Need help for light-weight & long-runtime headlamp

[zgurl]

Hi,

I am quite new to CPF as well as flashlights addiction and I am still in search of the perfect light for long night runs. But I guess all of you are (for your own purposes)!!

Since I cannot find it, I am thinking of building it since this can also be a source of fun

.

My needs are quite simple:
- headlamp (I am already happy with hand flashlights form fenix for example)
- very light (the lightest, the best)
- long runtime
- "medium" brightness, let say ~40 lumens (close to my fenix L1T)

The solution I imagine is the following:
- 2AA
- Cree Xr-E
- simple reflector (rather wide angle)
- simple board + on-off switch
- large elastic band + small aluminium plate for fixing/heat sinking + tyre tube for fixing and "waterproofing" the whole

My problem is that, for now, I cannot find a simple driver to underdrive the cree (I donnot need the full brightness). I was thinking of something like the
micropeak of luxdrive, but it delivers 350mA and I don't need that much! I would prefer 100 or 200 mA (will it be enough to get 40 lumens?).

Any suggestion is wellcomed.

Zgurl

 

[TMorita]

What I do is take a TerraLux TLE-20 and desolder the Nichia Rigel, and it becomes a half-watt driver. It'll draw 150ma at 3 volts.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/mifledupform.html

Toshi

 

[zgurl]

What I do is take a TerraLux TLE-20 and desolder the Nichia Rigel, and it becomes a half-watt driver. It'll draw 150ma at 3 volts.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/mifledupform.html

Toshi

Thanks for the link Toshi, it can be the answer to my problem. Is it easy to remove the nichia? I can not really decide from the pictures.

 

[farmall]

That is a great idea. I will have to give that a try.

 

[paulr]

I've wanted a 1AA headlamp for a long time and have been playing with the idea of simply mounting a Fenix L1D CE or L0D CE head into a small headlamp body, wiring it to one AA cell. At 40 lumens runtime with 1AA should be over 4 hours from 1aa, which I think is plenty. If I need the 8 total hours I'd get from two AA's, I'd rather have the weight of the second cell in my pocket than have it strapped to my head, even if it means I have to sit down and swap out the cell after 4 hours.

 

[TMorita]

Thanks for the link Toshi, it can be the answer to my problem. Is it easy to remove the nichia? I can not really decide from the pictures.

Yep, just a light touch with a soldering iron on both sides, maybe some desoldering braid.

Toshi

 

[TMorita]

If you're feeling lazy, you can just drop the TLE-20 into an Optronics Nightblaster and it'll give you a regulated 0.5 watt 2AA light for about $20.

You will need to use a reamer to ream out the reflector hole for this to work.

Toshi

 

[Meduza]

you can order the drivers from the shoppe with custom current configs, i am sure that you can order a driver that gives you the 100-200ma you want!

 

[TMorita]

you can order the drivers from the shoppe with custom current configs, i am sure that you can order a driver that gives you the 100-200ma you want!

Erm, have you modded headlamps at all?

There usually isn't space in a headlamp for a sandwich-style board. There's no flat circular space behind the LED.

My favorite headlamp for modding is the Ray-o-vac 3-in-1, and there's absolutely no space for a sandwich, but there's a rectangular space about 0.5" x 0.5" x 0.3" which is perfect for a MicroPuck in a buck/boost configuration.

In other headlamps, I've put either a MicroPuck or a TLE-20 between the reflector and Luxeon/Cree because that's the only room available.

Toshi

 

[zgurl]

Thanks to you guys!

In fact I did not get that I could order some custom driver at the shoppe. Maybe it is also a good solution so that I can later change the resistor if the obtained brightness/runtime ratio does not suit my needs.

Toshi,
I am not really concerned with the space issue since I am not modding but building form 0... Or more precisely trying to do so