# My custom headlamp - updated with new anodised parts!



## ahorton (Jun 11, 2009)

*My custom headlamp - Beamshots added*

I was planning to finish this headlight before showing it off in this forum, but then I realised that I love watching the slow progress of other projects. So I should allow you guys to enjoy the slow progress of mine.

My machinist just sent me these photos.


















60mm wide, 34mm high and 30mm thick (in the direction you look while wearing it)

It will hold:
One XR-E behind a 30mm Aspheric lens.
Two XP-Es (or maybe XP-Gs?) with 10mm optics behind a polycarbonate window.

Its name is/will be SPIKE. (Spike is an orienteering term meaning 'to navigate perfectly to a checkpoint')

... that's enough info for now...


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## BillyNoMates (Jun 11, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

Nice. Looking forward to watching this progress.

What is the projected weight once it is fully assembled?


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## ahorton (Jun 11, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

The head part will be a little under 100g. I'm hoping to get away with such a heavy thing by having the mass very close to my forehead. It's only 30mm thick and most of the mass is at the back, within 10mm of the hinge.


The LiPo battery pack at the back is about _140g_ (this was a mistake, more like 180g) but it gives a very nice _37Wh_ (another mistake, should be 32.5Wh) (at 1A discharge).

My aim is to keep the whole thing under 300g since I've found I can run with a well balanced 300g headlamp. (Petzl Zoom)

I considered cutting down on the aluminium in the front but I like the strength of it. I also didn't want to cut down on the battery because I run in 24 hour events and the night is about 13 hours long in winter. 

37Wh lets me run at a comfortable:
2W (2 x XP-E @ 350mA) for 11 hours, 
4W (XR-E @ 1A or 2 x XP-E @ 700mA) for 2 hours when I'm searching for checkpoints
which leaves around 7Wh for the driver.


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## BillyNoMates (Jun 11, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

That is a good spec. The Aspheric will come in extremely useful for long-distance scanning. I often run at night as well (although not for 24hours!!) and I realise how difficult it can be to spot gates/styles and other features from distance - a good throwing headtorch should help to save some time.

I'd be interested to learn more about your battery - 37Wh seems very high for a 140g battery pack (I'd have thought 25Wh would be more normal).


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## ahorton (Jun 11, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*



BillyNoMates said:


> I'd be interested to learn more about your battery - 37Wh seems very high for a 140g battery pack (I'd have thought 25Wh would be more normal).


 
Right you are. I just weighed it and it came in at 162g. And by the time I wrap it up in tape and add a cable it becomes about 186g.


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## ahorton (Jun 11, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

A few more pictures I quickly shot with my phone. I'll take better ones when it's a little more assembled.

The round black thing is a simple silicon boot from DX to cover a clicky switch. You can see how it fits in the oval-shaped thing which gets bolted onto the bottom of the lighthead. It should be easy to see how most parts will fit in the big part I pictured above. The lines on the page are 7mm apart. 







My cells. LiPo, 60x70mm, including protection circuit. 81g. I'm putting two together. The connector I'm using is a simple screw-on thing that is IP67 rated (waterproof to 1m for something like 30 minutes). I've left it in a bowl of water for days and nothing has got in. I want this for when I go canoeing at night.


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## vtunderground (Jun 13, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

This looks great! I can't wait to see the finished product.


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## kramer5150 (Jun 13, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

Wow... nice progress

:twothumbs


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## ahorton (Jun 14, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*



kramer5150 said:


> Wow... nice progress
> 
> :twothumbs


 
Thanks. This is acutally the continuation of the project I started in this thread. I've been working on it fairly solidly since then but I stopped posting because I realised that it was going to take a long time of fiddling around before I was happy with a design.


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## dom (Jun 15, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

Looks like a good project ahorton.
I've been working on a headlamp myself and know how long things take.

Have the smaller bits of Al been lasercut?

Have you any beamshots of your aspheric?

Cheers
Dom


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## ahorton (Jun 15, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

Yes the smaller parts were laser cut because that is nice and cheap. I designed it so that only one part would need cnc machining. However, it does mean I have to clean up the laser cut edges a little.

I don't have a camera worth of beamshots, but Packhorse has been using the same lens for a while now and he has taken a few comparison beamshots. Have a look at post #4 of this thread.


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## dom (Jun 15, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

Thanks mate.
I'd already looked at that thread -silly me  - after i looked at your aspheric sales thread.

Very useful looking beam.Should work well with your widebeam XP-E optics.

