Just finished my first 'Light Engine'......?

[Anglepoise]

Just finished my first \'Light Engine\'......?

I bought my first Aleph II last week , and all it needed was a LE.

I chose a Wizard 2, at 750 ma because I wanted to use a single re chargeable r123 battery and the Wiz has a built in cut off at around 2.8 volts and this will make sure that I do not run the r123's to the danger area.
Soldered it up today and boy does the epoxy set fast. Just got the E screw on in time.

I am going to need a 5 ohm total resistance to make the second stage work well in the switch.

Anyway my question. The o ring does not stop the reflector moving forward all the time. Now I realize why some builders epoxy the reflector so it stays in place. I do not want to do that and need some advise from members that have found the same thing. The o ring starts off fine but gradually slips down the side.

 

[Chop]

Re: Just finished my first \'Light Engine\'......?

Anglepoise,

Congrats on your first build. I'm sure that it won't be your last.

I'm one of the guys that epoxies the reflectors in. I do this under the assumption that you should need to remove the reflector unless it gets screwed up. Once it's screwed up, you won't mind screwing it up to get it out.

When I need to remove an epoxied reflector, I just cook the head at about 170 degrees for 10 minutes or so. When the epoxy gets to this temp, it is fairly soft. You could then just put the head, face down, on a work bench and use an appropriate punch to knock the reflector out. I've had to do it quite a few times. You can then scrape the epoxy away with a dental pick or something.

If you absolutely don't want to use the above method, then the proper way to assemble the head is to first drop the reflector into the head. Then install the o-ring. After installing the o-ring, use something like the mixer that came with the AA expoxy to seat the o-ring into the groove between the outer rim of the reflector and the head. After that, just install the lens. If you choose, you could use an o-ring that is a bit thicker. Just make sure that you use one that will form a seal between the reflector and the head; otherwise, it might leak.

Depending on the Vf of your luxeon, I've found that 4 ohms works well with the Wiz2. I just solder 5 20 ohm resistors to the PCB. They are just what I keep in stock.

 

[tylerdurden]

Re: Just finished my first \'Light Engine\'......?

What he said.

 

[Anglepoise]

Re: Just finished my first \'Light Engine\'......?

Thanks for the advise. I did not realize that you could use more than 2 resistors on the McE2s switch.I tried a test with a 5 Ohm resistor and it was the only resistor that would light and /or not flicker when I had the two stage switch on low.

 

[Darell]

Re: Just finished my first \'Light Engine\'......?

What tylerdurden said about what chop said.

More than two resistors? I have some switch boards with six resistors. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Chop]

Re: Just finished my first \'Light Engine\'......?

Yeah, Darell's PCBs look like bicycle wheels. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/poke2.gif

Darell, Paul and all the rest of ya, have a good Easter.

Anglepoise,

If it lights on 5 ohms go with it. You might just have a lux with a really low Vf, and that's a good thing.