# A DIY light Beamshot thread



## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Just an idea to get together a thread of home brew lights and beamshots all in one place

Here is a start though the first is not a diy but is the only single led light I have.

EDITED

I have listened to advise and redone the shots in the lights natural enviroment and as these creatures are nocternal it is really hard to
sneak up on them ,and when feeding or rearing young they can be a little dangerous so be carefull out there

camera ISO 100 f 2.8 @ 2 seconds 
there would be a control but it was just a black picture .

the red bucket is at 20 metres
the yellow box is at 40 metres
the yellow bucket is at 50 metres
and the blue flashing light is when I got arrested oops

first is a £10 cree 3 watt 2 cell torch 

















next a diy done easy style with 2 cree Q5 1 real spot and 1 smooth spot ledil optics and maxflex @ 750ma
HI and LOW . *DOH OPERATER ERROR *

























A cutter tripple Q5 with medium optic / bflex @ 1000ma

















and a cutter quad Q5 with narrow optic and Nflex @ 1000ma

















And finaly the first stem light twin Q5 with ledil smooth spot and ledil medium optics / buckpuck 1000ma

















and hopefully coming soon some various MCE beamshots

So come on folks lets have some more from your home brewed lights


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## Hack On Wheels (Apr 29, 2006)

What ISO?

I'd be up for contributing when I have some time and have my triple light in my hands. I can take beamshots of the other lights I have access too as well when I get the chance.

Should everyone aim for the same distance to a wall, or just whatever we feel shows the lights off the best? Also, a reference shot to show the ambient light for each set of posts would be good.


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Hack On Wheels said:


> What ISO?
> 
> I'd be up for contributing when I have some time and have my triple light in my hands. I can take beamshots of the other lights I have access too as well when I get the chance.
> 
> Should everyone aim for the same distance to a wall, or just whatever we feel shows the lights off the best? Also, a reference shot to show the ambient light for each set of posts would be good.


I think keep it simple and where ever you can do it and try to get pics that look how you see it 
my first pic the torch looks darker on the pic than in real life 
but the rest looked similar to how I saw them


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## msxtr (Dec 10, 2006)

Hi, good idea, but don't would better put before of each beamshot the pic of the light? moreover I think that are better do the beamshots to 2 seconds kinda.

Greetings - Saludos

msxtr


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## burtondogs (Oct 29, 2005)

a cutter quad Q5 with narrow optic and Nflex @ 1000ma

Looks Sweet


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

msxtr said:


> Hi, good idea, but don't would better put before of each beamshot the pic of the light? moreover I think that are better do the beamshots to 2 seconds kinda.
> 
> Greetings - Saludos
> 
> msxtr


Yes you are correct and the edit is in progress
I may redo the beam shots tonight


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## Hack On Wheels (Apr 29, 2006)

troutie-mtb said:


> I think keep it simple and where ever you can do it and try to get pics that look how you see it
> my first pic the torch looks darker on the pic than in real life
> but the rest looked similar to how I saw them


Keeping it simple always sounds good! I'm also a fan of beamshots that let you see how the light will light up a trail/lane/whatever in to the distance...

Haha, I shouldn't try to read and post late at night, I totally missed you saying "ISO 100".


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Hack On Wheels said:


> Keeping it simple always sounds good! I'm also a fan of beamshots that let you see how the light will light up a trail/lane/whatever in to the distance...
> 
> Haha, I shouldn't try to read and post late at night, I totally missed you saying "ISO 100".


:smilewinkgrin: ha ha I edited it just after you posted :smilewinkgrin:

and redone them in the wild


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## Hack On Wheels (Apr 29, 2006)

troutie-mtb said:


> :smilewinkgrin: ha ha I edited it just after you posted :smilewinkgrin:
> 
> and redone them in the wild


Hahaha, nice!

Looking good, thanks for the photos in their natural environment.

