# Marwi Bullet - XML - 2800ma Multi Mode driver



## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

I thought I would show the parts combo/solution that I came up with on the Marwi Bullet housings.

Parts:
Marwi bullet housing
Judco Flat SPST latching switch
XML T6 star
Custom machined heat sink
Custom machined aluminum reflector

First a new heat sink was needed. The nice part about the XML is it is not as tall as a P7 and so the heat sink does not have to sit way back in the angled part of the housing. The heat sink sides are straight, which is way easier to cut on a CNC machine.
The heat sink is pressed in as far as it will go in the straight walled section. I still needed a bit more depth and so I cut a .0625" round section in the center of the .125" thick heat sink. The recessed hole is a bit larger than the XML because the LED is not in the exact center of the star, so you need a bit of wiggle room.
The heat sink also has a notch so the wires can pass from front to the back where the driver is. No extra steps needed to drill tiny wire holes. Let the CNC machine do that for you 

The heat sink is glued in place using Artic Alumina thermal expoxy. It is pressed into the housing, but the housings are not a perfect circle and things expand when they get hot so, the thermal adhesive is needed, IMO.










































The switch and driver sit behind the heat sink and there is plenty of room because the heat sink is so far forward in the housing. For extra security against something shorting, I put a couple small pieces of electrical tape on both sides of the driver board. The driver is the 2800ma multi mode driver set to star #3, which is low-medium-high. 
See this post for more info on the driver board.
https://forums.mtbr.com/lights-diy-do-yourself/2800ma-amc7135-multi-mode-driver-boards-745871.html

The power cord enters through a grommet and has a wire tie around it to keep it secure. I added a few drops of super thick glue on the inside of the grommet to keep the cord from turning.


















And here it is all assembled.



















The red housing is pretty, but I only have two of those. and so I kept them for me. I have 100's of black and silver housings.

Here's video of the reflector being machined on my CNC machine
Machining a XML Reflector - YouTube


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## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

a very tidy job El34. I'm sure a lot of riders with those style Marwi bodies will be happy bunnies now  

How does it do for cooling at mtb speeds?


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Have not taken it out on MTB yet
Did a road ride last night (last wednesday night road ride of this season)

Will be taking it off road soon

I don't see any problems, it's cold out and the light shell stays just under 99 F on the bench with a small fan cooling it.

It's really easy to tap the switch and change light modes

Hope to get some beam shots with my Bell shaped P7's as a comparison tonight


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Ah..........carp, it's raining and cold here
No beam shots tonight, but there is always beer.

BTW, I am thinking I could have the heat sinks made at a machine shop, but the center milled out area makes it hard to do on anything but a CNC machine.

If I reduce the thickness to .062" and simplify the shape to a flat disc, I could have these things done on a Flojet for cheap. A Flojet can cut a big sheet of these out in no time with no holding tabs and the edges would be very clean. (I am hoping it can anyway)

The back wall is .062" as it is right now. (The bottom of the bowl part that the XML is sitting on)


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## mntn-biker (Sep 12, 2010)

Ok, put your beer down and get out the camera

You don't have a pic showing how deep the insert is seated inside the housing. A pick with the rear switch cap removed where the notch in the housing in would be nice to see. We might be able to give you some ideas if we could see that


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I knew you'd come up with a slick design. :thumbsup: 

So if you beveled the back edge to go the same depth into the tail as the depth of the milled out center would that do it? Can a flow jet bevel? I suspect not, but an idea. 

BrianMc


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## jprescott7 (Oct 11, 2011)

Im building a light similar to this , XML t6 with the same driver with star #3 grounded, but im using your remote mount Judco SPST Off-On switch and i cant seem to get the driver to change modes correctly. I switch it on, flutter the switch to change modes and the emitter flickers really dim for a half a second and goes out. flutter again and it repeats this several times until finally goes back to original mode(high?) as when it was initially turned on.

any help would be appreciated! thanks!


(first post btw)


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

> You don't have a pic showing how deep the insert is seated inside the housing


It's the same as yours. The slug goes as far back as it can go until it reaches the transition. I'll pop the housing apart and take a pic when I get to the shop.



