Thanks
I just found your build threads on your so called âflashlightâ builds Enderman, I must say I greatly admire your engineering skills and workmanship on your projects. Seriously great work.
+1 âŚâŚ :+1: ⌠He quiet frankly amazes me with the things he comes up with.
Better add me here as well though he does know anyway.
Hey thanks guys
Here are a few overexposed beamshots which look really cool
And here are some which arenât overexposed. The sky wasnât super dark because itâs summer and it was early morning (like 2am).
Still waiting for my custom CFT90 driver to arrive, canât wait to see what 5x more lumens will do to the beam!
I have to admit, focusing this thing is a pain even with the three-screw system, part of the reason being the small LED and huge angle off-axis (like 85 degrees) that most of the reflector collects light at.
Havenât been able to get more than 7.5mcd yet which is a bit disappointing.
I will be attempting to focus it better and measure again in one or two weeks, Iâll let you guys know if I get an improvement.
This optic system is great for getting extremely high luminous efficiency, collecting close to 90% of all the lumens into the beam and spot (more than any other type of optic!) so the CFT90 or other high output LED (dedomed XHP70.2? ) is probably a better fit for this type of flashlight.
I donât recommend this type of retro-reflector for anyone making a superthrower, unless you use a long focal length mirror similar to a telescope, in which case it will behave more like a lens and lose the high efficiency.
Still glad that this set a new record for LED searchlights/flashlights as far as I know there isnât any other LED light that can throw further, not even LED lighthouses.
I think your friend youâre building one for is ready to come pick it up
Looking forward to seeing the CFT-90 in action!
Same, I think this upgrade will make the whole project worth it, despite lower than expected candela.
It should also make it easier to focus thanks to the larger die, so who knows, it might get higher than 7.5M no promises thoughâŚ
Nice pics!
Have you tried varriing the height of the LED?
Genial :+1:
What is a reasonable price for the CFT-90 LED? I heard some rumours about 70-100 Euros/Dollars, so probably something youâd better handle with velvet gloves on.
For a second, I thought I was in the wrong tab of my browser⌠which is LPF
Nice, really nice pencil beam Enderman !
Thanks There is no need, since I can simply vary the height of the reflector by adjusting all three screws equal amounts.
The problem with focusing isnât the z-position of the LED or reflector, itâs getting all areas of the reflector to be reflecting the LED image perfectly forward, so tilting in different directions.
Thanks!
Yeah I paid over $150 CAD for it, so about 100 eur⌠itâs not cheap.
Haha thank you
A couple of you have seen my creations and now Iâd like to try one of this type.
Would this reflector be too cheap and nasty for this application?
Someone on TLF is making a huge project with 3 of the 24â ones, but havenât seen any updates in a while.
I have no idea how accurate their surface is, or what the reflectivity of the polished aluminum is.
It seems like just a stamped piece of metal, which would be far less precise than electroformed optics.
You get what you pay for, right?
If youâre not trying to get amazingly high lux, just collect all the flux from the LED into a beam, then Iâm sure it will work fine for you.
It will! There are now beamshots from vin which show the difference nicely:
Thrunite Tn42 with Osram Black Flat
Thrunite Tn42 with Luminus CFT-90 (only 24A I think...)
One thing I notice on your beamshots is that the beam looks a bit "fuzzy" for such a large reflector. Maybe this is caused by the spcial orentation of the LED? It doesn't look optimal to me.
One thing I notice on your beamshots is that the beam looks a bit âfuzzyâ for such a large reflector. Maybe this is caused by the spcial orentation of the LED? It doesnât look optimal to me.
The outer diameters of the reflector not only reflect fewer lumens, but there is a larger area too, which causes the intensity of the beam to decrease towards the outsides of the beam.
I think thatâs what you mean by the fuzzy look.
A forward facing reflector kinda does the opposite, as you go to the outer edges of the reflector you approach ~45 degree angle which is where the most lumens are emitted by the LED.
Same for a lens, much sharper looking beam.
Even though the beam isnât as bright towards the edges of my reflector it should still contribute as much to the lux as all other areas, assuming it is focused perfectly, which currently it is not
Thanks for the comparison Driver!