Cutter Quad led and optic beamshots.

[trout]

Here we are at last the beamshots for the Cutter Quad optics and R2 leds and in my opinion they are
quite good . These pics were taken in the same place I have used for other beamshots so the comparison
will be similar.
I apologise for the wonky angle for these shots but the distance is the same as all the others.
camera is a cannon s40 / F2.8 @ 2 seconds .
the leds are driven by a Bflex and 15 volt Li Ion battery fully charged and reading 16.37 volts.
I have measured the VF of all 4 R2`s and they are 14.4volts @ 1000ma .
first up the 14 degree optic at a distance of 12 metres from the door.

and 25 metres from door

next 45 metres from the sign

and now the 4 degree optic the camera setting are the same and the distances too
4 degree @ 12 mtres

4 degree @ 25 mtrs

4 degree @ 45 mtrs

full size here
http://pics-by-chris.fotoblog.org.uk/c1438628_97.html

 

[dom]

Hey -nice going Trout -got them quick!
You won't have much runtime with your 4 batteries now though -will you go up to 18.5V?

Thanks for the pix

Cheers
Dom

 

[HEY HEY ITS HENDO]

way to go trout !!:thumbsup:....
i expected these pics within a couple of hours of your other post .....
my light projects are timed on a calendar!
yes the brighter-ness of the quad is way better
Dom, hot off the charger 5 pack would be 20v+
.............. i smell nFlex/7 cell cookin ...mmmmm

 

[znomit]

Outstanding! Though I am somewhat annoyed my triple is now looking dated ... :sick2:

I emailled cutter asking if a jumper could be put on the board to allow the quad to run as two parallel strings of two, 500mA through each off a bflex and only need 8v. Matching Vf's isn't so critical as they are being under driven.
For us roadies 600lm is plenty (heck, 200 is fine most of the time).

 

[WeLight]

Our PCB is currently series wired but we could possible do a design with P/S if there was sufficient demand

the beamshots look very cool

 

[dom]

Hey Hendo
You're absolutely right -keep on forgetting the bFlex have gone down to 20V max -bummer.

Hi Znomit
Parallel -hmmm -from all i've read it doesn't sound like a good idea -probably OK as you say at lower current -but can you see anyone sticking to 500ma? LOL

May as well use the Maxflex and 11.1V if you'll be using li-ion.

Cheers
Dom

 

[trout]

Hey -nice going Trout -got them quick!
You won't have much runtime with your 4 batteries now though -will you go up to 18.5V?

Thanks for the pix

Cheers
Dom

Cheers Dom
Yes that is a problem when the batteries settle down to normal output then the bflex will go out of reg .

for the time being I will use my dewalt 18v ni cad drill battery in my back pack .

Hey hey
yes I know sad isnt it but it beats watching telly also very quiet in the trout household after I forgot valentines day:scowl:

I only needed to swap the triple out of my mates light so it was easy.

Chris

 

[trout]

This is turning into a right bummer battery wise.

I have "15 volt " li ion which fully charged are 16.4 v and am told then settle down to 15.3 v for most of the runtime . so not good for the Bflex and quad setup . so it then goes out of regulation , what is it driving the leds at .
also no good for the Maxflex untill the voltage drops .

next idea was to use my dewalt ni cad drill battery , it says 18 volt but fresh off the charger it reads 21.1 v
the bflex only does upto 20 v

I dont really want to buy new batteries just now
what do I do , now I have tasted the quad I want to use it any ideas welcome.

or is the only option maxflex and lower voltage batterys.

 

[ifor powell]

This is turning into a right bummer battery wise.

I have "15 volt " li ion which fully charged are 16.4 v and am told then settle down to 15.3 v for most of the runtime . so not good for the Bflex and quad setup . so it then goes out of regulation , what is it driving the leds at .
also no good for the Maxflex untill the voltage drops .

You should try measuring the voltage across your 4 leds at the full on level. If you have been lucky with your leds then it will be somthing like close to 14V (I get anout 14.5 at 1000ma for 4 my 4 R2s) and you may actualy stay in regulation for two thirds of your runtime and then drop out. I would be happy with this, as the battery is running down the level will slowly start to drop and you get a longer tailing off period where the light degrades. Of course you may be unlucky and read back 16V from your leds in which case you will never drive them full power with a bflex and only 4 cells.

