Spike Light - V3

[borrower]

Ash, I wonder if you're selling battery cases separately? If so, what are we looking at, price-wise, for one or two (just the case; no wiring) shipped to California?

Thanks!

 

[ahorton]

A few people have asked about buying the battery cases. Unfortunately, they take so much effort to make, that I'd need to sell them for $50+$10 shipping. They also wouldn't work as a kit since they needs special equipment to assemble.

However, the new case I'm going to make next year will be cheaper (I'm aiming for $20 or less) and DIY-friendly. Plus it'll be a much better case anyway. So I'm encouraging people to wait for that one.

 

[borrower]

Cool -- I'll look forward to "case, mark 2".

As a far aside, have you tried applying a little heat (with a blowtorch) to your current battery cases? I've done it to some plastics (delrin, I think) and it's smoothed out the finish beautifully.

 

[ahorton]

Ha! It's more like "case, mark 50"! Sometime I'll take a picture of all the designs that didn't work out. I have boxes of failed prototypes.

Some of them were in ABS and I could use heat + acetone vapour to smooth them out. The result was stunning so I invested a bit of time and money in them, but they ended up not being strong enough. Others were in aluminium and I could buff them on a polishing wheel, but the cost and weight was prohibitive.

Currently I'm using a polyurethane reinforced with carbon fiber in a couple of important spots. It doesn't smooth well with heat or any chemicals I know.

 

[eh4]

I've heard reference to the Spike lights over the last year, just now read this thread and really enjoyed it. You have developed a wonderful little light ahorton, little in the best sense, seems really well thought out.
I had a couple of half baked ideas for you.
-Independent battery packs with a hydrophobic material used for the power cord plug and the battery terminal housing... Might improve/simplify water proofing with battery changes, the user can get an extra pack if they want to.
-A "Kit" version sparing you the assembly time and trouble. The kit version gets "Kit" or something like that stamped on the case and relieves you of any bs that might come from QC issues in assembly. You'd just have to document the labor of assembly, maybe make a few videos to go with and mark it down a little bit lower cost and a much quicker availability... Also the buy back plan that you mentioned would need to be modified or eliminated with the kit version. I'd buy one any ways. ;-)

It looks beautiful, your light is going on my short list of must haves that I can't afford right now along with McGizmo's and saabluster's, but I will buy one when I'm able, by V4 if not V3.
Keep up the good work and have fun!

 

[ahorton]

Thanks for those comments eh4.

The V1 and V2 had independent, sealed battery packs, but I had a lot of trouble sending them outside Australia. Plus I like the idea of people being able to upgrade their 18650 cells without needing me.

The V3s all come with a tube of high-viscosity silicone grease, which (as you suggest) helps the waterproofing a lot.

The kit is an interesting idea. I sent a few V1s out as kits, but haven't done any since.
I never thought of stamping them with 'kit'. That would avoid some of my fears.

One of the reasons I'm concerned about sending out kits, is that I traded 'ease-of-assembly' for 'low-weight' in a few places. Some bits are very fiddly, and others only give you one chance to get it right.

The new battery case fixes a few of the assembly challenges, but not the ones in the lighthead. I'm hoping to offer the new battery case with a few different brackets so that people can upgrade their other headlights. I've been doing such upgrades for friends and they work out really well. People are amazed how much better their camping-store 3xAA headlights work with 2P 18650s. My only concern is that some headlights won't handle the current that the 18650s can deliver, but none have burnt out yet.

 

[eh4]

Thanks for those comments eh4.

The V1 and V2 had independent, sealed battery packs, but I had a lot of trouble sending them outside Australia. Plus I like the idea of people being able to upgrade their 18650 cells without needing me.

