wakibaki
Newly Enlightened
Hi
Thought I'd introduce myself.
This is my torch.
I made it a bit over 15 years ago. It still uses the original battery which was assembled from 12x 3-year-old 4000mAH tabbed NiCd D cells salvaged from the refurbishment of hotel emergency lighting. Wonderful cells in sets of 3 interlocking, they still have at least 70% capacity.
The lamp employs a 55W H3 bulb and reflector/mount salvaged from a plastic driving light. There is a 2.2W secondary bulb offset toward the short edge of the reflector. I made the hole for this with a Dremel.
The original run time was about 50 mins high, 24+ hours low.
The case is 9mm building-grade ply sanded and assembled with cyano and epoxy and yacht-varnished. The case and lid have a friction-fit lip and rim and the torch will float and is self-righting and continues to work during a violent immersion. The handle is a section of broomhandle and the torch can readily be tilted in the hand by crawling the fingers. The high-off-low toggle is reachable with finger or thumb from the handle.
With a current of ~5A and 14.4V the main bulb is driven at the upper end of its range and at max 1.25C the cells are loafing so the voltage and capacity hold up well and the cells don't heat up. Of course it gets warm if run for long periods on high, but there's a big airspace in there and most of the bulb heat radiates out the front. (handwarmer function).
The beam centre spot is about the same size as the reflector at about 3 metres due to the plain glass lens replacing that of the driving lamp. On low the light is scattered handily.
Weight:- ~ 2.75kg Displacement:- ~4.5litres
Dimensions:- box 10x20x22.5cm + handle.
Total cost:- labour + scrap + adhesives. At the time I think the materials new would have cost about UKP100 retail. Nobody spent 100 quid on a torch 15 years ago. Today you could start with 10000mAH NiMhs at ~UKP100, 2.5 hours at full output, ouch!
Light output:- sufficient… Probably 1000+ lumens with a beam divergence as small as you're going to get.
Likes:- the look on policemen's faces when you fire it up.
Dislikes:-the sanding made a load of dust. I dripped a penny-sized drop of CA glue on my pants leg. I.only noticed it when it went off and got so hot it burnt my leg. I pulled the material away so quick it pulled the skin and hairs off.
Picky little things:- I'd make the front and back integral with the handle risers and change the lid slightly next time. Nothing functional, just aesthetic… I was going to put the handle on the lid, with pull-down clips from the lid to the body, but it was half-built in the middle of the night, I didn't have the clips and I couldn't wait to finish it, so I changed the design.
All parts inside and outside are user serviceable.
Have I ever dropped it? Other than into the water to test it, no. I value my toes too much.
To charge, open the top, unship the wall-wart and plug in. 18V with dropper resistor, 10th C (14hr) charge. Unplug it tomorrow, if you remember.
Of course it sits on a flat surface, you can lay it on its side for greater stability in rough conditions or earthquake.
Oh, here's its predecessor, built round a 'Sealed Beam' unit. It has a limited tilt/swivel head. The beam is not as tight as the newer version, but it is still a useful light. One good thing, nobody asks where I bought it.
I'm trying to get a P1D-CE to take apart, but there seem to be post-Christmas stocking (!) difficulties in the UK. Anyway the reviews are not 100% on the build quality.
Oh yes, HIDs. Well these are just an evolutionary dead end. You can already readily get as much light by paralleling LEDs, which are only going to get bigger and brighter and more efficient, you don't have to **** around with a ballast (who understands ballasts anyway, a switching LED driver is one thing…) and they cost a fortune. LEDs come on instantaneously and you can choose to have a lower output too
Nice to see you guys are catching up tho'.
I almost bought a Cree Orb Sterling Silver for my wife, but the lead time was too long. Next time. Other than that I still don't see a really desirable light out there at mass production prices. Everyone seems to be obsessed with aluminium. Looks like I'll have to design it myself…
w
Thought I'd introduce myself.
This is my torch.
I made it a bit over 15 years ago. It still uses the original battery which was assembled from 12x 3-year-old 4000mAH tabbed NiCd D cells salvaged from the refurbishment of hotel emergency lighting. Wonderful cells in sets of 3 interlocking, they still have at least 70% capacity.
The lamp employs a 55W H3 bulb and reflector/mount salvaged from a plastic driving light. There is a 2.2W secondary bulb offset toward the short edge of the reflector. I made the hole for this with a Dremel.
The original run time was about 50 mins high, 24+ hours low.
The case is 9mm building-grade ply sanded and assembled with cyano and epoxy and yacht-varnished. The case and lid have a friction-fit lip and rim and the torch will float and is self-righting and continues to work during a violent immersion. The handle is a section of broomhandle and the torch can readily be tilted in the hand by crawling the fingers. The high-off-low toggle is reachable with finger or thumb from the handle.
With a current of ~5A and 14.4V the main bulb is driven at the upper end of its range and at max 1.25C the cells are loafing so the voltage and capacity hold up well and the cells don't heat up. Of course it gets warm if run for long periods on high, but there's a big airspace in there and most of the bulb heat radiates out the front. (handwarmer function).
The beam centre spot is about the same size as the reflector at about 3 metres due to the plain glass lens replacing that of the driving lamp. On low the light is scattered handily.
Weight:- ~ 2.75kg Displacement:- ~4.5litres
Dimensions:- box 10x20x22.5cm + handle.
Total cost:- labour + scrap + adhesives. At the time I think the materials new would have cost about UKP100 retail. Nobody spent 100 quid on a torch 15 years ago. Today you could start with 10000mAH NiMhs at ~UKP100, 2.5 hours at full output, ouch!
Light output:- sufficient… Probably 1000+ lumens with a beam divergence as small as you're going to get.
Likes:- the look on policemen's faces when you fire it up.
Dislikes:-the sanding made a load of dust. I dripped a penny-sized drop of CA glue on my pants leg. I.only noticed it when it went off and got so hot it burnt my leg. I pulled the material away so quick it pulled the skin and hairs off.
Picky little things:- I'd make the front and back integral with the handle risers and change the lid slightly next time. Nothing functional, just aesthetic… I was going to put the handle on the lid, with pull-down clips from the lid to the body, but it was half-built in the middle of the night, I didn't have the clips and I couldn't wait to finish it, so I changed the design.
All parts inside and outside are user serviceable.
Have I ever dropped it? Other than into the water to test it, no. I value my toes too much.
To charge, open the top, unship the wall-wart and plug in. 18V with dropper resistor, 10th C (14hr) charge. Unplug it tomorrow, if you remember.
Of course it sits on a flat surface, you can lay it on its side for greater stability in rough conditions or earthquake.
Oh, here's its predecessor, built round a 'Sealed Beam' unit. It has a limited tilt/swivel head. The beam is not as tight as the newer version, but it is still a useful light. One good thing, nobody asks where I bought it.
I'm trying to get a P1D-CE to take apart, but there seem to be post-Christmas stocking (!) difficulties in the UK. Anyway the reviews are not 100% on the build quality.
Oh yes, HIDs. Well these are just an evolutionary dead end. You can already readily get as much light by paralleling LEDs, which are only going to get bigger and brighter and more efficient, you don't have to **** around with a ballast (who understands ballasts anyway, a switching LED driver is one thing…) and they cost a fortune. LEDs come on instantaneously and you can choose to have a lower output too
Nice to see you guys are catching up tho'.
I almost bought a Cree Orb Sterling Silver for my wife, but the lead time was too long. Next time. Other than that I still don't see a really desirable light out there at mass production prices. Everyone seems to be obsessed with aluminium. Looks like I'll have to design it myself…
w
