I'm working today and happened to stop off at home for a quick bite - guess what was waiting for me?

A picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words...

I shall barricade myself in the workshop beginning Mother's Day...after the obligatory brunch with family, of course.

As the Frito Bandito would say, "Leest? We dawn NEE' naw steenkin' LEEST!!!"

5.08.04

The fins are just not cut as deeply at either end of the battery tube because enough meat had to be left inside to accommodate the internal threading into which the King's Crown and PowerPack must thread. Same with the four fins around the PowerPack itself (internal cavity has to be of a large enough ID to fit the regulating and dimming components). Rest assured the outer diameter of all fins are exactly 1" wide for perfectly straight sides up and down. The curved scoop on the left is exactly as Tweek says, part of the relief cut into the fins to accept the dimming knob.

The light is ~4-1/16" long by ~1" wide. For reference, here's an interesting shot comparing their relative size next to a LongBow Micra:

Good night all!

5.09.04

What makes it so long?

Mainly the Dimming Control Module (PowerPack) below the head which contains both the regulator and the switching mechanism. A rather tight fit. However, I also found out that without anything in there, a Pila 150S will fit and Direct Drive a Lux3 very nicely.

Maybe it'll be the next iteration, an "entry model" (plus I'll need a breather from all this micro circuit wiring).

UPDATE: So I'm looking through the box, unwrapping the bodies, and realize...there are no switch knobs! Plus there are only ~160 units. A quick and frantic phone call revealed that there were TWO boxes sent out at exactly the same time. Yet only one arrived. Oh well, guess I officially begin putting them together Monday night (although there are a lot of other things I can do beforehand, so at least not much build time has been lost).

Good night...

UPDATE 5-11-04:

Nufsed...

5.17.04

There was a VIP HAT Event yesterday at my house. HAT stands for "Hawaii Assembly Team". You can already guess what took place...

Here are some of the literally thousands of parts we worked with that go into making up a VIP:

The competition was hot and heavy between ZenGhost, Zackhugh and Sonic during the o-ring installation timed trials:

As usual Sonic was only too glad to come over and assist, foregoing his bike this time and bringing his trampoline instead to maintain the ol' heart rate during breaks:

Then things settled down to the humdrum drone of routine stripping, twisting, and soldering of many, Many, MANY tiny 7-stranded 28AWG teflon-jacketed silversolder-tinned wires. We were also doing installation of bracing componentry that will go inside the PowerPack, absolutely required to support the rigors of anticipated multi-cycling of the dimming circuit by twist-happy new VIP owners.

Here from left to right - Sonic, Darkgear, ZenGhost, Zackhugh, and yours truly with my now-required reading glasses:

ZenGhost goes after a particularly feisty dimmer switch:

Your loyal build crew for this day (l-r: Darkgear, Sonic, Yours Truly, ZenGhost and Zackhugh):

And as a result of everyone's efforts here are some of the black beauties complete and ready for testing:

With so many VIPs and VIP parts laying around we realized we could not let the opportunity for artistic expression simply go to waste. Therefore, you are all

My deepest Thanks to the Build Crew (hopefully demonstrated by my bestowing upon them some absolutely fabulous parting gifts), and Thank You, gentle reader, for your continued patience...

Update 5-20-04: We're making progress...

...when this box is filled it should be time for Batch One to ship out to their new owners - and there's another Build Party scheduled for this Sunday...

BTW lookit what I found layin' around that I mixed and matched - a coupla cute lil' Tuxedo VIPs:

5.24.04

One slight clarification on *flicker*. The dimmer switch is known as a "break before make" design, meaning it will actually go wide open ("break" contact therefore bypassing the dimming circuitry) momentarily before it will engage the next dimming step ("make" contact) and due to manufacturing tolerances if one is able to turn the switch slowly enough one can get it to "flash" very briefly to High, but this is difficult to do and one cannot make it happen if turning the switch at a normal rate. If a microsecond of flicker is not acceptable for the application at hand, simply turn off the light, change the brightness, and turn back on. Of course one night when you are patient and have a lot of free time...

Update 5-23-04:
Another HAT Event took place yesterday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (that's 9-1/2 hours) and believe me, we got a LOT done:

DarkGear earns his title of "Jedi Luxeon Centering Master", feeling the force even through several layers of Arctic Alumina Epoxy all over his fingers:

Note white tubular custom centering jig right next to his Arizona Tea millenium power boost.

In the very first pic you will see that I had eight body tubes fully Caig'd along all contact threads as well as the Kroll switches - hey, nothing but the best for the VIP. BTW you might want to look up Caig at www.caig.com if you don't know what it is -- look especially at the prices. Like I said, between UCLs and Caig surface treatment and HA3, etc., Nuttin' But Da Bez' for our beloved VIPs.

