Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - DIY light and Dinotte testing photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49184877@N00/

Enjoy and sunglasses will be sold on entry. ;):roflmao2: :love:

Sunglasses optional. :)

Very nice, can you tell us more about the DIY light?

can we all make one of these????

can we all make one of these????

Yup anyone can make one of these. In regards to my Quad-Damage light it was UBER GHETTO made. I'm amazed it lasted 5 mins in pouring heavy rain and ~10mins light rain. :twitchy: I think it's the silicone I put on the LED's and the extra piece of metal on the top of the light to help reduce the amount of direct water forcing its way in from the top.



stevo9er Very nice, can you tell us more about the DIY light?

Sure. I'm only going to explain the building of the quad-damage bike light because it needed the least amount of tools. The dual needed some more tools which not everyone would have.


The parts used are (all prices in CDN which is pretty much par now a days with the USD) :

-486 heatsink

(I am a computer guy so I had that kicking around) or any heatsink which can be found at an electronics store or I assume Radio Shack (USA as the Canadian stores now called The Source don't have any apparently as I've asked 3 stores before). This can also be obtained at a computer store and I'm more then sure if you ask nicely you can get it for free as the percentage of people still using a 386 or 486 are VERY slim. Cost if you had to buy it ~$2-3

-4 x Seoul SSC P4 U-bin LED's (pure white tint) at http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1445 which are now ~$5.88/ea but when I bought them I paid ~$7.12/ea. Free S/H.

-1 x 4pak of 3.6v-9v @ 800mA (basically meaning it'll power each LED at 80% brightness EACH) http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3256 which is a good value package for 4 units. If you plan to make a dual unit then keep the extra two as spares. I learned off these units when a friend of mine gave me some. I burned up 3 while learning (technically two as one my mate thought I would use 10v on it. :rolleyes:) $6.97 with free S/H.

-The lens optics I got from http://ledscompany.com/store/index.php?categoryID=33 for something like $1.50/ea + 50cents for the LED holder.

You can also order this from http://ledsupply.com . I used the 2 x 5 degree ( http://ledsupply.com/l2-op-005.php ) on the top of the light and 2 x 15 degree ( http://ledsupply.com/l2-op-015.php ) under it to give more light when I'm bombing a hill at night at ~50kph. The 5 degree give a nice long range throw while the 15 degree gives a mid-wide throw. Make sure you USE THIS LED HOLDER http://ledsupply.com/l2-oh-s35.php . This holder works with Luxeon III and Seoul LED's. Seoul LED's are a Luxeon clone but brighter.

-1/16" plexiglass found at any electronics shop or Home Depot/Rona/Lowes and I think can be found at RadioShack. Price I paid was ~$5 I think.

-Rubberbands are free from groceries or ask nicely in the produce isle (sp?) in the grocery store. I just had some saved up.

-Silicone chalk. I had this left over from my dad from some plumbing fixing stuff. You can find this at any Home Depot/hardware store. If I recall right Home Depot has a small size tube as well. I used the white one tho if you wanted a cleaner look then use a clear silicone for sealing the lens. Probably $3-4 a tube. You can also use hotglue.

-Arctic Alumina Silver thermo adhesive. This I got from a mate of mine (still on loan. :() This is the primary gluing agent to glue the LED's to the heatsink. You only need a little of the product to make the bond. Curing time is ~2hrs or ~1hr if the heatsink is warm (ie. LED's on for a little bit). This is the most pricey item to buy as you only need like a pea size amount for 4 LED's. Thankfully there are two unit sizes for this. One large and one smaller ~5mL size. I've seen the price at ~$10-12 USD.

-24ga stranded wire. Can be found at RadioShack or any electronics shop. ~$4/roll. You want a red and black color to make it easy to avoid any confusion with the wires. You CAN use one roll of wire but MAKE SURE YOU LABEL THE WIRES WELL TO AVOID CONFUSION. This will save you a lot of headache when checking connections later if you have any problems. You can use 22ga as well if you want. Last I recall was 24ga can handle ~3-3.5Amps (that's 3000-3500mAh).

-ON/OFF toggle switch. RadioShack or electronics shop. Best to get one rated 3A to be safe. I'm using either a 3A or 6A rated one.

