearance, which belied his genius, almost had USofA immigration stop him from entering the country) strongly disagreeing w/edison and instead wanting to transmit AC, we might have the requisite sub-stations, what?, every half-mile or so for DC power transmission. what edison may have lacked in genius, relative to tesla, he sure made up for with hard work and persistence though, wouldn't you say?

take care.

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Half-watt

I do agree with you on the above quote.

I realized the edison/tesla analogy seemed inapropriate as I read through my post, right after clicking the "submit reply" button. I tried to edit it out immediately( I think possibly while you were replying.)

As stated in my last post my intention was to clarify a misunderstanding, and I do aplogize for posting before reading my entire reply.

I signed on to this forum to share and learn, so far I think it has all been learning, and I do appreciate your comments/input.

I love this forum... you guys are so civil to eachother... not like other places.:twothumbs

I think CPF has actually helped drive production of certain products. This is an excellent place for people to share their interests and ideas. Companies (coleman, zebralight, etc.) either actively participate in the discussions we have here, or lurk in the background.

who knows what an idea might lead to. My only hope is that forum members get a little credit... maybe if nite-ize were to develop something they could call it the "j13 half-watt", or give forum members the first Run of products to test and keep.

either way.

good stuff

please keep us updated on the development of your idea

Could you maybe post pictures, as I don't really understand the concept ..

Thanks,
wischi

Well, here it is.......
please note this is still a work in progress.

Immediate problems/flaws with this are: first, cutting a grove to get the mirror to fully seat, it is still about 1/8" high, second the bore of the 1/2"diamiter side is still too restrictive and does not allow the head of the flashlight to be positioned close enough to the mirror( at about 1" it is far enough away for side spill of flashlight to shoot over the top of the mirror closest to you the viewer of the image.) Third, with the mirror in this position I loose a crecent of the beam, which is just wasted light.



I tried to make the image size within the cpf rules "image specifications," however if it is to large I will remove immediately.

This whole putting images on the web is new to me as this is the first image I have ever put on anything other than a hard drive.

Nice prototype, maybe I will make myself one, soon.

wischi