And just to confuse things further...  ..I thought it would be worst copying this post from the Dinotte 800L thread:



BobRocket said:


> You are correct that the lights are pointed a bit low, but his camera settings are what are needed to get a true comparison to the Lupine lights.
> 
> Lupine lights are really bright, don't get me wrong, but they use a certain setting on their camera that they publish and allows a true comparison of lights. There are a lot of factors that go into comparing light shots, but if you can use the same camera settings, then you get a more true comparison of light output.
> 
> ...


That could help enable a wider range of comparisons... I feel bad posting that though as you have already redone your beam shots!


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Hack On Wheels said:


> Hahaha, nice!
> 
> Looking good, thanks for the photos in their natural environment.
> 
> ...


:madman::madman::madman::madman::madman::madman::madman::madman::madman:

:incazzato:AAAAAAAAARG :crazy::bluefrown::cryin:

maybe next time:thumbsup:


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## Hack On Wheels (Apr 29, 2006)

troutie-mtb said:


> :madman::madman::madman::madman::madman::madman::madman::madman::madman:
> 
> :incazzato:AAAAAAAAARG :crazy::bluefrown::cryin:
> 
> maybe next time:thumbsup:


Please don't kill me! *hides*

...


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## smudgemtbuk (Jul 13, 2008)

that stem light turned out pretty impressively troutie :thumbsup: good idea of showing the light before the pic. Hopefully i'll be doing my photos tomorrow evening... 'must remember my coloured buckets and ladder'


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## G_Mozz (Sep 4, 2008)

Troutie, that's big noticable difference between the "DIY done easy" and the "Stem". Given that they are both dual Q5's, the 750mA vs 1000mA makes a huge difference! Or is that down to the different optics you have used?


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## Lumbee1 (Dec 16, 2004)

G_Mozz said:


> Troutie, that's big noticable difference between the "DIY done easy" and the "Stem". Given that they are both dual Q5's, the 750mA v 1000mA makes a huge difference! Or is that down to the different optics you have used?


Light output should be very similar between those two lights. It would be difficult for an average person to see a difference between 750 and 1000.


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## Hack On Wheels (Apr 29, 2006)

Lumbee1 said:


> Light output should be very similar between those two lights. It would be difficult for an average person to see a difference between 750 and 1000.


Hmm, with my triple R2 it sure seems to make a noticeable difference. So much that I can't see myself ever limiting my bflex at 750mA, unless heat ends up being too much of an issue. Unless I'm imagining things... I think I might have to check again at some point.


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

G_Mozz said:


> Troutie, that's big noticable difference between the "DIY done easy" and the "Stem". Given that they are both dual Q5's, the 750mA v 1000mA makes a huge difference! Or is that down to the different optics you have used?


G-MOZZ 
yes I noticed that also And I had a similar result with some old beam shots last year
which caused much discusion , sadly those shots have been deleted from photobucket so cant revisit them .

But there is one common fact that in there in both cases.
it is one set of leds came from DX with the brighter ones from else where 
in last years they were from Cutters 
and this year the stem light leds were from Brum`s group buy on CPF

there is a difference that I know about also 
the leds in the diy easy are the all yellow inside the dome 
while the Stem light they are the Silver inside the dome.

I do remember reading some where that some of the new Q5s seemed brighter than the R2s at that Time..

:idea: Makes you think :idea: doesnt it :idea:

*ANY WAYS COME ON LETS HAVE SOME MORE SHOTS IN HERE *


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## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

Hack On Wheels said:


> Hmm, with my triple R2 it sure seems to make a noticeable difference. So much that I can't see myself ever limiting my bflex at 750mA, unless heat ends up being too much of an issue. Unless I'm imagining things... I think I might have to check again at some point.


if you flick between 750 and 1000 its noticeable. If you're out riding on different nights you'll have trouble picking the 20% lumen difference. 
Optics make a HUGE difference. Going from 10 to 15 degrees halves the brightness!


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## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

Been stung by DX before. I stick to cutter now.
The whiter tints look brighter too but don't give as much contrast on the trail(Cutter cheap Q4 kits looks brighter than their WH bin R2s).


