And thanks for the input you are providing, It is a nice change of pace from the dumb and useless crap so many others were dumping here.
I am aware, but Turbo in that size gets toasty in 1.5 minutes. Last you want is an exploding drone.
This product is using Osram led’s -
You’re welcome. Yes, I noticed
Wish I lived closer so I could send some custom lights, it would be a fun project
Yes but that evo light with “Exo lander” is only a dream as of today. No price as its not available yet. Its being designed for the exact drone Im using but not available.
Here is what I do know about it. ITS HEAVY and produces only 6 lumens per gram of weight. What Im developing is in the 10 to 14 lumens per gram of weight range.
That thing is so big and heavy it requires its own landing gear. Drone Battery life will be terrible, flight responsiveness will be sluggish.
Because that soon to be available option is going to perform so poorly and weigh so much, I opted to try to come up with my own.
I only just read that it weighs 346g, that’s not ideal.
Well, I wish you all the best with your project and hope you can find something suitable.
the 346 grams is for the light. The exo lander and other items will add to that total and would still need the FAA strobes . That all adds up very fast. They have not released the design but I expect the price to be at least $400 to $500 US. It wont be worth the money in my opinion.
This is my first prototype. Ive already made many improvements but Im waiting for lights to arrive to my mailbox.
It’s strange to use peoples FL for drone.
On drone you can realize excellent cooling system for lighting device and at least twice temperature stable output in same size.
Interesting, and looks pretty good so far.
I wonder……is there a spare power port on the internal receiver like on a rc car (usually 1 free aux slot) Maybe there could be a way to remote switch the flashlight modes then from the in hand rc unit?
I know on rc cars you can drill into the controller (some more expensive ones have a spare button/switch already), or somehow add a little button/switch on the side of the hand held control so then you can control ‘something’ on the vehicle - ie, a winch on a crawler. With some thought, I’d imagine it’s a distinct possibility you could change flashlight modes on the lights in the air? would require the switches on the tail caps to be somehow joined, I’m thinking using one of those pressure switch fly leads on each light, lop the ends off, join them into 1 lead, then to the in drone receiver aux slot? that would be ideal, then you could have it on say moonlight for the first bit of ‘getting to’ the search area, then turn them to turbo, or any other level?
I hope that all makes some kind of sense? 
There are no power ports on this drone. There is no way to tap into the drones battery power (nor would I want to as the life of the battery is dedicated to powering the rotors.)
I trust you will make good headway and soon know more than those of us who have not tried. So far you have not found a single drone pilot in the audience… so how could we know?
ask an inexperience person, you get an inexperienced answer…
dont fall for the trap of arguing with inexperienced suggestions…
we mean well, we just lack your knowledge and experience… I see you understand that.
as you can see, we have no idea what your drone and target looks like. We are not drone pilots… educate us if you want our opinion. However, I think you would be better served by comments from experienced pilots.
now, I want to reinforced the concept of throw over lumens. It is possible to get more throw, using less lumens.
I respectfully submit for your consideration, that your initial selection criteria, lumens, will produce faster battery drain than a proper throwy light.
From where I sit, 2000 lumens from an 18650 is not sustainable. In my world, 400 lumens is sustainable, from that size cell. And it can still be perfectly suitable to illuminate a small and distant target… how small, how far? … I dont know… you tell me
I have not tried any of the throwy models, and would be at a loss to recommend a properly throwy light, that runs on a single 18650 (if that is your chosen power supply).
I hope you come back to share your experience, that answers your question. People here dont know your application. Even if you tell me how far, and how long… Im a visual learner… can you post a photo to illustrate your application distance, and required size of illuminated target. (smaller area of illumination uses less power)
I love pictures
show and tell!
I just posted a video here that I made with prototype #1 using 900 lumen Nitecore EC11 lights and the saddle I designed to attach them to the drone. I have since bought a few other lights in multiple to test out.
outstanding video, thanks, for others interested, it is in post #88
I think you made a great harness, and chose some really cute little lights. I wish you success with your project.
I would say the video shows a ridiculously high amount of light, and a very large target of illumination. If you can make it work… Im happy for you. If you hit a bottleneck at runtime, consider lights with lower, but more stable runtime graphs, and tight hotspot beams with minimal spill.
here is a thread about ultra throwers
… not sure if there is anything there that is small enough for your application… but maybe it will trigger some options for you
fwiw, 900 lumens is not for long
here is a runtime graph for the EC11
note the timescale is in single digit minutes… I dont know how much flight illumination time you need.
FYI… if the thread discussion is not proceeding in the direction you like, you can go back and make edits to it and the subject header to direct the discussion.
BLF is easily the least moderated forum I know of, its nice in that regard.
Thanks but I think the level of both stupid and useless comments has dropped of (like boost and turbo on certain lights) The level of dumb comments is gone for now and we have returned to content that has worth.
Yes, prototype #1 centered around the very Nitcore EC11 you list. Again, with active cooling, (from the drone’s rotors) I think there may be less stepping down but thats only a guess at this time. Im awaiting more and more lights in the mail for proto #2 and #3 and #4.
Its very cold here (too cold to fly a drone as the nights have been sub zero) so there is a going to be some delays in my outside testing at 100 and 150 feet in the air.
as you can see, consumers who fall for the marketing propaganda, focused on the lumens specs, are sure to be frustrated when they discover that max output is only temporary.
You may know that runtime is calculated to 10% of initial output. (uselessly overstated for your project calling for sustained output)
runtime charts tend to be much more informing, than basic online lumens specs.
Zebralights are known for their efficiency and temperature/output control. Might want to have a look at their models and try to find relevant runtime graphs. And compare sustainable lumens with grams.
I agree with others that you will probable want a light on the throwy side. Maybe the Zebralight SC600w XHP35 hi??
I will look at them as well. I may buy a few for testing.
Seems like lighter 18650 batteries will give you the run time you need if you change them when you change the drone battery and will save you weight over 21700 batteries/lights.
I would suggest that you do an experiment with the lights that you have with the drone on the ground and see how far you get a good image with your camera at night. With this information you can calculate how much beam distance/cd you will need to replicate that lux level at around 212 ft, which is the distance to the ground if your drone is at 150 ft and your light is mounted on a 45 degree angle.