> So if you beveled the back edge


I already did that and it makes the slugs way more complicated and very slow to machine on the CNC. A straight sided slug can also be press fitted if you get the diameter just right. The straight sided slug gived you more room out back for the driver.



> I switch it on, flutter the switch to change modes and the emitter flickers really dim for a half a second and goes out


Hmmm, hard for me to say without seeing your wiring job up close. 3 of the wire leads are easy to solder but the LED- is a *****. 
They need to come up with a larger solder pad for LED-. 
I am using the spring pad for Battery + and LED+. 
I am using Star#1 for the Battery - coming from the switch.
Are you interupting Battery- to do the switching?


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

I did not take apart the pretty red one, but here's the first housing that I tried a straight sided slug on. 

This slug had wires holes through the firewall. The new slugs have the small half moon wire hole.

You can just see the back edge of the slug.
This is where the straight sided walls of the housing ends and the cone shape begins.

The driver board is sitting on a 1/32" piece of garolite. I thought I would try that as an insulator to keep the heat of the slug from toasting the chips on the driver board. 

I am going to be cutting a thinner slug today so that I do not have to make that recessed area for the XML. I'll take pics of that slug.


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## mntn-biker (Sep 12, 2010)

El34 said:


> I am going to be cutting a thinner slug today so that I do not have to make that recessed area for the XML. I'll take pics of that slug.


Won't a thinner slug give you issues with absorbing and/or dispersing the heat to the light housing?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

El34 said:


> I already did that and it makes the slugs way more complicated and very slow to machine on the CNC. A straight sided slug can also be press fitted if you get the diameter just right. The straight sided slug gived you more room out back for the driver.


Sorry, I should have said chamfer. Just enough to move the disk back the same amount as the depth of the center milled area. However, thinking about it more, if the thinner slug moves enough heat well enough into the body, then simpler is better. :thumbsup:

BrianMc


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

> Won't a thinner slug give you issues with absorbing and/or dispersing the heat to the light housing?


.062 inches is actually thicker than it sounds.
The Old Marwi heat sink was thinner than that and it worked just fine.

If the .062 slug is too thin then I could always go back to plan A and have them cut on a CNC machine. Or have a second slug made that has a hole in the center and then just sandwich the two slugs together to get a thicker slug surface at the out walls.

Not sure I can find a shop with a Flojet anywho.
The problem with using a CNC machine is that each slug has to have holding tabs. You then have to cut the slugs from the sheet and remove the holding tabs.


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## mntn-biker (Sep 12, 2010)

El34 said:


> If I reduce the thickness to .062" and simplify the shape to a flat disc, I could have these things done on a Flojet for cheap. A Flojet can cut a big sheet of these out in no time with no holding tabs and the edges would be very clean. (I am hoping it can anyway)


A Flojet is waterjet cutting and it is not as precise as a cnc mill. I would not bank on a Flojet accurately cutting your discs close enough in tolerance to press fit them in the housings. They may nail the size 1 time, but the next time they may not. I would check with a shop that has a cnc lathe. If you did not care about the finish on the driver side, a cnc lathe could chuck up a long length of 1.375" diameter aluminum and turn the outside diameter, face the end, and then use a cutoff tool to take the slug off. The back side would have a little knob left on it that you might have to touch to a belt sander? I have a local cnc shop that can make my double cupped inserts for pretty cheap and that includes the wire holes, the tapped holes for the star, and the side mounting hole (I have to manually tap that hole since this shop does not have 2 live heads to do this).


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

I always forget about using a lathe.
A lathe could cut the recess in the front no problem.
The lathe could not do my half moon wire hole, but I can just drill one hole for both wires.

The shop that made the Bell housing heat sinks used a CNC lathe to make those

I'll have to call and see how much they would charge.


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## mntn-biker (Sep 12, 2010)

El34 said:


> I always forget about using a lathe.
> A lathe could cut the recess in the front no problem.
> The lathe could not do my half moon wire hole, but I can just drill one hole for both wires.
> 
> ...


