# 7 UP my thoughts



## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

There has been a few 7 up threads and I thought I would add one with my thoughts on the beast .
I ordered some of the 7 UP XPG s with my order for a few of the leds on 10 mm boards 
and have not really had the time to play around untill this weekend even though one has been supplying temporary lighting to my office

I gave one to my machinist friend with the brief to do something with it and he has been a bit too busy and wont let me see it untill it is finished .
so being an impatient git I cobbled up a rough housing to use on my helmet .










it is a round bar turned and milled to the shape shown 45 mill diameter and 60 mm long

optic and cover just glued in powered by a Maxflex and in the pics below at the full 1000ma 
all up weight inc helmet mount is 144 grammes

a bit of battery draw data with it wired to a bench supply so probably better figures than from a battery in the cold 
multi mode power supply set @ 15 volts

level 1 110 ma
level 2 350 ma
level 3 660 ma
level 4 1070 ma
level 5 1800 ma

I dont know what this equates with in amps to the leds though

My early thoughts are I like it very much it has a fantastic throw with a good width of beam and I would be happy riding with level 1 to 3 as my only light level 4 & 5 are just for bragging to the Betty owners .and on level 5 the light gets hot fast but I have not tried it yet on a ride .
also you would need a meaty battery to run max power for any length of time

I did check it at the lower current table of 700 ma and draw was 
level 1 110 ma
level 2 280 ma
level 3 480 ma
level 4 720 ma
level 5 1230 ma

beam shots below show how good it really is though the difference from 4 to 5 is not much

so IMHO I dont see much that will be better than this combo for ease of use sheer power available in a fairly small package . and would be a killer as either a bar or helmet light . 
as you can go from a dim work light to a mega beat anything out there light 
for not a huge expense.

https://w199.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=https://w199.photobucket.com/albums/aa46/amticoman/7 UP XPG/205cf635.pbw


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## flatulentfox (Aug 27, 2004)

*awesome*

looks good (especially for something cobbled together ). Makes me want to hurry up and get mine done.


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## sergio_pt (Jan 29, 2007)

thanks for the info troutie.

So you are overdriving the 7 LED's? I'm also thinking about doing it when I get my 7UP ready, I might set it up for 1200ma as maxflex goes beyond the maximum XP-G current (1000ma). If the LED's lumen output is superior and it doesn't burn them all early why not? 

Thats the main concern, how long would the XP-G's last being overdriven to 1200ma? And how much more light they out put out at 1200ma compared to 1000ma?


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

sergio_pt said:


> thanks for the info troutie.
> 
> So you are overdriving the 7 LED's? I'm also thinking about doing it when I get my 7UP ready, I might set it up for 1200ma as maxflex goes beyond the maximum XP-G current (1000ma). If the LED's lumen output is superior and it doesn't burn them all early why not?
> 
> Thats the main concern, how long would the XP-G's last being overdriven to 1200ma? And how much more light they out put out at 1200ma compared to 1000ma?


No just at the 1000 ma current table I dont see any pluses in going to the 1200 ma 
as it would draw more from the battery and produce more heat that ever .
if anything go for the 750 ma setting is enough for even me . ( but will most likely stay on the 1000 setting ) and just use Hi Low be nice for a lo med and hi

look at the difference between level 5 and 4 on the pics it is not that much better 
but lots more heat .and current from the battery .


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## sergio_pt (Jan 29, 2007)

oops just read your 1st post too fast and though the 5 levels where the current output of maxlfex.

you are right, more draw and more heat, I can imagine all the housing getting red hot. But I can try the 1200mA experiment just to see how it goes! 

There's some great info on CPF from a user testing LEDs to overcurrent 
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=3115908#post3115908
One XP-G can do 400lumen at 1200mA. :thumbsup:


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## Swedish (Dec 2, 2008)

Looks great! 

I'm interested in how you mount it together, can you take any pics on it apart? Or is it a secret?


