# Did we make 1000 lumen mistakes?



## Dark Mower (Sep 2, 2006)

*Did we make 1000 lumen mistakes?*









The Ostar is driven at normal levels, approximately 700 to 750mA.
https://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/490/

Three of us made a bunch of fun lights for a group of people using a most unusual emitter, the Osram Ostar LED. The story became more involved when Osram decided to get involved. Meet the all-new 1000 lumen 'mistakes', the Super Flashlight V (SF-V.)










*WHY OSTAR?*

The glorious emitter has issues but brightness is not one of them. If you do take up the challenge as we did then the rewards are plenty- lots of light. It's easier and cheaper to design with a Cree or Seoul Semiconductor emitter but you won't get the output of a single emitter and its throw beam. But I think they are actually harder to work with the assembly of the multiple Cree or SSC emitters. Why use the Ostar? The Ostar is a serious emitter and Osram is not hyping the output.

As for the Ostar issues, the main one is you need at least 18-Volts to fire it up. That is not considering additional voltage to keep it running for a while and the bottom line is a lot of heavy batteries. 18-Volts is no problem in the home or business applications but needs creative thought to get it to work in the field. It doesn't take much current so a big voltage boost converter would work.

No one makes reflectors to focus the light so you are definitely on your own. Yeah, we figured that out too.

Simple? I should say not! Again, Crees and Seouls are easier for the hobbyist or companies looking for easy design and/or the best profit. The Cree and SSC use much lower voltage. They have reflectors and optics so simple designs can be used if you can live with the beam pattern. If you want absolute performance then go with the Ostar and the uphill battle to make it work. Yes, we've tested and used them all. We have to- we are hobbyists. You could say we like the challenge. In reality, we are masochists and love the pain and suffering so we took the different path, the rugged pioneer road, and used the mistake, the Ostar. We are also used to working with the unusual, bleeding edge, technology and coming up with unique solutions.










Not wanting a heavy battery pack or an extension cord, we made two level converters. One level controls the voltage boost and the second takes care of the variable brightness.










*THE LIGHT*

We stood firm and against the odd of success but we prefer the Ostar emitter so we dug in and worked. The boost converter was designed and built plus we added four stages of electronically controlled multi-brightness. As you see, the light has a reflector making the Ostar a truly portable light. The proof of concept worked so a new body was dreamed then fleshed out.










It certainly doesn't look like the 99¢ bin flashlight! Each has new bodies, a specifically designed voltage boost circuit with electronically controlled variable bright that DOES NOT use PWM dimming. Really&#8230; who wants a strobing landscape? Don't forget the new Ostar. The lights are one-piece head and body for superior head sinking made with 6061 alloy and finished with a gray-green hard anodizing. For grip, there are slats and micro-grooving on the body. The tail has a massive anti-roll that also balances the light and contains under the protective collar the rubber shielded switch that controls on/off and brightness. High temperature, ultra-clear, mineral glass protects the reflector and emitter. The O-rings should make the light waterproof to a limited extent. The power source is 4xCR123A primary cells or 4xRCR123 and 2x17670 Li-Ion rechargeable cells.










*OSRAM GETS INVOLVED*

Osram liked the light because no one else would consider their emitter for portable lighting. Imagine three hobbyists getting a big corporation to blink? They looked and liked what they saw. Now- Osram was pleased so much that they have one SF-V, a demonstrator, for their overseas exhibitions. And as a thank you, Osram let us buy impending emitters with 500 ADDITIONAL lumens output. So we made a brighter version, the SF-Vb, with the 1000 lumen emitter. The results are in the first picture. It looks like 15W output. Neat, huh?

*THE MISTAKE*

Online 'experts' firmly derided the Osram Ostar saying would too difficult, a mistake, to attempt a portable light and poo-pooed it without trying. Then they pushed Cree and SSC emitters. They passionately drove others away from the Ostar making it sound like a blotch of plague. As you can see, we weren't fooled and the Ostar makes a great light. A little work is good for you and the critics are wrong.

*BIKE LIGHT*

My weasel friends made the light and forgot I wanted it to mount on a bike! How did it get mounted? I ordered a bike mount from DealExtreme.com and with a rubber wedge the setup holds the light but the latch doesn't feel secure. I'll work on that one.

OH, the REAL bike lights are still being made. You know- the standard remote head and separate battery pack? We are only making three for our personal use. Of course it will use the Ostar emitter. We learned a lot from making the SF-V. It was the proof of concept. The bike light might have to be powered down since there is not nearly as much heat sink mass yet it'll still be bright Anyway, who'd want a light with a silly Ostar?