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## G_Mozz (Sep 4, 2008)

...hmmm all very interesting. Not yet having had any first hand experience yet, still awaiting my order from Cutter (must be delayed by all those MCE backorders), I am interested to see how my first venture to LED from Halogen works. 

I had read a few times that the difference between 750 to 1000mA was negligible, so my plan was 3 x R2's at 700mA, but seeing those beamshots I may have to see about driving up to 1000mA.

It is intrigueing to see the different results that people get.

I also have some R2's inbound from DX so I can do a direct compasion (altough Cutter - WH, DX - WG). 

:thumbsup: On a side note, I have to say that the people on this forum have to be the most friendly and helpful I have come across on any forum anywhere.


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## ocean breathes salty (Oct 1, 2006)

G_Mozz said:


> On a side note, I have to say that the people on this forum have to be the most friendly and helpful I have come across on any forum anywhere.


I'll second that!


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## Hack On Wheels (Apr 29, 2006)

G_Mozz said:


> ...hmmm all very interesting. Not yet having had any first hand experience yet, still awaiting my order from Cutter (must be delayed by all those MCE backorders), I am interested to see how my first venture to LED from Halogen works.
> 
> I had read a few times that the difference between 750 to 1000mA was negligible, so my plan was 3 x R2's at 700mA, but seeing those beamshots I may have to see about driving up to 1000mA.
> 
> ...


700mA is definitely more efficient. For me, I'm happy going with 1000mA and being less efficient because my battery is overkill anyways. If my battery was smaller, I would definitely lean heavily towards limiting my light at 700mA. If you have 3 or more LEDs to begin with, you should be getting by quite nicely for most riding with 700mA; sure you could always be happy with more light, but unless you are going crazy on the downhills, you should be fine.

And for what it is worth, I think WH and WG should be pretty comparable for brightness. If I recall correctly, WH and WG are both quite close to being "neutral white", neither are anything like the bluish WC, but WH is a bit more neutral colour-wise than the WG.


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## radirpok (Feb 1, 2006)

troutie-mtb said:


> I have listened to advise and redone the shots in the lights natural enviroment and as these creatures are nocternal it is really hard to
> sneak up on them ,and when feeding or rearing young they can be a little dangerous so be carefull out there
> 
> the red bucket is at 20 metres
> ...


At last! These shots are amazing! Thanks. The stem light is absolutely fantastic.
Just an idea: why stop at 50 meters? The quad spot must have a throw of a 100 meters at least ... which cannot be seen here.
And how about taking a shot of the stem+quad combo...


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Lumbee1 said:


> Light output should be very similar between those two lights. It would be difficult for an average person to see a difference between 750 and 1000.


 Sorry folks my mistake I just went back into the camera and I took an extra pic of the diy twin on low and missed it when downloading

I have put it up also to redress the ballance

now off to whip myself with old power cords


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## G_Mozz (Sep 4, 2008)

Troutie, that seems to make more sense now, looking at the difference between I can see (optic beams aside) the light output does seem close.


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## Lumbee1 (Dec 16, 2004)

BTW troutie, I meant to tell you in my early post NICE PICS!!! It is rare that we have one member with so many variations on DIY lights that is willing to take comparison shots. I keep meaning to post up my lights since they have unique high functionality differences compared to most lights. The only recommendation that I would make is to try and aim the light at one of the three items on the trail for a more consistent comparison. The Quad Q5 doesn't look that impressive until you notice how well the final object on the trail is lit up.

I have a dual P4 with Diffused spot Ledil optics. Even with the diffused optics, I still get that blown out effect like your dual Q5 (750mA) when I look down. I love the distance sighting but the glare off close objects is blinding. I used to believe the helmet light was more important and should be brighter, but after having both, I would much rather have a brighter handlebar light with wide angle optics.


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Thanks for the comments Lumbee1 and I will bear them in mind next time 
I was in a bit of a rush it was blowing a gale and I was getting strange looks from
passing motorists as someone out in the middle of nowhere with a pair of stepladders for my tripod
and some very bright lights would seem strange and lots of dogs barking at a nearby farm 
and not to forget the mad axe murderer creeping up on me :yikes:

Please do post your lights now you have stirred up our curiosity :yesnod:


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## msxtr (Dec 10, 2006)

*troutie-mtb* Woooooooowwwwwwwww, now YEAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I am very surprised with the beamshot of the "easy style with 2 cree Q5 1 real spot and 1 smooth spot ledil optics and maxflex @ 750ma"

Great job!!!!!!

