Super-bright floody wide-angle headlamp with separate (belt clip) battery pack

owkaye · 2019-11-14T16:16:28.000Z

I do a lot of work outside at night, and I need my hands free all the time.

I’m willing to build one if I cannot find one to purchase, but ideally someone here will point me to a floody, wide-angle, high-lumen (2000 or more) headlamp — with a separate battery pack that clips onto my belt or pants waistband:

- It only has to run on high for about an hour at a time.

- A simple on-off or stepped interface is best (no strobe, SOS, etc).

- I don’t care too much about color temperature at this point.

- I think I prefer one or more 18650 batteries.

- The headlamp part should clip or velcro onto a baseball cap.

The connecting cord should be flexible, even in the cold.

I really do not need or want yet another ‘project’ at this time, but … if I have to build it myself I will probably go for high-CRI emitters and whatever other components are readily available to make the build as fast and easy as possible.

My overall goal is to wear the battery on my waist (to minimize the weight on my head) and to have tons of light output in a wide, floody pattern.

Is there such a product as this, or do I need to make one myself?

Miodrag · 2019-11-17T03:07:35.000Z

Whole evening I was looking for suitable lamp for me, and while I was searching I came across something that fits yours description:

JAXMAN M1

I have no idea how good this lamp is - but it fits yours description…

BillyBobJoe · 2019-11-17T03:04:35.000Z

Your link is broken. Here it is fixed:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000118308868.html

Lightbringer · 2019-11-17T03:07:26.000Z

Just keep in mind that at 2000 lemons, unless you’re willing to wear a Q8 on your head, it’ll get hot rather quickly.

YuvalS · 2019-11-17T08:52:26.000Z

in addition to what Lightbringer said most driver will step down the brightness when reaching threshold temperature so unless you have really good (big and heavy) heat sink you wont be able to use 2000 (or more) Lm for more the couple of minuets.

I don't know what do you plan to use the light for but 2000Lm is overkill for most activities in close range you will blind yourself.
have a look at this light, it can run for an hour on about 1000Lm and has an option for a belt battery clip but it defiantly not budget
https://www.scurion.ch/jm19/en/lamps-en-eg/model-overview/scurion-1500-en-gb.html

Mike_C · 2019-11-17T11:19:27.000Z

Miodrag:

“JAXMAN M1” I have no idea how good this lamp is - but it fits yours description…

No. The OP is asking for a floody wide-angle headlamp. I don’t think the Jaxman M1 fits that description. The “flood” version might be more floody than the original, but I still don’t think it can be called wide angle.

owkaye · 2019-11-18T15:22:12.000Z

I don’t know what do you plan to use the light for but 2000Lm is overkill for most activities in close range you will blind yourself.

I own a Teslacom flashlight (12 emitters and four 18650 cells) advertised at 10,000 lumens but subjectively rated at about 2000 lumens. It is bright enough, but even though it is very floody I could still use more light, thus the reason why I specified at least 2000 lumens.

In addition to what Lightbringer said, most drivers will step down the brightness when reaching threshold temperature so unless you have really good (big and heavy) heat sink you wont be able to use 2000 (or more) Lm for more the couple of minutes.

My Teslacom light has never stepped down, even when I let it run for a couple hours on high … but I suspect that it is such a good heat sink that stepdown is not even programmed into it. It doesn’t even get hot. Slightly warm, yes, but only slightly. Not even close to hot.

No. The OP is asking for a floody wide-angle headlamp. I don’t think the Jaxman M1 fits that description. The “flood” version might be more floody than the original, but I still don’t think it can be called wide angle.

Mike C, you are correct. I desire a very wide angle illumination area and I doubt very much that the Jaxman M1 can do it. This light is nowhere near 2000 lumens anyways. The specs say 800 lumens on high, which means I would need three of them to reach my 2000+ lumen goal — and that’s not going to happen in this lifetime.

I really don’t think a light exists with my desired output and illumination angle, not at a price I would be willing to spend anyways, so I will probably end up building my own. In this regard, I have a question about this COB module:

CREE COB FULL WATT DC FOR FLOODLIGHT BULB LED

The 10w version says it’s 950-1100 lumens, so three of them might work for me. The specs also say the 10w module has a forward current of 900mA, so three of them would apparently draw 2.7A.

I could buy three of these modules, mount them on a bent piece of aluminum flat bar so each module points outward at a different angle (thus giving me the wide angle light I desire), attach this assembly onto a hardhat or baseball cap, and run the power wire down to a 12v battery pack on my belt.

My question has to do with this particular COB module. Since I have never built anything like this before, does anyone know if three of these modules might be correct for this application?

If I use a sealed lead-acid battery (which from my understanding normally run at 13.5 volts) I would need a step-down module to limit the voltage to 12v, correct?

Would I need a resistor to limit the amperage? Or could I use a battery rated at less than 2.7 amps and skip the resistor?

Any other hints you can suggest to help me avoid problems in a build like this are very much appreciated.

Quadrupel · 2019-11-21T13:16:17.000Z

For a 2000 constant lumen you will need maybe half kilo heatsink;))

sailor_jerry · 2019-11-20T16:43:37.000Z

Speaking from experience (i’ve soldered hundreds of those things together) those COBs are garbage. They’ll only put out about 70-80lm per watt at real world running temps whereas a CXA3070 or Citizen 1212 chip will get about 130-140 lm/w. I’m actually starting a very similar project to yours, I’ll be using Vero29’s and/or CXB3590’s on my helmet with a slim, bent heatsink and seperate battery pack that I can carry in my backpack.

