Spike Light - V3

[gte861s]

Which type of headband/harness have you been recommending with your headlamps? Will that change with the Spike v3? Have you been mounting the battery pack on the back of the headband or attaching a lead and wearing the pack on a belt?

[ahorton]

I've always made my own headbands. In the past, they were just 25mm elastic, but now they are 38mm for the V3. The wider elastic makes it much more stable on the head. The V3 also has curved plastic brackets that hold the elastic and headlamp parts together. These make a torque-arm that stops the heavy things (mainly the battery) from twisting on the elastic. Add to all this the fact that the V3 is much lighter and now I don't feel any bounce when I go running.

Battery pack has always been on the back of the head for me. Some people have requested longer cables for belt or pack mounted batteries and that was pretty easy to do too.


PS, I finally collected the parts today. All looking good. Just need some time to assembly one now.

[gte861s]

PS, I finally collected the parts today. All looking good. Just need some time to assembly one now.

excellent! I'm very interested in perhaps ordering one from you. Do you include your homemade headband in the kit or is that something needing to be specified at time of order? What is the total weight of your kit (with and without the two batteries)?

[kevinm]

I've always made my own headbands. In the past, they were just 25mm elastic, but now they are 38mm for the V3. The wider elastic makes it much more stable on the head. The V3 also has curved plastic brackets that hold the elastic and headlamp parts together. These make a torque-arm that stops the heavy things (mainly the battery) from twisting on the elastic. Add to all this the fact that the V3 is much lighter and now I don't feel any bounce when I go running.

Battery pack has always been on the back of the head for me. Some people have requested longer cables for belt or pack mounted batteries and that was pretty easy to do too.


PS, I finally collected the parts today. All looking good. Just need some time to assembly one now.

Pictures, please.

[Baddog]

noice mate, looking forward to the best in the west

[ahorton]

The headband has always been part of it.

The weight I'll need to get back to you on.

Sorry no pics yet. I still want to present the whole thing as a finished product this time around.

[ahorton]

Ok, I got the scales out and did a quick mass test now that I have every part:

Part; V3 mass ; V2 mass

Front:
lighthead = 59g ; 112g
Front bracket = 12g ; 19g
(subtotal = 71g; 131g)

Back:
battery pack = 59g; 115g (V2 included the 18650s and half the cable, so the comparison should be more like 14g)
back bracket = 8g; 0g
2x18650 =94; 0g
(Xtar 2600)
(subtotal = 161g;115g )


Sides:
Elastic headband = 44g; 29g
(including plastic sliders for adjusting)
Wire = 12g; 6g (again, this is only half the wire, the rest is in the battery pack)
(subtotal = 66g; 41g)

Total = 298g; 287g
Without cells = 204g; 193g
More than I was hoping for but that's ok. The V2 on my desk massed in at 287 but the big difference is where the mass is.

The lighthead has gone on a serious diet (112g->59g) so with the bigger bracket you hardly notice it's there. It's now about the same as an Ay-Up for those who've played with them but I think my bracket is a tiny bit lighter. The thickness is now 29mm instead of 34mm and the centre of mass has moved about 5mm closer to the back.

The elastic has got a little heavier, and if you include the brackets then it's 48g for the V2 against 64g for the V3. I've found it doesn't matter much how heavy the headband is because there's no moment on it so it doesn't twist or bounce. It just hangs on your head.

The heaviest part in the V3 is the new battery pack and this was inevitable once I started moving towards replaceable 18650 cells + waterproof case. It's got a great big 60x65mm curved bracket (shown earlier) to stop it bouncing around and so it's actually ended up more comfortable than the much lighter V2 battery which didn't have a bracket.


For the real weight weanie, it's possible to use the V2 style battery pack (fine for rain but not submersion and you can't swap the cells) with the V3 elastic, brackets and lighthead. Then the total is 256g which is getting a bit better but is just beaten by a V3 with only one 18650 cell at 251g.

[maddog]

alright feb is coming up .... any news? i really need a new light for 2012!

[ahorton]

Yeah I think it's going to happen in the first half of Feb. Just got to get through some other stuff first.

[Baddog]

keep us posted Ash, am hanging out for this one

[Baddog]

first half of day one is over

[ahorton]

Indeed... and it's very close now.

I'm just sorting out some legal stuff but that's almost done. I decided to register the design.

[Led Grow Lights]

Really That's just plain teasing guys.

[ahorton]

I'd like to introduce my little friend. The V3.




My new lens! Part aspheric for throw and frosted elsewhere for a smooth flood.
Remove the 4x7075 aluminium screwsand the coverplate comes off.
Lift the lens out to service the 2.62mm o-ring or access the programming header.


Big switch. Very strong (7075 aluminium). Nice solid press. Non-mechanical (very hard to break).
No moving parts penetrate the sealed body so there's no gaskets or rubber boots to fail.
Also note the low profile and low weight which makes it very stable on the head.



Nice wide elastic for comfort and stability.
The battery pack at the back.



Focus on the 18650 holder. Uses one or two cells in parallel.
Big fat (3.53mm) o-ring makes an excellent waterproof seal every time.
All wires are embedded inside the plastic.


