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The LIGHTCANON - [flashlight]

Enderman

this is awesome, i want one...

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The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.

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this is awesome, i want one...

some people make custom flashlights like this, that actually are the size of a flashlight, but they cost about $600-900

each one is hand made by the person, so its not cheap :(

and thats why I decided to build my own :)

NEW PC build: Blank Heaven   minimalist white and black PC     Old S340 build log "White Heaven"        The "LIGHTCANON" flashlight build log        Project AntiRoll (prototype)        Custom speaker project

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some people make custom flashlights like this, that actually are the size of a flashlight, but they cost about $600-900

each one is hand made by the person, so its not cheap :(

and thats why I decided to build my own :)

thats crazy.  i would consider building my own, but i dont have the time to invest, or the money, or the knowledge.. lol  also as much as i want one, i dont know what i'd do with it other than try to set people on fire from the top of a building.. or bug the shit out of my neighbors late at night

How do Reavers clean their spears?

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The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.

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collimate,not concentrate ;)

 

collimating light is making all photons move in the same direction, like a perfectly straight beam

this isnt exactly possible, but I'm working on getting as close as I can with this flashlight

 

I only skim read, but reading this it all makes sense. I might try this.

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Size does not matter; it's how you use it

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I only skim read, but reading this it all makes sense. I might try this.

When I look at build logs I usually just look at the pics and not read anything :P

 

but the reason its not possible to make a perfectly straight beam is because the LED is not a microscopic point making all the light, it actually has area

so the photons come off from different directions, and lenses can only focus on a single spot

NEW PC build: Blank Heaven   minimalist white and black PC     Old S340 build log "White Heaven"        The "LIGHTCANON" flashlight build log        Project AntiRoll (prototype)        Custom speaker project

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When I look at build logs I usually just look at the pics and not read anything :P

 

but the reason its not possible to make a perfectly straight beam is because the LED is not a microscopic point making all the light, it actually has area

so the photons come off from different directions, and lenses can only focus on a single spot

My High School physics is all coming back to me....

How to create a strong password

Size does not matter; it's how you use it

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My High School physics is all coming back to me....

Oh the memories

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So I got one of my orders, the expensive $50 professional lens.

 

Sadly it didn't work out like I was hoping.

 

The quality is definitely way higher, and there are no visible flaws from the projected light, but it seems to be more spherical than I hoped.

This means that any light hitting close (about an inch) from the edge of the lens is overcollimated and instead of going straight, it bends towards to center, and keeps going eventually spreading farther and farther apart.

 

This makes it look like a dim spot in the center with a big circle of light around it, rather than just a bright spot in the center.

I will post some pics of the light ray tracing today or tomorrow.

 

So basically I thought I was buying an aspherical lens but actually got a spherical one :(

My other lenses ordered from fasttech are just getting shipped, so I'm hoping at least one of those three is going to work as expected.

 

Also added the voltage meter, pics coming soon!

NEW PC build: Blank Heaven   minimalist white and black PC     Old S340 build log "White Heaven"        The "LIGHTCANON" flashlight build log        Project AntiRoll (prototype)        Custom speaker project

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So basically I thought I was buying an aspherical lens but actually got a spherical one :(

How does one make a mistake a like that? Isn't that kind of like asking for waffles and getting pancakes?

 

Still that sucks

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How does one make a mistake a like that? Isn't that kind of like asking for waffles and getting pancakes?

 

Still that sucks

Well the site didn't actually say "spherical" or "aspherical" it was called a PCX condenser lens

I assumed that since it was meant to condense parallel light rays onto a point, I would use it in reverse to take light rays from a point (the LED) and make them parallel

 

But from my testing it has spherical aberration and basically anything but the center of the lens is useless :(

I'm still learning about this stuff as I go a long so a lot of it is trial and error

 

But I'm not doing this just for me, its also for people in the future that want to make flashlights so that they can save money and avoid making the same mistakes I did :)

NEW PC build: Blank Heaven   minimalist white and black PC     Old S340 build log "White Heaven"        The "LIGHTCANON" flashlight build log        Project AntiRoll (prototype)        Custom speaker project

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Yeah I was right, it was spherical. This is the email I got after contacting them:

post-4438-0-97811800-1444666752_thumb.pn

 

And this is what happens when you use a spherical lens rather than aspherical:

uncorrected-spherical-aberration-copy-2.

