SSC P7 headlamp?

[ittnofjas]

Hi!

New here, but have followed threads with great interrest.

Strange though, it looks hard to find cheap (Deal Extreme...) headlamps wtih the SSC P7 LED yet. True? Do I have to build one myself?

If so, does any of you have good experience with building P7 into hedlamps? I need a small size headlamp for XC biking and skiing... Thankfull for any help.

PS! Today I use a customized Petzl Zoom, where I have removed the lampholder inside for a std. 12V GU5,3 socket from a house interior downlight. The std. 12/20W GU 5,3 halogen lamp fits perfectly inside. I have drilled small holes in the front glass to reduce heat. I have a 12V 4Ah battery in a buttpack. Heavy but OK. Would be thankfull for ideas on something lighter and better built.

Thankfull for feedback


- ittnofjas

 

[neoseikan]

Hi. ittnofjas. Welcome to CPF. If you use a petzl headlamp as the room for P7, then, you should pay more attention to thermal management.
You should find a metal part to conduct the heat from the P7, and then conduct it to the air. Enough area is needed. Maybe you can use a thermal sink from the cpu fan, but it's too heavy.

Hi!

New here, but have followed threads with great interrest.

Strange though, it looks hard to find cheap (Deal Extreme...) headlamps wtih the SSC P7 LED yet. True? Do I have to build one myself?

If so, does any of you have good experience with building P7 into hedlamps? I need a small size headlamp for XC biking and skiing... Thankfull for any help.

PS! Today I use a customized Petzl Zoom, where I have removed the lampholder inside for a std. 12V GU5,3 socket from a house interior downlight. The std. 12/20W GU 5,3 halogen lamp fits perfectly inside. I have drilled small holes in the front glass to reduce heat. I have a 12V 4Ah battery in a buttpack. Heavy but OK. Would be thankfull for ideas on something lighter and better built.

Thankfull for feedback


- ittnofjas

 

[gillestugan]

You need a lot of area to cool a P7 at maximum level. It is hard to fit a heatsink large enough to a zoom (I've tried). One way is to replace the reflector and housing with a diecast aluminum box, for example this type . Then you can use the whole box as heatsink and place the electronics safely inside.
Another reason why P7 headlamps is hard to find is that it's been hard to find good drivers for it.

 

[Mick]

This is four P7's driven by a TaskLED hipFlex driver with a 18 volt lithium ion battery. Just a drawing at this time.

 

[gillestugan]

What a monster! It looks really good. If you are going to get the housing machined would be interested in buying one or two.

 

[Mick]

I should be cutting metal soon. This is prototype number 2. We decided that having everything mounted to the helmet was the way to go. This made the
unit longer. It is 3 inches (75 mm) in diameter by 2.75 deep.
See the number 1 prototype here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cavertim/sets/72157612843116588/

 

[Tidra]

Mick,

how heavy is this monster???

Thank you,
Iztok

 

[yellow]

there is a simple reason You dont find (good) P7 led headlamps: it makes no sense!

even a single die led at full power gets brutally hot there, but might be cooled enough with some moving air (when thermal path is good, thats an extension of the sink into the outside).
A P7 at full is impossible to cool while normal headlamp use.
The only way to do that good were when diving

running it at lower current does not really give any bonuses
(in theory a bit brighter, but in reality the same. Wider beam could also be achieved with single die led)


PS: Drilling holes into the body = allowing dust, water, debrits, ..., to get into the lamp. Not good

 

[Moddoo]

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=222588

seep post #30.

This would be great for biking or skiing.
It can handle the heat with that kind of airflow easily.

I am getting some p7 specific reflectors soon for testing.
right now, it's got a ton of light everywhere, with a large "hot" spot.

 

[bubotech.com]

there is a simple reason You dont find (good) P7 led headlamps: it makes no sense!

even a single die led at full power gets brutally hot there, but might be cooled enough with some moving air (when thermal path is good, thats an extension of the sink into the outside).
A P7 at full is impossible to cool while normal headlamp use.
The only way to do that good were when diving

Hi,
I am afraid that I have to disagree with you. It makes a lot of sense for me to run a P7-powered headlamp. I have built two P7 headlamp prototypes during last summer and used them on plenty of occasions since then (adventure races, night orienteering events, caving, xc-skiing etc) and I really like them. I lent them to other people and they were excited as well.

I didn't experience problems with overheating during normal use, even when running on full power (2,5 and 3,2 Amps respectively). They tend to get too hot only at room temperature and with no airflow around...which is not my typical use case.

They are both turned and milled out of solid aluminium ...
Happy building!

 

[Mick]

I am going to start a new thread about the Quad P7 helmet light That I am building.
Title: Quad SSC P7 Helmet Light ... Design, Build, Test