I want to make a hunting spotlight...

[PaulSR]

I would like to make a 2 color spotlight to use for hunting. It needs to be a thrower and be red and white.

I would like to make this with off the shelf parts if possible as I don't have a machine shop.

It needs to light out to at least 300 yards both red and white and work on 12v. I will only use one color at a time, first red, then switch to white.

Any help or ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Paul

[Norm]

Moved to Spotlights-and-HID-Flashlights - Norm

[ahorton]

How wide does the beam need to be at 300 yards?

If you don't mind it narrow, then the easiest thing to do is grab a white XR-E and a red XP-G and find some big aspheric lenses. I suspect the DX 66mm one is the smallest you could get away with for the white. The red will be dimmer so you'll need a bigger lens or more emitters with multiple lenses.

Then you'll need a buck driver that can accept 12V. I'd have a look at TaskLED (I like the Maxflex6) and think about adding some surge protection if you're going to run it from a vehicle.

[PaulSR]

How wide does the beam need to be at 300 yards?

If you don't mind it narrow, then the easiest thing to do is grab a white XR-E and a red XP-G and find some big aspheric lenses. I suspect the DX 66mm one is the smallest you could get away with for the white. The red will be dimmer so you'll need a bigger lens or more emitters with multiple lenses.

Then you'll need a buck driver that can accept 12V. I'd have a look at TaskLED (I like the Maxflex6) and think about adding some surge protection if you're going to run it from a vehicle.

At 300 yards, the beam could be 30-40' wide. and the red can be lower power than the white. Is there a way to get it all in one?? I would like the light to be as light as possible.

The way it will be used is, the red light is shined around and the spotter is looking for the reflection of the varmints eyes, when they are spotted, the hunter lines up, then the spotter "burns" the varmint, the hunter verifies the target and takes the shot. So, again, the red does not need to be as bright as all you are looking for is the reflection of the varmints eyes.

Thanks,
Paul

[ahorton]

It's not going to be easy to get it all-in-one if it's an LED-Aspheric setup but I still think this is the best option.

Sounds like you want a 2 degree beam so I'd be looking at 66 of 75mm aspherics.

Probably the best way to do it is to just use 18650 or AA cells instead of vehicle power. That way there's no cable. You can make a handheld spotter that weighs under 500g and lasts 2 hours on a single 18650 cell and it will give you the range you need.

Make 2 of them. One for red and one for white.

[PaulSR]

It's not going to be easy to get it all-in-one if it's an LED-Aspheric setup but I still think this is the best option.

Sounds like you want a 2 degree beam so I'd be looking at 66 of 75mm aspherics.

Probably the best way to do it is to just use 18650 or AA cells instead of vehicle power. That way there's no cable. You can make a handheld spotter that weighs under 500g and lasts 2 hours on a single 18650 cell and it will give you the range you need.

Make 2 of them. One for red and one for white.

I was thinking about making 2 separate lights, but really need one unit, you have to switch from one light to the other quickly.

I have been reading other threads about the legalities of hunting with a spotlight, and want to assure anyone that I am doing it where it is legal where I will be using it.

[vincevoxbox]

tiablo A9 with aspheric lens kit..and a red filter cap..perfect for shooting.

[PaulSR]

tiablo A9 with aspheric lens kit..and a red filter cap..perfect for shooting.

The reason for wanting a dual beam is so the spotter can stay on target and go from red to white without moving off the target.

I think a dual reflector may be the best way to go. Are there any dual head flashlights that could be modified to have one side be red and the other white as well as modified to control one light or the other??

Thanks for the help and ideas.
Paul

[xul]

Of course, if hunting with a spotlight is illegal in your area then we could all be charged as Accessories Before The Fact!

[ahorton]

tiablo A9 with aspheric lens kit..and a red filter cap..perfect for shooting.

+1. Some sort of aspheric with a flip/ slide red cap is going to be the easiest.
To get the same throw from a dual reflector setup, you'll need something the size of a basketball.

[PaulSR]

Of course, if hunting with a spotlight is illegal in your area then we could all be charged as Accessories Before The Fact!

As stated before, I only hunt with lights where it IS legal.

[Rezolution]

There is a 40 Watt (total output if all die are on) diode that LEDEngin makes. You could use the white die and red die in it (and not use the blue/green). You could easily use that and they even have focusing optics for it. The smaller the degree of the optic, the farther it should throw...

This is the RGB, you could do "all on" (R+G+B) for white and then just red for red.
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/...rPFmAjsxGoQ%3d

OR

This is the RGBW, you could do "all on" for R+G+B AND W, or you could just do W for white, and then red by itself of course.
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/...HbEe7CFXxCE%3d

Here is an 8-degree lens for the 40 Watt diode:
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/...AaUM35siaI8%3d

You'd have to have a pretty decent heat sync for it but I'm pretty sure you could fit it all into a piece of PVC pipe, keep the optic mounted an inch back from the edge or so, then get a nice UCL lens to cover the end of it up with. You could probably get away with two or three toggle switches on the outside of the pvc, and have a built in charge jack so you don't have to open it up to charge it.

I'm not sure what kind of battery setup you want to power the whole thing with though...

I'm not sure if the 8 degree lens will meet your 300 yard requirement though