OK, I'll start this off with a HOMEBREW

OK, I\'ll start this off with a HOMEBREW



Pictured here with a 2AA MiniMag Light, my CPLS1 copper pipe / Luxeon Star with Optics LED flashlight is powered by three 4/3A sized NiMH rechargeable batteries with a capacity of 3,800mah. These batteries are normally used in laptop computer battery packs, and have a pretty high energy density. The flashlight is almost exactly 12 inches long, and is made of 3/4 inch (heavy wall) copper plumbing pipe and fittings.

Has a 1/2 ohm 1 watt resistor in series to provide some over-voltage protection from freshly charged batteries which usually have 4.2 to 4.3 volts on them unless it has been "laying around" off the charger for a few days.

The "head" between the LED heatsink and the top of the batteries is filled with heatsinking epoxy.

You could probably get away with not using the resistor, but I decided to add it for increased reliability, even if it lowers brightness a bit.

After the light has been on for about 15 minutes, the whole thing makes a nice handwarmer . It doesn't get uncomfortably hot, (Well within limits of the LED) but you would appreciate it on a cold, windy night.


BEAM COMPARISON pics:



LONGEVITY:
I have run three cycles of charging and then continuous operation of the light; Here are the AVERAGE of time - light output figures. Figures are in LUX and the first one is measured with the light 1 meter from the sensor, and the second figure is with the light in contact with the sensor:

Initial (fresh charge): 261.5 / 77,150 LUX
1 Hour: 244 / 69,800 LUX
2 Hour: 229 / 67,850 LUX
3 Hour: 223 / 67,100 LUX
4 Hour: 215 / 66,900 LUX
5 Hour: 203 / 60,200 LUX
6 Hour: 75.5 / 21,000 LUX
7 Hour: 29 / 9,000 LUX
After eight hours the light output falls to about 10 LUX and SLOWLY tapers off to 2 / 600 LUX at 24 hours. This is enough light to get around a dark house or even out of a cave if you move slowly.

Light has jack to plug in a "wall wart" trickle charger. The one with the light is only 75ma, so it can be left on charge indefinitely. Takes about two days to reach full charge from full discharge, but a higher ma or A 4VDC supply will charge it faster.

Re: OK, I\'ll start this off with a HOMEBREW

Silviron,

Very nice! I especially like the plug in charger feature!

Aloha

Re: OK, I\'ll start this off with a HOMEBREW

dang, thats a nice light, seems like you can wack someone with that if you had to

Re: OK, I\'ll start this off with a HOMEBREW

Silviron,

Nice light! I really like the plugin for recharging, smart idea.

Although I'm sure you'd get some special attention at the airport with it, looks to be pretty darn functional and useful with those high capacity batteries.

Re: OK, I\'ll start this off with a HOMEBREW

Hey Silviron,

Totally awesome flashlight! Nice work!

Wayne www.elektrolumens.com

Re: OK, I\'ll start this off with a HOMEBREW

Thanks Guys- You make me blush!

I avoid airports anyway, so THAT will not be a problem.(Nothing to do with fear of terrorists- More like fear of not finding parking... I just hate commercial airports and commercial airlines. Enjoy flying in non-commercial planes and helicopters though.)

Re: OK, I\'ll start this off with a HOMEBREW

Silviron,

That looks like one very well built light!

What sort of piece are you using for the head? Is that a standard copper pipe fitting? Are the pieces soldered together? Did you thread any pieces so that the light cound be opened? Sorry for all the questions. I'm not experienced in plumbing assembly, so I claim ignorance. However, I would like to learn some things about it, because this seems like a good way to go for a flashlight built from scratch. I prefer metal construction to plastic.

Re: OK, I\'ll start this off with a HOMEBREW

The CPLS1 is all standard 3/4 inch fittings. The "head" assembly is two 3/4 inch end caps soldered together, the other end is a single end cap.

The pipe for the body is heavy wall 3/4 inch Same OD as standard, but ID is a few thousandths less. The extra thickness makes the light a little sturdier, but to be honest, the only reason I used the HW, is because the plumbing supply place had a piece in the scrap barrel that was just about the length I wanted.

Nothing is threaded- since it uses rechargable batteries and has a built in jack for charging, there is no need to open the unit at all.

Re: OK, I\'ll start this off with a HOMEBREW

Nice light, Silviron!
Do you think you could give me some tips on installing a charging port? I'd like to be able to put this feature in a light running off two 1.2V nimh cells (A cells, with 2700mah capacity each). What kind of charger did you use? Plug for the charger?

Thanks!

Re: OK, I\'ll start this off with a HOMEBREW

Gee, you guys are making me give up all my secrets.

The "charging port" on this particular unit is a 5.5 mm 2.1mm standard power jack. It is a square shaped, so I cut out the space for it with a thin cutoff wheel (Dremel tool type thing).

You could use any type of jack for this- use a subminiature earphone type jack and then all you have to do is drill a 3/16th inch hole.

I think I got this particular jack from Mouser, but you can get something similar (a little larger) from Radio Shack. The sub-mini jacks are easily available from RS and are small enough to make installation even in tight spaces.

Since you are running just two NiMH batteries, what I'm using to charge would damage your batteries due to overvoltage. You would need a low ma source of 2.8V or so, no more than 3V for sure.