johnthemeasurer

I recently got the DX R2 drop in (SKU 11836) and I love it! Very bright, nice color, etc at ~4.8 volts (4 NImh AAs). My dilemma is that I can't figure out a decent housing (I don't have any machining equipment and wouldn't know what to do with it if I did. The best I can come up with at present is metal conduit (for electrical) and that's ok, but it's heavier than I'd like. The unit doesn't fit into 1" copper tubing (it's close...) Any ideas out there? I'd like to make it into a helmet light but even a handlebar headlight would be ok.

Nouia

I've been thinking about this too. One of the ideas I had was to trim off the springs on the drop-in and solder your wire leads from the battery directly to the appropriate contacts on the drop-in (the stumps of the springs). Then dip the rig (with the open end of the reflector covered) into a jar of Plasti-Dip and the being done with it. Mounting would be done via a pair of Plasti-Dip'ed hose clamps. The leads from the battery pack can be as long as you'd want, so the battery pack would be frame/backpack mounted.

The only real problem I foresee is heat-sinking it, but those drop-ins have a lot of heavy brass in them and the wind will be flowing over the exposed reflector/LED in the front so it may be ok.

johnthemeasurer

That's how I attached my wires also; though I'm holding open the option of soldering the one wire to the housing (if I use copper).


I hadn't thought about the Plasti-Dip angle - thanks


I noticed it develops a decent amount of heat at ~4.8V (a lot less with ~3.6 or 3 NiMH AAs but noticeably dimmer - although maybe still bright enough - I may experiment here). So if I go with 4 AAs I think I'd prefer an actual housing of some sort for heat dissipation, though that may not be necessary since I'll be using it this fall and winter.

This weekend I'm going to experiment with 1" copper tubing connecters. If I get anywhere I'll post next week.

ellerbro

Read through the reviews and discussion forum at the bottom of the product page on the DX website. There are many drop-in hosts listed by various people.

chewybrian 

I had the same issue. I used a copper coupling to house #11621 (same drop in with a Q5 emitter). It is too big for 1" copper tubing, and too small for the coupling, but... a piece of cpvc pipe (3/4", I think) fits snug inside the coupling, and insulates the drop-in from the copper. Mine is sealed in silicone behind a lexan plug(easily cut with a hole saw and a drill press). I soldered the power wires direct to the drop-in, and buried them in silicone as well. I have yet to notice any heat build up issues. Maybe I am shortening the life of the emitter, but no issues that I can see yet.

I strapped 3 of these together, and angled them out slightly to get a wider patch of light. I power it with 8 nimh AA's--lights are parallel, batteries in series. It goes a bit over 2 hours, and provides a very useful light. When I get a camera, I will post a bike light vs. car light shot.

Nouia

Get a camera quick, man, I'm very interested in seeing this, both beamshots and the lights themselves. Sounds pretty solid.