hipFlex

[4thpage]

4.3V/2 = 2.15V per LED. I haven't seen any white LED light with that low an applied voltage. Are you sure? The P7's I have will barely glow at 2.3V applied.

HipFlex should drive around 50mA (average) on the low setting, it is USING PWM of 1A current at any current level under 1A. Maybe your batteries can't handle the high current pulses - like I asked before, have you tested the batteries under load. What type of batteries are they (size & capacity & chemistry etc)?

cheers,
george.

Hmmm, I do see your point there, George, about the low voltage. Battery is 11.1v Li-Ion, 4400 mAh, 3s2p 18650s. I did realize that in my excitement of flying back from the States for Christmas (where I got my battery) to Germany (where I live), I never charged it fully 😳.

I'll let you know how that works out. I can't thank you enough for all your assistance 🙂.

 

[4thpage]

4.3V/2 = 2.15V per LED. I haven't seen any white LED light with that low an applied voltage. Are you sure? The P7's I have will barely glow at 2.3V applied.

HipFlex should drive around 50mA (average) on the low setting, it is USING PWM of 1A current at any current level under 1A. Maybe your batteries can't handle the high current pulses - like I asked before, have you tested the batteries under load. What type of batteries are they (size & capacity & chemistry etc)?

cheers,
george.

Gentlemen,

We have liftoff! Wow, that's bright!

George, the driver is awesome, the menu system beautifully-easy to navigate.

Thanks, to George and Will for all the assistance. I'm quite excited that my first light is finally up and running...that is, as soon as I decide how to insulate my dc jack from the housing. Silicone caulking?

 

[wquiles]

...that is, as soon as I decide how to insulate my dc jack from the housing. Silicone caulking?

You have many choices like silicone, epoxy, hot glue, black electrical tape, kapton tape, etc. -> I would recommend two-part epoxy assuming the surfaces would allow for good adhesion.

 

[4thpage]

You have many choices like silicone, epoxy, hot glue, black electrical tape, kapton tape, etc. -> I would recommend two-part epoxy assuming the surfaces would allow for good adhesion.

I was thinking: my MC-Es are mounted on stars, the hipflex is mounted with a layer of thermal pad material between driver and housing, the switch has a plastic body; so should there even be a problem having the negative battery pole contacting the housing via the dc jack?

 

[wquiles]

I was thinking: my MC-Es are mounted on stars, the hipflex is mounted with a layer of thermal pad material between driver and housing, the switch has a plastic body; so should there even be a problem having the negative battery pole contacting the housing via the dc jack?

In most hand held flashlights, the body of the light carries the negative potential from the batteries, which in several drivers from George/TaskLED is "not" the same potential as the LED -, so one should always proceed with caution.

That being said, without knowing exactly what you have and how you are wiring everything, and without having photos/schematics of what you are doing, it is hard to guess if the negative battery pole contacting the housing via the DC jack would be OK or not.

Will

 

[AnAppleSnail]

I've got a hipFlex question. I'm building a home lighting project, hoping to run the hipFlex for constant-current power out of a laptop charge brick. I've found two error modes - one likely to be from dodgy wiring, the other... either the HipFlex UI is defeating me, or I've toasted something.

1, likely to be bad wiring. All LEDs start flickering rapidly. Sometimes it'll happen immediately, other times they will stay on for a few seconds before flickering.

2, trying to isolate that problem: I connected the LED power wires to a single emitter. Now it is always off, except that when I press the momentary switch the LED blinks dimly half the time. If I plug the hipFlex in and then press the momentary, the LED blinks. Press, nothing. Press, dim blink. Also, if I plug the driver in and press and hold, the LED blinks every other time. When the LED is 'off,' the driver is putting out about 1v. So I can get the LED to dimly pulse, by doing what would normally turn the LEDs off (Plug in power, press momentary switch).

Is there more information I can give you all that will help? Thank you!