But back on topic, by the end of the day it appears I made a little progress, helped along by the tremendous assistance of Zackhugh:

The can of Cope was just there to represent potential energy - it's a Zen thang....

Here is Darryl hard at work, applying a Nygel-type lubricant to the base of each dimmer switch shaft to prepare for insertion into the PowerPacks. And contrary to false, wildfire-like rumors, those are not the loops of a pink sweatband protruding from his forehead, the picture just makes it look that way:

Some PowerPacks with Luxeons mounted, more completed dimmer switches, and *Luxeon waste* in the foreground:

This shot reminds me of a scene from "Alien":

If you look carefully you might even see some of the Bin Codes that were used:

Working diligently throughout the day we were even able to assemble nine complete PowerPacks, ready for soldering as indicated by the green converter boards sticking out the ends:

All H.A.T. members will eventually receive headwear similar to this -- in fact it was suggested they be made available for sale...?

Thanks for reading along!

5.25.04

ProGold 100L is not for lubrication. In fact most of it (the volatile carrier fluid) evaporates, leaving behind a film that actually, if Caig's text is true, bonds to the contact's surface on a molecular level.

I can tell you that it does provide a significant increase in conductivity; for example in actual tests (ours, not the factory's), the typical Kroll switch (and we're talking a new-out-of-the-bag Kroll) causes a 1/4 to nearly 1/3 volt drop (or .25V to .30V!), yet after treatment with ProGold the same switch went down to a measured .08V (eight hundredths of a volt), which is a 66% to 74% reduction. More power passes through in the form of longer run times in regulated lights, or bigger output in direct driven lights.

So there -- yet another secret just given away...

Update 5-26-04:

The first batch (and even a few more) have been COMPLETED. I just need to test before packing:

Here are some of the body tubes with Krolls installed after they and the threads were treated with Caig's ProGold 100L:

Some PowerPacks with Luxeon3s Arctic epoxied in place and everything wired up, ready for the soldering step:

After soldering and ground screw installation:

Then the body tubes were loaded with CR123 batteries before mating with the soldered Packs:

Then all completed VIPs were lined up on an end table in a corner of my living room:

There is an intoxicating allure about having in one's possession a bulk quantity of something desirable, it makes you want to run your hands through them and let them dribble through your fingers, much like a miser and his gold. Like when receiving in the mail a huge, heavy sack of several hundred Kroll switches, or dozens of trays of VIP converter boards, or multiple racks and reels of hundreds of highly binned Luxeons from which you get to pick and choose. And then when they are all combined into completed lights, and you have them before you, and you get to test and play with each one - well, let's just say that for a Flashoholic, the feeling is simply indescribable.

Now if only I had the nerve to turn them all on at once and snap a photo -- but I am still recovering from the picture I took of the eleven illuminated silver protos, and I seem to have misplaced my welder's mask...

UPDATE 5-29-04: The first batch ships TUESDAY. Woulda been Monday but for the Memorial Day Holiday.

Build Party tomorrow to be followed by a sumptuous dinner courtesy of mstk3 (Thanks Gary!!!) and hopefully we remember to take some pitchers before submerging into a drunken stupor. Then a semi-Build Party follows on Monday ("semi-" 'cause 20% of the HAT can't make it).

*NEWS FLASH: VIP survives three-hour dunk in boiling hot coffee!

Well not really boiling, although it was probably still hot when TedBear accidentally knocked his VIP into it in his car's cupholder while parking. Then he went inside an establishment to do some business and came out three hours later to find his VIP bone-dry on the inside when he opened it up, still worked and everything. Thanks for the news, Jeff!

UPDATE 6-1-04:

"Quiet" in Hawaii? QUIET in Hawaii??? I'LL show ya quiet:

Now don't bother me, I'm busy! The people at the post office know me by first name already ("Uh-oh, here comes Charlie with more boxes - quick, everybody hide!"). Seriously I was only able to get about half the load out, with the rest going out tomorrow including the furrin' orders. PLEASE don't e-mail me asking about the shipping process, we are ahead of schedule due to the HAT's help and all of you will get your VIPs even earlier than anticipated. The last estimate was by the end of June for the third group but it might be well before that now - as long as people don't pester me with when-am-I-shipping questions that will be self-answered in a few short weeks with a VIP knocking on your door. Thank you for you kind understanding.

By the way here's what resulted from mstk3's contribution:

Zenny was having the fresh catch of the day (which means REALLY fresh in Hawaii), DarkGear (taking the picture) had lasagna, I forget what Zacky had and me and Sonic are having triple-portion filet mignons, medium rare and topped with sauteed garlic mushrooms with lingiuni in Alfredo sauce. There's a hot antipasto appetizer in the center. We had a Very Nice Time. We ven had a few bucks left over and took in a flick ("Day After Tomorrow") just to see the no-logo-shown SureFire M6's and the MaxaBeams. Actors didn't even squint when M6's were shone full-on into their eyes - yeah, sure.

