Just did this for fun

Enderman · 2018-07-07T06:03:09.000Z

toddcshoe:

How about ditching the aspherical lens thing, going TIR, and doing a capacitive hidden switch. Nice ramping with that between .5 and 750l would be awesome.

Considered it, the only good TIRs are the led lenser ones, problem is I can’t use a collar with those which means I would get less than half the intensity.
Also there is an area around the transition from center lens to the reflector portion of the TIR where there is a ring of unused area.

Less area = less throw.
They are more practical for regular people though, much less travel needed to focus and unfocus. Also less delicate and cheaper.

nottawhackjob:

Only 1 km throw for an EDC? You’re lightening up a bit I can see.

Tried to keep it a compact tube light single cell it’s just an EDC.
This is as much lux as I could possibly get out of a light this size, there is only 1mm of metal around the lens so almost the entire front of the flashlight gets used for throw.

Don’t worry I’ll post some design stuff another day with much bigger numbers

nottawhackjob · 2018-07-07T06:09:58.000Z

“Don’t worry…….”

Yeah, I was starting to get concerned there for a second. :+1:

yasenf · 2018-07-07T06:32:14.000Z

Looking in my DQG 26650, 38 mm head does not add much bulk, but will give few more lux with bigger lens and space for switch/driver. Also the slightly bigger head will give better support for sliding. Just a thought…

Enderman · 2018-07-07T06:31:14.000Z

nottawhackjob:

“Don’t worry…….”

Yeah, I was starting to get concerned there for a second. :+1:

yasenf:

Looking in my DQG 26650, 38 mm head does not add much bulk, but will give few more lux with bigger lens and space for switch/driver. Just a thought…

Yeah, this is just personal preference, I much prefer tube lights.
Even my P5r.2 which has a head only a few mm bigger than the body annoys me.

CRX · 2018-07-07T13:50:43.000Z

Could be a cool build :+1:

pinkpanda3310 · 2018-07-07T14:00:21.000Z

CRX:

Could be a cool build :+1:

+1

RotorHead64 · 2018-07-07T15:38:27.000Z

I like it :+1:

eas · 2018-07-07T16:04:10.000Z

Nice. Cool idea that looks like it’ll run quite hot.

twisted_raven · 2018-07-07T16:13:30.000Z

Tail clicky for me, or a twisty head. Adding a button on the side would take away from the tube aesthetic.

hIKARInoob · 2018-07-07T16:16:32.000Z

djozz · 2018-07-07T16:28:16.000Z

I like it, get me one of those please

It is pretty close to ideal for me too, I have a love for small throwers and have built quite a few. But I like a waist in a flashlight so my choice would be a 18650 battery.

Can’t find back the led type though, I would expect a Compact PL but the partnr. is different.

SKV89 · 2018-07-07T16:50:20.000Z

Wow 250kcd at the size = instant buy! Please pitch this design to a manufacturer to turn this into reality!

Enderman · 2018-07-07T17:31:56.000Z

twisted raven:

Tail clicky for me, or a twisty head. Adding a button on the side would take away from the tube aesthetic.

Hmm true, the problem is that a tail clicky would add like 10mm more and also remove the magnet at the back.
I was thinking maybe hiding it below the sliding head, like the USB port, but that would be inconvenient.
I will research twisty head mechanisms and circuitry to see if it’s possible to fit that in the 5mm of space there is

hIKARInoob:

Haha

djozz:

I like it, get me one of those please

It is pretty close to ideal for me too, I have a love for small throwers and have built quite a few. But I like a waist in a flashlight so my choice would be a 18650 battery.

Can’t find back the led type though, I would expect a Compact PL but the partnr. is different.

The LED is just newly released, basically the successor to the black flat.

Future development of the maximum luminance of LEDs Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts

Ok so I found out two things: 1) The KW CSLNM1.TG (image A) has a smaller lm and cd value than the KW CELNM1.TG (Image B) simply because the datasheet has a larger bin range for the second one. The website then lists the average lumens and candela as the (min+max) / 2 making it seem like the CELNM is better. image A, CSLNM) [image] image B, CELNM) [image] Even though the CELNM may have a higher bin, we likely will never have a chance to purchase those anyway, so effectively it is the same as…

Neutral center pad, no corner notch, flat top surface, better thermal performance.
https://octopart.com/search?q=KW%20CSLNM1.TG&start=0
Currently not available in small quantities, but the flashlight isn’t something I’m going to build any time soon…

SKV89:

Wow 250kcd at the size = instant buy! Please pitch this design to a manufacturer to turn this into reality!