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## Rich_SC (Oct 10, 2009)

Just going by the photos it looks like a maxflex setup in duomode with 700ma on high would work pretty darn well and be simple to use.


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

Yes I agree, Ive used mine for a few days now and 500ma on low and 700 on high is plenty and will give LED's and driver a long life (500ma is more light than my quad XR-E R2 @ 1000ma). Not too pleased with the XP-G cool spearmint green tint though.

But Troutie, look what you have made me go and do. I like your up & down fins but also like my round & round fins....So out came the tools and I've got both


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## cytoe (Jan 20, 2004)

I like it.:thumbsup:


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## HEY HEY ITS HENDO (Feb 23, 2008)

finned and fluted :thumbsup: i likes it too :thumbsup:


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Swedish said:


> Looks great!
> 
> I'm interested in how you mount it together, can you take any pics on it apart? Or is it a secret?


No Secrets .









just 2 parts with a glued in optic cover in front 
maxflex sits on the main led heatsink 
switch and power in at the other end still working on the mount as it is going to be mounted on a Lupine head belt for adventure racers just waiting for the headbelt to arrive.










I have gone for the popular round bottomed Finns


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

yetibetty said:


> Yes I agree, Ive used mine for a few days now and 500ma on low and 700 on high is plenty and will give LED's and driver a long life (500ma is more light than my quad XR-E R2 @ 1000ma). Not too pleased with the XP-G cool spearmint green tint though.
> 
> But Troutie, look what you have made me go and do. I like your up & down fins but also like my round & round fins....So out came the tools and I've got both


Nice one Yeti 
what weight are you with the bare housing at the moment.


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

Aprox 90-100g. I can't do round bottomed Finns, I had to use a woodworking router bit in the drill press.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

troutie-mtb said:


> .....so being an impatient git I cobbled up a rough housing to use on my helmet .


...Wait a minute....That light head looks very much like a typical Shower head... 

Level three looked good enough to satisfy me so this begs the question: Is a 4 or 5-up going to be enough to meet my needs. (?) An encore request: This time compare the 7-up to your 6 shooter ( 6-up with sq. optics ) Trout light. Oh....almost forgot....please..


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## Jim Z in VT (Sep 9, 2007)

yetibetty said:


> I had to use a woodworking router bit in the drill press.


Dude....you did this with a router bit in a drill press??!! Bravo!!! :rockon: 
I'd love to hear how that was done, as a fellow abuser of woodworking tools. The set-up I'm envisioning would require at least 3 hands (and nerves of steel) :lol:










JZ


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

Sorry for the crap picture JZ, but you should get the idea.


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## Jim Z in VT (Sep 9, 2007)

Yeti, are you somehow rotating the round Al stock through the router bit, or making multiple flat passes? 

JZ


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

Multiple flat passes, cup of tea in one hand, turn the cross slide vice handle with the other.
The photo is one that I am doing at the moment, just stopped to let the motor cool.

It's getting a bit boring now.

Takes longer to mark it all out & line it up than it does to mill/router it.


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## Jim Z in VT (Sep 9, 2007)

yetibetty said:


> Multiple flat passes, cup of tea in one hand, turn the cross slide vice handle with the other.


Cool. Will beer work? :yesnod:

It's amazing what people here can accomplish with the basic tools :thumbsup:

JZ


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## OldMTBfreak (Apr 8, 2006)

TEA! Noooo beer! In an emergency you could use it as a coolent.


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## deesta (Sep 7, 2008)

Quality job YB, Chris - another little beauty. Be interested to see what your CNC guy comes up with 

It amazes me what people produce using hand powered tools :thumbsup: 

I've just started to make the prototypes for my 'possibly' new range. No pics yet as I'm keeping things under wraps for a while but I'm looking to do a 20mm triple, quad, 7-up and double 7-up. Should cover most peoples needs...what do you reckon?

Steve


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## notaknob (Apr 6, 2004)

*Beyond the Shadows*

While I like the simplicity of a single board, I think the ability to have lenses that can be configured separately (narrow. med, elliptical) is more useful if your running this many LEDs.

