Night Missions

[elblat]

Haven't needed to night boulder yet, but tech is getting better fast.

Just got five luxeon 3W 125lm white LEDs @ 800mA each for $20. A small battery and driver for each should give >5 hours of light for less than 1lb and $10 each light. We'll see if I got ROCed on the deal when I try to light up a boulder.

6000K won't look too natural, but neither did anything else.

[elblat]

Oh yes, CAT4101 mostly-complete hi-eff driver for $3

http://www.onsemi.com/pub_link/Collateral/CAT4101-D.PDF

I'm gonna break my fucking head again. Shirtless bloody 1AM ER visits FTW

[elblat]

Mark VI night bouldering lights. 240 lumens each light. I run a six hour bouldering session for $0.12 in electricity with them.

Lucked out, found some very nice NiMH on eBay for cheap. like $3k worth for $80. They are overpowered and too heavy and run the lights for 9+ hours.

The circuit:
http://infohost.nmt.edu/~bob/night_bouldering/LVDO_current_limit.eps

Surplus BGA heatsink drilled and tapped:


Emitter on heatsink, surplus fan and acrylic lens


Soldering to the MCPCB is a bit different


emitter, heatsink and fan


Completed light head, ~120 lumens, lexan cover


Electrical/fan spin test, LED at 1/10th brightness


Assembling battery cutoff signal and current driver boards


Boards cut apart and ready to go


Completed two-head positionable light with battery and tripod legs (folded)


Light deployed with tripod legs out


I made this many before I figured out how to make them much better


NiMH is a bitch to charge, custom charging system


These suck. Sure they are super bright, one lights up a 60 square foot boulder face. And they run for nine hours or more. But they are 3lbs each and 20" long, and the fan makes a quiet but noticable hum. The lenses are too tight a beam and you have to put them far from the boulder to get good coverage.

The Mark VIIs are a little more expensive, but half the weight, 1/3 the size, a little brighter with a wider beam and no fans needed.

[VTP]

DAAAAAAAAAMN. hey i want one.



i use two of these right now, last about 6 hours with 4 80-120watt equivalent CFLs. not nearly as cheap or efficient as one of those.

new beta, dont get the electromate, theyre choss.

[elblat]

i use two of these right now, last about 6 hours with 4 80-120watt equivalent CFLs.

That seems like a good setup, the biggest hassle with the generator system was laying out and rolling up the damn cords. Being able to move easily from boulder to boulder is very nice... 32lbs each tho has got to suck!

[elblat]

Just got five luxeon 3W 125lm white LEDs @ 800mA each for $20. A small battery and driver for each should give >5 hours of light for less than 1lb and $10 each light. We'll see if I got ROCed on the deal when I try to light up a boulder.

Turns out they are some sort of Luxeon K2. A very good deal from these guys:
http://c-leds.com/shop/

[hweight]

So . . . you're making dildos? I think I might be lost.

[elblat]

So . . . you're making dildos? I think I might be lost.

Just close your eyes and relax, charging is almost complete.

[ikeaboy]

you are clearly very, VERY bored

[lerp]

awww lookit how cute it is. all growns up.....bBBBBBBBBBZZZT AHHHH GET IT OFF ME AHHHHHHH

[BmfB]

DAAAAAAAAAMN. hey i want one.



i use two of these right now, last about 6 hours with 4 80-120watt equivalent CFLs. not nearly as cheap or efficient as one of those.

new beta, dont get the electromate, theyre choss.

bring my ish baacck!

[BmfB]

elblat,

can you post some pics in action when you get some?

B

[elblat]

can you post some pics in action when you get some?

Some shitty pix of the Mark VIs capability (no flash, but not a fast exposure)

[elblat]

So, like I mentioned earlier, partway through making Mark VIs I figured out how to make Mark VII. Better emitters with a lower Vf so I can run fewer cells (less weight, less bulk). More efficient => no fans. Red light starts flashing an hour before the lights start to dim, and stays on after low voltage shutdown so they don't get left in the bush at the end of the session. More of an analog challenge due to low voltage and low dropout requirements.

Code: Select all

          VI          VII
runtime   9.5         6.5  hours
output    240         400  lumens
weight    3.2         1.8  lbs
lens       25          40  degrees


The new ones fold up smaller, deploy bigger (wider between lights => less shadowing), light up more rock each. are truly silent. Plus there are bells and whistles: low battery warning, battery meter, soft start, thermal fuse, fixed thresholds (no adjustments).

The circuit:
http://infohost.nmt.edu/~bob/night_bouldering/mark_VII/LVDO_current_limit_low_voltage_2ch.eps

Prototype light head:


Folded up for transport:


Deployed for boulderfyin:


Battery, meter circuit, driver:


The bad news. While Mark VI cost less than $20/unit, less than lanterns, brightbars, etc, Mark VII approached $30/unit.

[bueller]

rad. how's the durability/proposed lifespan of the markvii?

[elblat]

rad. how's the durability/proposed lifespan of the markvii?

Good question.

On one hand, the NiMHs with the custom charger should last for a couple years, prolly five or six. The design runs everything well in spec so emitters should last forever (guaranteed 70% lumen maintenance after 50,000 hours at a higher drive current and junction temp than I am running, => over 8000 6-hour night missions), MOSFETS are cool, design holds batteries firmly in place but padded with flame-resistant foam and the light heads are encased in polycarbonate (Lexan). I have dropped one to the concrete (on accident) with no apparent damage. I fused and put thermal cutoffs on the battery packs to try to prevent fires.

However, the legs and pivots are not drunk-proof. On Saturday a well-meaning individual bent the shit outta one on a Mark VI. At least they are cheap and simple to make (Aluminum angle with one hole drilled). Also the electronics have not been real-world tested for more than a few night missions. They should be OK left in the rain or even submerged (low voltages), but that also has not been tested.

[bueller]

youz a bamf.

[skav]

How far away are the VIIs positioned? Have you tried different styles of lenses or are you set on the directional? If you're going to be lighting up the bolders that well you may as well light the surrounding area.

I want 4. tee. BILLION.

[elblat]

How far away are the VIIs positioned? Have you tried different styles of lenses or are you set on the directional?

Another good question. I started with the 25 degree but you had to position the lights pretty far away from the boulder to get good lighting. I tried a diffuser on that but it ate a dismaying amount of photons. I switched to a 40 degree lens which is about perfect.

If you're going to be lighting up the bolders that well you may as well light the surrounding area.

Indeed, and the lens assembly is clear and the emitter is bright so there is enough spillover to find your beer, shoes, chat up the co-ed, see the rattlesnake coming (happened), etc. A truly unidirectional light is very annoying without a really good diffuser, the flux density from such tiny sources is high enough to cause glare. People tend to stand behind the lights when between burns. Good diffuser design would eliminate that problem, but I feel that it's unneccessary.

[skav]

Word. I was thinking along the lines of a high dome that would work well under roofs. 3 individual units would probably be enough to kill most shadows and they wouldn't need much in the way of legs. Might even be able to mount them to the battery pack.