Now BACK to packin'...

UPDATE 6-2-04:

BTW the proto BulkHead is here (production ones will naturally be the same black HA3 to match the VIP bodies):

Here's a peek down the deep, dark reflector:

Can't hardly see the lens, can you? That's because it's a genuine both-sides-AR-coated UCL from FlashLightLens. And after crunching the numbers I estimate the BulkHead with anodizing, o-rings, and UCL lens will be...

$29.95 plus shipping.

Naw, let's make that an even thirty, don't want to dicker with the odd nickel, but obviously don't want to make much money on them. The VIP deserves the best!

Beamshots to follow when I get a free moment; impressive to say the least. There will only be a limited number of these due to lack of reflectors. Going to bed now...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The BulkHeads will be ready in about 4 weeks (that's life, CNC-wise), especially the anodizing which takes the real time. Then I have to go in order of those who Originally asked for them when they e-mailed me to get on the VIP list. I don't think there are that many, meaning there will be some leftovers, at which time I will post here (or on Modder's B/S/T).

Besides, with the reduced size (we didn't want Two wine glasses, or even one of'em a martini glass, now did we, Otokoyama?) it just about approximates the PR's beam, except with a little more sidespill rather than being more concentrated in the central hotspot. Very useful though when outdoors, pretty much transforms the VIP into an even more all-around light considering its dimming capabilities. But for the ultimate in throw, ya gotta have the BBH...

6.03.04

BTW there has Already been a change made to the BH just now! That abrupt taper cut into the bottom edge of the head, now at 45 degrees, will become 30 degrees both to facilitate dimmer switch manipulation (it's a little tight under there for sumo-fingered guys right now) as well as a very subtle smooth-out of the look.

UPDATE 6-5-04: BulkHead Beamshots -

I took a few beamshots of a couple of VIPs, one with the new BulkHead and the other with the regular head and Fraen. Here they are against the baseboard from about five feet away (BulkHead is always on the right in all photos):

Now angled about 20 feet up on the ceiling:

And finally outside against my moss rock wall from about 15 feet away:

Again please wait for the Modder's B/S/T announcement for prepays, After I check with the pre-signees (and after checking my Outlook files there actually weren't as many as I thought). Thank you for your patience.

6.07.04

I am wondering if Neon's was a fluke. There were five or six VIP bodies that were pulled because of inadequate anodizing and the machine shop informed me of this, and had to replace them. However, given that the anodizing shop actually lost 19 dimmer knobs (they somehow dislodged from the suspension rack while in the anodizing solution and the CNC shop had to make up more and rush them to the anodizers) there may have been slipups in sorting out these anodized seconds (God how I hate that word, ever since I made those few SNII seconds I decided to Never sell seconds of anything ever again).

In any case I just sent a message to the CNC establishment (they are actually my vendor, and subcontract the plating work after they machine the parts) inquiring about this and I will post their response when I receive it.

If indeed a HA3 finish was applied as I ordered and paid for, I already know what the response will be -- that they deliver a properly prepared product and do not have control over how end users ultimately utilize or store or care for the finish. If one decides to have their VIP ride loose in the pocket with knives or keys or ball bearings or diamonds or all of these items then it is beyond the shop's control, and beyond mine as well.

NeonLights, I would be very keen to see your VIP, either in person as a return or at least see a picture of the finish since you will likely keep it anyway as you said in your post.

And now I must say/repeat a few things - again, I have no control over cosmetic issues. The lights will arrive as near perfect looks-wise as I have control over. If someone decides to carry his VIP with metal objects (keys or whatever) this is beyond my control.

As I am sure you all realize, due to the realities of simple physical attributes, any surface finish will be weaker along corners or sharp edges than along smooth areas and will wear more quickly. And unfortunately most of the VIP's body tube features an aggressive diamond-point knurling. I remind everyone that earlier I had posted that I actually preferred the smooth fins on the CNC prototype once I saw it, but the overwhelming response was for knurling (in fact I think I took a poll; it should still be in the VIP Thread early on) so in effect the buyers made this choice.

Additionally, please remember that this is really a hobby for me and that I am not Peter Gransee or SureFire or even Elektrolumens. I am not a business and due to economies of scale (or lack thereof) my costs on this project were
astronomical, eventually forcing me to bump up the price by $9 when all was accounted for despite my efforts to keep the price at $150. I made very little money on this project, and in fact based on time spent setting everything up initially to include development work and coordination of the different aspects that go into creating a new item from the ground up, I may have actually lost rather than gained anything.

