Work in Progress with the New bFlex

[TrekJeff]

Alright, this is what's on my agenda
3)Cree XR-E's
4000mha, 14V battery
bFlex, newest rollout, Thanks George!


My stumbling block is the MOM switch. I was opting for an integrated LED lit switch, but now looking to run a single 5mm LED for the battery monitor and a single MOM switch. What is the lightest V/Amp rating I can use with the listed battery and Crees. It seems what I find only state the AC voltage/Amps.

I've considered some of these at Radio Shack...any feedback from others?
http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...res&origkw=switch&support=support&tab=support

 

[sfCyclotourist]

I used Radio Shack #275-644 on my light, but in red. Works fine.

 

[znomit]

Any momentary switch will be fine in terms of current/voltage. The power to the lights doesn't go through it, its just for control.

 

[TrekJeff]

Alright..great. I also was thinking that the small square one on that radio shack page would work great as a remote switch for a handle bar switch. It was listed at 50mA and I had some concern of it shorting. Thanks!:twothumbs

 

[El Paso Bent Rider]

I have been looking for a momentary switch with integrated LED for use with the bflex. I ride a recumbent so my light will be mounted out on the front boom. I would prefer to have the status led mounted with the switch on my handlebars where it is easy to see.

Any suggestions???

Thanks,
Fred

 

[TrekJeff]

Elpaso, look at these

 

[TrekJeff]

OK, made a trip to the Rat Shack today...very depressing to see that the assortmetn of electrical parts consisted only of one cabinet of stuff..pretty sad sight. I was able to pick up some grommets, couple MOM's, LED holder, and shrink. They were out of power connectors, ie M/N DC jacks. So I'll have to scavange from some old ac/dc converters.

I did have an old cell phone charger with a pretty solid and secure plug/jack assemble, but I'm pretty sure it's not heavy enough to handle the amps...can anyone confirm this? It had a 2amp inline fuse, so I'm guessing between that and the sub 32guage wire, is for very low amp use...it's too bad too, because the jack plug assemble actually screwed in, forming a great seal once I would seat it into a grommet.

I'm still waiting on DX to send the last bits an pieces...hopefully I can locate my 1 pound spool of solder...it's amazing how things can disappear in two days. I'm sure the solder will be just fine, tin alloy .32, the exact stuff we used in the Navy.

More to come

 

[Sawtooth]

Elpaso, look at these

These are great. Ive used both the red ring and the blue ring in bFlex lights. The ones with solder tabs are a bit less bulky/heavy than the ones with screw terminals.

 

[TrekJeff]

Wire size from battery pack to bFlex

I've scanned the web for a amp/AWG and havn't found the answer to the question of, can I use the power cord from my old cell phone charger and run it from the battery to my chip. My best guess is the the gauge is less than 24awg....

SO, what is the smallest wire that can handle the 14.8V, 4000mA with a travel of 2 feet running 3 cree XRE's

 

[TrekJeff]

Through brain storming and reading from you guys!

My triple Cree Copper.

The internals are all either soldered or AAA'd. To keep from frying the internals and saving money on AAA I used GOOP brand silcone adhesive to bind things together on the outside and formed waterproof seals on all the connections and grommets. It looks a little stringy, but once it all cured, I'll just trim it up pretty with an Exacto

Big Ol'e mom switch. I ride in the winter with gloves and though this would be perfect. The bFlex driver as most of you know is designed with an LED indicator, I used a 5mm green from DX, the Crees were ordered from DX as well.

This stuff works great. I'd holds like crazy glue but still remains flexible giving the light a bit of shock absorption.

Each LED is seated on a copper slug I made from 3/4" copper pipe and old pennies. There are three pennies are sanded smooth and soldered together, soldered to the pipe then I seated the stars with AAA.

For the wiring I used 24AWG solid copper wire from LAN cabling. It was a challenge at first but seemed to work very well when soldering to the bFlex. The wire size was perfect for the board holes and soldered very easily. I do recommend tinning your wires first, and make them longer than you actually need. Just trim the excess tag end off once soldered to the board. The biggest challenge I had was soldering the heavier battery wiring. My guess is that it was 16AWG, made very nicely, but also a challenge to solder. What I did was fold a small piece the 24 AWG and soldered both ends to the bFlex, making a post to solder the battery wiring to.

I'm using a 14.8 4800 Battery Space prewired battery pack. I really like the setup and the convinence of the battery pack being self contained, water proof and the interlocking connectors made hook up a breeze. The quick charger is a no brainer with the gator clips and femael charger assembly. If you reverse the wiring when charging with this, you shouldn't even own a soldering iron...it's not rocket science. It's a well made assembly.

Total cost of the entire project...about $150.09

I'll post some beam shots soon!

 

[trout]

why not use the one that george sends with the Bflex

the cover is a bit of old innertube superglued to the recess .

 

[TrekJeff]

I got a pair of bFlex's from another member of CPF...no switches. Couldn't beat the price at 25 for two. I'll buy a switch for that saving...lol

 

[mkrabach]

What reflectors are you using on your LEDs? And what was your source? I have been trying to find such dimpled ones like that for some time.

 

[TrekJeff]

That's a great question. I found them on here and can't seem to locate the user's website. If I rememebr correctly he's out of Oregon. They fit perfectly over the crees and have three peg feet. If i remember correctly they are 9 degrees

 

[greenLED]

They look like Khatod reflectors... and if Trek got them off of somebody in OR, chances are it was Wayne from Elektrolumens.

 

[TrekJeff]

They look like Khatod reflectors... and if Trek got them off of somebody in OR, chances are it was Wayne from Elektrolumens.

DING DING DING...that's it Wayne in Cottage Grove OR...he has a website. Super guy to do business with and super fast shipping!:thumbsup: