All in one bike light or is it a torch.

[trout]

Hi Guys this is just a goofy idea but may just work ( well it did for Exposure )

Here is the concept with a few pics to help out .

We have the XPG led looming on the horizon and with it I thing some exciting new prospects for the biking world .
I have done a few XPE lights and they have been awesome with there tiny size

I want to do a self contained bike light using the XPG s 3 of them to give a pontential 1000 lumen bike light and using the 10 mm square Carclo optics.
using 2 18650 li ion cells internally with a chargeing jack on the light
and a maxflex driver .

here are a few pics of a sort of prototype which will get butchered for testing and to see how well it works . then it gets handed over to my mate to CNC a few up after we have tweaked it and made it look good.

Yes I know it looks unfinished , Because I need to ask a few questions next .

first up is switching as the batteries stay in the light I need to find a very small Off / On / Mom switch that can be made waterproof .

also a port to connect the charger to .again very small and weather proof.

All comments good or bad welcome as I would like to get it right for when the XPGs come online

 

[BillyNoMates]

Nice concept, I think it will work well as a bike light.

I have used water proof "tactile" switches on some of my designs - they are about 7mm x 7mm in size so should fit OK into your housing. These are not on-off switches so they need to be used with drivers that have a genuine sleep mode. Alternatively, there are a few small waterproof toggle switches that do the on-off-mom action you are asking for.

 

[trout]

Nice concept, I think it will work well as a bike light.

I have used water proof "tactile" switches on some of my designs - they are about 7mm x 7mm in size so should fit OK into your housing. These are not on-off switches so they need to be used with drivers that have a genuine sleep mode. Alternatively, there are a few small waterproof toggle switches that do the on-off-mom action you are asking for.

Cheers Billy I will look out for some

when you say genuine sleep mode does that include the Taskled drivers .

 

[kombiman]

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Norm]

I don't really need a bike light but it looks like it would make a fantastic EDC how many 2 X 18650 lights are pocketable? :twothumbs
Great work Norm

 

[BillyNoMates]

Cheers Billy I will look out for some

when you say genuine sleep mode does that include the Taskled drivers .

By genuine sleep mode, I mean a driver which really does go into a low power mode - some designs leave some functions running to monitor the switch waiting for a press. I've use a micro controller in my designs which has a proper sleep feature (100nA standby current) that stops the CPU running. It also has a 'wake on pin change' function which starts it back up again when the button is pressed. I have left my batteries connected for months without any sign of them running down.

I'm not sure about taskLED drivers, but I do know some people who have built lights based on Cutter kits (which I think use taskLED drivers) and they have reported that batteries will drain in a couple of weeks if they leave it in standby. You could try measuring the current draw of your driver in standby to find out what it does (or ask taskLED directly).

 

[trout]

Cheers Billy
I am sure the Maxflex only draws a very tiny current in sleep mode .
but George (taskled ) is away and his site has gone belly up so I cant check .

In the mean time I have cobbled it together with stuff I had just to see if it will work and used a on / off / on switch so it is truly off and also the driver is isolated when charging it .( not sure if it will harm the driver when chargeing so played it safe)

so some piccys of it fitted on the helmet

I have chucked in 3 XPEs just to see if the concept was a goer for biking
but have not had the chance yet to see it in the dark .

I have a friend Who is going to tidy up the housing and run a few off on his works CNC machine so if you are interested in having one get in touch with me . .

Norm
Yes it would make a good edc and hand warmer

I will post some piccys of the CNCed and anodised housing as soon as it is done.

(edit)
forgot the pic next to the ultrafire torch

 

[stevemorg]

Troutie,

I might be interested in one of these (depending of course on price!!)- it'll be a nice supplement to the quad but would also be a good "loaner" - enough output for new/ not yet committed night riders to have a go!
Can it work with 2x 18650 cells or will it be a Smudge pack?

cheers

Steve

 

[BillyNoMates]

Hey Troutie,

Ever thought going even smaller on the batteries (14500's)? Chuck some Red LEDs in and it would make a awesome rear light for us roadies...

 

[trout]

Troutie,

I might be interested in one of these (depending of course on price!!)- it'll be a nice supplement to the quad but would also be a good "loaner" - enough output for new/ not yet committed night riders to have a go!
Can it work with 2x 18650 cells or will it be a Smudge pack?

cheers

Steve

Cheers Steve sorry for not replying sooner Yes it will be a cracker to lend out , the batteries are hard wired in and Smudge is supplying them .
we might have a go at one with replaceable batteries also .

Billy no not yet thought about tail lights

 

[marcopolo]

The case size/shape you've made lends its self very well to the sqaure li-po packs. Better to fill out the volume.

It would be fully protected in the case also. And you gain about 20% energy density over LI-ion.

Li-po chargers/LI-ion charges all the same price these days. Usually do both!.

Any heads up on XP-G release date?

Marco.

 

[kombiman]

I would be more keen on replaceable batteries too. Save getting stuck.....

 

[jch79]

Wow, great - count me in! Although, as a commuter, side visibility is super important - any chance you could cut windows to see the side of the end optics?

I'd also be interested in a taillight. :devil:

Great work, thanks for sharing!
:thumbsup: john

 

[trout]

I would be more keen on replaceable batteries too. Save getting stuck.....

We are hoping to be able to plug in a remote battery for extra burn times .

Marco . Like the Blog by the way :twothumbs

Looked in to lipos and they seem heavier also might be a mod for the future.


John
good idea on the side windows but we will get this working before doing something like that . might be a bit annoying when riding though.
chuck in some red XPEs and instant taillight .
might need to turn the current down a tad though.

 

[jch79]

John
good idea on the side windows but we will get this working before doing something like that . might be a bit annoying when riding though.

When you say annoying, did you mean to the bicyclist, or to others? Almost all commuter lights have side visibility (crossing intersections = dangerous!)... it's usually done so that it's shielded from the bicyclist's field of view, but is visible to drivers.

For example, my front light for commuting is the (overly bulky) PlanetBike Blaze 1W, which does a great job of shielding any possible light from the bicyclist, but still has pretty decent side visibility.

FWIW, this light's "pulsing" mode is amazing - it's similar to the PlanetBike SuperFlash taillight - very attention-getting, which is also key for commuting. But it's very bulky (pic makes it look small), considering it's only 2xAA.

:thumbsup: john

 

[trout]

Yes I was meaning distracting for the rider .
just done some testing and there is a fair amount of side visibilty
I have done a MK2 version
I am lending them to a team doing a night section of an adventure race
good testing for them .

 

[marcopolo]

Your first all in one completed! Looks superb.
Did a bit more digging around and the XP-G are slated for October 09' - hopefully just in time for your Christmas rollout!hint!

1000mA XP-G, Vf 9.6v, 1000 lumens, 7.4v LI-ION 2800mAH - I think that comes in at around 2h runtime - not bad for an all in one weighing, what 300g?

Marco.

 

[trout]

Your first all in one completed! Looks superb.
Did a bit more digging around and the XP-G are slated for October 09' - hopefully just in time for your Christmas rollout!hint!

1000mA XP-G, Vf 9.6v, 1000 lumens, 7.4v LI-ION 2800mAH - I think that comes in at around 2h runtime - not bad for an all in one weighing, what 300g?

Marco.

Noooooooo want them sooner than that where is that info from .

300 gms no way :nana: 224 gms inc the bar mount

 

[marcopolo]

^&%dy internet. Can't find the same link I stumbled across! Sorry. I'll keep looking.

224g!!! That is ridiculously light for the amount of light that will be available.

 

[SAVAGESAM]

Trout are these available from you to ship to the U.S. ?