E-mail me when you find out if you would. We can compare/share notes on costs for our inserts. I'm simply curious what the cost of a simple insert like yours would be compared to a bit more complicated insert like mine. I could/would never make mine manually for what they would charge me, regardless.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

I have a call into the shop, got voicemail
Waiting for a call back


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## jprescott7 (Oct 11, 2011)

I'm using the LED + and - leads that came on the board and I'm conneting battery + to the spring and battery - through the switch to the outer - ring on the board. Yes I'm dissrupting the ground to the board. Do I need to change the battery - to star 1?


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

> Do I need to change the battery - to star 1?


No, star one is just a nice big fat pad compared to the outer ring
Star 1 is the same as the outer ring

Sounds like you have it wired correctly
I would use a magnifying glass and see if there are any solder or wire shorts
Is this a Kaidoman board or is it different in any way?


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## jprescott7 (Oct 11, 2011)

its the one from shiningbeam

alright, I'll look everything over.

do you think it could be a faulty board? Ive got another one I could test


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

> do you think it could be a faulty board


The SB one comes with a jumper on it already right?

Does it do that when you first turn it on?
It should cause it's the same thing as tapping the switch.

It may be faulty if you are sure everything is wired correctly and there are no solder blob, wire hairs shorts.


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## jprescott7 (Oct 11, 2011)

no it did not come with a jumper installed. First I tried it as it came with no jumper with the trace conneting star 1 to the outer ring and it performed like this. then I cut the trace to star 1 and used a tiny solder blob to connect star 3 to the outer ground ring and nothing changed.

yes it does this when first initially turned on sometimes


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Star 1 on the KM boards does not do anything.

It's just another spot you can use to solder a Battery - wire.
Sounds like there is something wrong with the board to me.

Same TINY13A chip as KM boards?


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## jprescott7 (Oct 11, 2011)

yes same TINY13A chip


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

I machined a few reflectors today to dial in the sloped top piece that sits on the XML

I had to slope the XML end because it was real close to the 6-XML solder contacts.
The other end had to be wider or else I would be cutting through the inner wall of the reflector.

Here's a video of my CNC machine cutting down a reflector
I speeded it up double time so the video was not so long





I cut the slope sort of course, in four passes and then quickly clean it up on my lathe.
I also Chamfer the rim on the lathe
I do the lathe clean up stuff while a reflector is being machined in the CNC.

Here's what the slope looks like


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## jprescott7 (Oct 11, 2011)

^ looks impressive!

its a faulty board, replaced with other board and works flawless

thanks for your help!


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Coool, glad you figured out the problem.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Was able to shoot a couple beam shots this evening

Marwi P7 at 2.8 amps in older Bell shaped housing
Marwi XML at 2.8 amps in newer bullet shaped housing

Both lights use the same reflector
Both lights used the same battery pack when shooting the pictures.

The XML is brighter/ reaches out a bit further 
Me likey the XML rig so far.


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## chelboed (Jul 29, 2005)

Funny...with the P7 beamshot image...I didn't even notice the trees in the background.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

yeah, the XML reaches out farther, but has a darker area close to the camera

It's got to do with how far each LED dome sits into the reflector
I don't care that the XML is a bit darker right in front, the reach is a bit more usefull to me.

The animation here shows it even better


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## ktm520 (Apr 21, 2004)

What kind/size of battery are using to get the full 2.8A?


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Most of the packs I make are 4 x 18650's (2400mah each) in parallel
So 3.6 volt 9600 mah packs good for 3+ hours on high


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## ktm520 (Apr 21, 2004)

That's what I'm using as well, but its only seeing about 2.5A if the pack is warm. I don't have a good way to measure current though. I'm using the charger to tell me how many mah it puts back into the pack after a timed burn test. I'm using Tenergy 2600 cells, which may not hold voltage as well as what you are using.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Well the 2.8 amps is only possible for a little while until the voltage in the pack starts falling.

