FS: Homemade Surefire A2 Aviator LED rings (2nd Run) *OPEN*

[Knuckles]

Wow, a lot of work goes into this. I'm impressed.

[calipsoii]

rdh226, your inbox is full and my PM bounced. The UV LED's are here and your ring is ready if you're still interested. Just let me know!

[Filip]

Hello calipsoii,

Would be single mode (i.e. no switching between 1 and 2 leds) with ramping feature possible? I can't decide between single and multimode models, and the model in question could be a nice option. If not, I might end buying both :-).

Thank you.

[ninemm]

Calipsoii! Wow wow wow. Got my ring today. It was totally worth the wait! The warm white is even warmer than my LF HO bulb. Such an awesome and pleasing tint. Really renders colors very well and the beam is super smooth. Now I need to figure out if I need more A2s to house your rings, or just more rings! Thanks for the awesome product and excellent service. Your communication during the Can Post issues was top notch.

[calipsoii]

@Filip

I was wondering when someone would ask that. For now, I don't plan on making a 1-mode dimmable ring. After the multi-mode rings are field-tested by more people than myself, I might try to make it happen. It'll require a microcontroller and I'm still working out how to securely attach one and make it play nice with the incan LVR.

@ninemm

Glad to hear you like it and thanks again for all your patience during the mail fiasco. Cheers!

[run4jc]

Calipsoii! Wow wow wow. Got my ring today. It was totally worth the wait! The warm white is even warmer than my LF HO bulb. Such an awesome and pleasing tint. Really renders colors very well and the beam is super smooth. Now I need to figure out if I need more A2s to house your rings, or just more rings! Thanks for the awesome product and excellent service. Your communication during the Can Post issues was top notch.

Darn little things are great, aren't they? Resurrecting a what, 10 year old light? Pop in this ring (literally takes a minute or 2) and a LF bulb and suddenly the venerable old A2 is one of my favorite lights - so much so that I have 3!! 2 of them have this Calipsoii ring - 1 with LF HO bulb and the other with an FM socket and Strion bulb. My 3rd A2 is awaiting the multi-mode ring and will enjoy it along with another LF HO bulb.

Folks, Mike is top notch in every way - products and service - and a darn good guy to boot! Congrats, Steve!

[oldways]

for warm white

[nanomu]

My ring came yesterday as well!

Fine construction and beautiful warm tint on the LEDs.

[whitedoom34]

My ring came yesterday as well!

Fine construction and beautiful warm tint on the LEDs.

Ditto, looking at the ring now I am glad it made it though the Canada Post! This will not be my last ring!

[calipsoii]

for warm white

oldways, your ring went out this morning!

[Knuckles]

Calipsoii, I have sent payment for my warm white LED ring you PMed me about.

[rdh226]

(dud; see next post for real message)

[rdh226]

#027 Single Mode Warm White (Nichia NSPL500DS, 22000mcd, 15 degree, ~3300K) - Shipped to rdh226 (2011-06-13)
#028 Single Mode Warm White (Nichia NSPL500DS, 22000mcd, 15 degree, ~3300K) - Shipped to rdh226 (2011-06-13)
#029 Single Mode Warm White (Nichia NSPL500DS, 22000mcd, 15 degree, ~3300K) - Shipped to rdh226 (2011-06-13)

I've been playing with these for a few weeks now, and all I can say is Yes!

These WW LED rings finally -- a decade late -- turn the A2 into the light it should have been!

If there's a flaw, it's that little "blue" shading in the center. It's pretty obvious whitewalling, but
really disappears in the Real World(tm) (read: outdoors), leaving just a very eye-pleasing
flashlight light (aka "incandescent light") that gets much brighter when you light off the main
beam. The LEDs are a tough artifacty (dunno how much this is made better/worse by the
A2's reflector), but I then lightly sanded the LED domes, and it really smoothed out.

Suggestion: offer a pre-sanding service (for, oh, say, $1/LED, or $2/LED // $5/3xLED). It
would certainly be a lot easier to sand the LEDs before they're mounted.