YuvalS · 2019-11-20T17:06:13.000Z

[quote=owkaye]

My Teslacom light has never stepped down, even when I let it run for a couple hours on high … but I suspect that it is such a good heat sink that stepdown is not even programmed into it. It doesn’t even get hot. Slightly warm, yes, but only slightly. Not even close to hot.

I suspect it is not 2000LM

owkaye · 2019-11-20T18:02:41.000Z

Speaking from experience (i’ve soldered hundreds of those things together) those COBs are garbage.

Hello =sailor-_-jerry, thanks for sharing your experience with the cheap COBs I noted above. It’s always nice to hear from someone who has “been there, done that”!

They’ll only put out about 70-80lm per watt at real world running temps whereas a CXA3070 or Citizen 1212 chip will get about 130-140 lm/w.

Is your main reason for calling them junk because they output only about half the lumens per watt as the much better COBs you mentioned?

The reason I ask is because I am tempted to accept such inefficiency in my first LED headlamp building project simply to save as much money as possible. Then if I find that I use my “Version 1” headlamp as much as I think I will, I can identify ways to improve it, and build a “Version 2” headlamp with better components later.

I’m actually starting a very similar project to yours, I’ll be using Vero29’s and/or CXB3590’s on my helmet with a slim, bent heatsink and separate battery pack that I can carry in my backpack.

Yes, your project does sound similar! I hope you don’t mind me asking you a couple of questions since you clearly have more experience than I do in this realm:

Will you use multiple COBs to get a very wide angle light pattern? If not, do you think there’s a single COB available that can give me anywhere near the 180 degree spread I’m hoping for? Or a lens that might spread the light that much from a single COB?

If weight were not an issue, might a small sealed lead-acid battery be a good power source? It wouldn’t bother me to strap one to my waist if it works and is cheaper than a li-ion battery pack, especially if there are advantages to SLA batteries that I’m not aware of … ?

Lightbringer · 2019-11-20T19:16:40.000Z

Took me a bloody time to find it, but howbow something like this?

[review] Hurkins Orbit LED Headlamps

Incredible area-illuminating headlamp. I like headlamps, I really do. As goofy as they might look to observers, they free up both hands so you can do things with both hands, vs holding a light in one and being constrained to working one-handed with the other. I have a small army of Boruits, which I’ve modded to wider-angle TIR lenses for more flood vs throw, making it better for reading and doing close-in work without having to “aim” your head to direct the light where you need it. So when I sa…

Mike_C · 2019-11-21T08:33:29.000Z

owkaye:

do you think there’s a single COB available that can give me anywhere near the 180 degree spread I’m hoping for? Or a lens that might spread the light that much from a single COB?

Near 180 degree spread? Why not aim for a simple mule construction? Just take your regular LED on your regular MCPCB, no lens, no reflector, and you’ll have 180 degrees spread. Of coarse you will want a protective lens of some sort, so you just need to have the LED as close to the lens as you want to find the angle you want.

Here are a two CRX mule builds to illustrate:

Convoy S2 Shorty Rechargeable Mule Featured Mods

A super short Convoy S2, well it’s just the head actually, one i had spare. XP-G2 S4 2B emitter Electronic side switch Olight s10 3 mode driver 200mAh lipo cell TP 4056 charging board Charging indicator Potted Weight - 32g Red locator LED operating at 1.5mA Max – 260lm cd – 100 Throw – 20m [image]

Copper & Aluminium Mule Build Featured Mods

[image] Another wee torch for you today I built this copper & aluminium triple mule flashlight out of some 3/4” plumbers pipe, 1” aluminium tube and some other bits ’n pieces I had with the usual hacksaw and hand files. It has an S6 brass pill filed down and soldered into the copper tube along with a filed down brass retaining ring holding the reverse clicky switch. I’ve used a slightly different design with this light, incorporating a sliding inner core held in place by friction and …

owkaye · 2019-11-21T17:37:55.000Z

Hi Lightbringer,

That Hurkins Orbit headlamp you mentioned looks like it may have been a good idea that was implemented poorly. If the company had mounted it on a visor that pointed slightly downward it would have been a much better light. Still, the basic concept is good, so if I do something similar I’ll make sure mine points in the direction it should.

owkaye · 2019-11-21T18:09:23.000Z

Near 180 degree spread? Why not aim for a simple mule construction? Just take your regular LED on your regular MCPCB, no lens, no reflector, and you’ll have 180 degrees spread.

Hi Mike C, thanks for the idea. I didn’t realize that uncovered LEDs actually output light at 180 degrees.

Of course you will want a protective lens of some sort, so you just need to have the LED as close to the lens as you want to find the angle you want.

Or I can just skip the lens and use several LEDs installed at different angles. I seldom work outside when it’s raining so I’m not all that worried about it getting wet.

owkaye · 2019-11-21T18:59:10.000Z

In an effort to keep this first build super-simple (which should actually help me to finish it some day) my latest idea is to attach one of these COB strips to my construction hardhat:

These strips can be wired directly to a 12v car circuit so theoretically one of them should work fine with this battery, which I can carry in a pouch on my tool belt for initial testing:

The only crap thing I have noticed so far about this LED strip is the color temperature, but I can live with that until I find out if a headlamp like this is going to work for me. Here are the details posted by the eBay seller, and here’s the link to their listing:

I’m thinking of using only one strip, but if it’s not bright enough I can use both. The eBay listing says they are flexible so hopefully they will wrap around my hardhat without breaking!

If anyone has any better ideas than this, and especially if you know of any better LED strips for this purpose, please let me know. This first build will be ugly but at least it will let me know if a wrap-around headlamp will work the way I think/hope it will.