A P7 is rated 3.7 volts and a XML is lower, 3.3 volts (trying to remember)

So the XML may run at a higher amperage longer then the P7 for a given battery pack voltage
I have not tested this, just thought about it over a beer
Should do some test comparisons

Which LED are you using?

Honestly,
I don't see much difference in the xml at 2.5 amps or 2.8amps
It's only 300ma more


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## ktm520 (Apr 21, 2004)

XML T6. I agree, its not a big deal. It's more than enough light, less heat, and longer battery life. Just curious what you were seeing.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Don't know exactly when I am on the trail riding

The packs start at 4.2 volts when fresh off the charger and I do get full 2.8 amps with XML and the 105C multi mode driver board.

Any sort of tiny resistance in the wires, solder joints, is enough to create a voltage drop at that sort of current

As the voltage in the packs fall the current drops slowly, but it's still a ton of light after 1.5 hours of riding. I don't ever notice the light getting dimmer during any of my rides.


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## ktm520 (Apr 21, 2004)

Did another 15min burn test last with my dual XML 105C driven bar light. It averaged 2.8A with a 4p 18650 Tenergy 2600 cell pack. 

I couldn't find my notes from the initial burn tests I performed, so I my memory may have failed me. I've got an 2p A123 LiFe pack I use also, so it might have been used for those initial tests by accident. With the lower voltage of the LiFe, I ony get about 2.4A max.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Cool
The XML and 105C board seem to be a good combo, IMO


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## ktm520 (Apr 21, 2004)

Forgot to mention, but that was with two XML with two 105C's, so the pack was putting out 5.6A total.


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## mrradlos (Sep 3, 2010)

ktm520 said:


> I've got an 2p A123 LiFe pack I use also, so it might have been used for those initial tests by accident. With the lower voltage of the LiFe, I ony get about 2.4A max.


Did you ever try direct drive the XM-L with the LiFePO4 pack? How do you charge the A123?


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

El34 said:


> yeah, the XML reaches out farther, but has a darker area close to the camera
> 
> It's got to do with how far each LED dome sits into the reflector
> I don't care that the XML is a bit darker right in front, the reach is a bit more usefull to me.


I like the XML over the P7 as well. I find too much light close in, creates distracting shadows that draw my attention away from down the trail.


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## ktm520 (Apr 21, 2004)

mrradlos said:


> Did you ever try direct drive the XM-L with the LiFePO4 pack? How do you charge the A123?


I haven't tried direct drive on an XML but I did dd a P7. It should be safe as the A123 is going to be between 3.2-3.3V under a 3A load. I don't have a spare led to sacrifice, otherwise I would try it. I have an iCharger 1010B and 208B that I use to charge my packs.


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## mrradlos (Sep 3, 2010)

Thank you for your answer ktm520. Time to get a hobby charger ...


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## 103Alex1 (Feb 17, 2013)

Hi. New on here (and to the inner workings of these bike lights) and hope you guys can help. I'm looking at the Marwi housings with a view to rigging up 3 separate XML lights to mount on the front of an MTB I'm converting to an off-road eBike. 

The idea is for the lights to be fed from my 36V bike battery via a DC-DC converter which will take the voltage down and feed the lights, arranged in parallel, to come on progressively at different settings. So There would be a 3-setting switch on the handlebars which would give 

0 : OFF
1: LIGHT 1 (1st T6 & tail light in series)
2: LIGHTS 1&2 (1st T6 & tail light in series, plus 2nd T6)
3: LIGHTS 1, 2 & 3 (1st T6 & tail light in series, plus 2nd and 3rd T6s)

If I can't get the 4 settings including 'OFF', I can isolate the supply to the lights separately.

The main aim is to by-pass the driver switch on the back of the lights so they are not multi-mode but rather a single constant brightness mode that is controlled remotely from the multiple setting switch mounted on the handlebars. The bike battery capacity is 20Ah and provided the lights are not run at too high a current they will draw very little power from the bike battery. So the outcome would in effect be a multi-beam switch operating the 3 lights mounted on a bracket.

so ..... the problem I keep coming up against is how to get round the driver board trying to allow control of the light brightness settings individually. I only want each light to have a single mode (on or off) so I can wire it in to a circuit. Can anyone help me with this and how to achieve it with the marwi build lights so I can get them ordered if it's going to be possible ? 

