Help improve quadcopter headlight

I built a headlight for my quadcopter but i am not sattisfied with the result. The light is bright but the throw is short.
Its made out of 8x Cree XML2 U3 driven with 3100mah each. They are to close to eachother for any reflectors to work i think

I am quite the noob on lightning. How would you setup the light. I got a few XHP70 on the way too.
How would you arrange the LEDs and what reflectors would you use. Keep in mind, i dont want to block alof of airflow.
I am thinking a XHP70 in the middle under the camera with reflector for long throw and two XHP on the sides wihtout ?

FYI in my FPV camera i can see alot more in the dark as its CCD WDR so i am not flying blind like the gopro footage !

To get more throw you will need reflectors and/or optics and some LEDs throw better like the XP-E and XP-G2 series.

Lynx_Arc said:

To get more throw you will need reflectors and/or optics and some LEDs throw better like the XP-E and XP-G2 series.

Click to expand...

I see. If i want to use my XML2 or XHP70 what reflectors would be good ? There are so many different ones and i have no idea what would be good to use. Are there any reflectors that would fit a row of XML2 sitting togheter like mine does or would i have to custom make it ?

Any good links to to places to look would be much appreciated

Copterdude said:

I see. If i want to use my XML2 or XHP70 what reflectors would be good ? There are so many different ones and i have no idea what would be good to use. Are there any reflectors that would fit a row of XML2 sitting togheter like mine does or would i have to custom make it ?

Any good links to to places to look would be much appreciated

Click to expand...

It depends on what distance you are looking at throwing light on... the longer the distance the more it favors smaller die emitters. Whatever size optic/reflector you use for the XML a similar sized one for a smaller emitter could have it matching or beating it in a throw contest.

Lynx_Arc said:

It depends on what distance you are looking at throwing light on... the longer the distance the more it favors smaller die emitters. Whatever size optic/reflector you use for the XML a similar sized one for a smaller emitter could have it matching or beating it in a throw contest.

Click to expand...

Alright thanks.. any links to where is a good source to get these optics/reflectors ?

Only want increased range so i can see where i am going more easly like a car headlight, no exact numbers unfortunaly.
Guess there is no simple answer..
Oh well guess its back to plan A, buy a bunch of different random reflectors of ebay and do trial and error

you should look into optics or reflectors, preferably with a beam angle similar to the viewing angle of the camera.

as an example of the optics that should work with the XML2 LEDs, I did a quick search on mouser.com .....
http://www.mouser.com/All-Manufacturers/Optoelectronics/_/N-5g5vZ0?Keyword=cree+optics+xml&FS=True

There are a handful of decent options, costing around $5 per optic or reflector.

Hi, by the way nice quadcopter!
What I would do is a mix of optic and no optics on the leds, so you have a better light destribution (near by and further away )

Look for MK-r optics , they will fit almost perfectly, or else reflectors from the xml with a litlle trim work so the Xhp will fit.

In my opinion I would use something in the 20-40º range for the main one, and depending if you keep the other Xmls or Xhp, you can leave them without optic or a couple with 60º optics.

Hope I was helpfull

Steve K said:

you should look into optics or reflectors, preferably with a beam angle similar to the viewing angle of the camera.

as an example of the optics that should work with the XML2 LEDs, I did a quick search on mouser.com .....
http://www.mouser.com/All-Manufacturers/Optoelectronics/_/N-5g5vZ0?Keyword=cree+optics+xml&FS=True

There are a handful of decent options, costing around $5 per optic or reflector.

Click to expand...

m.pille.led said:

Hi, by the way nice quadcopter!
What I would do is a mix of optic and no optics on the leds, so you have a better light destribution (near by and further away )

Look for MK-r optics , they will fit almost perfectly, or else reflectors from the xml with a litlle trim work so the Xhp will fit.

In my opinion I would use something in the 20-40º range for the main one, and depending if you keep the other Xmls or Xhp, you can leave them without optic or a couple with 60º optics.

Hope I was helpfull

Click to expand...

Thanks for the help guys, now i have some ideá of what i could try.

I felt, you have had enough light already for the speed copter was doing, only if you change the angle of the beam (more horizontal, like car headlight ? ), you may see distance enough to fly it comfortably.

shyamhegde said:

I felt, you have had enough light already for the speed copter was doing, only if you change the angle of the beam (more horizontal, like car headlight ? ), you may see distance enough to fly it comfortably.

Click to expand...

Yeah i didnt think of the angle of the copter when i built the light. The faster i fly the more tilt the copter has so all i light up is the ground below it.
Unfortunaly the way i mounted the light i cant really angle it much as it will block too much of the propeller thrust and some of the light will hit the underside of the cameraplate.

The plan is to mount a XHP70 with a reflector under the camera angled up for long beam. For cooling it will be mounted on aluminium that i will cut so it fits the underside of the cameraplate and go up on the sides for more surface area. The windspeed should cool it but i will only activate full power when i fly or else it might get hot quick.

Then more leds for illluminating a wide area in front.

I got one of these i might use for the XHP70. Then i can dim it down when flying slow and increase power when flying fast.



http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=505_509_513&products_id=2946