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LED Gawd <3 t33cael
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Custom-made LED flashlight (v. Not another OddOne LED thread!)
I posted this over on the Candlepower Forums already, but I figure a few of you folks here may care. Or, you may not, matters not to me.
 TONS of big pics, but they're compressed for slow-connection folks... I bought a minilathe back in the summer and commenced to buildin' my first light from raw materials as an exercise in learning how to make things with a lathe. The results of the long, arduous process are finally mine! The specifics: Construction: Aluminum head, bezel ring, and tailcap. UHMW body tube. Copper contacts for battery. Light source: Cree XLamp 7090 3W Power source: 2x CR123A (although other batteries can be used if I make a suitable body tube.) Driver: Downboy 750 Switching system: Magnetically-operated high-current MOSFET switch Optic: Carlco 2-degree The head was a two-piece turning made from 2.5" T6061 aluminum rod. Took FOREVER to make, too. Here's the head, with the optic set into place: [img]http://www.e-f-w.com/community/images/content/puck/optic_in_body.jpg/img] The optic sits into a small recess so that the optic and head's top are flush, which makes gasketing this point easy. With the retainer ring in place, it's pretty rugged:  Next, I made a battery adapter, which has a tapered exterior to form the other part of the head and a threaded interior to accomodate any tube I care to make.  Made a body tube out of UHMW plastic and added a small hole for a contact since the plastic isn't exactly conductive. The contact touches a PC board contact plate in the endcap and a coaxially arranged PC board plate recessed into the head, and thus puts power to the circuitry without requiring the metal parts of the light being in the circuit. Also made a ring out of acetal plastic and mounted a rare-earth magnet into it. It acts as an on-off switch by activating a reed switch inside the head, and that reed switch in turn powers up a MOSFET switching circuit which then feeds the Downboy the power to feed the Cree 3-watter. The design's rock-solid and passes only a few microamps through the reed switch, making it highly unlikely to fuse closed during operation as reed switchers are wont to do. Ring slips over head and adapter bolts to head. Add battery tube, two 123s, and endcap, and voila...  It's only about 4.5" tall, and 2.8" across at the power ring. Fits into my hand comfortably and will drop into the shirt pocket of most shirts.  A little light knurling makes for easier grippage...  And it's bright as hell too!  Finally, a beamshot...  I hear that telltale blue ring is no longer there on the current batches of XLamp 3W. These I have were first-run. Still, it throws rather well - it visibly illuminates the tops of pine tres in my yard even when I'm farther from the tree than it is tall - AND has enough sidespill to be usable. Not bad for my first wholly-from-scratch light... oO
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Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical, liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end. |
11-13-2005, 08:01 PM
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#1
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I want to lix0r thechix0r <3 Hoglysis
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I totally read LED fleshlight.
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elementBAM has two dads. Does this mean immaculate conception and the second coming? Armageddon just got sexy. |
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11-13-2005, 08:02 PM
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#2
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bad ass man, bad. ass.
send me some of your old ones, i need a good light |
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11-13-2005, 08:03 PM
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#3
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I had this name since 1796.
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very nice, do you have antyhign to compare it to brighness wise?
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me: "teh interweb is like watching pron on scrambled Cinemax, no matter how hard you try, you can never get off." |
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11-13-2005, 08:05 PM
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#4
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PIF me one of those cree leds
thanks |
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11-13-2005, 08:08 PM
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#5
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I only looked at the pictures.
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11-13-2005, 08:11 PM
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#6
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I love the smell of freshly fucked poon.
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Seeing you post makes me miss my name.
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Showing front Showing back The falling maple leaf ._--_|\ / Eugene \_.--._/ .......v Do ut des. Becca: They should make you in a blow up doll. |
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11-13-2005, 08:12 PM
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#7
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LED threads are
 share more led content,seriously |
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11-13-2005, 09:12 PM
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#8
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seriously, i'm the worst poster here...really
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congrats on first light mate
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formerly McGee |
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11-13-2005, 09:16 PM
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#9
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how much did that light cost you to make total?
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you rock tobrien! -Code:[M]ayhem ATL krew re% STRAIGHT UP 39TH STREET NIGGAH ALWAYS BALLIN ALWAYS HUSTLIN' 394L NEVER FRONTIN NEVER HATIN |
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11-13-2005, 09:32 PM
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#10
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MY RING DOESNT FIT AROUND MY FAT FUCKING FINGER. REMIND ME
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Quote:
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11-13-2005, 09:36 PM
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#11
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__________________
:) |
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11-13-2005, 09:38 PM
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#12
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YGPM
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you rock tobrien! -Code:[M]ayhem ATL krew re% STRAIGHT UP 39TH STREET NIGGAH ALWAYS BALLIN ALWAYS HUSTLIN' 394L NEVER FRONTIN NEVER HATIN |
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11-13-2005, 09:47 PM
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#13
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that looks ghetto as hell
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11-13-2005, 09:48 PM
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#14
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Fast cars and money
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I love your LED threads
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>:D |
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11-13-2005, 09:50 PM
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#15
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