Endeavour
Flashlight Enthusiast
Howdy Folks,
I've been working on a project since late December 2008, and between various design iterations, time, and some prototyping, have at last arrived to the release of my new light, the Zephyr.
It is a small, fully regulated, two-stage, AAA-based flashlight, constructed entirely out of 6AL4V Titanium. The lens is made of sapphire crystal for scratch resistance and durability. The reflector is custom made, diffused, and then covered with a 94% reflective overcoat to bounce as many photons out the front as possible. The LED used is a Cree XP-E, available both in cool white, and neutral white (around 4500K color temperature).
The Zephyr is capable of activation both via twisting, or via a momentary tailswitch at the rear of the light. It comes in at 13.5mm in diameter by 87mm in length, and is capable of tailstanding.
This post is intended to be supplemented by those I've written prior to it. I've chronicled various aspects of the design and development, which have many details, and many pictures, on my web log.
The user interface of the Zephyr is simple and intuitive, similar to my previous lights, but with a new useful feature built in. For constant access to any light level, simply twist the head for low mode, and continue twisting for high. For momentary access, you press in for low mode, and press further for high mode. Or use a mix of both - twist for a constant on low, and hold the button in for a burst of high.
The Zephyr clocked in at three hours in regulation on high mode, running off of a fresh Duracell AAA alkaline cell. Low mode runtimes are still being worked on, but they're likely to be similar to my previous Mako (which was 140 hours). The driver is continuing in the same vein as all the previous ones I've designed, with gold plated connections and thick copper traces to maximize efficiency, and equipped with two easily accessible stages.
The grooves on the head and near the tail of the Zephyr allow for comfortable grip and twisting, and the length of the light fits comfortably in the hand for a four-fingered grip using the thumb to activate the pushbutton.
Summary:
Zephyr Flashlight
Runs off of one AAA battery
Two fully regulated stages
3 Hours Regulated Runtime on High Mode (Low Pending)
6AL4V Titanium Construction
Sapphire Lens
Cree XP-E LED
Momentary Pushbutton Tailswitch (Twist for constant on)
O-Ring Sealed; Water Resistant
Capable of Tailstanding
The Zephyr is expected to ship in late September-October timeframe barring any flying wrenches finding their way into the cogs of the project, and I will keep everyone aprised of the status regularly as things progress here.
All in all, I feel the Zephyr makes good use of its power plant, and has a very nice set of features and performance in a very small package.
I've tried to be as thorough as possible with all the information regarding the light, both here and on my site, but if you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask.
The Zephyr project has been cancelled.
Take care folks.
-Enrique
I've been working on a project since late December 2008, and between various design iterations, time, and some prototyping, have at last arrived to the release of my new light, the Zephyr.
It is a small, fully regulated, two-stage, AAA-based flashlight, constructed entirely out of 6AL4V Titanium. The lens is made of sapphire crystal for scratch resistance and durability. The reflector is custom made, diffused, and then covered with a 94% reflective overcoat to bounce as many photons out the front as possible. The LED used is a Cree XP-E, available both in cool white, and neutral white (around 4500K color temperature).
The Zephyr is capable of activation both via twisting, or via a momentary tailswitch at the rear of the light. It comes in at 13.5mm in diameter by 87mm in length, and is capable of tailstanding.
This post is intended to be supplemented by those I've written prior to it. I've chronicled various aspects of the design and development, which have many details, and many pictures, on my web log.
The user interface of the Zephyr is simple and intuitive, similar to my previous lights, but with a new useful feature built in. For constant access to any light level, simply twist the head for low mode, and continue twisting for high. For momentary access, you press in for low mode, and press further for high mode. Or use a mix of both - twist for a constant on low, and hold the button in for a burst of high.
The Zephyr clocked in at three hours in regulation on high mode, running off of a fresh Duracell AAA alkaline cell. Low mode runtimes are still being worked on, but they're likely to be similar to my previous Mako (which was 140 hours). The driver is continuing in the same vein as all the previous ones I've designed, with gold plated connections and thick copper traces to maximize efficiency, and equipped with two easily accessible stages.
The grooves on the head and near the tail of the Zephyr allow for comfortable grip and twisting, and the length of the light fits comfortably in the hand for a four-fingered grip using the thumb to activate the pushbutton.
Summary:
Zephyr Flashlight
Runs off of one AAA battery
Two fully regulated stages
3 Hours Regulated Runtime on High Mode (Low Pending)
6AL4V Titanium Construction
Sapphire Lens
Cree XP-E LED
Momentary Pushbutton Tailswitch (Twist for constant on)
O-Ring Sealed; Water Resistant
Capable of Tailstanding
The Zephyr is expected to ship in late September-October timeframe barring any flying wrenches finding their way into the cogs of the project, and I will keep everyone aprised of the status regularly as things progress here.
All in all, I feel the Zephyr makes good use of its power plant, and has a very nice set of features and performance in a very small package.
I've tried to be as thorough as possible with all the information regarding the light, both here and on my site, but if you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask.
The Zephyr project has been cancelled.
Take care folks.
-Enrique
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