Thanks !


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

You have to use a driver to get different light levels or a simple resistor which is way less efficient than a driver because the ressitor will just drop the excess voltage as heat

A driver like the multi mode boards I sell use PWM (pulse width modulation) to get different light levels. The PWM drives 8 current limiting chips.

You need to bring the voltage down to 3.6 volts to run those boards and a XML

With no driver you can run 3 in series at 10.8 volts but they would all run wide open and may blow up and they would draw a huge amount of current from your electrical system

The only way to change modes of brightness on each light is by having a switch that can interupt the power briefly. If you have several lights that means several switches or a rotary (or other type) selector switch and a Momentary switch in series

Why don't you want to use a simple driver like the 2.8 amp multi mode board?
They are very tiny and easy to hook up


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## 103Alex1 (Feb 17, 2013)

El34 said:


> You have to use a driver to get different light levels or a simple resistor which is way less efficient than a driver because the ressitor will just drop the excess voltage as heat
> 
> A driver like the multi mode boards I sell use PWM (pulse width modulation) to get different light levels. The PWM drives 8 current limiting chips.
> 
> ...


Thanks. To answer your question, quite simply because I want to mount the lights out of hand-reach on the forks, pre-set the brightness on each light and have them come on when current is opened to them (via a motorcycle-style 3-position handlebar switch).

In this way I can use the system on and off-road and can vary the total brightness by switching on 1, 2 or 3 lights at a time (and off again at will during the ride). Set up like this, they can act like a vehicle flash beam and one or two turned off so as not to dazzle also. You can't easily flash a car which doesn't dip its headlights by taking one hand off your handlebars to find the button on a lamp for scrolling to the next brightness mode. Far easier to flick a switch right beside your grips to setting 3 and off again, upon which car will undoubtedly dip said headlights .

I can limit the battery power supply voltage at source using something like this :

[forum won't let me post links yet - but it's e-bay.co.uk item number 300819309481] ..

to bring it down to say 9V and run up to 3A. So if each light were somehow set to run on 0.88A (for example) then even running 3 at once would not draw more than 2.5A. Voltage can be stepped-down further at source but it gets more complicated to find reliable converters with adequate capacitors and acceptable efficiency losses with a huge variance of input voltage versus output voltage in that range.

My bike battery supply is 36V and 20Ah so I have masses of spare power for running the lights and can get away from portable battery packs and short running time limits if I rig up in this way. I don't need any multi-mode functionality on a single light - just for it to be pre-set to draw a predictable current and to come on when the remote setting switch opens the supply to the light . Open supply to sequentially more units = sequentially more light, all controlled via handlebar switch during your ride .


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

You need a current limiter to alter the brightness of LED's
Either a driver board or a simple resistor

The current limiter does not have to be in the light itself

You could have them in a box on the bike somewhere

Just use one of the simple AM7135 boards and set the current level to what ever you want for each light
Each chip on these boards limits 350ma, so 4 x 350 = 1400ma per board.
or remove one chip and have 350ma x 3 = 1050
Or put two in parallel and have 5, 6, 7 or 8 chips

I stock these boards. they are a cheap and easy way to control LED brightness. They do not have multi modes like the other board pictured in my post above
These boards are just current limiters


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## 103Alex1 (Feb 17, 2013)

El34 said:


> You need a current limiter to alter the brightness of LED's
> Either a driver board or a simple resistor
> 
> The current limiter does not have to be in the light itself
> ...


OK thanks a bunch, really. It sounds like this is going to be possible after all. Been trying to sort out how to do this for days and hitting a brick wall !

Am checking out some voltage converters that will transform the supply down to 9V or less for the lighting array and also allow a cumulative current draw from a total of up to 4 lights (3 front and 1 rear) of ideally up to 3A max (preferably less). Bench-tested DC-DC converters which others have tested and know to be sound will allow a constant supply at a sensible voltage to all the lights.

