Making a 12-Up out of Mini-Mags and Nichias. It's Finished and BEAM SHOTS are up now!!

Yep, I think it’s the best way to go too and that’s what I am looking at doing.

More photos in the OP.

Nice looking bunch of parts you’ve got going one there Justin. Don’t know how you plan on reflowing all those emitters but if I may I’ll share my own very brief experience with you. I haven’t done this but a few times, but it’s been a great success. I got some solder paste from Lowes, over in the plumbing dept, called Solder-It. It was like $4.00. I have a 1/8” thick stainless steel plate that’s 6” in diameter that I got for our induction glass stove-top for when we’re canning. Our canning pot has a recess in the bottom that won’t let the induction burner stay on so the plate fills that recess and keeps continuous contact on the glass top for excellent heat control via the pot switch. So I warmed up the plate, put solder paste on the copper stars using a needle to spread it out then laid the emitter on top of the paste. Did this with 4 stars at once. Laid em on the warmed plate then turned the heat up to medium and watched closely. The flux flowed, the solder melted, the emitters sat down on the star boards and I pushed the plate over to the cold neighboring contact surface and shut the heat down. Gave it about 10-20 seconds then moved the stars to an aluminum heat sink to cool down. The boards are pristine, no blackening of any kind and the emitters are centered very nicely. All done in one shot. Had to remove the stars from the plate pretty quick as it stays hot for a very long time.

Done this way, all 12 can be reflowed in about 5 minutes. Just a thought.

This is looking good! I like how it is going together. Home-grown TM26 or BS Terminator with 92CRI. Nice!

i really hope this beats the living crap out of the tm26 :slight_smile:

Three Nichias driven well should beat one XM-L U2. This has the potential to out-lumen the TM26 or BS Terminator. It might out throw the TM26, but the Terminator will probably take the throw prize.

This is so crazey it might just work! :open_mouth:

This is gonna be sick! Have you figured how you’re going to test it without 14500s?

Sorry, I just returned to the thread to see how it was coming along. The amount of current used by the mcu will be very small and the first method only requires a wire from the master to each slave to activate it. Just wire each individual light with B+ to the LEDs but not the board, led- to the LEDs, and ground back to B-. Then run a wire from V+in on each driver back to the master. If the cells are balanced then the master will dim them all when it’s battery runs down. If they aren’t balanced then one light will dim before the others and you will know that cell is bad. If all the cells are tied together then a weak cell will pull the rest down prematurely but you won’t be able to tell. Fewer wires with version one gets my nod.

Another way to go is put all the drivers or just the master with a big stack of chips in the center copper tube along with a 5th cell. That copper plate ties all of the B~~’s together(through the casings) so you would need led~~ to each of the four satellite hosts. Tying the B+’s together is optional but not necessary. What works best is not always synonymous with what can be done the best.

I need to sign up for some kind of 'driver boot camp' with an angry drill sergeant and everything. If I could force myself to stick with it I could figure it out, but I read something like that and my eyes glaze over and I drool a little and I get a headache, and I have to move on to something else before there's any permanent damage...

I get that look all the time comfychair, when I try to explain my new lights or the mods I’m making to my family. LOL My wife walks out of the room hoping I’m so into the talk of lights I won’t notice she’s gone. :wink:

[bad of me I know, but sometimes it works to get her to move on so I can concentrate]

so help me if this ever goes up for sale in the marketplace… ill trade both my kidneys and my right arm for this one!

Thanks, LEDs are already done (photo in the OP). I just use my soldering iron. I've gotten fairly good at it.

Well, I am going to see who wants to send me four fully charged 14500 IMR’s for testing and then I can send them back when the test is done. It’s either that or I use 12 Eneloops!

LOL, that's about my permanent state with this mod. I don't know how I talked myself into it.

COOL! Then you can make a replacement arm with LEDs in the fingertips and the power pack inside the arm!Laughing

I think it’s me not the subject matter ’cause I’ve learned to recognize that look and break off an explanation. Some things are just not meant for public consumption and I guess Duck chatter is among them. My appologies for headaches, loss of sleep, etc.

Justin, I just acquired 8 brand new 14650 cells and may have a matched set of 4 x 14500’s. I’ll check in 2hrs when I get home for a brief stint.

Keep Quackin bud, we hain't got no problem wid it.Wink

That’s a relief since I can’t see anyone’s eyes over the Internet.

Have you made up your mind about the wiring?