Noobie trying to upgrade my old project...please help

[y0bailey]

Hello all. First post here, long time lurker.

A few questions here. I built a light setup a few years back following simple instructions. I can follow directions, but I don't have enough understanding to deviate from the plans....so you guys can help me deviate!

This is the original project, built exactly the same way.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Ultimate-Night-Vision-Headlamp---500+-lumens-with-/?ALLSTEPS

Here is the summary if you don't want to read it:

4 x Luxeon Star 1W Cyan (LXHL-ME1D or LXHL-ME1C) OR Green (LXHL-MM1C or LXHL-MM1D) - $3 each. (the circuit will work just fine with any color LED you want)
LED Dynamics Buckpuck (3021-D-I-1000 or 3021-D-E-1000) - $20
4 x L2Optics/Dialight OP-015 lens - $1 each
4 x L2Optics/Dialight OH-ES1-CL lens holder - $0.30 each
8x AA NiMH rechargeables
2 small toggle switches (digikey 519PB) - $1.50 each

With the new LED lights available (and the discovery that these cyan colored LEDs aren't all they are touted to be) I am wanting to take the old LEDs off and upgrade to a more powerful/efficient setup.


I basically want to use the current buckpuck/battery setup to drive some more efficient LEDs.

More info on the buckpuck

One driver can power one or more Luxeon 1000mA LEDs with no additional circuitry or components

• DC input voltage from 5V to 32V. (The input voltage must be at least 2 volts higher than the forward voltage drop of all series connected LEDs.)
• 1000mA true constant current output regardless of the number of LEDs connected to the driver

Questions:

1) Which LED's would you choose, and how many can this buckpuck and 8xAA (1.2v rechargeables) drive (2? 3? 4?).

2) Which reflectors would you choose for a mountain biking setup. My headlamp is setup for a more direct beam, so I want some spread for these (my handlebar setup). Also would my current reflectors/lenses work? I want to think they would, but I don't know if the luxeon lenses would work with newer LEDs (ex: CREE).

3) Any suggestions for mounting? Anywhere I can just buy a kit with the LEDs/lens/housing?

Thanks guys and gals, and I hope I didn't break any of the rules by posting this.

 

[Szemhazai]

For 3-4 led sets you should take in mind one of the Cutter all-in-one sets :
http://www.cutter.com.au/proddetail.php?prod=cut757

A bit expensive butt you will get everything you need.

Much cheaper version is to buy Quad led flashlight cut it, add bar mount switch and cable to the battery pack (these kind of flashlight costs about 50-60$).
Quad Cree on eBay

 

[Jarl]

Ahh yes, the cyan instructable. Saw that when I was doing mine and thought "lol no".

Basically, if I were you and wanted to salvage as much of the original project as possible, I'd rip off the old LED's and lenses, clean up the heatsink, and buy 4 cree Q5's. Find a source for cree-compatible optics which you can swap out the lenses on, get a load of extra lenses so you can experiment with different beam angles, then put it back together wiring the 4 LED's in 2s2p (as in the instructable), and marvel at the better colours.


If I was doing it from scratch, I'd use 2x18650 lithium batteries to drive 2 cree Q5s at 700ma on the bars, both with 25 degree optics, and 2 more Q5's, one with a 15' optic and one with a 6' optic helmet mounted, again off 2x18650.