I can then work out the best number of lights to put together and available current to each light if they are going to be on together, and also make sure I can get a decent handlebar-mounted multi-setting switch to regulate how many come on at once.

Have not made / assembled lights before, so getting some where the housings can be pre-inserted to the right depth etc. and are pretty straightforward to solder up if needed will be a help .


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

You need approx 4 volts DC or under for XML LED's unless you are running them in series or your driver board can accept voltages higher than 4 volts

The simple AMC7135 driver boards need 3.6 to 5 volts.
They will blow up higher than 6volts

It's best to sit down and draw out all the possible scenarios of lighting so you can figure out how to switch multi lights on and off and have multi light levels of brightness

For example
This image shows four different scenarios'
2 and 4 are the same because of the way the SPDT switch works.
Starting at the top
1 - Off
2 - 1400ma
3 - 2800 ma
4 - 1400ma


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## 103Alex1 (Feb 17, 2013)

El34 said:


> You need approx 4 volts DC or under for XML LED's unless you are running them in series or your driver board can accept voltages higher than 4 volts
> 
> The simple AMC7135 driver boards need 3.6 to 5 volts.
> They will blow up higher than 6volts
> ...


OK - I have found a buck converter which will step down the voltage supply from 36V to a fixed 5V :

e-bay item no. : 150987911654

This should provide a fixed supply voltage to the lights that won't exceed 6V so should be compatible with these boards I am guessing ... but it's a new one on all of us so hasn't been tested yet by anyone I know of.

Am I right in thinking the current limiter boards can simply be put in the light housings (one in each) and the relevant number of chips removed to limit current down from 1.4A per light accordingly depending on what brightness I want each of them individually to run at in 350mA steps ?

The plan isn't to drive the LEDs hard (draws too much current) rather take less current to each and have more lights. None of them is likely going to be run at more than 1.4A on its own I wouldn't have thought ... 3 of them taking 1.4A each would exceed the 3A max current draw from the buck converter (assuming you aggregate the current drawn by each light to determine the maximum current which can be taken off the buck converter).

I guess there are no similar boards without multimodes which allow you to feed more than 5-6V supply ? Was getting confused because the 1200lm Magicshine-clone T6 lights we get over here (or sent from China) typically run off 8.4V packs with 4 x 18650 batteries in them.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

1400ma on and XML is still really bright
you may find that 700ma or just two AMC7135 chips is all you need on some lights like a turn signal
You could remove two chips
You can also just cut traces to two of the chips and leave them on the board.

You can have the board in the light or at the other end of the wire, it does not matter. Or in a box under a seat


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## MtbMacgyver (Jan 23, 2007)

Another option would be wire the multiple lights/LED in series and run them directly off a buck LED driver that'll accept 36v input. Something like this Hyperbuck Driver

Overall that'll be much more efficient option than having 2 stages of a dc-dc converter and then a separate LED driver. It's also more efficient to run multiple LEDs at a lower current than to run a single one at higher current. And the hyperbuck in this configuration is going to be more than 90% efficient whereas your dc-dc converter + linear regulator combo is going to be in the high 70s.

If you look around some, you may be able to find other buck LED drivers that'll accept 36v input and offer more supports for multiple modes and such.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

yes, but all the lights in series would have to be on at the same time and all would be the same brightness

I got the impression he wanted to turn on different light independently?


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## 103Alex1 (Feb 17, 2013)

Yes, you got it right El34 that was my preference. But it's all down to getting the right balance between what you get out, how much power it's going to take overall, how much efficiency lost and how complex the proposal winds up getting.

Been thinking a lot about what you all wrote here and hunting around a bit more. Maybe I'm trying to achieve too much out of one single lighting array and best bet is to run 2. 

I can take a 12V supply off a separate buck and rig up a couple of cheap 3W day running lights / rear light off that which come on when I turn my bike battery on and stay on all the time. The power used is minimal. It'll do for ticking the boxes of highway compliance and give near-distance flood. 

