DIY lights - LED project

[Willehond]

I have just received my newest toy blocks!  I managed to find a local supplier for 1W, 3W and 5W Luxeon LED's.  They also supply the puck and lens/collimator required to build a kick-ass light. Here are the first bits that arrived today:

 

 

I have decided to go with a basic 3 x 1W LED configuration as the buckpuck provides the 1000mA required by the LED's.  All I need now is to wait for the lenses, get a nice housing, heat sink, battery pack and start building!

 

Here is the lense that I'm waiting for:

 

Any ideas for a nice housing for these?  I am looking at irrigation pipes, flashlights etc.

 

The nice thing is the buckpuck allows for any input of 5V to 32V!  I just hope it's nice and bright!  Will post updates once I start building.

[Joker]

Who is the supplier, what did you pay for the 3watt LED's?

[Willehond]

Joker, if you read it carefully you'll see I played it safe with 1Watt Luxeon LED's times 3!  The supplier is Rabtron in Vereeniging and I ordered it on Wednesday and got everything bar the lens today.  LED's were R44 each (+VAT)

 

They have 3W LED's at R39, but it is unfortunately not Luxeon, so I'm not sure how bright they'll be or what lenses they are compatible with.

 

http://shop.rabtron.co.za/catalog/index.php?cPath=41

 

You might have to loot at RS components for 3W and 5W Luxeons, but they don't sell the buckpucks or lenses!  Nothing is easy unfortunately!

[Thug]

Hi WH, your project sounds very similar to an article that a mate of mine published in the Ride magazine around August last year.

 

 

 

 

[Kranswurm]

Was there a posting recently aboutsome South African outfit making and selling lights locally?

I think there might be a website.Any leads?

[porky]

How big do you envision these lights to be willehond, what I mean is, will they be bar mounted, helmet mounted, or are you using them as hand helds (doubtfull as a hand held I guess, as you mention cycle lights, but ya never know).??

 

Are you mounting all the working parts inside a single case or will you use two cases with a connecting lead.??

 

I dont see any reflector in your plan either willehond, surely this is paramount to beam direction and spread?

 

How do you intend to waterproof it?

 

Please dont take offense with the questions,I am not trying to be "difficult", I am just fairly interested to know how you will overcome these issues.

  

[Willehond]

porky, the lenses have reflectors on the inside, which I hope to have a look at as soon as it arrives (claimed collection efficiency of 85%! - http://www.luxeonstar.com/ft3-lenses.pdf). 

 

Hopefully they will fit snugly.  They have a 10 degree angle which should be nice and tight, but not too focussed (I hope).  The 1 watt luxeons should not generate too much heat, but I am still looking fo a nice heat sink.  My issue at the moment is to figure out where I am going to locate the buckpuck.  Too close to the heat sink and it could fry and too far and I will need extra circuitry.

 

I am planning to house it in either an existing cheap 50mm diameter flashlight housing or else get some fancy metal casing at the hardware store (will browse there once I have the collimator/lense!) and then have a separate battery pack that I can change easily (bar/stem mounted probably) with waterproff clip connectors.

 

Waterproofing will hopefully be partly through design (open/connecting bits at the bottom) and copious use of appropriate silicon.

 

Like I said, please give me any advise you have.  This project is still in it's baby boots.

Willehond2008-02-18 14:11:58

[Willehond]

 

Was there a posting recently aboutsome South African outfit making and selling lights locally?

I think there might be a website.Any leads?

 

There is - lighthousetrading.  I contacted the guy and he asked me to send him an email and I did.  Haven't heard anything back so I ordered my bits from another supplier instead...

Willehond2008-02-18 13:51:00

[Willehond]

Hi WH' date=' your project sounds very similar to an article that a mate of mine published in the Ride magazine around August last year.



[/quote']

 

Thug, it is quite similar in that it uses three 1 Watt LED's, but that project used basic circuitry to try and regulate the current output, the buckpuck I'm using has a much higher efficiency (95%) and controls the output to 1000mA for any number of LED's, which apparently is just what the 1W Luxeons are speced to use optimally.

 

It also uses a Fraen tri lense which should give better focus than the naked LED's used in the Ride mag project.

[Thug]

WH, your lense looks a lot better than the individual lenses I have on mine.

 

 

[Cois]

This is gonna sound doff, but what is the max power ( eg how many AA's could one put onto it) before you blow everything?

I would also love to make my own light (white instead of my alien light) to use on night rides.

Is there a book I can read on what I need to make a good lamp?

[Canaris]

Thug, next time we meet please can we discuss lights.  I have yet to brave your route.  I tend to look for LED's in already completed units like the R13 downlights, indicator lights ext.  From there I intergrate them into simple 50mm plumbing pipes and other bits and bobs to mount them on the bike with tie cords.  I still have to develop a cheap easy and effective method of getting them onto the bike.

[Thug]

KF, I fitted the LED's and the lenses onto an old CPU heatsink. Siliconed the whole lot and screwed a piece of aluminium onto the back of the heatsink. I then bought a handlebar mounting bracket (either RavX of BBB) from a bike shop which I attached to the aluminium. Very crude and doesn't look very professional but it works.

 

 

 

[Willehond]

My lense/collimator is on the way!!!  Once I have that I can get the soldering iron out!  Can't wait.  Rabtron have been very good with the whole order tracking and delivery.  Will definitely order from them again.

Hi Willehond,

<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Item on Back Order : 1 X FT3-HNB1-LL0 Collimator has been dispatched

Tracking Number: PE1234567890ZA

[Willehond]

IT'S HERE!  Look what I got today.  The LED lenses and reflector (collimator) arrived today and it is high tech.  Solid perspex, not just a piece of flat glass and it has a hole all the way to the LED.  It's the last part of the jigsaw puzzle!

Now I can start to build.

Willehond2008-02-28 14:38:10

[Willehond]

OK I have finally built the light.  Well, the shell anyway!  Just to illustrate it's effectiveness I will compare it to my trusted Cateye OptiCube 550, which costs around R550.

 

Here it is.  It took me safely through the Trans Baviaans:

 

 

and here is the light it throws.  Very tight, but bright enough if you are going in a straight line!

 

No do you want to see what light my new 3 x 1W Luxeon LED light throws????