Focus on the battery case.
Very simple and reliable Velcro strap to keep the piston-like cell holder in place.
The velcro should be good for a few thousand actuations, but can easily be replaced.
No breakable clips or hinges. Nothing to fall off. No fiddly screws or latches.
Case mounts to bracket with 4 screws. Can mount to other things too!



Note the back of the bracket. Smoothly contoured to fit the head.



I really like the red. I've also got sky blue, deep purple and black. Only the aluminium parts are coloured. The plastic parts are all black.
Total mass for this little guy is 187g without 18650 cells (282g with the cells). Comfort is a whole new level compared to my previous offerings.

[ahorton]

I'd like to introduce my little friend. The V3.




My new lens! Part aspheric for throw and frosted elsewhere for a smooth flood.
Remove the 4x7075 aluminium screwsand the coverplate comes off.
Lift the lens out to service the 2.62mm o-ring or access the programming header.


Big switch. Very strong (7075 aluminium). Nice solid press. Non-mechanical (very hard to break).
No moving parts penetrate the sealed body so there's no gaskets or rubber boots to fail.
Also note the low profile and low weight which makes it very stable on the head.



Nice wide elastic for comfort and stability.
The battery pack at the back.



Focus on the 18650 holder. Uses one or two cells in parallel.
Big fat (3.53mm) o-ring makes an excellent waterproof seal every time.
All wires are embedded inside the plastic.


Focus on the battery case.
Very simple and reliable Velcro strap to keep the piston-like cell holder in place.
The velcro should be good for a few thousand actuations, but can easily be replaced.
No breakable clips or hinges. Nothing to fall off. No fiddly screws or latches.
Case mounts to bracket with 4 screws. Can mount to other things too!



Note the back of the bracket. Smoothly contoured to fit the head.



I really like the red. I've also got sky blue, deep purple and black. Only the aluminium parts are coloured. The plastic parts are all black.
Total mass for this little guy is 187g without 18650 cells (282g with the cells).

[whosywhat]

How do I buy one?

[trout]

That looks a little beauty Ash
and you said I would not want one well you are wrong

I want one very much

[Baddog]

paypal addy for a red mate

[analogguy]

Ash-

In for a red as well.

[wheel]

How do I buy one?

Me too, how to buy one

[maddog]

all i can say is WOW!!! the wait was well worth it. Great Job!

[ahorton]

I'm glad you all like it.



I'm slowly making a batch up at the moment (rather than one at a time). As I do I'll post some more useful info and get the sales thread organised.
The price will be $300 including shipping but without 18650 cells or chargers.

[Jeff S.]

Out of curiosity, can it run on four CR123a batteries? I know the performance may drop, but will it work?


Thanks!!

[ahorton]

Not very well.

You'd need a spacer to make up the extra 35mm of length.
If you used two in series, you'd want them to have a total voltage under 5,5V, so you couldn't really use fresh ones.

[Jeff S.]

Thank you. I always have primaries as backups during extended trips, so it's good to know that it is possible to make it work with primaries, even if slight modification and caution is needed. Better yet, maybe it would be worthy to invest in a solar charger if they could be made to charge 18650 cells.

But anyway, I just read all of your previous build-threads. I admire your work, and thank you for making the V3 available!! I am really excited about the V3. It is exactly, in my mind, how a headlamp should be built. I love the aesthetics, and the neutral flood with white spot. It seems like a perfect all-around headlamp, which is so lacking by mainstream markets.

I eagerly await the sales thread. Count me in!

[borrower]

That setup is pure artistry on all fronts. I tip my hat to you. (And if it wasn't for countless projects-unfinished, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.)

[kevinm]

REALLY nice job there Ash! I like the battery case a lot too; simple and elegant. It looks like a great backpacking/running light. Is that a custom glass lens?

You mentioned that it is purpose driven. What task did you have in mind?

[Th232]

You've mentioned accessing the programming header. What kind of support will we get if we want to reprogram it ourselves? I'm happy with just a pin-out of which I/O pins control what, although I suppose others might want some code as well.

[ahorton]

Yeah it's a very custom lens. It gave my manufacturer all sorts of headaches. The first mould was a failure. The lens kept breaking when being removed so a whole new mould was needed. Of course it was all worth the effort. I have them in frosted and plain. The plain gives a slightly brighter and narrower beam, but it comes with the usual artifacts. I much prefer the broader, smoother beam without artifacts.


The plan is to give heaps of support for making your own user-interfaces, but it won't come for a while. Right now my priority is to assemble them.
To start with, they'll come with one of three UIs (Simple, Competition and Competition+extras) and I'm happy to give out the software for each if people waht to try them out.

These three are all closed source. I'm very busy at the moment with work and family, so I promised a royalty to a friend if he would put together the UIs. So I can't give away the source for those. Further down the track I want to offer up some open source versions either that I or someone else has written. Once I have a few open source codes, it should be very easy for people to adapt them to their own likings.

The thing to note, is that it's very easy to make something that 'works', but a lot more involved to make something that's really good. That's why I got my friend to make an excellent one to get me started. It cost him a few weekends so he deserves the royalty. He spent hours agonising over little things like the battery indicator, low power modes, reliable switching, alternate pulsing (in the two flood LEDs) etc.

[Th232]

No worries. Not sure what micro you're using, but if it's an AVR I've had some experience programming them, so I wouldn't mind a shot at writing my own code.