That way I can focus this setup on the T6 lighting circuit which can concentrate on the longer distance bright lighting functionality that T6s are really best for and run this off a 36V in 5V out buck. 

Let's say this had 2 settings and I turn the T6 circuit on at night. It's simple to rig up an isolator switch for the additional circuit. I'll always have my day-running light circuit running so this is supplementary lighting (I can design in anything which works well at this stage). So when the T6 on/off switch is turned on, the low setting would by default come on. 

If I ran (say) 2 lights in series off this T6 circuit on default (call it "non-beam") mode would I be right in assuming I wouldn't necessarily need to current-limit as they'd share the available power equally between them (so 2 would draw half the amount of current that one would draw ?) If I understand it right, that's a rough and ready way of increasing efficiency by adding more lights and removing the need to limit current with the chips.... provided you allocate all the available current off the buck between those lights in series. 

However, if the series circuit would always share all available power (unless current limited by chips to leave some spare for a 'beam-up' switch setting) then I'd not be able to have an additional (3rd) light in parallel to come on at the same time on a "high-beam" mode if I rigged the initial 2 lights in series straight off the buck. 

The high beam mode would likely be angled upwards towards oncoming traffic for the specific purpose of flashing cars who don't dip their headlights - so unlikely to run for significant amounts of time. It needn't necessarily be that bright as it's reserving current capacity from the buck. Just bright enough to "make the point" (achieved through adjusting the lamp to angle straight at oncoming drivers :thumbsup and be switched off again as soon as it's been flashed a couple of times. 

I guess if having a 'beam up' setting switch on the T6 circuit meant I had to have a parallel circuit with max a single light on each "beam setting" then using the chips to limit current and regulate brightness of each light seems the right way to go as you have much more control over what you're outputting and how much of the available 3A max current output capacity you actually use. It doesn't all have to be made available if not needed ...

Heck, it can all get mighty confusing if you have flexible objectives. Should be able to tie it down pretty soon though as the options and limitations are now getting much clearer thanks to loads of help (on a number of fronts !) and a very steep learning curve :eekster:.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

I think the most difficult part is findning a switch that can do everything you want

I am not faliliar with motorcycle bar switches, but that sounds like what you need?


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## 103Alex1 (Feb 17, 2013)

El34 said:


> I think the most difficult part is findning a switch that can do everything you want
> 
> I am not faliliar with motorcycle bar switches, but that sounds like what you need?


I reckon there should be quite a bit of choice on the switches. There are pretty cheap motorcycle switches (often a bit chromey though) - else something like this should do a Hi/Low/Off 2-position option and as a bonus is very tactile so would work great mounted near the grips :

Trail Tech Switches - Lighting at Trail Tech Home

Otherwise I can use either combination eBike switches that can also incorporate master battery/controller on/off isolator switches ... or even just one like this :

Free Shipping Brand New Hi Lo Light Switch for Scooters and Bikes Guaranteed 100%-in Motorcycle Switches from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com

To give an idea, the wiring will all be taken into a triangle box with access panel, where the battery and controller are (through cable glands or similar) and hidden away - will look something like this when I've made it (but in a different colourway designed to complement the brushed aluminium Trek frame - and made to measure for a hardtail, so without the cutout for full-suspension) :

Rocky Mountain Element Conversion - Page 3

There is quite a lot of stuff to fit in there so still trying to keep things neat but it makes life easier not having to externally mount switches etc.


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## 103Alex1 (Feb 17, 2013)

El34, I found your web page and been studying it. My best option I think is to get single-mode emitter / multiple voltage input 950ma constant current driver boards which will accept a 9V - 24V input and limit voltage to the LED, which I have finally found. Basically buck converter driver boards with constant current functionality built in. 

Means I can join in 9V or 12V rear lighting to the same switch on the same circuit, since the 36V DC-DC step-down converter with heatsink I've got hold of is good to 3A current draw in total. The output to the LEDs would be 3.6v 

I'll wire my flash beam light to its own kill/horn switch adapted to be a flash button which makes things much simpler as it runs off the same voltage as the main battery (takes 36V input so no interim DC-DC or buck converter needed).