Greetings - Saludos

msxtr


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## cicot (Sep 5, 2008)

troutie-mtb said:


> Thanks for the comments Lumbee1 and I will bear them in mind next time
> I was in a bit of a rush it was blowing a gale and I was getting strange looks from
> passing motorists as someone out in the middle of nowhere with a pair of stepladders for my tripod
> and some very bright lights would seem strange and lots of dogs barking at a nearby farm
> ...


I'm impreesd with thw stem light; 
would you give the links for the two lenses?
thanks


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

cicot said:


> I'm impreesd with thw stem light;
> would you give the links for the two lenses?
> thanks


Yep they are from Bram on the CPF group buy
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=175502

LC1 SS & LC1 M

Also got the Q5`s here too


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## Hack On Wheels (Apr 29, 2006)

*sigh* I just did a beamshot test this evening... Homemade, cheap cheap cheap single R2 light; Minewt X2 Dual; Trinewt; and old 10W BLT Halogen (4.8V bulb with 6V SLA battery)...
My R2 light looked seriously weak compared to the rest... turns out the batteries I thought were fresh were actually totally spent, popped in the batteries I'd used for my last two night rides and saw a huge boost in power. Time to redo my beamshots! :madman: 

I used both the MTBR settings and the LUPINE settings, basically did two rounds of beamshots. If anyone wants to see a specific light, let me know. No guarantees I can upload photos anytime soon, but I'll see what I can do! In case anyone was wondering, I did the beamshots in a back lane, looking down the lane. I aimed them all at roughly the same spot, but unfortunately I didn't measure any distances for reference.

Hopefully once I have my current project finished up (need to make the mounts) I can do some more beamshots.  Maybe I will even have my MC-E build done by the time I get around to that...


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

*Here we go again*

:madman: I should have done my home work before posting those beam shots 
and thanks for folks Who put in the suggestions.
So I thought there is no point in doing it if you dont do it right so here they are done to the MTBR spec. 
ISO 100 / f4 / 6 seconds / white balance daylight.

The hat is at 10 metres
red bucket @ 20 mtre
yellow box @ 50 mtrs 
yellow hi vis vest @ 70 mtrs
yellow hi vis jacket @ 100 mtrS

CONTROL 









TESCO £12 CREE C CELL TORCH









TESCO £10 CREE AA CELL TORCH 









DIY EASY @ 1200 MA ON HIGH THEN LOW

















THIS IS A LIGHT i MADE TO USE AT WORK 3 Q5 AND LEDIL SQUARE OPTICS 
1 RS / 1 SS / 1 ELIPTICAL WITH A NFLEX @ 1000MA

















CUTTER TRIPLE Q5 WITH MEDIUM OPTIC / BFLEX / 1000MA

















CUTTER QUAD Q5 WITH MEDIUM OPTIC / BFLEX / 1000MA

















CUTTER QUAD Q5 WITH NARROW OPTIC / NFLEX @ 1000MA

















NOW TURNING THEM ON IN SERIES


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## smudgemtbuk (Jul 13, 2008)

is that an orb in the bottom photo  
I was going to say you need to go out more Troutie, but you are :lol: I think youre getting MCEitus.
But brilliant photos and great to compare against all together


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## emu26 (Jun 23, 2008)

OMG its Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Look at that last pic, you've made contact Troutie, now send them away before they do something terrible with you in a place the sun doesn't shine  

Nice update, I'm surprise at how noticeable the difference between the triple and quad, same optic, same mA is


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

smudgemtbuk said:


> is that an orb in the bottom photo
> I was going to say you need to go out more Troutie, but you are :lol: I think youre getting MCEitus.
> But brilliant photos and great to compare against all together


:crazy: smudge you could be right but I would rather be doing daft things like this than watching reallity tv .