-9v battery clip. Found at RadioShack or any electronics shop. I got mine at www.active123.com at thier local store which sells the Philmore brand which is a bit more reinforced but any 9v clip works. I paid $2.50 for a 2pak.

-6AA battery holder. Found at RadioShack or any electronics shop. ~$1.50/ea. I recommend buying two for a spare.

-Solder. This can be found at any RadioShack/Electronics store. Heck you only need about 1-1.5ft of solder and they sell that stuff in rolls of like 50ft I think for like $3/ea I think. If you ask very nicely I'm sure the clerk would see your reasoning of using so little and pinch off a foot for free or small pocket change under the table. Heck if you're in a electronics shop I'm sure they'll give you very little to start off for free. RadioShack may/may not pending how the clerk is. Or you could always pinch off a foot and walk. ;) Also check colleges in thier electronics departments you can get it for free there I've been told but probably ~1/2-1ft free.

Ok so that's the parts list you need. Because this is a very ghetto build light it should be considered the starting grounds for any rookie DIY'er to add on to this as they see fit to make it waterproof or give the light a real housing. Because this unit is very ghetto built it uses the least amount of tools which what you save in tool buying costs you can put into some of the adhesive above.

The tools used for this build was :

-Soldering Iron *Critical item to have*. However after taking to some Macguyver people you can make one with a stove but you have to be careful. Get a thin long screwdriver or steel metal. Using a pair of pliers to hold the screwdriver you heat the tip of the screwdriver then use that as your iron. Takes some skill to get used to working that way. Or you can ask a electronics student to do it for you. Either way this is NOT precision tight space soldering so even if you missed a coffee or are shaking nervous you can make the contact points no problem as there is a lot of leaway.

-Sharp exacto fine point knife or box cutter or kitchen knife (BE CAREFUL IT'S -SHARP-)

-Ruler (preferably a metal ruler or a stiff one)

-Safety glasses. You can use very lightly tinted sunglasses if the glasses are wrap around type for more coverage but a cheap dollar store safety glasses/goggles are a worthy investment as there are many uses for it as with the gloves other then the projects. Remember it only takes a second for an accident to happen and sometimes you can have life long regrets for not having the safety equipment.

-Rubber grip/safety gloves while working with the knife (optional but getting cut would ruin your day and weeks of healing. Dishwasher gloves work well and are ~50-99cents a pair. Not the best protection but still the cheapest better then nothing option.

-Hacksaw (optional)



So how I built this was the following.

1. Test the LED's. This is simple. Put the LED's on the table and take 1-2 batteries (try with one first if using alkaline) taped together and use two wires. Press the +tive and -tive wire to the batteries then touch the +tive and -tive wire to the corresponding (sp?) +/- label on the LED. TEST ALL THE +/- on the LED. Make note if any labels are backwards. If it's backwards then that just means you put the + to the - and the - to the + but this is RARE unless the manufactuer had a small slip up batch. Once again it's rare. You just want to test that the light lights up. DO NOT keep the LED on for more then 5 seconds without having it glued on the heatsink. Short 2-3 second testing won't damage the LED.


2. Once the LED's are tested ok then place them on the heatsink. Now get your lens and optics holders. Put the lens in the optic holder. Now put the lens on top of the LED. It should meet together very well. A slight twist will snug the LED's into the lens. Now position the LED's on the heatsink evenly. Once you've got your positions then use a marker or pen to mark where the LED's are sitting.

3. Squeeze very little of the Arctic Alumina Silver out. Mix it up then use a toothpick to spread it on the back of the LED (lens off while doing this) then mount that on the heatsink in the positions you've marked.

4. After ~2hrs of waiting then you can pre-cut your wire length. I did this so everything is the same length. Strip one end of the wire with a cable stripper or a pair of scissors (carefully as it takes a little getting the pressure right. You want ~3-4mm of wire exposed.

5. Solder the red wires to the +tive of each of the LED's followed by the black on each of the LED's.

6. Now strip off the other end of the wire and get the regulators out.

7. The regulators are all pre-wired. If you want to strengthen the wire then resolder the wiring likeI did but most people just starting this probably won't till they're more comfy after the build. The center of the regulator is +tive (red wire) and the black is -tive (black wire). Also because if you want to resolder new wire you would need a soldering iron as the spacing is not precision tight but it is some what of a small gap.