I took some color measurements of these guys using my Minolta Color Meter II. I must
preface these numbers with a caution that I am a little suspicious of the CM-II's overall
behaviour -- I have gotten some readings in the past that I just don't believe. However, the
numbers I got for the A2/WW do seem to agree with what my ole Mk-I eyeballs are reporting,
so I'm going to foist them off an y'all anyways. Caveat Emptor.

I took two readings for each ring, one "off center", and one with the "bluish" spot centered
on the CM-II's light sensor. And a third reading for the main (incandescent) beam. Here
they are in that order (off-center, center, incandescent) for each of the three rings:

Light 1) 3060K LB:-1 CC:-2 // 3220K LB:+2 CC:-1 // 3150K LB:00 CC:-4
Light 2) 3030K LB:-1 CC:-5 // 3260K LB:00 CC:-4 // 3130K LB:00 CC:-1
Light 3) 3030K LB:-1 CC:-3 // 3110K LB:00 CC:-1 // 3150K LB:00 CC:+4

The four-digit 3nnnK numbers are the reported Photographic Color Temperature in
degrees Kelvin (K); the LB fields are the Light Balancing Index (basically, the Red/Blue
balance); and the CC fields are Color Correcting Index (basically the Green to Red/Blue
balance). I have adjusted all index values to the reported photographic color temperature
(which is to say, for example, that the 3060K LB:-1 index is referenced to 3060K, and
NOT any of the usual 3200K/3400K/5500K "standards"). This means the index much
more closely represents deviation from "ideal" (black body) color temperature, rather
than color filtering needed to match Photographic Film balanced for 3200K ("tungsten
light") or 5500K ("daylight").

This is NOT a Color Rendition Index value (you'd need a photospectrometer for that),
but does provide insight into how far from "True" (100% CRI) the lights are at the three
measured points (Red, Blue, Green). Any LB value less than +/- 5 or 6 is negligible (you
can't even get a standard filter that "slight" of an effect); while the lowest CC filters start
at +/-2 (+2 is a 5M magenta filter, -2 is a 5G green filter, the "smallest" generally available).

I would add the above LED's numbers were all fairly sensitive to the exact angle and
distance from the CM-II's light sensor that I would hold the light, and represent a general
average or convergence of values; the incandescent numbers were much more stable
in values.

Without trying to delve any further into the foibles of Photographic Color Temperature
vs Black Body Color Temperature & Color Rendition, the gist of those numbers above
is that these Warm White LEDs are just plain dead nuts measurably (with caveats)
ON target.

Anyone with an A2 Aviator needs one of these WW rings (unless of course going
the specialist color route: Red, UV, etc.).

Mike -- you have definitely hit a home run with these A2 rings! Fantastic!

-RDH

[rdh226]

In the meantime, here's a little something to whet your appetite.

Wow, I really like what you're proposing there.

The one thing I didn't expect is that soldering the tiny components is taking a toll on my eyes. Astigmatism is worse in one eye so even a magnifying glass doesn't reduce the eye strain. My optometrist recommended against continuing to make these unless I get some prescription reading glasses ($$$).

Get those glasses! Next to your brain, your eyes are probably your most important
organ! Yeah, some guys may disagree, but trust me, you'll need/use your eyes far
more!

rdh226, your inbox is full and my PM bounced. The UV LED's are here and your ring is ready if you're still interested. Just let me know!

PayPal sent, including a $5 donation to your glasses fund!

-RDH

[calipsoii]

Calipsoii, I have sent payment for my warm white LED ring you PMed me about.

Knuckles, your ring went out this morning!

@rdh226

Now THAT was an interesting read. Thank you very much for all the effort that must have gone into getting those measurements!

I tried a little over a dozen different warm whites before these arrived and they really blew me away. Most of the others were either a pallid green or a very light shade of yellow, making everything appear flat and 2-dimensional. When compared side-by-side, these ones give a sense of depth that I just wasn't getting with the others. The color rendering really is exceptional for a 5mm too.