So some questions on the light assembly if that's OK to post them here - I'm after the new style silver Marwi bullet housings as the bike is polished aluminium frame. Is it possible to use these with your heatsink and if so can you provide them with pre-drilled wire holes in the heatsink and with the heatsink pressed down into the body ? That would be using your machined XM-L reflectors. 

I've limited tools here so whilst I'm able to tackle the assembly and connections, further engineering of the parts would be less easy.

Also, as far as switches are concerned I'd be controlling via a remote switch and therefore would I be right in thinking I'd only need to pop a rubber tailcap in where the Judco switch would normally go ?

Thanks.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

I sell the newer style Marwi housings with the heat sink already pressed in place and holes for the wires.

I have solid plastic replacements for the switch boots if you don't want a switch in the housing. They are recycled from the dual Marwi lights. One light had a switch with a rubber boot, one had a plastic switch cover plate.


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## 103Alex1 (Feb 17, 2013)

OK - sent you a PM


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## 103Alex1 (Feb 17, 2013)

Back on track (finally) after a few hiccups ... can you please help with a couple more questions regarding the new style Marwi lights ('bullet') :

1) What is the height of the new Marwi housing light mounted on handlebar mount measured from base of mount to top of light housing (max) ?

[There's very little room left on my handlebars (or in front of them) so I'd likely mount the lights on these, dropped vertically so that the horizontal bar is directly below the handlebars, using the stock handlebar mounts on the extension bar instead of the handlebars :

Bicycle Bike Handle Bar Extension Expand Light Speedometer Mount T Type | eBay

... need to check the head clearance with this extension bar to make sure lights would fit. ]

2) Got some local regulations to work through running the lights off a single mode constant current driver in certain situations - are there any wide angle lenses that would fit the lights along the lines of these :

Action-LED-Lights - Wide Angle Lens

These particular lenses are 39mm, which I believe is too big for the Marwi lights.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

I took a pic and put the height in the pic
You need to measure from the center of the mounting tube

I don't know anything about lenses
I did not even know they made such a thing
They must be made of glass or else they may melt


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## 103Alex1 (Feb 17, 2013)

El34 said:


> I took a pic and put the height in the pic
> You need to measure from the center of the mounting tube
> 
> I don't know anything about lenses
> ...


That's great on the height - many thanks.

OK - I am still hunting for a suitable lens - all the after-market ones seem to be for Magicshine / Gemini / Lupine 39mm lenses. Most after-market wide angle lenses are actually made from a polymer material and simply swap out the clear glass lenses. On some models you need to use a double o-ring but they can generally be made to fit.

They are being used as standard on the side two lights of these new units :

MAGICSHINE

Have even used 2 oriented at 90 degrees back to back to create a cross pattern on a 3-LED light, which produces a very nice spread for use as a compact spotlight, a bit like some CUTE optics give you.

But .... on the single-T6 XM-L LED housings you cannot access the driver board to swap it out :madman:. Hence round and round in circles and back to the Marwi's .... looking for a suitable lens !


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

If they are made of plastic, you could grind down the perimeter
I would RTV the lens around the edges right on top of the glass lens


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## 103Alex1 (Feb 17, 2013)

El34 said:


> If they are made of plastic, you could grind down the perimeter
> I would RTV the lens around the edges right on top of the glass lens


OK yes that's possible - good idea - and the ground down lens can go on top of the glass one as long as there's enough room for the front housing to still screw down OK.

Still looking at what I can do with the T-bar - at the moment it's too short, so not enough clearance under the shifters but I may be able to work something out.

Thanks for all the info - extremely helpful and sorry for all the questions - in the end, it has to work and fit on the setup I have and it's a bit of a juggling act getting everything to work together. When you get stuff from abroad most of the time you only really find out what you're working with once it arrives - and half the time stuff doesn't work together when you get it. All good fun I guess !


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