Gransee
Flashlight Enthusiast
Well Christmas and the new year are fast approaching. And with it the holiday break in manufacturing that our contractors take. Most of our current projects are planned for January now since there is not many work days left in this month.
The LS3 is still waiting on LEDs from Lumileds. We have managed to scrounge together a small number of production revision units, enough to do some more testing. One thing we are finding is the 2watt level simply is too much for a single 123 cell. The system is just too inefficient at that current consumption. Our engineer tweaked the circuit and figured that we would get a better mix of perfomance if we adjusted the power level to 1.5watts to the LED. This also causes the circuit to regulate better meaning that the 6v pack now increases the run time instead of increasing the power level.
There is still more testing to do but I feel good about this power level for the LS3. Run time has gone from less than a 1hr at 2 watts to over 1.5 hours at 1.5watts. Similiar run time to the LS1 and LS2 infact.
Another good reason to dial the power down a bit is the short life span of the 5watters. When we first announced the LS3, we thought the part would have a standard 100,000 hr lifespan. But now Lumileds has changed the spec to 500 hours. This can be extended by lowering the heat experienced by the part. This is achieved by a combination of derating the power level and using a great heatsink.
The original design goal of the LS3 remains the same. We hope to replace the LS1 and LS2. The delivered specs should be the same run time as the LS1/LS2, same package size and weight, same battery (with an option for longer run time) all while delivering more light through greater efficiency.
I anticipate that one of the biggest challenges of the LS3 while be getting sufficient quality emitters from Lumileds. As a result, we will continue to offer either the LS1 or LS2 (which ever is brighter) until then.
Peter Gransee
The LS3 is still waiting on LEDs from Lumileds. We have managed to scrounge together a small number of production revision units, enough to do some more testing. One thing we are finding is the 2watt level simply is too much for a single 123 cell. The system is just too inefficient at that current consumption. Our engineer tweaked the circuit and figured that we would get a better mix of perfomance if we adjusted the power level to 1.5watts to the LED. This also causes the circuit to regulate better meaning that the 6v pack now increases the run time instead of increasing the power level.
There is still more testing to do but I feel good about this power level for the LS3. Run time has gone from less than a 1hr at 2 watts to over 1.5 hours at 1.5watts. Similiar run time to the LS1 and LS2 infact.
Another good reason to dial the power down a bit is the short life span of the 5watters. When we first announced the LS3, we thought the part would have a standard 100,000 hr lifespan. But now Lumileds has changed the spec to 500 hours. This can be extended by lowering the heat experienced by the part. This is achieved by a combination of derating the power level and using a great heatsink.
The original design goal of the LS3 remains the same. We hope to replace the LS1 and LS2. The delivered specs should be the same run time as the LS1/LS2, same package size and weight, same battery (with an option for longer run time) all while delivering more light through greater efficiency.
I anticipate that one of the biggest challenges of the LS3 while be getting sufficient quality emitters from Lumileds. As a result, we will continue to offer either the LS1 or LS2 (which ever is brighter) until then.
Peter Gransee