I've been using mine for so long now that occasionally I'll start grumbling about the slight blue tint in the middle of the hotspot. Whenever that happens, I have an A2 with the stock cool whites that I fire up for a split-second and then I instantly feel better.

Also, you obviously know your stuff when it comes to eyes, so I'll heed your advice and take good care of mine. Thanks again!

[calipsoii]

btorrenga, you need 3 posts before I can PM you. Maybe make a post or two in this thread/elsewhere and I'll get my payment info fired off to you? Thanks!

[Jacklight]

Please put me down for a warm white one, and thank you very much in advance.

[calipsoii]

PayPal sent, including a $5 donation to your glasses fund!

-RDH

rdh226 your ring's been shipped!

[Filip]

Hello calipsoii,

I am very interested in one of the multi-mode rings (2x Warm White + 1x Deep Red). Please, sign me up.

Thank you

[btorrenga]

btorrenga, you need 3 posts before I can PM you. Maybe make a post or two in this thread/elsewhere and I'll get my payment info fired off to you? Thanks!

Yeah, I see the problem! Let me browse around here real quick and see if I can find enough to say.

[smflorkey]

After seeing that great demo of the multi-mode ring I want to change my order...

Since the multi-mode ring isn't ready for prime time yet I'll "settle" for my original order:

$22 for a warm white ring
$28 for a UV ring
$07 for shipping
----
$57 coming your way shortly. I'll go back to the first page to get the PayPal details.

Thanks,
Steve

[calipsoii]

briteflite, your rings have been shipped!

I've also received a shipment of 563nm yellow/green LED's for anyone who is interested. The datasheet with all the gory details is here. I tried one out on a breadboard and they have a nice smooth yellow/green beam. They start out dim, but as your eyes night-adjust they get progressively more bright. Easy to read by too! The tint is your standard yellow/green - not very pretty.

I've sorted out a couple issues with the multi-mode rings so they're coming along nicely. When in 2 LED mode, the LED's are dimmer than 2 equivalent LED's on my single-mode rings, so I'm troubleshooting that right now. Shouldn't take long to get to the bottom of it. I'd like to fine-tune the UI a bit too... I think a click should be 0.5-0.66 seconds, as 1 second just feels too long.

Hope to get a few more rings completed and the PM's sent soon!

[archimedes]

I'm definitely interested in one (possibly two?) multi-mode rings, once perfected....

BTW, have you settled on pricing yet for those?

[oldways]

Warm white came today....installed...

[yellow]

I m in for
1*warm white
1*UV

is the 7,-- enough for shipping to Austria, Europe?

[calipsoii]

BTW, have you settled on pricing yet for those?

They'll cost more but I'm not sure how much yet. The micro is a serious pain in the neck to solder with its tiny little legs so I need to figure out a better way to do it. Once I get a feel for how much work is involved I'll get a price posted.

Warm white came today....installed...

Glad you like it oldways!

I m in for
1*warm white
1*UV

is the 7,-- enough for shipping to Austria, Europe?

That should cover shipping, yes. I just ordered more UV LED's so when they arrive I'll get a ring whipped up.

[Knuckles]

I received my second warm LED ring, can't wait to install it and try it out!

EDIT: Just installed it, dramatic difference! Thanks!

[abarth_1200]

I would be more than happy to pay for 2 of your rings,

I would like one in UV and one in warm white please.

Let me know you paypal details when your ready for it...

[Phredd]

These look awesome! I would like to buy two rings.

1. Single mode - warm white
2. Double mode - 2x warm white, 1x green

Thanks, please let me know where to send the paypal.

EDIT: Any chance of getting cyan LEDs?

[calipsoii]

I think this might be the most rings I've made at one time.


Time to send them off to a good home - PM's sent to a number of people! Except for abarth_1200 and Phredd I believe I'm caught up on orders, but if I've missed anyone please let me know.