Have you looked at waterjet cutting for your Al bits - though the extra expense
may not be worth your deburring time for 
the lasercut bits.


Cheers
Dom


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## ahorton (Jun 15, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

No I never looked into water-jet cutting. It only takes me 30 seconds per part, so I'm not too worried about it.


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## ahorton (Jun 16, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

A few more pictures.

Just checking that everything fits together before I think about anodising.



Some LEDs in place.






Nice and small.






Side view showing the bracket that the elastic goes through.





Enough room in the back for 2 17mm drivers. (DX 15880s are shown but I probably won't use them.)







The whole thing currently weighs 110g with all components and including the headband bracket.

I considered thinning the metal a bit, (since it's currently strong enough to drive a truck over) but it doesn't seem to matter when I put it on my head.


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## vtunderground (Jun 16, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

NICE!!!

How water resistant do you expect it to be? If the beams end up like I'm expecting, this may be a good caving headlamp.


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## ahorton (Jun 16, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

The weakest link in water resistance will be the battery connector which is only ip67 (1m submersion). In fresh water this won't matter and I'll be happy enough to give the plugs a wash after they've spent time in salt water. A small amount of CRC or WD40 sprayed into the plug before connecting them will probably make them pretty resistant to salt anyway.

As for the lighthead, I'm hoping for at least 10m. A friend of mine who dives will test one out for me. He can go down to 40m so that's the most I'll test it to.

The thing has been designed so that at every joint I can put a wide bead of sikaflex (very strong silicon glue). The thinnest connection between two parts is 5mm wide and that should be plenty to provide a seal.

The polycarb window presses against 10mm optics, so they will take some of the pressure. The polycarb is 2mm thick and only has an exposed area of ~3cm^2. Extra pressure on the crown glass lens will only push it harder against the silicon o-ring.

Of course, underwater, the aspheric lens will not focus the light anymore. I considered adding a window in front of the lens, but this was never meant to be a diving light. I go canoeing at night so I need to be able to swim with it, but not actually see underwater much.


Caving scares me. I'm into sane sports like rockclimbing, canoeing and bushwalking.


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## rapidoxidationman (Jun 20, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

I'm looking for a good light to give to an ultramarathon runner lady friend of mine for her birthday in early July... How's your project coming? You wouldn't be making a couple of these (and need some cash to make another) would you? 

PM me if you're interested...

ROM


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## ahorton (Aug 7, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

My headlamp has now been used for two 24 hour events with about 13 hours of dark in each and I have been able to make a few small design changes.


I made 3 prototypes and played around with different drivers, power settings and lenses (for the XP-Es) before I had something I was happy with. 

The prototypes all looked a little different but here is one of them:







So I sent the new design to the machinist and now I have my final aluminium parts. Some were sandblasted before being anodised black. I think I prefer the sandblasted versions.

I even got the name 'SPIKE' printed on the top. The letters are actually sharp but the photos aren't great.

















It's a pity my photography skills are poor because these things look really cool. I am very happy with how it has turned out. My racing mates are also pretty keen to get their hands on them since they have seen they prototypes being used.


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## jamie.91 (Aug 7, 2009)

these are awesome any thay look cool too, i want to see some beamshots lol

i would buy one lol

jamie


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## Jagge (Aug 7, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

Looks good. I wonder has mr Spike seen it yet.

Any thoughts of putting P7/MC-E leds is and squeeze 1000 lumens out of it for short but fast runs?


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## vtunderground (Aug 7, 2009)

Wow.... very nice! Do you plan on making any more to sell?


Of course, I'd be happy to test one out in some caves, if you'd like


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## dom (Aug 8, 2009)

Very professional:thumbsup:

How is your logo stuck on? Is it a transfer or type of paint?

Do all your LEDs operate at once?

Is your headband embroidered with the logo like PrincetonTec headbands?
(they have soft material sewn into an elastic base material)

Cheers
Dom


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## ahorton (Aug 9, 2009)

The beamshots are not all that interesting since Packhorse has posted plenty of pictures using the Aspheric. The square carclo optics are pretty standard too. I might try to get some beamshots anyway. 

I always planned to sell these to a bunch of mates. I had about 15 people wanting to buy my lights so I thought it was worth making them well.

The way I assemble them, I have either the 2 XP-Es or the XR-E on at any one time. All three LEDs are never on, but it would be easy to have them all on at the same time. 

I have different lights that use P7s and MC-Es but I like this one more. 

The logo is screen-printed. So it's basically painted on.

The elastic is Jacquard. It is nice and soft like all the Princeton Tec or Petzl headlamps have.


