greg_in_canada
Flashlight Enthusiast
I call it the 3-cubed because it has a Lux3, is powered
by 3 D-cells and has 3 brightness settings. 3x3x3 = 3 cubed.
It's based on a 3D maglite with O-sink and a Lux3 from
luxeonstar.com
It's direct drive with 3 resistor values selected.
The high setting has 0.6 ohm PTC resistor in series with
the LED. Low has a 33 ohm plus the 0.6 ohm. Medium has
12 ohms in parallel with the 33 ohms for an effective
resistance of 9 ohms.
The PTC resistor is actual a pair of small halogen
bulbs in parallel. The filaments are barely glowing
(dim red) so they should be fairly shock resistant.
The cold resistance is 0.2 ohms and they measure 0.6
ohms when the LED is on high. They are located between
the O-sink and the factory switch. That is why they
are in series with all the brightness settings. I used
them partially to be clever and also because their
resistance will drop as the battery discharges and the
current goes down (so there will be more voltage for
the LED).
Now for a few pictures...
1) The tail cap and the switch (a 3-way light switch
for a lamp.
2) The tail with mounted switch (and pushbutton guard)
to protect the switch.
3) The spring before and after mods (to make room for
the resistors and wiring in the tail). I used a Dremel
cutting disk on it.
4) The bushing (insulator) used to isolate the battery
minus from the spring (so resistance could be added in
series in the tail).
I measured the current with fresh Energizer D's: Low ~50 mA.
Medium 160 mA. High 800 mA.
The beam is quite clean. Better than my EverLED maglite
(before satin tape). I borrowed the lens with the Scotch
Satin tape on it and the beam is perfect. On high the
colour looks pure white to me. On medium and low it takes
on a greenish tint.
To do: the apparent brightness jump from medium to high
is bigger than from low to medium so I want to increase
the medium setting current. Also need to sputter my
reflector.
Other than that I'm very happy with it.
Greg
by 3 D-cells and has 3 brightness settings. 3x3x3 = 3 cubed.
It's based on a 3D maglite with O-sink and a Lux3 from
luxeonstar.com
It's direct drive with 3 resistor values selected.
The high setting has 0.6 ohm PTC resistor in series with
the LED. Low has a 33 ohm plus the 0.6 ohm. Medium has
12 ohms in parallel with the 33 ohms for an effective
resistance of 9 ohms.
The PTC resistor is actual a pair of small halogen
bulbs in parallel. The filaments are barely glowing
(dim red) so they should be fairly shock resistant.
The cold resistance is 0.2 ohms and they measure 0.6
ohms when the LED is on high. They are located between
the O-sink and the factory switch. That is why they
are in series with all the brightness settings. I used
them partially to be clever and also because their
resistance will drop as the battery discharges and the
current goes down (so there will be more voltage for
the LED).
Now for a few pictures...
1) The tail cap and the switch (a 3-way light switch
for a lamp.
2) The tail with mounted switch (and pushbutton guard)
to protect the switch.
3) The spring before and after mods (to make room for
the resistors and wiring in the tail). I used a Dremel
cutting disk on it.
4) The bushing (insulator) used to isolate the battery
minus from the spring (so resistance could be added in
series in the tail).
I measured the current with fresh Energizer D's: Low ~50 mA.
Medium 160 mA. High 800 mA.
The beam is quite clean. Better than my EverLED maglite
(before satin tape). I borrowed the lens with the Scotch
Satin tape on it and the beam is perfect. On high the
colour looks pure white to me. On medium and low it takes
on a greenish tint.
To do: the apparent brightness jump from medium to high
is bigger than from low to medium so I want to increase
the medium setting current. Also need to sputter my
reflector.
Other than that I'm very happy with it.
Greg