arc aaa integral optic experiments (many pics)

during the seconds sales, i purchased a green arc aaa. the beam pattern was horrible, but it was a wonderful light in every other apect, and i really liked using the green color to read at night (this won't ruin my vision, if i read with a green light for extended periods will it? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif).
having some ultra-glo epoxy around, i wanted to see what could be done with the beam by applying tape around the head, then pouring the optical epoxy in. after removing the tape, i had a light that was very useful for upclose reading, and put out some light out the side also. the surface was concaved and extremely clear and smooth. i took it to the lathe to smooth out the edges where the tape left a pattern, and did some testing.





overall, i think this turned out to be the best configuration. the top is a concave surface, because it turned out that way when i poured the epoxy.

more images to be continued in next few posts. i believe only a certain number can fit per post (6?)

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

after that, i decided to see what kind of beams other shapes would give me...

in these next set of photos,i left the outside the same, but faced off and polished the front to make it flat.




this didn't work nearly as well as the concave surface. it showed a pinpoint hotspot and a funky pattern, with the majority of the light coming out of the corners.

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

here is the same thing for the most part, but with the corners taken off and leaving about a 45degree angle:






a not here, the beamshot looks very good, but it isnt' /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
i had to hold the light very close to the wall to ensure that the shot even showed up! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif this was the worst of all the shapes i tried.

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

here is a "dome" shape more or less. i've been wanting to get the nifty ball turning attachment for my lathe, but as of yet, i dont' have it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
this is just a rough bubble, and i didn't pay any particular attention to shape.
the photos show it before it was smoothed and polished (boy was that a task!), but the results were very similar anyway. not enough difference for you to tell from any pictures i might have taken.





in the end, i took all the top epoxy off and kept it flat with the top of the led. i didn't include any shots of this, as you can probably guess what it looked like, and the pattern was very similar to the first beamshot, but had a pinpoint hotspot /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

overall, doing this seemed to greatly reduce overall output /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
i think i at least cut it in half. this green used to be a lot brighter than my white, now it's about half as bright /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

the beampatterns shown in the above pictures aren't necessarily accurate, and aren't comparable in terms of either brightness or shape. just some shots to hopefully give you an idea what it looks like.

as you can see, the shapes resulted in different beam patterns (the dome being the tightest), but the overal light loss was just so increadably bad, that it's original form vastly outhrew it.

i belive smoother beams could have been achieved by using a white led, as the phospher already smoothes the beam out to some extent. don has had experince with this and his results (with a white led) seem to have been very desirable.
i believe he just poured the epoxy into the led to fill it up and didn't mess with it as i did.
if i had some more leds i would like to experiment with this a little more, particularly using a white led.

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

Nice roth. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
Looks like a green Flame to me /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

Looks good Roth, I bet that was a fun little experiment.

I think this is a good idea, and good "out of the box" thinking. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

thanks guys /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

that was a very confusing writeup for me! not only am i numb from tiredness, but i can't remember everything i mean to say and where to say it. i may come back tomorrow and review the post to find it makes no since at all /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

the arc looks very beat up in the photos, this is because of the plastic polish i used. a rinse and a scrub cleand that off nicely /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

sorry about all the posts too /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
i recall having issues before with more than a cirtain number of images in a single post, so i split them up according to shape. hopefully it will be less confusing this way anyway.

luckily, i've always found that light a little too bright for nighttime reading anyway. now it should work better and provide a smoother beam.
if you've given this any thought for purposes other than reading at night, than i suggest you reconsider! (i sacrificed my arc so you wouldn't have to /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif )

it certainly didn't turn out as well as i had hoped, but it works well enough, and i was dying to try it anyway. overall i think i'll be happy using it to read in the dark, but it's pretty much useless for other tasks /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

PP sent for a SE version /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

[ QUOTE ]
Rothrandir said:
...i sacrificed my arc so you wouldn't have to...)


[/ QUOTE ]
Ahh, but that's what groundbreakers do, right?
Thanks Dude!

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

Roth,

Very nice work buddy. You are constantly striving to explore and ask and answer even the seemingly simple questions. Hats off to you.

Wilkey

PS. Are those pipe clamps in your first photo?

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

hey guys, first off, i'd like to say (for the first time ever! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif), that i was wrong! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
i spoke too soon... all of the beamshots and testing prior to this post were done in the garage with the lights turned off. last night, i really put this light to the test...it works great!
the beam is very wide and smooth, with a pinpoint hotspot that isn't as annoying as i thought it would be. it's such a nice wide even beam that if you back it up a couple feet, you can put the book in pretty much any position you want and still have good light coverage! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

feel free to do this yourselves /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

yes, those are clamps /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif Roth, You could also try a ball-end end mill cutter to further explore the effects of going concave.

Larry

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

hey larry.

hmm, i hadn't thought of that. i had given some though to grinding a tool to make the end concave, but thought that if the beam was undesirable, i would be stuck with it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

I know it's hard for a small light to have a good optics. Roth, please keep on the work! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Vince.

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

Concave telescope mirrors are usually ground with a flat circular tool... maybe something similar could be done for this lens. Nice ideas, I'd like to see something with a smooth wide flood beam and no hot spot.

Re: arc aaa integral optic experiments

i really think this hotspot is due to the green led, and the same shape with a white led would result in just a smooth beam. i may eventually test with a slight concave surface...but if i do, i'm pretty much stuck with the results /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif