grins projector, recoil and test light builds

Looks sick :smiley:
lux?

I cant get the measurements right it is something I have to work on. Last few months have been a steep learning curve. I have watched Matt Smiths video many times but still doesnt read properly. I have got readings between 1600m and 2800m. I will get it right eventually it is just a matter of time.
I have a fair selection of lens and have built prototypes and have some other bigger lights half built. I have
2 x 145mm FL 370mm
1 x 150mm FL 200mm
1 x 150mm FL 300mm
1 x 75mm FL 150mm
1 x 178mm FL 319mm
A heap of lens under 100mm so there will be a few builds coming up.
Here is a prototype/test light with 100mm precollimator and 145mm primary the light engine has Sbt-90.2 and Q8 driver. Again I dont have any figures.



The collar does make a difference even with the aperture not being the right size and not polished as well as it could be. The next one I will machine from aluminium.

Some more photos of the test light above. The FL is too long for the W30 light engine so I will shorten it today and see how it goes.


The tree is about 50m

Another test rig with 178mm fl 319mm lens, SBT-90.2

W30 beam left

Thanks ” grin ” , this helps give some perspective on actual application. :+1: I’m going to experiment with these lenses too.
.
I ordered an aspheric lens for my water cooled light, diameter 104mm x focal length 110mm, the biggest I could find with a short FL.
This was the last mod on this light that was planned from the start.
I want to order a SBT90.2 and a driver for it but CHINA is down and out of business.
.

Omg. Subscribed This is what im talkimg about!!! Ive built some super thrower using 100+mm lens from rear projection DLP TVs with short Focal length. Keep up the good work and lets see some more cool pics.No ones rocking 56k anymore so let them rip!

Life has to go on I have found not a real lot has changed things are coming in as normal. Although Q8 driver delivery will be slow and problematic even without the pandemic.

WOW those are some big boy aspherics, I love it!

I have not seen precollimator builds these years. Could you share some pros and cons to using a precollimator?

Does the FL change when you use two lens?

Where do you get your giant aspherics?

If you want to have better assurance on your measurements; I recommend you to purchase one of maukka’s calibrated lights. He measures everything from CRI, tint, to even lux!
Link:https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/52082

You could get your own lux meter and compare his lux reading with yours to find a multiplier value for your lux meter.

I started with some fasttech lens 100mm and 63mm. long focal length lens are thinner and seem to be cheaper

There are some decent lenses on aliexpress aliexpress $109.23 15%OFF | K9 Large Optical Glass Magnifying Glass Lens Focal Length 385mm 319.5mm Plano Convex Lens Dia 178mm 145mm Big Plano-convex 淘宝网 - 淘!我喜欢

There are also some (I think) reasonable lenses from edmundoptics

Haha This sounds like blah blah blah. From my observations a long focal length is better than a shorter focal length. The precollimator will shorten the focal length making the light more practical. Although this does increase the hotspot size and brightness and also reduce throw. The closer the precollimator is to its focal point the shorter the distance from the primary lens. If the precollimator is in focus the primary wont focus making it useless.
The best way to see what I mean is to grab 2 cheap lenses and a light with the reflector removed hold them in front outside at night and move them to different distances. One distance can be fixed and the other lens moved to adjust focus. This will give you a better understanding of what happens. That is how I worked it out. It is hard for me to explain because I did no calculations. I hope that helps

I will follow up on your suggestion of a calibration light.

May we get a link without click tracking?
Like
a>www.aliexpress.com/item/(item number).html
rather than
a>s.click.aliexpress.com/(whatever)
?

Yeah sorry about that. I cant work out how to find it does this help?
#_d6I3SJh#

Edit
I use the app on my tablet. This is what I get when i copy the item number. When ever I look for something in a browser it takes me to the german site.
To view 【AU $109.23 15%OFF | K9 Large Optical Glass Magnifying Glass Lens Focal Length 385mm 319.5mm Plano Convex Lens Dia 178mm 145mm Big Plano-convex】 on AliExpress with code #_dVTdqFZ#, copy the whole sentence and open the app.

Thanks for the link. The convex lens on Edmund is interesting. For maximum throw on flashlights, what is the difference between using an aspheric or a spherical lens?

Doing some searches, I find aspherical lens are like a lottery.

Did you machine your own collar? How?

Aspherical lens is like having a very short focal length and I cant get the ones I have to focus properly. My idea originally thought was to use one to do away with the RLT but didnt work like I thought.

I have had a go at making the RLT out of stainless steel butt weld dome endcaps. These do work but i cant get the numbers I have seen quoted but then again I cant seem to get the numbers right anyways. I also brought a marinebeam for the collar to compare with the ones I have had a go at making.
I also think the aperture is fairly important and should be adjusted according to focal length. For the next ones I have got some round nose router bits and I will bore the aperture before I cut.the hemisherical surface.

It would be very interesting to see how your collar compares the th Wavien RLT

One idea that just came to mind after reading your comment,
You could resin print a collar, polish with a steel ball bearing, and then mirror coat it.

I reckon this will visibly change the beam intensity, it cant not.

Yo…… Is that a gutted W30 or L2K?!! XD
Please post more pics O:

You could boost your driver up a bit like Vinh from SkyLumen. His boosted W30s are all 2.1~2.7Mcd

May I get an approximate measurement or size of the “right angle prism mirror”, the one that is visible above the yellow phosphor? I am building my own LEP and need to figure out about what mirror size to get.

I should not have been posting yesterdy but I will leave it here for the pics might even remember what i was on about…. and canexplain or add more pics.
Funny I do remember what I was on about. So I will fix the posts up that make no sense.

it is a w30 that I cut off and turned a flange on the end then made an adaptor that slide the torch a retaining holds it in place. The adaptor is the same size that I use to screw in to lots of different lens setups






This didnt work the aperture was to small and blocked the light. but it did make a visible increase to the beam.

Some pics of a few lenses half built. Not excactly sure what LEDs are going in them yet.

Few things to keep in mind that I have worked out through trial and error.
-The total length of the lens train can be no more than the focal length of the primary lens
-For max throw the secondary lens is better closer to the LED
-For maximum lumens down the paddock the secondary lens is better further way from the LED
-a longer focal length lens is better than a short focal length