Hi everyone, my name is Liam. I would like to introduce myself and give you a quick run-down on what brought me to BLF.
I live in New Zealand and have always liked tinkering with electronics and mechanical stuff. I have a project on the go which I would like to reach out for help and advice. What better place than the BLF!
I would like to build my own flash light. The reason being that there seems to be nothing on the market that satisfies all my requirements. Which surprises me because I thought my requirements were relatively modest.
So, my requirements are as follow:
Powerful (equal to or greater than 1000 Lm)
Variable output (eg a pot control)
Good throw (equal to or greater than 300m)
Nice to have:
Momentary-on, clicky switch
Zoomable beam
Warm light
Housing:
I would like it to be as compact and budget friendly as possible. By compact I mean standard tactical light size.
Power supply:
3.7v (most likely 18650: I already have high-drain unprotected 3000mAh cells and standard protected 1800mAh cells in my collection)
I know a little bit about electronics and have played around with buck converters and LED’s previously.
Background:
I work as a law enforcement officer and my standard issue flashlight is a ‘Streamlight Multi Ops 3aaa’. This is a woefully inadequate light that is very much hated upon by myself and my colleagues. Our three-primary bug-bares are that this light is underpowered (50 Lm), power hungry (only accepts aaa batteries that require frequent replacement), no throw (good for about 20m).
I’ve noticed it is popular for flashlight manurfactures to refer to multi-modes and strobe as tactical features. As for me, who works in a tactical occupation, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In a tactical scenario I don’t want to be clicking through different modes, and strobes offer no tactical advantage. From a tactical standpoint I want my light at the press of a button and the option to dial in my intensity and range independently. These seem like modest requirements, yet I have been unsuccessful finding a light that offers these features. Therefore, I wish to set about making my own. What suggestions do you have to get me started?
Thanks in advance for your input. Liam.