And someone has to keep you all entertained :crazy:


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## HuffyPuffy (Jun 9, 2008)

Imagine how confused the aliens must have been when they saw that he had a hat, a bucket, a box, a vest and a jacket lined up on their landing strip - thats 5 marklars in a marklar! I hope you did not just start some intergalactic conflict. 

Either that or he blinded some poor gnat


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## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

I for one welcome our new light loving overlords.


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

:lol:Ha Ha you lot are daft also Ha HA :lol:


Come on we are lacking in other lights and beamshots


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## msxtr (Dec 10, 2006)

Hi, Hmmmmmmm, what driver use you with the Easy DIY?? 1200ma???

The pics are super!!!!!!!! in the last beamshot I have had to use sunglasses   

Greetings - Saludos

msxtr


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

msxtr said:


> Hi, Hmmmmmmm, what driver use you with the Easy DIY?? 1200ma???
> 
> The pics are super!!!!!!!! in the last beamshot I have had to use sunglasses
> 
> ...


 My vision is just returning to normal . 
driver = Maxflex on full I just thought I would try it to see if there was any difference from when it was on 750ma


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## msxtr (Dec 10, 2006)

troutie-mtb said:


> My vision is just returning to normal .
> driver = Maxflex on full I just thought I would try it to see if there was any difference from when it was on 750ma


With only 2 leds are you used the maxflex driver?? to how much volts?

Greetings - Saludos

msxtr


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## radirpok (Feb 1, 2006)

Those last few shots sure look like an atomic blast sequence...
Though I don't see much difference between the lights' throw: that's the problem with using reflective objects as a way to measure distance on the trail. Why not have built-in trail objects - like a tree, a bush or something like that - which are not reflective and show the real throw of the lights.
Btw congratulations you are the first beamshot guy who has the courage to put something as far as 100 meters...keep on the good work! ;-)


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

msxtr said:


> With only 2 leds are you used the maxflex driver?? to how much volts?
> 
> Greetings - Saludos
> 
> msxtr


batteries are 4 c cell nihms so about 4.8 v


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

radirpok said:


> Those last few shots sure look like an atomic blast sequence...
> Though I don't see much difference between the lights' throw: that's the problem with using reflective objects as a way to measure distance on the trail. Why not have built-in trail objects - like a tree, a bush or something like that - which are not reflective and show the real throw of the lights.
> Btw congratulations you are the first beamshot guy who has the courage to put something as far as 100 meters...keep on the good work! ;-)


Yes funnily I had the same thoughts when I reviewed the pics about the hi vis stuff but then the pics had been done , and they also cost me 2 leds in the stem light 
This may sound crazy but fumbleing in the dark ( with all these lights around) I plugged the stem light into 18 volts instead of its battery with the buckpuck in and poof one very short flash .

then when I went to retrieve the landing strip and turned round 100 mtres down the trail was my van and it looked like a good beamshot :madman:
so my next shots will be down the trail back towards my van. 
3 MCE so might go to 200 mtres out

there is a lack of trees on my local trails


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## Lumbee1 (Dec 16, 2004)

I don't get it. Why did you point the camera at the sun in the last shot?


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## hootsmon (Feb 7, 2008)

*Holy smokes....*

That last beamshot just burned out all the pixels in the centre of my monitor


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## SkUG (Feb 19, 2008)

woah


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## emu26 (Jun 23, 2008)

troutie-mtb said:


> Come on we are lacking in other lights and beamshots


I figured it was about time I contributed to this place









I've included all three exposure times because reality is somewhere in the middle. The foreground appears to my eye to be somewhere between the 4 sec and 2 sec but the roof and far trees were closer to what you see in the 7 sec exposure

Hand rail 4m
First row of bushes 14m
Ridge on orangey roof 45m
Far row of trees 115m

Build details and trail pics for the MCE to follow, but don't hold your breath.


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## mdsjack (Oct 26, 2007)

lol I had missed this thread. the turning on in series by troutie is hilarious.

keep posting beamshots, they're extremely useful to newbies (like me).


