Hello all—
I have been lurking on and off for a while and have found many (actually most) of the discussions to be helpful and friendly. This is my first post, but I feel I owe thanks to all CPF members for the help I've gotten just from reading other people's threads. My first step "into the light" has been to order a Madmax lite 1W sandwich with a Kroll and mineral lens for a general-purpose light. Working up to this involved a LOT of reading and figuring, and I expect to receive it later this week.
This all started, however, when I found CPF while looking for information on bike lights. I currently have a 20W halogen system running off of a 12V SLA battery. I am interested in putting together a smaller, lighter system using two 3W Luxeons running off of rechargeable NiMH AAs. My knowledge of electronics is spotty, so please forgive any errors.
I am contemplating a simple system of 2 Lux III emitters in series, direct driven by 6 rechargeable NiMH AAs in the 2000 mAh range. I would mount the emitters on a cut-down aluminum CPU heatsink, with either the 30mm optics or the 3W reflectors sold on Elektrolumens's site. I think that the LEDs would not be driven too hard by this setup.
I am aiming for a 1- to 2-hour runtime in the most economical way--this is why I am avoiding the use of a circuit board (also to simplify assembly). I know that a current or voltage-regulating circuit would be the preferred way to go, but I would like some feedback from the cognoscenti.
Does the above seem like a feasible design? I would expect from what I have read that the discharge curve for the AAs would be fairly flat for the time that I will be using it (<1 hour). I ride my bike for exercise several times a week early in the morning, before sunrise, and will probably do some night riding this summer as well. Runtime of more than 2 hours is not needed now.
An alternative would be to use a single 5W Luxeon, also direct drive, from 4 or 6 AAs. People seem to like the Lux IIIs for this type of application, however, and they are cheaper—though it evens out with the simplicity of the single emitter and need for only 1 reflector.
Any comments would be much appreciated. Thanks.
I have been lurking on and off for a while and have found many (actually most) of the discussions to be helpful and friendly. This is my first post, but I feel I owe thanks to all CPF members for the help I've gotten just from reading other people's threads. My first step "into the light" has been to order a Madmax lite 1W sandwich with a Kroll and mineral lens for a general-purpose light. Working up to this involved a LOT of reading and figuring, and I expect to receive it later this week.
This all started, however, when I found CPF while looking for information on bike lights. I currently have a 20W halogen system running off of a 12V SLA battery. I am interested in putting together a smaller, lighter system using two 3W Luxeons running off of rechargeable NiMH AAs. My knowledge of electronics is spotty, so please forgive any errors.
I am contemplating a simple system of 2 Lux III emitters in series, direct driven by 6 rechargeable NiMH AAs in the 2000 mAh range. I would mount the emitters on a cut-down aluminum CPU heatsink, with either the 30mm optics or the 3W reflectors sold on Elektrolumens's site. I think that the LEDs would not be driven too hard by this setup.
I am aiming for a 1- to 2-hour runtime in the most economical way--this is why I am avoiding the use of a circuit board (also to simplify assembly). I know that a current or voltage-regulating circuit would be the preferred way to go, but I would like some feedback from the cognoscenti.
Does the above seem like a feasible design? I would expect from what I have read that the discharge curve for the AAs would be fairly flat for the time that I will be using it (<1 hour). I ride my bike for exercise several times a week early in the morning, before sunrise, and will probably do some night riding this summer as well. Runtime of more than 2 hours is not needed now.
An alternative would be to use a single 5W Luxeon, also direct drive, from 4 or 6 AAs. People seem to like the Lux IIIs for this type of application, however, and they are cheaper—though it evens out with the simplicity of the single emitter and need for only 1 reflector.
Any comments would be much appreciated. Thanks.