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## ErickThakrar (Aug 10, 2009)

Awesome project! If and when you do sell these, how much will they go for?


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## ahorton (Aug 11, 2009)

I'm selling them locally for AUD$350 each including the battery pack and charger. I could ask for more given what else is on the market, but this covers my time and the parts

At some stage I might offer a basic kit here on CPF for about AUD$150. Then someone could make a headlamp with their own choice of driver and battery pack.


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## Yucca Patrol (Aug 11, 2009)

very very nice! Can you share where you got the waterproof connectors? I'm using Anderson Powerpoles but might consider upgrading to these for my Serv-Light


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## ahorton (Aug 11, 2009)

I bought the connectors from a Chinese company Hangzhou Kaipu Electronic Technique. 

www.kpue.com

They are 3-pole connectors and there is not a 2-pole version so I always have one pole not being used. 

They contain nice thick copper wires of around AWG 20 or 18 (my guess). This seems overkill, but I like to use the same connector for a dual P7 light where the battery pack is kept in a backpack or on a belt. So you have about 1m of cable with resistance of 0.033 Ohm which gives a voltage drop of about 0.1V at a current of 3A.



You might also consider LTW connectors 

www.ltw-tech.com

which I have also used. LTW make good connectors, but you pay a fortune for them. I think the Hangzhou Kaipu ones are better value since they are a bit cheaper.


The problem with both of these suppliers is that they are not really interested in small quantities and you have to pay them through international money transfer which is not worth it if you are only buying a few.

If you have trouble, then I can supply the Chinese connectors since I ended up buying a great big pile of the things.


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## PhantomPhoton (Aug 12, 2009)

That's quite a nice light. I've been moaning about having a similar light built for some time. Both a narrow and a flood beam that is.
I'd be willing to buy one as well.
:twothumbs


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## Yucca Patrol (Aug 12, 2009)

The do it yourself kit sounds awesome. I'm in for one when you offer it.

Thanks a bunch for sharing your design process with us. It is fascinating. . .


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## ahorton (Aug 12, 2009)

I guess I will start a feeler/sales thread in the B/S/T sub forum.

I don't have many spares to sell at the moment, but I can always get more made now that the design is sorted.


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## Viper715 (Aug 12, 2009)

If and when you sell them put me on the list.


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## gillestugan (Aug 15, 2009)

It's really beautiful. Any pictures from the front with the 10mm lenses mounted?
Im really interested in buying a kit with housing and lens. How much space inside for the switch is it? Any chance to use a miniature rotary switch? (12X8mm)


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## ahorton (Aug 15, 2009)

I'll try to take a few pictures of the front soon. 

Do you have any pictures or a link for the rotary switch you are thinking of? I wanted a roatary switch but the things that put me off were size, waterproofing and vulnerability to being snapped off.

The space for the switch is designed specifically for the 12x12x7mm clickies from DX. You insert it from the front and it fits between the bottom and the horizontal bar that the XP-Es sit on. The gap is only 7mm so you have to press the switch to slide it in.


This is actually an older design but it shows the important info for the switch.








Switch in Red







So the button pokes out the hole which gets covered by a rubber boot.






So depending on where the wires come out of the rotary switch you may be able to find a way to get it in.

There's a very generous amount of room for wires and drivers so you could almost certainly fit it in the top (above the XP-Es) if you drilled a hole through the top.


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## gillestugan (Aug 15, 2009)

wow, it looks really good. Im working on a uc controlled lamp that can easily be programmed by plugging a a cable to the computer and with modes selected with rotary switch. ( will post full documentation when done, probably late autumn..) 
Im quite sure it would be possible to fit the components inside your great looking housing.

The rotary switch I have is a OTAX J-series JRE 2 pole 6 ways switch. It has a steel axle that is sealed. the one to the right in this picture.


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## ahorton (Aug 15, 2009)

Ah yes I've looked at those sort of switches. Sadly they are all too big. (the headlamp is actually really small)


I looked at my drawings and I think that one of those could just fit in if you bent the legs up. 

The problem is that there is no way to get it in! You'd need to remove the shaft, put the body in, then screw the shaft through a hole in the aluminium.


I look forward to seeing your documentation in late Spring.


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## ahorton (Sep 4, 2009)

I have finally made (and sold) a headlamp.

Here are a few pics:


































This battery is 2 protected 18650s which have been dipped in rubber for waterproofness. Then I heat-shrunk some tube around it to provide strain relief for the cable.