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Nice ones Stuart they give a good comparison and have lots of light , the true test will be on the trail pics . and hopefully a bit of video .

Looking forward to the build pics even though I have seen some allready.


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

*Triple Boom MCE beamshots*

As it has been snowing I did not know what the beamshots would be like so here goes .

I stopped the camera down to 4 seconds @ f5 also.

This is the light head 
3 MCE K bin with 3 Boom reflectors smooth spot
running @ 600ma










I took a pointer from Salty and used wellies though they dont show up as good as socks on sticks 

It is 100 metres to the car and the first welly is 10 metres . then every 20 metres after.

this is the maxflex low setting










then High but massive reflection from the snow .










This shot I wanted to show the beam shape so went back 5 metres with the camera 
and then managed to sprint to the 25 mtrs from the light before the camera fired.
 Man was that bright with the snow also and check the huge shadow










Then it was on to the stepladder to ride to the woods for a few more shots .
I just managed to make it to the woods before the darkness got bored with me and wanted to go round and visit Salty

That is me about 30 metres away I am now blind 









And a shot from up in a tree to try and get the beam shape again . good job there was no one around










and last what the wildlife see when a well lit ladder is coming through the woods .










So to sum it up for me yes I am ut:

For My light I think that this is as good as it can get and I am well pleased :thumbsup:with the result .
and the light will get its front glass fitted and is finished .

ready for the next Crazy light build . I have a customer who wants one building 
So I get paid to do it nextime:thumbsup:


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## ocean breathes salty (Oct 1, 2006)

Great work Troutie...

It looks like there is more fill to the centre of the beam than before and a little more range.. Is that how it looked to the eye? 

Excellent use of some alternative angles for the beam shots too :thumbsup: 

Glad to see someone else goes just as silly as I do when the sun goes down


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

ocean breathes salty said:


> Great work Troutie...
> 
> It looks like there is more fill to the centre of the beam than before and a little more range.. Is that how it looked to the eye?
> 
> ...


Yes that is my conclusion also it has more range in the middle .
it is still a flood monster but has so much light that it can afford it

in the snow I would have to use low power but no snow and full has a nice depth to it 
out to 50 metres which for our trails is great . .

I bet you didnt know that Trout are nocturnal tree climbing creatures


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## Hack On Wheels (Apr 29, 2006)

Suitable for a helmet light then? I'd love to use the Boom SS reflectors, but if there is so much flood that my eyes adjust to that and I can't see very far ahead that would be fairly counter-productive!

Either way.... that is a freaking lot of light!! I definitely need to get my light project rolling... two MC-Es should be dandy if I can decide the best way to drive them from 14.8V.


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## mdsjack (Oct 26, 2007)

cool shots troutie.


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## smudgemtbuk (Jul 13, 2008)

wellie does it again. :thumbsup: 

Just wondering what the dog walkers the next day would of made of the footprints you left behind though :???:


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## ocean breathes salty (Oct 1, 2006)

smudgemtbuk said:


> wellie does it again. :thumbsup:
> 
> Just wondering what the dog walkers the next day would of made of the footprints you left behind though :???:


Not to mention the big patch of scorched earth with all the snow melted after he fires up the light.


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## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

Troutie could you please tell us how long the light was left on high before the snow melted.



troutie-mtb said:


>


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

znomit said:


> Troutie could you please tell us how long the light was left on high before the snow melted.


:lol: funny you should mention that but it is amazing how much heat is radiated out the front with the reflectors.

Hat off to O B Salty that is a great way to compare the beams from lights

So here we go 
Lights 18 inches from the wall I put the tile there for the 90 degree angle ref.

the centre of the beams is the 18 inch mark on the tape 
Sorry no single boom shot as they are trapped in the triple now

Triple Boom SS on MCEs 
Hi / LO


















Ledil Rocket optic on MCE










Ledil Cute 4 narrow optic on 4 Q5 leds


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## ocean breathes salty (Oct 1, 2006)

Top work Trout :thumbsup: The angle of your photograph is a little better than mine which shows the wall a little better. 