The Troute-light6/Lumen Liberator6's ability for mix-n-match are major selling points. With the lower forward voltage of the XPGs, I'm surprised you've not cranked out a LL7.

Or am I way off-base and this what you've got mounted on your bars?










JZ, I call my beer hop-tea.


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## Jim Z in VT (Sep 9, 2007)

notaknob said:


> JZ, I call my beer hop-tea.


barley soda 

JZ


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## Rich_SC (Oct 10, 2009)

JimZinVT said:


> barley soda
> 
> JZ


Around here we call it "daddy juice"


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## sergio_pt (Jan 29, 2007)

cool stuff troutie and yetibetty!

troutie I like the longitudinal fins idea also, would it be possible to make the fins smaller and closer to each other? I think that way it would look better.

yetibetty that looks like the DX bike light. Improves the design but less material for heat transfer.


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## Whitedog1 (Feb 3, 2009)

deesta said:


> Quality job YB, Chris - another little beauty. Be interested to see what your CNC guy comes up with
> 
> It amazes me what people produce using hand powered tools :thumbsup:
> 
> ...


Great to hear that Steve!

i like the idea of the double 7-up  :thumbsup:


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

sergio_pt said:


> cool stuff troutie and yetibetty!
> 
> troutie I like the longitudinal fins idea also, would it be possible to make the fins smaller and closer to each other? I think that way it would look better.
> 
> ...


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

Troutie, we must be going in the right direction if mine looks like a DX light and yours looks like a shower head 

Great Vid, looks like it was bloody cold.

Could you give more details of the different beams from the same spec optics please.


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## Rich_SC (Oct 10, 2009)

Hey troutie...How's the runtimes with a 4s battery? The double 7up sure does turn night into day. Amazing.


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Rich_SC said:


> Hey troutie...How's the runtimes with a 4s battery? The double 7up sure does turn night into day. Amazing.


Runtime on full would not be long with a draw of 1.7 amps .

As suggested somewhere about beamshots from above so with the dog to look out for the axeman I enlisted my daughter to come to the deserted quarry in the spooky woods to hold the lights while I went to the top to get the shots .

first up a location shot lit from the camera position with a Baby Trout









NEXT A LIBERATOR 6 XPG 4 NARROW AND 2 MEDIUM OPTICS








THEN THE 7 UP XPGS WITH 6 DEGREE KHATOD OPTIC








LAST A BABY TROUT WITH 4 XPG AND NARROW OPTICS


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## sergio_pt (Jan 29, 2007)

Thanks for the beams trout!  The 7UP is powerful! Good focused beam with some side illumination. But it looks to have a round shade, that's not too good. Do you have the different angle khatod optics (25 and 40)?


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

sergio_pt said:


> Thanks for the beams trout!  The 7UP is powerful! Good focused beam with some side illumination. But it looks to have a round shade, that's not too good. Do you have the different angle khatod optics (25 and 40)?


Sorry Sergio 
no other angles I now go for the narrowest optics and build from there it is a nice light to ride with and I never noticed the ring much . unless on featureless terrain


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## Kaitsu (Jun 12, 2006)

Made some measurements with two WattsUp meters and XP-G 7S, hope somebody find them usefull:








7S @ 1000mA seems to be too much for 2/3 full 2.4Ah battery pack. Battery voltage drops 1.7 volts, and that was taken at room temperature.

_______________________
DIY-lights Lumicycle update 3

Led lights V2 Led lights V3
Team Tuska Site


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

Kaitsu,
thanks for posting that information. I have found similar results and am tempted to go with 2 buck drivers, run 4 LEDs from one and 3 from the other and run a higer voltage battery. Might not make too much of a difference though.

The 6 degree optic is clearly not designed for the XPG, looks OK ot on the trail but it must be wasting light. What optic are you using?

"6 degree" very ringy.


