With a lens the same size and a custom wavien collar that collects more than 60 degrees it should be possible using a synios LED.
Problem is that getting a lens that size will require a custom made option which will cost $1000, and another $1000 for a custom collar.
Also it will output like 100 lumens not the most practical thing.
But you’re right if you’re talking about using the same optic, the reflector, then it will probably be at least 5 years or maybe never since the laser+phosphor will replace high intensity LEDs.
I think the acebeam W10 will also only produce a few hundred lumens or maybe even less, they don’t even advertise the lumen output lol.
Since many of you probably don't know the the driver that was used here, I have some more pictures.
From left to right: classic 105C, Ampere! driver, Stripe v4 dimmer module, USB programmer for the dimmer module (the linked pages are in German). You can ugnor the cables, they are not stock.
The conditions where very good which allowed me to make the beamshots I have been wanting for quite a while (ANSI distance of the light or further). They were taken with an Olympus E-520 using the following settings:
Aperture F/8
Shutterspeed 30s
ISO 1600
I purposefully overexposed them to allow for viewing under daylight conditions (in reality the sky was dark). The target is the water tower to the left of and behind the building (which itself was 1.4km away) in a distance of 3.4km.
The Osram Black Flat that is currently in the light has started to become damaged. There is a black dot in the middle that is growing over time when the light is used. To recap, this led has it’s maximum brightness at 4.45A (tested on a large, passively cooled heatsink) and it’s driven at 4.5A in the light. I sometimes run the light for longer periods at max output.
My plan is to put the new Osram Boost HX LED into the light when it becomes available. The light was designed with such a high-current LED in mind (driver goes up to 12A, lots of mass). Using a more conservative current (6A-7A?) and advanced heatsinking techniques (soldering the led with Indium, liquid metal thermal paste) should ensure that the LED never dies again. With a bit of luck the luminous intensity should stay the same and not drop as much when the light is running.
The wider beam with at least 50% more lumens will be more visible making the light more impressive.
The black spot forming is usually because the emitter got something on it, a spec of dust, oil from the hands, a bit of thermal compound or a splash of flux from soldering… something on the face of the die burns into it when running and ultimately kills it. I had this happen to two emitters in my 17 emitter monster, had to disassemble it and replace them which was not easy. Totally understand how it feels, so disappointing but in the end it can be a good thing as we learn along the way, right?
I need to learn to anodize without ruining the parts I just made… Your light is very nice looking, bet you can’t wait to make the new improvements.
Yes, that is also a possibility. In this case the spot is exactly at the center of the die where the highest temperature is reached. I think the LED is overheating by quite a bit. The strongly degrading brightness that I measured (down to 70%) also points to this conclusion.
Most people use this LED in smaller lights with DD drivers. The current falls quickly in those lights. In my light the LED is driven slightly beyond it’s absolute maximum continuously until the batteries are empty (2h).
I think I need to be much more conservative regarding the current.
Is the MCPCB isolated from the copper pillar? The Black Flat requiring isolation from ground due to the negative lead sharing the ground pad is problematic when trying to keep a good thermal path, I’ve found. My answer is to glue the MCPCB down with Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive, it allows a good thermal path but isolates the current. That or re-flow the MCPCB to the copper sink and just use direct drive with the current limited, no modes….
No need for isolation. My light was designed for this. Thats why we used a battery carrier that has both contacts on the same side (thus no current flows through the flashlight body).
No, we would never use a cherry picked LED for such testing.
not the most practical thing.
nice.