Your pics really illustrates just how floody the MCE's are. 

I am still not convinced that I have managed to extract all the "silent lumens" from my duster, so I will pay a visit to Ktronik to get his take on exactly where they are hiding.


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## Hack On Wheels (Apr 29, 2006)

Awesome, thanks for those! These seem to indicate that the Boom SS actually has a pretty reasonable hot spot, relative to the flood.  
Granted, that doesn't mean it will appear that way on the trails, but it still looks very promising.

By the way, what are the Hi/Lo settings for the triple MCE? I'm trying to get a sense of what even just two MCEs could be capable of when run at different settings. Running at 500mA max would sure seem to make picking a driver easier!


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Hack On Wheels said:


> Awesome, thanks for those! These seem to indicate that the Boom SS actually has a pretty reasonable hot spot, relative to the flood.
> Granted, that doesn't mean it will appear that way on the trails, but it still looks very promising.
> 
> By the way, what are the Hi/Lo settings for the triple MCE? I'm trying to get a sense of what even just two MCEs could be capable of when run at different settings. Running at 500mA max would sure seem to make picking a driver easier!


Cheers H O W

The triple is powered from a single Maxflex , @ 1200ma in 2 strings of 6 emitters 
so each die gets 600ma . and these are also the K bin 370lumens @ 350ma ones.

Hi Lo is the maxflex duo mode so hi is 600ma dont know what low is


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## Hack On Wheels (Apr 29, 2006)

troutie-mtb said:


> Cheers H O W
> 
> The triple is powered from a single Maxflex , @ 1200ma in 2 strings of 6 emitters
> so each die gets 600ma . and these are also the K bin 370lumens @ 350ma ones.
> ...


Thanks, troutie!

Sounds good, I'll have to sit down and do some spreadsheets and such (theoretical lumens, runtimes, etc.) for different possible setups when I'm done my exams. I'd love to use 3 MCEs, but I suspect 2 would make more sense for on my helmet. For the gnarlier riding, I've tossed around the idea of mounting two dual MCE lights on my full face helmet... with a third on the bars.  I'll have to see what happens though. Three MCEs would be sweeeeet on the bars based on your light's crazy output! Making all the lights the same would sure simplfiy things though... just throw one SS and one M in the bar light perhaps.

On a side note, do you have a picture of the wiring of one of your triples? I understand how the strings work in theory, but I'm not quite picturing how to neatly wire that.

Cheers!


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Hack On Wheels said:


> Thanks, troutie!
> 
> Sounds good, I'll have to sit down and do some spreadsheets and such (theoretical lumens, runtimes, etc.) for different possible setups when I'm done my exams. I'd love to use 3 MCEs, but I suspect 2 would make more sense for on my helmet. For the gnarlier riding, I've tossed around the idea of mounting two dual MCE lights on my full face helmet... with a third on the bars.  I'll have to see what happens though. Three MCEs would be sweeeeet on the bars based on your light's crazy output! Making all the lights the same would sure simplfiy things though... just throw one SS and one M in the bar light perhaps.
> 
> ...


:nono: You dont want to see my wiring really .

Somewhere in here are wiring diagrams


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

edited had to remove the videos due to lack of bandwidth
will get them back later somehow


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## achesalot (Nov 8, 2005)

Looks great Troutie. I'm pretty happy with the Boomerangs as well.

Here's my contribution comparing my triple SSC P4 light in the top photo with my new _in-progress_ dual MC-E in the bottom photo. Both photos taken at F2.8, 1/4sec, ISO 200.
Top - Triple SSC: 3 SSC P4 (u-bin) 1A, 2x15 L2 optics + 1 CRS20 reflector (modded)
Bottom - Dual MC-E: 2 MC-E (M-bin) 500mA, 1xSS Boomerang, 1xMed Boomerang
(I probably should have just used 2 SS Boomerangs and might order one later).

The amount of light is outstanding. I probably won't get a trail test until next week.


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Achesalot 
I take it you saw the vid before it was removed.

