So my brother-in-law from Norway wanted a really, really bright dive light for Christmas and knowing that it's my 'hobby' and having seen some other lights I made he asked me to build one for him.
I already had some 3 x SSC P4 dive lights http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=176788 but they where not enough for him, he wanted it brighter, much brighter so that he can compete with his friend's high power HID's. But it still had to have a good runtime, be regulated, have each LED light up independently, easy to use and safe ( no explosions ). So after some thinking and calculations i decided to modify one into 3 x MC-E.
The main problem was the space in the existing body, I none the less managed to fit the following:
3 x Cree MC-E M bin W tint stars ( with individual die access ) wired in series from Cutter
3 x RCD-24 700mA CC Drivers from Cutter
3 x Boom SS Reflectors from Cutter
1 x Custom HS
1 x Custom built batt pack consisting of 5 x protected Tenergy 2600mAh 18650's wired in series and with balancing taps
2 x Heavy duty 140W reed switches.
Lots of epoxy and Glow powder
A LOT OF WIRES AND PLUGS
The charger is an Imax B5 balancing charger ( obviously that did not fit inside the light
The wiring, and where to put it was a big pain, especially when wiring the MC-E's in series, I had to grind off the legs of the reflectors since they happen to fall right on the soldering pads of the star.
Luckily the boom optics are shorter than the original optics which gave me some room for the electronics but that meant that i had to machine a new heat sink in order to lift things up and house the electronics, this also gave the added bonus of a larger thermal contact to the body and a much thicker HS. The original reed switches could not handle the wattage and got stuck in the on position so they had to be replaced with larger ones which i luckily found locally (although they are now too large).
After a long and tedious build i ended up with the same looking light as i started with, having the same individually magnetically switchable led's as the original, but it is now regulated and about 4 times as bright :rock: you cannot imagine the smile on my face when i first turned it on.
The runtime with all 3 led's turned on is shorter than the original but still well over an hour which is generally enough for night dives.
The beam is wider than the original but much brighter in every way. The hotspot is much bigger whilst still being brighter, the spill is wider but way brighter.
I was quite impressed by the amount of light this thing puts out, way brighter than anything i have ever seen ( of comparable size )
It starts getting slightly warm after about 5 mins of full power use.
Now for some Pictures:
Ceiling bounce in a 14 x 14 x 12 ft room lit brighter than with a 36W CFL
Unfortunately i did not have time for some proper beam shots as it was on it's way to Norway in my sister's luggage as soon as i finished it.
My happiness was short lived since when my sister arrived home she found that it was no longer in her luggage but was replaced by a piece of paper saying it was held for security reasons in Munich :hairpull:
She is still fighting to get it back and i feel like i have lost a son :mecry:
Lets hope for the best.
I already had some 3 x SSC P4 dive lights http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=176788 but they where not enough for him, he wanted it brighter, much brighter so that he can compete with his friend's high power HID's. But it still had to have a good runtime, be regulated, have each LED light up independently, easy to use and safe ( no explosions ). So after some thinking and calculations i decided to modify one into 3 x MC-E.
The main problem was the space in the existing body, I none the less managed to fit the following:
3 x Cree MC-E M bin W tint stars ( with individual die access ) wired in series from Cutter
3 x RCD-24 700mA CC Drivers from Cutter
3 x Boom SS Reflectors from Cutter
1 x Custom HS
1 x Custom built batt pack consisting of 5 x protected Tenergy 2600mAh 18650's wired in series and with balancing taps
2 x Heavy duty 140W reed switches.
Lots of epoxy and Glow powder
A LOT OF WIRES AND PLUGS
The charger is an Imax B5 balancing charger ( obviously that did not fit inside the light
The wiring, and where to put it was a big pain, especially when wiring the MC-E's in series, I had to grind off the legs of the reflectors since they happen to fall right on the soldering pads of the star.
Luckily the boom optics are shorter than the original optics which gave me some room for the electronics but that meant that i had to machine a new heat sink in order to lift things up and house the electronics, this also gave the added bonus of a larger thermal contact to the body and a much thicker HS. The original reed switches could not handle the wattage and got stuck in the on position so they had to be replaced with larger ones which i luckily found locally (although they are now too large).
After a long and tedious build i ended up with the same looking light as i started with, having the same individually magnetically switchable led's as the original, but it is now regulated and about 4 times as bright :rock: you cannot imagine the smile on my face when i first turned it on.
The runtime with all 3 led's turned on is shorter than the original but still well over an hour which is generally enough for night dives.
The beam is wider than the original but much brighter in every way. The hotspot is much bigger whilst still being brighter, the spill is wider but way brighter.
I was quite impressed by the amount of light this thing puts out, way brighter than anything i have ever seen ( of comparable size )
It starts getting slightly warm after about 5 mins of full power use.
Now for some Pictures:
Ceiling bounce in a 14 x 14 x 12 ft room lit brighter than with a 36W CFL
Unfortunately i did not have time for some proper beam shots as it was on it's way to Norway in my sister's luggage as soon as i finished it.
My happiness was short lived since when my sister arrived home she found that it was no longer in her luggage but was replaced by a piece of paper saying it was held for security reasons in Munich :hairpull:
She is still fighting to get it back and i feel like i have lost a son :mecry:
Lets hope for the best.
