D.I.Y. Illuminated tailcap

Expensive tho if you don’t need to many due to shipping

I think the extra cost may be worth it for me though. I can’t find a good way to fit the bigger pot on the top.

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Bourns/3302W-3-503E/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvygUB3GLcD7kcnIQ%252b8ji%252bpP7%252bYyTx%2FlYk%3D

Is that the footprint that you originally posted pyro?

Yeh the original will fit that pot

UPDATE:
16mm

17mm

Alright, I was able to fit the bigger POT on the top side, and I think I fit the switch cleanly enough on the bottom side. It’s not as pretty as I wanted, but this time function came before form. Check it for errors please.

The listing I ordered my switches from is no longer active, but these look the same. To make the library part, I used the dimensions from this page, but rechecked most of them myself.

Between Pyro’s and my own boards, we’ll have about any option we want!

Looks good. How about a via for spring bypass between the two wide spread pins just kissing the spring ring?

I’m not sure if I understand. I think I would have to move a trace and even then the hole would be directly under the switch body.

Right, if you flip the switch around so the button is to the top then the via could go at the bottom(~5 o’clock). You would need to slightly alter the switch traces but I think it should work.

The via would be between the wide set pin pads and close to the spring ring with a generous trace but wouldn’t be under the switch at all.

I mean it would be directly under the clicky switch body… And I don’t really understand the purpose.?

It bypasses the spring. The vias are sufficient to carry the current through the board but springs are generally poor conductors and can overheat and lose their temper in high current lights like triples. The via allows even a smaller 22-24 gauge wire to dramatically improve output and protect the spring.

I understand how a spring bypass works, I’m just not following how you want to use the hole. My initial thought was that you wanted to do a DB style pcb-bypass, but are you meaning just to stick the bare wire end into the hole to make soldering easier? If the latter is correct, here you go. It’s a 1.1mm via.

16mm Rev2 and Rev3 use the switch to go between ‘on’ and ‘off’. I’m going to do a Rev4 tomorrow that uses the switch to go between ‘low’ and ‘high’.

I’m posting this teaser now just in case pyro beats me to the punch :wink:
We tend to get the same idea at the same time.

That’s very true funny how that happens. I’m going to let you do the switch versions.
We getting an insane amount of ideas into these switch boards. Go BLF!

I’m going to go ahead and call this the current “Ultimate edition”. As long as you guys don’t find any errors, I’ll be ordering this board very shortly because I can’t think of anything else to add. Of course if we get the transistor idea to work that will bring a completely different level of function, but I think this one will suit my needs perfectly. It’s still not beautiful, but at least it is more balanced now.

It allows for two pots. Only one would be in use at a time, the switch would toggle between the two. So you would use the pots to set ‘high’ and ‘low’ levels at the time of assembly, then use the switch to toggle between those two levels. Or, just leave one of the pots unpopulated and that switch position becomes ‘off’. If you don’t want to use the pots, you can simply bridge the pot pads with a resistor to have essentially the same functionality. Both led’s are on the same circuit.

  • OD of board is 15.93mm (so it should fit almost anywhere)
  • Outer ground ring is 2.1mm wide
  • Gap between rings is 0.93mm
  • ID of spring ring is 7.4mm
  • OD of spring ring is 10.8mm (1.7mm wide)
  • Main power vias are 0.8mm each (1 ounce copper)
  • Accessory vias are 0.5mm each
  • Spring bypass via is 1.1mm

According to my measurements, as long as the pots you use only hang over the edge of their pads a tiny bit, an omten 1288 will slip in perfectly between them. Nothing bigger will fit. Everything on this pcb is packed in tight, so you will need to be careful assembling it.
I highly recommend hot-air reflowing but otherwise I recommend soldering in this order:

  1. slide switch
  2. bypass wire
  3. spring
  4. pots
  5. leds
  6. omten switch

Again, the seller I bought from no longer has them, but I believe these are the same switches.

Once you guys look it over I’ll update the OP.


I don’t see any minimum resistor being set in series. Just wondering, what happens if you set the pot to 0 ohm? With the bleeder resistor only at about 0.5k, will the tiny LED withstand the current?

Nice!

I reflow driver boards on a hotplate btw, works perfect as well.

Right, so don’t set your pots to 0! :bigsmile:

There just isn’t anywhere to put another component that I can see. If you just want the on/off function, Rev2 and Rev3 have the resistor in series with the pot.

With a bleeder of 560 Ohm, and a battery of 4.2V, even without a led the current will be 7.5mA which is fine for those tiny leds. With the led in the circuit it will be less than that.

Good info Djozz.

I’m a bit absent-minded at the moment, so if someone could check my circuit that would be great.

This is just awesome!
Making a simple part that complicated can only being done by BLF :P.