Hello,
My name is Don McLeish.
I've been messing with LED's for about 10 years in my garage/ shop. I've also been collecting flashlights since I was a tot.
I designed a miniature "mimic" panel for sail boats where current passing
through a navigation light circuit would fire up a LED which would send
light through a single fiber optic fiber to a small panel which
indicated that the light was on. I designed various modules, including
this "mimic" panel so that they could be mounted in existing breaker
slots of a breaker panel. Everyone who saw the idea liked it, many
wanted one but nobody was interested in making it.... A poor photo of
this can be seen at nullLED-Fiberoptics. When the white LED's first hit the scene, I was
intrigued and after playing with some, I realized that these were
perfect for low level, artificial moon light. I have done many long
distance sailboat races off the California coast where we were out of
sight of land for a couple of days, and the night time portions were a
real challenge to keep the boat up and the mast, deck and crew out of
the water. Night vision was critical and flashlights and cabin lights
were a real bane. The white LED's were a perfect solution for augmenting
the ambient star and moon light. A small waterproof housing was needed
for the LED so it could be integrated into the boats structure, both
above and below decks. I made the first MicroStar LED Light with this
in mind. I used a Nichia NSPW312BS because of its small size (3 mm) and
very even distribution of light throughout its beam. The MicroStar
housing was designed so that it could be placed in the side of 1" OD
stainless steel tubing which is prevalent in rails and stanchions on
boats.
I brought a prototype MicroStar with me on a business trip back to the
home office of Suncor Stainless, my employer. Although Suncor is in the business
of stainless steel hardware and parts, everyone liked the MicroStar so
much the decision was made to add it to the line. If not overdriven, the
LED should last for many years so the housing and epoxy were chosen so
that the housing would last equally well.
After doing many installations with the MicroStar, most having nothing
to do with boats, I decided that there was a need for more light so I
developed the Tri-Cluster and 9star LED lights. Since Suncor has its
hands full in the process of introducing a myriad of new stainless steel
products, I decided to fast track the LED lights by making them myself.
As time permits, Suncor will take over the stainless steel versions of
many of these lights as well as some other fixtures still in the design
and prototype stages.
A neighbor and friend, T. Jay, became enamored with the LED lights after
we installed some in his rock wall. With his expertise in web design and
recent unemployment from a start up, that ultimately didn't,
berkeleypoint.com was born. Here is a site that offers some of the stuff we
make as well as items and modifications to existing products that we
feel have merit.
This introduction is already long winded but after working with the LED
lights and seeing the results of some installations, I am truly excited
about the future where a new light strategy will come into play; super
efficient, low level, ingress and egress and accent lighting. Levels of
illumination where your night vision is enhanced, not destroyed. As you
CPF folk no doubt know, light pollution is a real problem and there are
many groups and agencies working on solutions. There are certainly times
when instant daylight is wanted and needed and there are some great
flashlights as well as permanent light fixtures which can provide this.
There are also times when all you need is a little help in addition to
the ambient level of light present. A great portable example of this is
the ARC AAA. I have tried to bring some solid, long lasting and well
built permanent fixtures to market with this intent in mind.
I've placed this introduction in the manufacturer's section at the suggestion of a fellow CPF member who shall remain unnamed as I don't want him to take any heat for this lengthy intro (if he had only known). In the future, I would rather hang out in the new ideas section because that's where my real interests lie. Perhaps I can get T. Jay to join CPF and do the postings of new product offerings in the dealer/ manufacturer sections. That way, I can wear the more comfortable hat of out of control gizmologist and fellow flashaholic.
Incidentally, this all started when some of you found my web page that featured an Inova X5 on a tether. This and other goofy design stuff can be found on my links page.
Thanks for letting me ramble, I have so many cool ideas and widgets that I'd like to share in the future, as you and time permit.
- Don
My name is Don McLeish.
I've been messing with LED's for about 10 years in my garage/ shop. I've also been collecting flashlights since I was a tot.
I designed a miniature "mimic" panel for sail boats where current passing
through a navigation light circuit would fire up a LED which would send
light through a single fiber optic fiber to a small panel which
indicated that the light was on. I designed various modules, including
this "mimic" panel so that they could be mounted in existing breaker
slots of a breaker panel. Everyone who saw the idea liked it, many
wanted one but nobody was interested in making it.... A poor photo of
this can be seen at nullLED-Fiberoptics. When the white LED's first hit the scene, I was
intrigued and after playing with some, I realized that these were
perfect for low level, artificial moon light. I have done many long
distance sailboat races off the California coast where we were out of
sight of land for a couple of days, and the night time portions were a
real challenge to keep the boat up and the mast, deck and crew out of
the water. Night vision was critical and flashlights and cabin lights
were a real bane. The white LED's were a perfect solution for augmenting
the ambient star and moon light. A small waterproof housing was needed
for the LED so it could be integrated into the boats structure, both
above and below decks. I made the first MicroStar LED Light with this
in mind. I used a Nichia NSPW312BS because of its small size (3 mm) and
very even distribution of light throughout its beam. The MicroStar
housing was designed so that it could be placed in the side of 1" OD
stainless steel tubing which is prevalent in rails and stanchions on
boats.
I brought a prototype MicroStar with me on a business trip back to the
home office of Suncor Stainless, my employer. Although Suncor is in the business
of stainless steel hardware and parts, everyone liked the MicroStar so
much the decision was made to add it to the line. If not overdriven, the
LED should last for many years so the housing and epoxy were chosen so
that the housing would last equally well.
After doing many installations with the MicroStar, most having nothing
to do with boats, I decided that there was a need for more light so I
developed the Tri-Cluster and 9star LED lights. Since Suncor has its
hands full in the process of introducing a myriad of new stainless steel
products, I decided to fast track the LED lights by making them myself.
As time permits, Suncor will take over the stainless steel versions of
many of these lights as well as some other fixtures still in the design
and prototype stages.
A neighbor and friend, T. Jay, became enamored with the LED lights after
we installed some in his rock wall. With his expertise in web design and
recent unemployment from a start up, that ultimately didn't,
berkeleypoint.com was born. Here is a site that offers some of the stuff we
make as well as items and modifications to existing products that we
feel have merit.
This introduction is already long winded but after working with the LED
lights and seeing the results of some installations, I am truly excited
about the future where a new light strategy will come into play; super
efficient, low level, ingress and egress and accent lighting. Levels of
illumination where your night vision is enhanced, not destroyed. As you
CPF folk no doubt know, light pollution is a real problem and there are
many groups and agencies working on solutions. There are certainly times
when instant daylight is wanted and needed and there are some great
flashlights as well as permanent light fixtures which can provide this.
There are also times when all you need is a little help in addition to
the ambient level of light present. A great portable example of this is
the ARC AAA. I have tried to bring some solid, long lasting and well
built permanent fixtures to market with this intent in mind.
I've placed this introduction in the manufacturer's section at the suggestion of a fellow CPF member who shall remain unnamed as I don't want him to take any heat for this lengthy intro (if he had only known). In the future, I would rather hang out in the new ideas section because that's where my real interests lie. Perhaps I can get T. Jay to join CPF and do the postings of new product offerings in the dealer/ manufacturer sections. That way, I can wear the more comfortable hat of out of control gizmologist and fellow flashaholic.
Incidentally, this all started when some of you found my web page that featured an Inova X5 on a tether. This and other goofy design stuff can be found on my links page.
Thanks for letting me ramble, I have so many cool ideas and widgets that I'd like to share in the future, as you and time permit.
- Don