Did we 1000 lumen mistakes? At least 60 people say no.

So meet the SF-Vb with the 1000 lumen Ostar emitter. It's in a class of its own.

_Have fun and keep rolling!_





































This is not your grandma's LED. Did you never dream a little LED light could do this? Osram makes it possible.










More info on the SF-Va is here, in Japan.
https://www.pro-light.jp/ostar/arcmania_ostar6_1.html

The SF-Vb is here.
https://www.customlightfactory.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=58


----------



## msxtr (Dec 10, 2006)

Hi, Thanks for the info.  

18v is very, very much volts to bike aplications, I think.... you need a very, very special battery to run this led.

Greetings - Saludos

msxtr


----------



## super-fast (Sep 28, 2006)

No you just need a step-up driver like the Shark driver from Sandwich Shoppe or the Fatman from Taskled as mentioned in the posting.


----------



## Dominik.M (Sep 21, 2007)

Looks fine, but you didn't mention one thing... What is the burn time on 2x17670 ??


----------



## iTEK_26 (Aug 22, 2006)

:eekster: :crazy: :yikes: :eekster: :crazy: :yikes: :eekster: :crazy: :yikes: That is one INTENSE flashlight. WOW.:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


----------



## super-fast (Sep 28, 2006)

Dominik.M said:


> Looks fine, but you didn't mention one thing... What is the burn time on 2x17670 ??


The cells have a capacity of 1600 mAh and a Voltage of 3.7V. So the battery is 3.7*1,6*2=11,84 WHr. The Ostar consumes 22W according to Osram when it has to put out 1000 Lumens. So the powermode is really usefull when the shop is less then 15 minutes from your house (or 30 minutes when the shop sells also batteries  )


----------



## Dominik.M (Sep 21, 2007)

Bug


----------



## Dominik.M (Sep 21, 2007)

bug


----------



## Dominik.M (Sep 21, 2007)

Thx, I know that already (I'm Flashaholic  ) but I want to hear that from *Dark Mower* 

For me useful bike light must weight less than 1kg and burn at least 10 hours. If party (we cal it Night Massacre) happens during one of the longest winter nights in the year and you have to ride 200 km in 15 hours looking for the control points you can for certain leave all half hour lights for your grandma...


----------



## Lumbee1 (Dec 16, 2004)

super-fast said:


> The cells have a capacity of 1600 mAh and a Voltage of 3.7V. So the battery is 3.7*1,6*2=11,84 WHr. The Ostar consumes 22W according to Osram when it has to put out 1000 Lumens. So the powermode is really usefull when the shop is less then 15 minutes from your house (or 30 minutes when the shop sells also batteries  )


The light would turn to molten metal after running 30 seconds in turbo mode.


----------



## Cheers! (Jun 26, 2006)

Is that just a standard reflector?


----------



## quaffimodo (May 25, 2004)

Dark Mower said:


> *Did we make 1000 lumen mistakes?*


Looks like you could use that to weld with in a pinch......


----------



## minkis (Jun 24, 2007)

that's bad ass!


----------



## doogs (May 29, 2007)

hows the bike light going? any more progress? i just received a couple of the 1100lm Ostar emitters from a company in Australia and am trying to sort out some optics.


----------



## joebreez (Sep 10, 2005)

Ledil now makes optics for the Ostars. Look on;
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=711-1013-ND

Eric S


----------



## tkblazer (Sep 18, 2005)

joebreez said:


> Ledil now makes optics for the Ostars. Look on;
> http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=711-1013-ND
> 
> Eric S


they listed it on their site as well

http://www.led-spot.com/p_ostar.shtml


----------



## brum (Dec 19, 2004)

tkblazer said:


> they listed it on their site as well
> 
> http://www.led-spot.com/p_ostar.shtml


Ledil.fi is the Ledil website, led-spot is the USA distributor.

Since your not in the USA, I might be able to help you out.


----------



## AZ_Dave (Apr 20, 2006)

Having trouble finding source for these. Can you point me to a vender?


----------



## joebreez (Sep 10, 2005)

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=475-1297-ND
This is the link for the 6 die LED. There is also a 4 die LED available.

Eric S


----------



## AZ_Dave (Apr 20, 2006)

Thank U :thumbsup:


----------



## thasingletrackmastah (Nov 15, 2005)

I like the thumbshifters too :thumbsup: 
And yes, that's a lot of light from a "single" led.


----------