Nice comparison pics there and shows the volume of light is awesome
like on the video compared to the quad R2 .

I dont think many bikers will need the wide optics for the MCE unless mounted under the bars pointing downwards and and a bit sideways . .

Now there is an idea do away with the helmet light and just have allround flood.


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## HuffyPuffy (Jun 9, 2008)

Achesalot, not to diminish your P4 light, but the difference is night and day. Considering you are using about 2/3's the power for the P4 light vs the MC-E, it is even more impressive (looks like much more than twice the light).


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## langen (May 21, 2005)

HuffyPuffy said:


> Achesalot, not to diminish your P4 light, but the difference is night and day. Considering you are using about 2/3's the power for the P4 light vs the MC-E, it is even more impressive (looks like much more than twice the light).


The MC-E is using 4/3 of the power the SSC light is using, no?

0,5A through all 8 emitters "=" 1A through 4 emitters.

Anyway, it's very impressive :thumbsup:


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## achesalot (Nov 8, 2005)

Yeah, on full power the MC-E is drawing about 12.5 watts from my battery. Slightly more than the Triple SSC which ran around 11.8 watts. The 4 dies of each MC-E are in series, and the two MC-E are in parallel, using a 1A 3023 Buckpuck. 

Troutie: Yes, I saw the video... looked brighter than most automobile headlights  

We might have to turn these things down a bit or our fellow riders will complain. Even with my Triple SSC, I've had riders say "you ride in front, because your light is causing me to cast shadows in my light." And their light was a L&M HID.


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

achesalot said:


> Yeah, on full power the MC-E is drawing about 12.5 watts from my battery. Slightly more than the Triple SSC which ran around 11.8 watts. The 4 dies of each MC-E are in series, and the two MC-E are in parallel, using a 1A 3023 Buckpuck.
> 
> Troutie: Yes, I saw the video... looked brighter than most automobile headlights
> 
> We might have to turn these things down a bit or our fellow riders will complain. Even with my Triple SSC, I've had riders say "you ride in front, because your light is causing me to cast shadows in my light." And their light was a L&M HID.


Yes I had to remove the video as all 12 gig of bandwidth on the site I hosted them on had disappeared in the last 2 weeks  so I will put one back when the bandwidth resets.

Ha Ha that might be the only way I can get in front of my mates.


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## smudgemtbuk (Jul 13, 2008)

the vids gone! bit like the snow as your light hit it.
You're lights are changing as much as my batteries seem to be to match youre customers :rockon:


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

*Triple Boom MCE beamshots*

Here goes for another try .

A comparison video on the road of the triple MCE and Boom SS reflector.

very bad video editing and content Sorry I must learn a bit more about editing

Video here

save target please


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## notaknob (Apr 6, 2004)

*My opinion*

Nice comparison, but it needs music.

Now I want a triple MC-E.


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## ocean breathes salty (Oct 1, 2006)

troutie-mtb said:


> Here goes for another try .
> 
> A comparison video on the road of the triple MCE and Boom SS reflector.
> 
> ...


Wow, the triple MCE absolutely smokes the quad R2... They aren't even in the same ball park. The difference was even bigger than i expected.

So what are you working on now sir trout? What is happening with the death ray?


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

notaknob said:


> Nice comparison, but it needs music.
> 
> Now I want a triple MC-E.


Yes I agree but that is beyond my skills to add music 
There was no sound so I think the mic must have died .

I want some nice trail riding shots when it stops bloody raining.
bloody global warming , not in the UK we are all going to drown.

Salty I was very surprised by the difference and the quad is a great light.

That death ray is sealed up and being used by me .

I am waiting for the HipFlex , 
I have a commision to build a triple mce and am hoping that the polymer optics work 
it may be 3 MCE on a Hipflex and also 3 XPE on a buck puck 
so there is the option of running them seperate or all together.

and as the polymer optics are all the same size they should all fit the mag head nicely

there will be no dimming on the xpe just on / off.
the 3 xpe could just be a road light or a beam to fill out the MCE

This may not happen for this build but will sometime in the future.


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