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## PhantomPhoton (Sep 4, 2009)

I think once XP-G's are available you should definitely offer them for sale. Neutral white tints would be sweet.


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## ahorton (Sep 4, 2009)

PhantomPhoton said:


> I think once XP-G's are available you should definitely offer them for sale. Neutral white tints would be sweet.





Ok, there is now a sales thread up:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/3073497#post3073497

I agree about the XP-Gs. I plan to have them at two levels, 100mA and 1000mA. It will warm up but I'm pretty certain it will handle the heat just fine. Currently I'm running the XP-Es at 100mA and 700mA and they provide a great flood light, but more is always better!


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## ahorton (Sep 14, 2009)

*My custom headlamp - Beamshots Added!*

Some Beamshots:

These are probably a tad brighter than reality because they use 3.2s exposure.

But they show a comparison to the popular Ay Up lights (narrow beam).


Control:






Ay-Up Narrow beam





Spike on Flood high (currently 2 XP-Es at 500mA each) - imagine 2 XP-Gs at 1A each!
NB: This photo was taken with the same settings but we tried to focus on the nearest post rather than the distant trees so it may not be a valid comparison.





Spike Spot (Aspheric) 





An idea of how far away things are.





And a bit of fun with long exposure: Don't look into the beam!


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## GreenPower (Sep 23, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp - Beamshots Added!*

WOW!! Really very impressive work. Would it be possible for you, to post your CAD files so that, beginners like me can take em to a machinist and get started on this project. 
The build & the detailing is really something!!!


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## dom (Sep 23, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp - Beamshots Added!*

Great beams!
I have to get some of those aspherics off you soon!

Cheers
Dom


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## hoaiviet (Sep 23, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp*

Love to get the suppliers for your parts....xcept the housing of course..
This is great project... looks beautiful.... and how did you deal with the heat sink?







ahorton said:


> A few more pictures I quickly shot with my phone. I'll take better ones when it's a little more assembled.
> 
> The round black thing is a simple silicon boot from DX to cover a clicky switch. You can see how it fits in the oval-shaped thing which gets bolted onto the bottom of the lighthead. It should be easy to see how most parts will fit in the big part I pictured above. The lines on the page are 7mm apart.
> 
> ...


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## ahorton (Sep 23, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp - Beamshots Added!*

:welcome: Greenpower and hoaiviet. I hope you both enjoy your stay here and tell us all about yourself and your lights.



GreenPower said:


> WOW!! Really very impressive work. Would it be possible for you, to post your CAD files so that, beginners like me can take em to a machinist and get started on this project.
> The build & the detailing is really something!!!



If anyone wants just one of these headlights, then they are welcome to find my sales thread. Most 'beginners' will have trouble getting a machinist to build a single lighthead like this at the price I offer. So I might just hang onto the CAD files for now.

Both my lens and headlamp kit sales threads are still active, but I have never bumped them, so they tend to drift into the archives very quickly.

Pretty much all the other parts can be found on DX or KD. The connector is different but I mentioned it earlier in this thread. Other parts are just wire/solder/resistors/chargers/heatshrink/glue etc.

As for the large battery, I have actually renounced it in favour of 2x18650 (Trustfire from DX) since they are much cheaper and the big battery pack was just a tad too heavy. My friends and I have run more than 200km with the large battery pack over the last few months and it wasn't all that bad, but a 2x18650 balances perfectly.


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## hoaiviet (Sep 24, 2009)

Your metal work is beautiful. If you rubberized your batteries, how do you recharge them? I assume these rechargeable.


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## GreenPower (Sep 24, 2009)

*Re: My custom headlamp - Beamshots Added!*

How many watts are the LEDs :-? I think it'd be really great if you could put up a detail write up about this project (the hows & whys of the design).


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## hoaiviet (Sep 24, 2009)

Thank you for the last response... You mentioned that you trialed the drivers for your metal casing but probably wouldn't use them for your finished product. Which driver did you end up using? TIA


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## ahorton (Oct 1, 2009)

Doing the dishes has never been so fun.













After the above photos I put some detergent in and made them all nice and shiny for their new owners.







At the moment I'm using single mode KD buck drivers.

The wattage of the XR-E is about 3.7W and the two XP-Es consume about 4.5W on high.

I charge the cells by plugging the connector into a wall-charger.


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## dom (Oct 2, 2009)

ahorton said:


> I charger the cells by plugging the connector into a wall-charger.



Brilliant:laughing:

Good to see some of these going out the door - They look really good.

Cheers
Dom


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