Thanks!
My suggestion adds an additional possible point of failure at the plug/battery case interface, but just to be clear I was imagining you supplying empty, interchangeable battery cases
...which could be filled by the user with charged batteries in the civilized world and taken down under as sealed battery cases and used as modular packs instead of opening the protective cases to replace batteries underground. They could order just one and replace batteries conventionally underground, or buy as many packs as they wished and pre load them before crawling around in the grit and mud.

 

[ahorton]

I understand better know.

It would be pretty easy to implement in the current design if anyone wants it. Would the Magicshine connectors from DX be good enough? I like them better than the big screw-in O-ring designs that the first V1s had. Even though they were more waterproof, they were big and clunky.

It would also need a small change to the mechanism that holds the battery case. This is not hard to do, but it would become a little heavier. In any case, the next version will do it better.

 

[eh4]

I looked but couldn't quite find the magic shine connectors.
You've been refining your design and would know best, I was thinking something like these http://www.adafruit.com/products/743
Or even
http://www.mtt-trading.fi/cat/images/superseal_2-nap_0711_aaa.jpg
It sounds like you tried the threaded/o-ring type connector before and found them clunky...
Actually, if the Spike v3 is set up to allow the user to replace the cable easily enough if it were damaged, then anyone that wished could just order a couple extra of the strong/ugly packs and play with any sort of power connector options on their own.

I love that you're thinking ahead to future open source UI. In post 134 it was mentioned how desirable it would be to run spot and flood simultaneously and be able to independently adjust their levels. Sounds tricky to me but that might be the sort of thing to be refined by customers once the open source was happening.

 

[Lips]

Did you consider finning the lamp module for heat dissipation?

Having both flood and spot on with adjustable levels for each would be awesome down the road! (with latest greatest LEDs :candle:)


P.S. you get a minute maybe put the pics of the V3 in the 1st post so readers can see the fantastic headlamp without digging through thread!

 

[uk_caver]

Personally, having been a long-time user (>8 years) of lights with fully independent control of the LEDs, and having recently experimented with independent control of power and beam blend, I think there's quite a lot to be said for the latter.
For myself, I probably change power level rather more often than beam blend, but I guess caving does involve quite variable 'horizon' distances, as well as more than the odd spell of sitting around waiting for people.

Single-button control obviously makes things harder than a 2-way switch would, but a brief press for power level cycling and longer press (or double-click) for beam blend cycling might be feasible.

 

[ahorton]

eh4, Yes I've played around with similar cables and plugs to those when I had sealed battery packs for the V1 and V2. I found marine shops were a good source of quality plugs. If anyone does want a V3 with a particular plug, it would be easy for me to do when assembling. I just hadn't considered plugs after I went to the 18650-holder design. As a worst case, one could always just cut the standard cable and add whatever plug they like.

The beam mixing and open UIs have got a lot of promise, but I just haven't gotten to them yet. Hopefully someone else who is a better programmer than me will pick it up. Otherwise I'll have to sit down and work it all out oneday.

Lips, I did consider fins for heat dissipation, but found that the current design does a pretty good job anyway. It's not actually a high-powered device. With everything on full-power it only burns about 9W. I found that by using aluminium (7075 alloy) screws, heat transfers fairly well to the front cover which adds bonus surface area. It gets warm very quickly, but never overheats. The circuit will automatically lower the power level if it senses the MCPCB getting too warm, but I've never seen it happen when mounted in the body.

Some of the other headlights I made were 40W monsters. They needed fins. Sadly they just didn't work well as headlamps. The V3 was meant to last a whole night, be comfortable, and not bounce when I run. I usually only run my flood at 15% (approx 0.5-0.7W) during all-night navigation events and that is all the light I need.

uk_caver, Blending beams sure is a complex game. I'll be the first to admit that my flood + spot doesn't make a great combined beam. The spot is tiny, cool-white, intense, and full of artifacts. The flood is broad, neutral-white, diffused, and almost artifact-free. They serve two different functions well. To make a nice blended beam, you really need something in the middle. You can improve the blended beam by not using a frosted lens over the floods and changing the optics, but then the flood is not so nice to walk with.

