A strong bright headlamp

Discuss caving lights, packs, helmets, clothing, etc.
For rope and vertical equipment, go to the On Rope! forum.
Cave electronics enthusiasts can also visit the Communications and Electronics Section forum.

Moderator: Moderators

Postby Realms » May 16, 2006 6:48 am

Will do Scott. Gonna wait till after our next grotto meeting. Promised to premiere it there first. Then to the masses ;-)

Nathan
never stop imagining what could someday come to pass...
User avatar
Realms
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 273
Joined: Sep 19, 2005 8:11 pm
Location: Huntsville,Alabama
  

Postby Realms » May 21, 2006 10:28 pm

ahh what the heck. here she is.
Image
never stop imagining what could someday come to pass...
User avatar
Realms
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 273
Joined: Sep 19, 2005 8:11 pm
Location: Huntsville,Alabama
  

Postby werewolf » May 22, 2006 10:01 am

"The light is super bright and will leave spots on your retina if you look directly at it."



Does that mean permanent eye damage!?






ww
werewolf
Prolific Poster
 
Posts: 159
Joined: Dec 31, 2005 1:56 am
  

Postby Realms » May 22, 2006 6:02 pm

you bet man! heh heh

well the spots on mine eventually went away. It is an awesome light though. Lets just say it has spoiled me. If I had my own shop I would love to make many for cavers everywhere.....if they wanted one that is.
Working on the 5 watt version now. As well as some other goodies.

:grin:
never stop imagining what could someday come to pass...
User avatar
Realms
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 273
Joined: Sep 19, 2005 8:11 pm
Location: Huntsville,Alabama
  

Postby werewolf » Jun 7, 2006 12:52 am

you bet man! heh heh

_____________

That's funny?
werewolf
Prolific Poster
 
Posts: 159
Joined: Dec 31, 2005 1:56 am
  

Postby potholer » Jun 7, 2006 6:29 am

Realms,
Is that a regulated (ie sustained) 3x3W for 7 hours?
What kind of battery are you using?
potholer
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 381
Joined: Nov 9, 2005 7:29 am
Location: UK
  

Postby Realms » Jun 7, 2006 7:14 am

Yes it is. I'm using NiMH but about to switch over ot Li-Ion. Since my last post I have ran the light at full power for roughly 16 hours.
never stop imagining what could someday come to pass...
User avatar
Realms
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 273
Joined: Sep 19, 2005 8:11 pm
Location: Huntsville,Alabama
  

Postby Realms » Jun 7, 2006 7:20 am

No werewolf it does not cause permanent eye damage. The spots do go away. Basically the same deal as looking at any other bright light. I'll be using it this weekend and plan to get some shots of it in action :-)
never stop imagining what could someday come to pass...
User avatar
Realms
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 273
Joined: Sep 19, 2005 8:11 pm
Location: Huntsville,Alabama
  

Postby Teresa » Jun 7, 2006 9:49 am

Bet it shoots the night vision and pupil dilation of your caving companions to heck and back though. I've said it before, but people with ultrabrights need to be considerate of companions who don't want a 1 million candlepower shone in their eyes. After all, the wearer doesn't have it in his/her eyes.
Teresa
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 1413
Joined: Dec 31, 2005 9:06 pm
  

Postby potholer » Jun 7, 2006 2:33 pm

I can understand about the temporary dark spots - I get them quite often when aligning LEDs in reflectors, and I don't go above 1 Watt per diode with my lights.
With eyes adjusted for indoor lighting, even keeping a fixed gaze for a couple of seconds on an unfocussed Luxeon at arm's length running at under 1/10Watt is sufficient to cause short-lived dark spots, but it *is* only harmless bleaching of pigment in the retina, which is the main way the eye manages to adjust to varying light levels.
That said, I do imagine people don't spend much time staring looking at your light head-on when it's running.

I'm trying to work out how large a battery pack supplies out 9W for 7 (or even 16) hours, and getting some scary mental images.
It kinda makes me feel inadequate when I use a ~9Wh battery and manage to eke one battery pack out for anywhere between 8 and 24 hours.
potholer
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 381
Joined: Nov 9, 2005 7:29 am
Location: UK
  

Postby Realms » Jun 7, 2006 9:24 pm

Teresa

I have a high respect for other cavers and use good manners with the light. After about 3 months into building it I was fully aware of the pain it caused being blinded by it many times and I do my best to keep it from others eyes. It is pretty nice though. I will be switching over to dual 6.5Ahr Li-Ion batteries which will end up being lighter than the pack I currently have now. Don't get me wrong its not really that bad. I converted a Petzl Ariane into the battery pack ;-) Also on the next version will be a 3rd fail safe power system that will supply an additional 2 hours of power to run one of the lights in the array (in case there is a failure of the other two main power busses)

To be honest with everyone, I just like to build things.
Working on the 5 watt array now ;-) and for that, lets just say I'm borrowing some PC Mod technology to aid in heat management.

I'll keep ya posted.
Till then, keep those lights shining!

Nathan
never stop imagining what could someday come to pass...
User avatar
Realms
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 273
Joined: Sep 19, 2005 8:11 pm
Location: Huntsville,Alabama
  

Postby werewolf » Jun 10, 2006 12:44 am

.............
Last edited by werewolf on Jun 10, 2006 9:26 am, edited 2 times in total.
werewolf
Prolific Poster
 
Posts: 159
Joined: Dec 31, 2005 1:56 am
  

Postby hank moon » Jun 10, 2006 1:50 am

werewolf wrote:"The light is super bright and will leave spots on your retina if you look directly at it."

Does that mean permanent eye damage!?


Maybe/it dependsâ„¢. See http://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/features/2/6/4/1

Take a look at the instructions for just about any LED light and you should find a warning about possible eye damage. What do you think?

hank
User avatar
hank moon
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 610
Joined: Sep 7, 2005 9:52 am
Location: Salt Lake City
  

Postby werewolf » Jun 10, 2006 2:17 am

Thanks.

"At a recent LEDs workshop in the UK, Andrew Dennington of Carclo Technical Plastics, presenting a series of optical design tips, also included a word of caution; “The latest generation of LEDs is not safe, and someone will have their eyes damaged by a high-power LED product,â€
werewolf
Prolific Poster
 
Posts: 159
Joined: Dec 31, 2005 1:56 am
  

Postby Ralph E. Powers » Jun 10, 2006 12:54 pm

[quote="werewolf"]Thanks.

"At a recent LEDs workshop in the UK, Andrew Dennington of Carclo Technical Plastics, presenting a series of optical design tips, also included a word of caution; “The latest generation of LEDs is not safe, and someone will have their eyes damaged by a high-power LED product,â€
Without the possibility of death, adventure is not possible. ~ Reinhold Messner


http://ralph.rigidtech.com/albums.php
User avatar
Ralph E. Powers
NSS Hall Of Fame Poster
 
Posts: 2101
Joined: Sep 10, 2005 5:48 pm
Location: Chattanooga, TN
NSS #: 37616
  

PreviousNext

Return to Equipment Forum

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users