Light collimation with an LED flashlight

By the way, did you went 4S cell arrangement and classic FET @#$% with the BLF GT?

I'm loving the fully regulated 2S boost H2-C setup, the driver also proves quite capable of feeding all the meat an XHP35 requires safely and efficiently (see: Buck and Boost Drivers, Testing, Modding, and Discussion (Pic Heavy)).

Cheers

Nope, I don’t really have that money to spend on something I will never use… :confused:
The only flashlights I own are either EDC, or superthrowers I custom buid.
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The reason I would never use a GT is because it only has slightly over 1Mcd, and even with modding it would only go to about 2-3Mcd.
On top of that, it uses 18650 batteries while I prefer to use high capacity 3S lipos.

Also the BLF GT doesn’t have as much cooling as my lights do, so I wouldn’t be able to run LEDs at 6A+ while staying at low temps.
Finally, it’s a big and heavy light, and if I need to bring a backpack to carry some non-EDC light I might as well take my OptoFire with me which also fits in my backpack but gets 4.63Mcd.
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Basically, I would need to buy 18650 batteries, an 18650 charger, and a $111 flashlight, convert all that to CAD and it would end up like $200+ which I would much rather spend on my next project :slight_smile:
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I don’t have a BLF GT, the light used for this testing was my custom aspheric thrower “OptoFire”.

This is the whole point, your way to 2-3Mcd.

I’m at 4.63Mcd already, I need more.
Moooore :smiley:

Well, almost every one wants more actually, but my point is about the BLF GT specifically, not a light that looks like something like a shoulder-fired anti-craft missile launcher. :open_mouth:

At this point I’m willing to build a light that looks like a cake pan as long as it breaks records.
Someone else can mod the GT into a 2-3Mcd thrower, I just have slightly different personal interests :slight_smile:

Very well then, a record-breaking cake pan we go! :+1:

:+1:
You will see it hopefully soon, maybe christmas :slight_smile:
3d model is almost complete, will start buying parts soon.

Followed a link to this topic.
Excellent method for tuning a thrower. :+1:

Would this method work for centering the led to the reflector and to adjust the height of the led in the reflector?

Nice work Enderman!

bookmarking for later use :wink:

Thanks, I knew people would find it useful :slight_smile:

Only for the height. In order to center it you would need to make the reflector perfectly parallel to the wall, and then have the template on the wall lined up with the reflector on both axis.

Thank you :slight_smile:

Too bad I’m almost indifferent towards optics (I really don’t know why) and throwers. This kind of stuff is not for everyone nor for every day use. I’m convinced that even years from now people are going to consult your posts. I think these things cost time. Kudos! :+1: :beer:

Curiosity: in (castillian) spanish the word “led” is an acronym, and of course we pronounce it as a word in its own right. Odd it is to see a certain subset of english speakers pronouncing it as a sequence of independent character initials: http://www.wordreference.com/definition/led. I wholeheartedly support the ;-) “jamaican” way (listen to the speechs in wordreference).

Regarding this thread's title, thus saying “a led flashlight” is equally correct.

Cheers :-)

Thank you for this thread Enderman. I tried your method above with the 2 pieces of paper. It verified that the GT was, at a minimum, very close to focused. So much better approach then the way I have been doing it (i.e. eyeballing and repeatedly measuring throw).

My hat felt , by itself , in regard of your work , Enderman ! As always , science at the highest level ! Thanks , and my humble respects !...

Thanks great to hear!
The GT does look very well focused from the beamshots.


Thanks :slight_smile:
I wanted to find a way to make sure I was getting maximum throw without having to take lux measurements 1+km away while focusing the flashlight at the same time.
So I figured this out :smiley:

A few questions since I plan on trying this:

  • I should be able to just resize your image to whatever size I need right? No need to make my own, just keep the proportions and resize to whatever light I want?
  • The second sheet is just a copy right? Your photo is zoomed in so it almost appears like the remote paper is larger but I suspect it’s just an illusion and they are the same size since we want parallel lines.
  • In the below image you say it’s “overfocused”. In the case of a normal reflector would this image mean the LED is too far IN the reflector or vice versa? And just to be very explicit the solution would be to make the centering ring thicker or thinner?

I wonder why I’m just now seeing this thread. Thanks for linking back to it from the Osram “White Flat” thread, Enderman. And thanks for making this thread a while back.

contactcr, the second sheet is a copy, the same size as the first. You were right in thinking they need to be parallel. I don’t know the answer to your second question, but I would guess overfocused means the LED is too far IN. Let’s see if I’m right or wrong when somebody who knows comes back around.

Great article, thanks for the repost!