 

[borrower]

... Would the Magicshine connectors from DX be good enough? I like them better than the big screw-in O-ring designs that the first V1s had. Even though they were more waterproof, they were big and clunky.
...

For what it's worth, all my home-made headlamps have the MS connector. I like the fact I can get cheap cables, and that I can easily swap 1/2/4 battery configurations. (4p on an extension cable in my backpack, lest you think I'm going to run around with 4 batteries on the back of my head!) The downside, as noted, is the clunky factor. And trying to pull the connectors apart with cold, wet hands.

 

[eh4]

Well, all in all I am sold. If it weren't for the fact that it looks like you're catching up awfully quick with backlog for Christmas, I'd put in an order now but I need to get the money together first... Would hate to get in line and have the pay date arrive before I had it together. That would be embarrassing to me.

 

[ahorton]

That was something I liked about the MS connectors; that they just pull apart. No screws or locking clips to fiddle with. This was a big consideration when making the V3 battery case. I wanted something that could be opened/closed in the dark with sore, gloved hands. A big fat velcro strap is pretty easy compared to clips and screws.

 

[uk_caver]

Certainly, a hard spot is trickier to blend - my regular light has a hard-edged and unavoidably lumpy smooth-reflector-based spot, and if I want an essentially 'assisted flood' beam I tend to have relatively small amounts mixed with a flood (something like a 1:10-1:20 ratio).
With a softer-edged TIR optic spot it's possible to have a rather more equal mix (relative to spot central intensity) before the spot starts to spoil and then dominate the flood, and I guess an aspheric is effectively at the other extreme, beyond most reflectors.

At least for people not especially focussed on having their flood beam 'pure', there might be some level at which the spot helps more than it spoils, like walking where a path in the middle distance needs to be repeatedly checked on, where an aesthetically imperfect beam might be less annoying to some than having to keep switching beams.
Though it is definitely a matter of individual taste.

 

[eh4]

How hard is it to replace the cable at the light end?

 

[Lips]

.
.
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Got to thinking about running both Spot and Flood with usable beam last night while sleeping!


Played around with a Princeton Tec & large Deft aspheric and some Glad Press'n Seal. For sure not an ideal solution to take the edge off the aspherical spot vs having something made to diffuse the aspheric but it works...


My guess is what would be most important to control individually would be the flood as when you cover the Deft with press'n seal it really diffuses the spot light but still gives more throw than open emitters. In other words it cuts allot of the power out so you need to run it hard to get the light past the diffusing material... Looking forward to playing around with this with both LED's set to on with the V3... Good flood with a little more floody spot may be a good thing when you want it!

 

[ahorton]

How hard is it to replace the cable at the light end?

Practically impossible.

#1 The MCPCB is very hard to solder to when outside the body and much worse once it's glued in.
#2 The access is restricted once it's glued in.
#3 The connection is flooded with epoxy to hold and seal the cable.


I can make a version with a metal cable gland (solves #3) and a thermally-insulated solder connection (solves #1 and #2). I used this a lot when prototyping. The downside is that it's heavier, uglier, damages the cable (after years of use), and doesn't seal as reliably.

 

[ahorton]

.

Played around with a Princeton Tec & large Deft aspheric and some Glad Press'n Seal. For sure not an ideal solution to take the edge off the aspherical spot vs having something made to diffuse the aspheric but it works...

The material I found best is a plastic sheet designed to stick to glass windows and diffuse light. DC-Fix make the one I used and I think a few other CPFers have had similar good experience with it. I have some spare if you'd like a piece with your V3.

Or there are more permanent options. If I sand-blast the lens, then you get a fairly efficient diffuser. I already do this for the flood, but not the spot. So the lens that comes with the V3 is sand-blasted on the flat bit, but not the asphere. Let me know if you'd like a non-standard lens (eg totally clear or totally sand-blasted).