8. After that is you want to cut some wire to solder the wire to the +tive (red) and -tive (black) wires coming out of the regulator.

9. Once you've gotten that red/black wire soldered to the regulators small wires then you want to take all your black wire and strip off the ends about 1/2 inch. Now what you want to do is twist all the black wire to make it one unit. You do the same with the red wire. The reason for this is my setup right now has a regulator for each LED. This design means that should one LED fail (or regulator fail) only that LED will turn off and you won't be cut off with the light while bombing down hills. It's a safety feature/setup.

10. Now that you've gotten both the red and black cables twisted together to form one unit now you solder a single red wire to the red bundle and a single black wire to the black bundle. You would want to make the black wire longer then the red wire because you will be putting the ON/OFF switch on the red wire next.

11. Now you solder the ON/OFF switch to the red wire on one end of the switch then cut some extra red wire to even out the length with the longer black wire.

12. Next you solder the red to red and black to black on the 9v battery clip.

13. All the soldering is done now. All you need to do is load up 6 x AA NIMH (1.2v working but ~1.4xv hot off the charger) or 6 x AA alkaline (1.5v) and I recommend NOT clipping the 9v clip in yet. Just touch the clips first to make sure the switch is not on. If the switch is on then just that quick touch will make the light flash on. If the switch is on then turn the switch off before connecting the power to the bike light. Turn the unit on and check that all the LED's are powered up. DO NOT LEAVE THE LIGHT ON FOR MORE THEN 2 MINUTES. The 4 LED's will get too hot to handle after ~40-50seconds. I can burn you if you keep it on while holding it. Also because without moving airflow (I recommend having a fan on while testing) it will get 'cooking pan' hot quickly.

14. Measure out the heatsink size all around then mark that on the plexiglass on BOTH SIDES. With the sharp knife and a ruler, score both sides of the plexglass then snap it off. Sand the sides with sandpaper or a nail file or on the sidewalk/driveway/porch/stone if the plexiglass is just a mm larger or you want to smooth the edges or such.

15. Put your lenses on, turn light on and test on the wall and down the hallway. If all is ok then turn off the light. Open up the silicone tube or hotglue. Now apply a dab of silicone or hotglue where the lens touches the LED. DO NOT GET ANY SILICONE OR HOTGLUE on the LED. You should not have any issues getting anything on the LED itself as it's sheilded by the optic now. You just want to make sure the lens holder is not going to be moving at all.

16. Once that is done then get that plexiglass and some elasticbands and wrap the plexiglass on the front of the heatsink.


Get some masking tape or better yet get some electrical tape (most people have masking tape) and tape the exposed solder connections. Also tape the switch bottom so nothing can short out. Tape EACH of the regulators seperately so nothing is bare wire/metal exposed. What I did was used a processor roller cleaning cloth here to keep the wires inside that 'sock' and used twist ties to keep everything together. For everyone else just use an old sock or some housing.

I mounted this on the front reflector but because I use many other front lights on at the same time I can cancel out that reflector. I'm only covering 80% of my reflector on the bike I have it mounted on right now.

When you turn this on outside for the first time at night people will jaw drop at the amount of light spitting out of the unit. Because of the short peak brightness (~10-15mins) before it starts to slowly wane away I recommend using this when riding fast or when you're about to go down a hill.

I am in the works on making a killer strobe light next. :)


I'll have some photos of the wiring later to help clear some stuff out. For now that's the write up.

awesome light!!!!

This is a nice experiment with LED lighting, but my reading of the spec sheet indicates you're getting 100 lumens per LED at 4W each at full power. That's 25 lumen/watt. A single 20w MR16 halogen will provide 850 lumens of light, at 42.5 lm/w. They cost about $2 ea.

LED lighting is surely the future, but halogen incandescents still have some legs.

This is a nice experiment with LED lighting, but my reading of the spec sheet indicates you're getting 100 lumens per LED at 4W each at full power. That's 25 lumen/watt. A single 20w MR16 halogen will provide 850 lumens of light, at 42.5 lm/w. They cost about $2 ea.

LED lighting is surely the future, but halogen incandescents still have some legs.

Some people will gladly trade brightness for runtime and weight.

You can find some of the wiring and images of the regulators on my photo page a few pages back. I will be having a revised photo soon.

Some people will gladly trade brightness for runtime and weight.

There is that :)