Diamond Dragon in 2.5" Throwmaster reflector, NICE!

[AlexGT]

Hi all!

I just finished moding a FM Throwmaster reflector for use with a Diamond Dragon led from Arc Mania and I like it.





I installed it in a Brightlumens P7 heatsink so I can drive the led hard! I am currently direct driving it from a 1 C AW li-Ion battery, anyone knows how much current is the led getting?

I am waiting on a 7135 driver to make a custom driver to run it at 2 amps with modes.

It seems to throw as good as the incandescent version with the reflector, here are some beamshots compared to another custom lights.



From left to right:

DSXOJ driven by a Triflupic on max with 2.5 throwmaster reflector

R2 WC driven by a flupic on max with a 50 x 35 mm aspheric from surplus shed

Diamond Dragon W5AP-NY-5Q direct driven by 1 Li-ion C in a throwmaster reflector.

R2 WC in a Jet II IBS on Max using Li-ion 123's.

As you can see the Diamond Dragon's hotspot is the smallest of them all even smaller than the aspheric! The throw is awesome!

I'll see if I can take some long range beamshots with it.

Thanks for looking!

AlexGT

 

[ambientmind]

Nice light! Looks to be really bright! As for the driver...the 7135 chips need at least 1V over the Vf of the LED to regulate correctly. So if the Vf of that LED at 2A is about 3.6V, you'll need and Vin of about 4.6V to get the full 2A from the driver. So long story short it might just be best to direct drive it from one cell. Those AW C cells can put out some serious amperage. You can measure it at the tailcap with a multi meter to know for sure.

 

[thegeek]

...the 7135 chips need at least 1V over the Vf of the LED to regulate correctly. So if the Vf of that LED at 2A is about 3.6V, you'll need and Vin of about 4.6V to get the full 2A from the driver.

I don't think that's correct, going from this thread: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=192925, it looks like they work fine at much smaller differences that one volt.

 

[AlexGT]

I've decided to run it from 2 C cells using 2 SOB 1000 drivers in paralell for 2 amps.

I'll post beamshots tonight.

AlexGT

 

[ambientmind]

I don't think that's correct, going from this thread: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=192925, it looks like they work fine at much smaller differences that one volt.

Good idea with the SOBs to drive it.
If you look at the 1400mA chart in your link, you'll see that the regulation stops and current output drops off considerably when the Vin drops below 4V. So you really only get the full regulated output for a short while off of one Li-Ion cell.

 

[thegeek]

Good idea with the SOBs to drive it.
If you look at the 1400mA chart in your link, you'll see that the regulation stops and current output drops off considerably when the Vin drops below 4V. So you really only get the full regulated output for a short while off of one Li-Ion cell.

For the particular LED used in the test you are correct. What I was more concerned with was the difference between Vin and Vout. The LED used for that test seems to have a rather high Vf, which is why Vin needed to stay so high. For a Vf of 3.6 he is probably better off going the route he is going, but for LEDs with a lower Vf the linear regulators can give very good efficiencies.

 

[AlexGT]

Well I just installed the 2 SOB's 1000 ma in parallel and the output seems a bit brighter than before but not much, Now I can use 2 Li-ion C's! I like the throw of this thing! and the led seems to be running cool with the massive P7 heatsink.

Beamshots after dark.

AlexGT

 

[thegeek]

Very nice. I'm hoping to get one of these into a KL6 with a shark buck soon. I'm really looking forward to it after seeing your results.

 

[AlexGT]

Here is a beamshot of the Diamond Dragon Led driven at 2 amps, distance to the fence behind the tree is 85 yards (255 feet) according to google maps notice the spill



In comparison this is a R2 WC aspheric mag driven by a flupic on max, no spill, you can see that the hotspot on the throwmaster is smaller.



I wonder if I can drive the led a bit harder than 2 amps, what would be a good value? 2.2? 2.5? :devil: would it yield more lumens?

AlexGT

 

[ma_sha1]

If the 2A is brighter than direct drive,
would that indicate your previous direct drive current was <2A?

I am planning on a Dimond Dragon direct drive with 18650,
Do you think it's safe for the lED now after your various try?

Well I just installed the 2 SOB's 1000 ma in parallel and the output seems a bit brighter than before but not much, Now I can use 2 Li-ion C's! I like the throw of this thing! and the led seems to be running cool with the massive P7 heatsink.

Beamshots after dark.

AlexGT

 

[AlexGT]

I cannot tell if the DD current was less than 2A because I don't have a multimeter, and it was just direct eyeball test, the difference was slight.

I have used the led for longer periods of time now and I can say that with the P7 heatsink from brightlumens the led can run with no heating problems at 2 amps.

AlexGT