Flew my flashlight tonight

Got in to FPV quadcopter hobby recently, its only natural to mix it with our flashlight hobby.
My ultimate solution to the “flashlight not enough throw” problem is to go look closer with a drone.

=Components=

  • Aluminum “Sunflower” Heat Sink
  • Buck converter driver
  • XHP50.2 6V (used in video) or XHP70.2 6V
  • TIR Lenses, different sizes and angles, the one used in the video has 21mm diameter and “10 degree angle”.
  • Thermal pad
  • Cost: Using XHP50.2, making one light would costs less than 25 USD for me.

=Driver=

  • PWM controlled buck converter, Vin 3-36V, Vout 0-(Vin minus 2V), Iout 0-3A. Output current controlled by PWM duty cycle, 0-100%.
  • Use one for XHP50.2, max output 2500lm
  • Use two in parallel for XHP70.2, max output 4500lm
  • PWM signal generated from drone’s flight controller, can adjust from radio controller inflight.
  • Drone battery usually 4S (10.8V-16.8V) or 6S (16.2V-25.2V). For buck converter, Vout < Vin-2V, so 12V LEDs are only suitable for 6S batteries, 6V LEDs suitable for both battery types.
  • On the other hand, the driver doesn’t specify max power, only max current, so using 12V LEDs can double the power output per driver.

=Headlight=

  • Total weight of headlight 38.5g, not affecting flight performance too much (drone weights ~600g including a 6S 1550mAh battery).


=Flashlight host=

From left to right

  1. Bluetooth receiver
  2. Radio receiver
  3. Buzzer + LED (for recovering drone if crashed)
  4. GPS + Compass
  5. FPV video transmitter + camera
  6. Flight controller + ESC (Electronic Speed Controller, i.e. motor driver) all-in-one board

=TADA=

Nice video. It reminds me of the DJI spotlight addon they do for the DJI drones: https://youtu.be/JNFoWIH84Qk?t=310

What was your light setup? and how much did it effect flight handling?

Drone spotlights…
I can see immense applications for these, once perfected. Especially in military and law enforcement. But also internal building inspection.

Sorry, the video quality is not ideal…its recorded from DJI FPV goggle (720p), and YouTube further reduces quality. Might buy an Insta360 go2 camera to capture better footage in the future.

Updated the post with the modding details. Doesn’t affect flight handling too much, light weighs 38.5g, drone’s total weight is ~600g.

Immense fun as well :beer:
Every country in the world is tightening the laws on drones, might not be able to fly for much longer.

Yes, loads of fun is really in the top end of this. :+1: Also, if you’re into overnight hiking/camping out in difficult terrain, so useful to be able to send the drone out ahead to scout for potential issues, especially if doing a night hike.

But you’re right, the regs on drone use are just getting started. Already it’s pretty tough using them in busy city areas. People are quick to call in drones to police, who will then hit you with serious fines when they follow the drone back to the origin (if they can keep up with it). Already some enterprising companies have come up with shoulder launched drone countermeasures, as well as drones specifically designed to take out other drones.

What ever happened to the guy experimenting with the drone/flashlight combos?

Absolutely Fantastic leestrong, Great job modding !! :+1:
That looks like a lot of fun :sunglasses:
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I have tried to fly a quad with no success, no video game experience LOL
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Yeah, gotta come up with countermeasures, like “dark mode”, being able to duck down low and go into landspeeder-mode vs flying high, and going evasive to intentionally look like you’re going in one direction and then going landspeeder and heading off in a different direction, etc.

Totally, such a hostile environment for this hobby, have to assume every living person may call the police.

I prefer flying at night, with black electrical tapes covering all indicator LEDs, nobody will see or notice. My biggest fear is that someday the police will be equipped with real-time RF signal scanner and location tracker.

Thank you for your kind words. You are right, flying quadcopter is hard, I practiced in simulator for 30 hours before flying the real thing, and I am still not confident doing tricks.

:smiley: Gotta test the 911 response time at my location, and never fly longer than that.

Guys I want to try some other emitters for this headlight.
Now I am choosing between XHP70.2 90+CRI 5700K or XHP70.2 70+CRI 4000K. High CRI is attractive, but I worry the cooler color temperature will create a brighter wall-of-light which reduces contrast on camera, what do you guys think?
Also open to other emitter suggestions :beer: .

Well done!! Great piloting and soo much potential for this….

……as far as emitters, try em all!