 

When I focus the lens to get the LED die projection, it looks exactly like B:

post-4438-0-47744800-1444667016_thumb.jp

 

So yeah, make sure that the lens you buy is aspherical, because spherical lenses 100% do not work for this application

(unless you want something that looks like A, which just spreads out more the farther you go but still produces a decent beam)

NEW PC build: Blank Heaven   minimalist white and black PC     Old S340 build log "White Heaven"        The "LIGHTCANON" flashlight build log        Project AntiRoll (prototype)        Custom speaker project

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Well the site didn't actually say "spherical" or "aspherical" it was called a PCX condenser lens

I assumed that since it was meant to condense parallel light rays onto a point, I would use it in reverse to take light rays from a point (the LED) and make them parallel

 

But from my testing it has spherical aberration and basically anything but the center of the lens is useless :(

I'm still learning about this stuff as I go a long so a lot of it is trial and error

 

But I'm not doing this just for me, its also for people in the future that want to make flashlights so that they can save money and avoid making the same mistakes I did :)

These words. I can read them but its like I'm adding 1+1 and getting 3

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These words. I can read them but its like I'm adding 1+1 and getting 3

just look at that image I posted above, that basically explain it without words :)

NEW PC build: Blank Heaven   minimalist white and black PC     Old S340 build log "White Heaven"        The "LIGHTCANON" flashlight build log        Project AntiRoll (prototype)        Custom speaker project

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just look at that image I posted above, that basically explain it without words :)

Yeah...

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Dude, this is sick. Your flashlight needs computer cooling. Add a graphics card to increase the rate of rendering photons!

Just a guy who peaked at building back in the days of the GTX 980. If you see me here, assume i have technical knowledge akin to a committed hobbyist builder back then. If something's changed, you'll need to tell me(nicely plz). I'm probably asking for help with the modern build scene since I have no clue what's going on.

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Awesome project!

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/334934-unofficial-ltt-beginners-guide/ (by Minibois) and a few things that will make our community interaction more pleasent:
1. FOLLOW your own topics                                                                                2.Try to QUOTE people so we can read through things easier
3.Use
PCPARTPICKER.COM - easy and most importantly approved here        4.Mark your topics SOLVED if they are                                
Don't change a running system

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Awesome project!

Thanks! :D

NEW PC build: Blank Heaven   minimalist white and black PC     Old S340 build log "White Heaven"        The "LIGHTCANON" flashlight build log        Project AntiRoll (prototype)        Custom speaker project

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UPDATE!

 

 

 

Some new modifications dome to the flashlight!

 

 

I added a PC fan filter (silverstone 140mm ultrafine) to prevent dust or hair from going into the flashlight

post-4438-0-36601200-1445127338.png

 

Hot glued and cut to size

post-4438-0-78126900-1445127340.png

 

This is the voltage meter, meant for RC vehicles, but works with my 1S LiPO battery. You need this when using LiPOs because discharging them below 2.8v can damage the battery.

post-4438-0-46902100-1445127342.png

 

Looks good!

post-4438-0-90216300-1445127343.png

 

This is that professional 100mm lens I talked about a few posts ago, which I'm not going to end up using.

post-4438-0-09445600-1445127345.png

 

When it is completely focused a lot of light gets wasted due to it being a spherical lens instead of aspherical.

post-4438-0-22071000-1445127346.png

 

This is with the lens unfocused at about a 5m distance. Looks ok, but the farther you get the more it spreads out, which is bad.

post-4438-0-59139300-1445127347.png

 

I will be getting some other lenses from fasttech in the next few weeks for testing, we will see how those go.

 

This is a comparison of the colour temperature between my LightCanon and my old Fenix TK41.

The difference in colour is because of it being dedomed (although the fenix has been recently dedomed too, I'm not sure why its still so much whiter...will need to do more research I guess)

The LightCanon is the yellow looking one :P

post-4438-0-30697300-1445127349.png

 

post-4438-0-00674100-1445127351.png

 

It's not as obvious in real life, but still, I will have to look into getting a XP-G2 R5 which aparently doesn't look so yellow when dedomed. (currently I'm using a S4 2B)

post-4438-0-53682100-1445127352.png

 

 

I'll be posting more pictures when I get the new lenses or when I go outside to take more beamshots :) See you soon!

NEW PC build: Blank Heaven   minimalist white and black PC     Old S340 build log "White Heaven"        The "LIGHTCANON" flashlight build log        Project AntiRoll (prototype)        Custom speaker project

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That is glorious. I never thought a flashlight build log would be something I'd care about.

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That is glorious. I never thought a flashlight build log would be something I'd care about.

Thank you :)

NEW PC build: Blank Heaven   minimalist white and black PC     Old S340 build log "White Heaven"        The "LIGHTCANON" flashlight build log        Project AntiRoll (prototype)        Custom speaker project

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That is glorious. I never thought a flashlight build log would be something I'd care about.

The internet makes everything exciting

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  • 2 weeks later...

Damn, this is amazing, great job @Enderman!

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Damn, this is amazing, great job @Enderman!

Thank you :D

NEW PC build: Blank Heaven   minimalist white and black PC     Old S340 build log "White Heaven"        The "LIGHTCANON" flashlight build log        Project AntiRoll (prototype)        Custom speaker project

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I thought my studio strobes looked like light cannons (Profoto B1's and D1's) -- nope, this is a REAL light cannon! Awesome work, and it makes me want to build one :P

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