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## Kaitsu (Jun 12, 2006)

yetibetty said:


> ...What optic are you using?
> ...


 10 mm Carclo, I think Troutie has it right. 5 x narrow + 2 medium was great for trails. Next I would try 4 x narrow + 2 medium + elliptical.


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

*Whoo whoo*

I just got to see the housing My friendly cnc guy has come up with for the 7 up .
the bugger would not let me see what he was doing untill yesterday when he handed a proto over










































It just needs a few minor tweaks and it will be a beauty


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

That's just poetry in motion.
Love the play between the curved and straight lines on that chassis.


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## Jim Z in VT (Sep 9, 2007)

That is pretty sweet! Do you think the fins should be deeper &/or farther forward to flow 7 x XP-G's worth of heat?

JZ


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## christexan (Jun 1, 2004)

*Is that...?*

Maybe it's just the light, but that looks more like titanium than aluminum... so I have to ask, is it? It's beautiful either way.


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

JimZinVT said:


> That is pretty sweet! Do you think the fins should be deeper &/or farther forward to flow 7 x XP-G's worth of heat?
> 
> JZ


Cant go deeper as the cavity is quite big inside wanted it to be able to take a hyperboost 
or maybee 2 drivers to split the board 3 - 4 
and forward is spoken for by the led cavity it is looking pretty good on the heat front and a lot better than my effort .

Nope not Ti it must be a reflection off the wall colour .

There will be some spare ones available too


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## HEY HEY ITS HENDO (Feb 23, 2008)

whoooh, now that is friggin gorgeous!!! :thumbsup:


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

HEY HEY ITS HENDO said:


> whoooh, now that is friggin gorgeous!!! :thumbsup:


Cheers Hendo 
You know you want a couple to put on the motorbike .


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## smudgemtbuk (Jul 13, 2008)

top notch Troutie, Thats going to be sold out allready 
let us know if you want a battery making up to do the testing with for it


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## WeLight (Aug 12, 2007)

Trout
Love the new housing, loved the video, but were you riding in clogs...... 

We need to do a kit for this new housing


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## ozlongboarder (Jan 12, 2004)

New housing looks great Troutie, whats it weigh?


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

WeLight said:


> Trout
> Love the new housing, loved the video, but were you riding in clogs......
> 
> We need to do a kit for this new housing


:lol: Thanks Welight Yes I know what you mean was riding in squash shoes on spds 
with the video camera hung round my neck with wires trailing to the bullet cam on the bars

Ozlondboarder built and without mount it weighs in at 155 grammes .production model should be a bit lighter .

I would love to see a beamshot with th e XPEs in


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## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

I like the beamshots from the quarry. It really gives you a good perspective of throw and spill. LOVE the new 7up housing. The little hood is a great idea to keep the light out of your eyes if you get up over the bars.


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## AlisterG (Nov 14, 2008)

Looks fantastic and will be watching with interest.

Am I right in thinking that using a hyperboost will allow the use of 5S li-ion pack, although that is a little too close for comfort when running at 350ma?


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## kmjelle (Nov 29, 2007)

*7 up XPG, glas in front of optic?*

Do people use some kind of glas in front of the Kathod reflector plate (with the small holes), or only the reflector?


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

kmjelle said:


> Do people use some kind of glas in front of the Kathod reflector plate (with the small holes), or only the reflector?


Yes My cases have a lexan facia plate as I thing the tiny holes will be a pita to clean mud from and better to scratch the cheap lexan than the expensive optic .


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

I ended up making a bezal to hold round glass from DX as I got fed up cleaning those silly little holes in the optic.


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## kmjelle (Nov 29, 2007)

I have some Ø41,5mm glas from Dx. I guess I`ll have to use it.


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## bengifford (Nov 9, 2009)

where can I find someone to make me a 7up like this?


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

bengifford said:


> where can I find someone to make me a 7up like this?


I could make you one of these http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-diy-do-yourself/cree-7up-build-654686-4.html

The only real difference these days is that I can now anodize in any colour.


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