Yeah it’s like that acebeam W10 but with an LED instead of laser phosphor
I think this is a very specific custom flashlight for my use case, not many manufacturers will make an expensive flashlight that few people will buy.
The wavien collar alone is over $50, and the professional quality lens is about $300.

Agro · 2019-02-15T07:39:45.000Z

How do you secure the lens so it doesn’t fall out of the front? I’m not nitpicking. I’ve been asking myself the question: how does one mount a rimless lens. I failed to find a good answer and just noticed that you use one here….

Firelight2 · 2019-02-15T08:25:29.000Z

Cool idea. A zoomie with a Wavien collar!

This should give considerably better throw than a comparable aspheric zoomie without the collar.

However the collar would have a downside: “Flood mode” when the lens is retracted is going to be VERY narrow. This is because the collar blocks some of the flood beam from hitting the sides of the lens and because it forces the lens to stand off from the LED.

To fix this, the collar itself should be put on a sliding sleave that sits inside the outer bezel. When the bezel is retracted the collar could sit behind the LED. When the bezel is extended, the collar would extend into the proper position to reflect onto the LED.

Of course this would be even more complex to make though. And would make for quite a large EDC.

Also from looking at the cutaway: In addition to adding a switch, you also need to add a retaining ring to prevent the bezel from falling off the light when extended into spot mode.

Enderman · 2019-02-15T18:26:38.000Z

Agro:

How do you secure the lens so it doesn’t fall out of the front? I’m not nitpicking. I’ve been asking myself the question: how does one mount a rimless lens. I failed to find a good answer and just noticed that you use one here….

Press fit or little bit of epoxy, or both.
If I had a ledge on the front or retaining ring or something that would reduce the usable aperture, and I wanted to have as much throw as possible.

Firelight2:

Cool idea. A zoomie with a Wavien collar!

This should give considerably better throw than a comparable aspheric zoomie without the collar.

However the collar would have a downside: “Flood mode” when the lens is retracted is going to be VERY narrow. This is because the collar blocks some of the flood beam from hitting the sides of the lens and because it forces the lens to stand off from the LED.

To fix this, the collar itself should be put on a sliding sleave that sits inside the outer bezel. When the bezel is retracted the collar could sit behind the LED. When the bezel is extended, the collar would extend into the proper position to reflect onto the LED.

Of course this would be even more complex to make though. And would make for quite a large EDC.

Also from looking at the cutaway: In addition to adding a switch, you also need to add a retaining ring to prevent the bezel from falling off the light when extended into spot mode.

You’re right, the flood mode is limited quite a bit due to the collar.
I considered having the collar move with the head, so that it could completely zoom out, but that made it much more complex and also made the light longer, since it would need another 20mm of extension.
The collar will also not be working at any time other than completely zoomed in.

Even with the limited focus range it can still zoom out to ~30 degrees which will give an actually usable spot at close distances less than 100m.
Not bad considering most flashlights and zoomies are 60 degree flood.

Also, I was thinking the o-rings would be stiff enough to prevent the metal ledge on the head portion from sliding off.
How else would I put the head on if there was a retaining edge on the body?

clientequator · 2019-02-15T18:27:10.000Z

Hello Mr. Enderman,

Thank you for sharing this very interesting flashlight! I am curious about the detail:

1) Why not use newer 21700 battery? I think this can make flashlight more easy to carry because it is narrow

2) I notice you say LD_A4 driver for ‘max efficiency’ - but because it is linear driver, dont it mean ‘least efficiency’? You will need buck or buck boost driver for more efficiency, especially at your desire drive current it is quite low. Maybe someone on the forum can help design one! Is there a buck boost driver design by BLF member here?

Hope this can become product in the future. Mr. Enderman I really love your amazing throw-beam project! Good work and very inspired!

chadvone · 2019-02-15T18:33:45.000Z

I just noticed this today. I really like it.

ImA4Wheelr · 2019-02-15T18:35:11.000Z

Very exciting design! So much goodness. This needs to go into production and bare your name.

LouieAtienza · 2019-02-15T18:36:49.000Z

Enderman:

Also, I was thinking the o-rings would be stiff enough to prevent the metal ledge on the head portion from sliding off.
How else would I put the head on if there was a retaining edge on the body?

You could do it the way all the cheap zoomies are made - by having a threaded pill hold the O-rings as well as retain the slider in place. You could then either (a) insert the lens last, or (b) use the friction of the o-ring to get the pill threaded down, then finish tightening it from the inside of the tube by turning it counter-clockwise.

For the lens, you could machine a very shallow groove into the inside of the head, heat it and place the lens. It would take almost nothing to retain the lens sufficiently