You can tell if you are getting badly out of regulation if you are in the 5 level mode, basicaly after a while slowly droping L5 will actualy be the same as L4 which will slowly all sink to L3 etc. the effect is that you try switching and see no change in the light for the upper levels.

Ifor

 

[trout]

Cheers ifor
I measured the 4 leds and got 14.4v @ 1000ma so I think I got a good set .
I will have to suck it and see how it performs .
At least it wont damage any thing . and when my mate gets a battery I will have a spare .

 

[ifor powell]

OK I just tested 4 AA sized Li-ion cells with 4 leds, and it dose not realy as well as I indicated in my earlier post. 4 Leds are at 14.5 at the full rate of 0.96A of a Nflex (tested with 6 cells). 4 cells measured 16.45 open circute. I conected everything up with three meters measuring voltage to the leds, curent to the leds and battery voltage closer to the nflex then the batteries. At switch on I only got 0.56A, 15.1V and 13.83 after 10 mins I was down to 0.48, 14.5 and 13.6. An hour in I was down at 0.33, 14.0 and 12.9. So if you want to run at the full level it is a non starter.

 

[trout]

Cheers Ifor
It looks like the quad led set up is not the nirvana we all hoped for:mecry:

My solution is to reclaim an old bflex ( 24 v input ) from an old light and run with my drill battery ( 21v fully charged ) and see what battery and driver set ups others come up with .

Everything will have moved on by next winter with more powerful leds at less battery power needed. :thinking:

My first ride with the quad , and it is very bright compared to my mates triple very noticeable difference .
But the 4 degree optic is a bit too spotty for near the bike but great for long range werewolfe lookout in the woods.
I think the 14 degree will be the better choice for helmet and bar mount.

 

[StevelKnievel]

I've noticed that too, the 4 deg is almost too intense of a spot for off road bike use. With as much light as is coming out of these triple and quad Cree setups I like the spread better than the spot. I think the 4 deg optic is perfect for dynamo lights on the road though.

I think the 11.1v pack with maxflex2 is the way to go for the quad, BTW.

 

[Geir68]

But the 4 degree optic is a bit too spotty for near the bike but great for long range werewolfe lookout in the woods.
I think the 14 degree will be the better choice for helmet and bar mount.

I recived 4deg and 14deg optics from Cutter this weekend , to upgrade the old lumiled MR11 lens that Cutter use to sell with their kit.
I had a short ride tonight at some local trails with the 3 Cree, 14deg helmet mounted light. For technical trails the 14deg is close to perfect i.m.o, but I miss some penetration when the speed is high. Mayby a 10deg would be the perfect lens for offroad use?

 

[WeLight]

The battery issue with the quad is an issue mostly with the Taskled drivers, however it is possible to use Maxflex2 with 11.1v LIPOLY of use another driver i.e. we kit up with the Buckpuck which as a 32VDC max input, it does not have the smarts of a Bflex of Maxflex but will certainly drive 4 leds

 

[trout]

I recived 4deg and 14deg optics from Cutter this weekend , to upgrade the old lumiled MR11 lens that Cutter use to sell with their kit.
I had a short ride tonight at some local trails with the 3 Cree, 14deg helmet mounted light. For technical trails the 14deg is close to perfect i.m.o, but I miss some penetration when the speed is high. Mayby a 10deg would be the perfect lens for offroad use?

I can say that having had a ride with the 14 degree quad from cutters that it is not lacking in penetration or spread and is a great light.

Cheers Mark
you have just reminded me I have a buckpuck in my parts bin I had forgotton about . that will go in my second quad set up .
and when are you going to start teasing us about the R4`s

 

[ifor powell]

As R2's look to be in short suply I think we will have quite a wait for anything better. I think I will be waiting till after the Sumer before I look at upgrades.

Ifor

 

[trout]

only posting to to 100 posts , sad I know .

I just wanted to be upgraded to to flashaholic :laughing:

 

[SAVAGESAM]

So..... What's the verdict?