I do what I do to help move flashlight technology forward and of course I enjoy putting the occasional feather in my cap for thinking of a new idea or somesuch. But any financial gain has been put back into this hobby. A new work shed, new solder station, buying the latest components/technologies for experimentation and development of even better lights, outbidding - yes, OUTBIDDING, it has come to that nowadays - others including even some small manufacturers so that we get the absolute best Luxeons available which enables the building of better brighter whiter lights for our beloved CPF'ers.

Again not to beat a dead horse, but what if somebody decided to carry their VIP with ball bearings or diamonds or rocks as an "experiment"? Even the true manufacturers will ignore "wear and tear", especially cosmetically if one decides to subject the exterior of a product to contact with metallic or otherwise hard objects.

And finally, those of you who feel this is an issue are welcome to refunds rather than have negative feelings about the VIP. This offer is extended to those whose lights have not yet been sent out.

Thank you for reading this wordy post. I hope in some obtuse way my position has come through loud and clear.

UPDATE 6-8-04: as of today VIPs paid through approximately mid-March have been shipped out. Need to finish up the rest of them and also get more shipping boxes. Will also open up the BulkHead ordering soon, need to contact the original BulkHead requesters first and see how many we will have available after that. Stay tuned...

6.10.04

Just to clear things up about this Dim-Low mode, bear in mind that this is an "inadvertent" feature and cannot be reliably duplicated in most VIPs, especially with a fresh battery.

Due to the hard pull of this circuit on the battery supply with the VIP on High, according to my EEs' own tests with a reasonably fresh 123 there is an average draw of ~1200mA(!) with most 123 batteries. The current draw will go even higher as the cell voltage drops as the battery discharges - theoretically it can go as high as 1600mA when the cell voltage drops to 2V. This is why the light is so bright on High, as it is pumping close to an amp directly to the LED.

But a High-Performance Dimmable Anything does not come without trade-offs. Thus with a partially spent battery some anomalies can crop up (for example Dim-Low) as I do not believe there is another circuit available right now that can pull out this kind of current from a single CR123, yet be dimmed to two other different levels.

Some comments from my EEs about switching regulators with Luxeon style LED loads:

The switcher (as all boost switchers) mostly requires constant power (Watts input) from the battery to provide constant current to the load (LED). Of course the efficiency of the switcher drops as the input voltage drops away from the output voltage requirement, so in reality it requires a certain power level which slowly increases as the input voltage drops.

Further comments to a battery mfr. who is now asking specifically about the VIP in order to fine tune their future products for this type of circuit:

In tuning the battery chemistry for switching regulators the goal should be to provide the highest possible cell voltage under load. This means that the switching regulator will draw less current from the battery. The worst case currents will be seen with boost switchers since they will draw more current than is being provided to the load (since they have to boost the voltage) and that current will increase as the input voltage decreases. The boost converter will also be less efficient as the input voltage drops.

To keep the cell voltage under load as flat as possible means a reduction in internal resistance.

One further observation:

At these high battery currents of around 1.2Amps or higher, the 123 cells get appreciably warm and their output voltage actually rises initially due to the enhanced chemical reaction at higher temperatures. Presumably the internal resistance of the cell is also much reduced at these higher temperatures.

Hopefuly this little insight provides some background and understanding into just how much development was put into the VIP circuit. It does Not use the new Texas Instrument chip as some of you have asked privately (difficult to stabilize for one steady output at these levels, let alone anything dimmable), nor the LT1618 nor anything Zetex related. It is a new circuit.

For a new ball game.

And it will be further developed to do better things in a different format later this summer.

Stay tuned.

6.14.04

To Mr. Blue (from MR Bulk, heh heh):

The switch shaft is made of a tough, Slightly flexible hard-nylon type of material. The hole of the dimmer knob was milled to be a press friction fit over this shaft. It is pushed all the way down so that fully 2/3rds or more of the knob envelopes the shaft. The little 2-56 setscrew on the side of the knob is then tightened down well to "bite" into the shaft.

It will not come off, nor will it have to be protected from "knocks" of any kind. I've dropped mine a couple of times from waist height onto my tile floor in the kitchen, landing right on the switch knob. No problem-o.

Anecdotal water resistance tests - see my post earlier (either here or on the really big VIP Thread) about Mr. TedBear accidentally knocking his VIP into a mug of hot coffee and unknowingly) leaving it there for three hours in the car while he went inside an establishment to make a business call. Dry as a bone inside afterwards. If you are a little faint of heart about dunking a $160 light into the water yourself, try the "vacuum test" ala' LED Museum, where Craig will stick one half of the light into his mouth and forming a seal with his lips while sucking on it. There will be no air felt moving into your mouth. Do the same from the other side just to make doubly sure. But make sure the head is screwed on reasonably tightly (but not so tight as to crack the UCL lens, especially with the 17mm IMS reflector which is a smidge taller than the Fraen) so that the front o-ring (right under the front lip of the head, between the lip and the UCL) compesses slightly to form its own seal.

Hope this explains it for ya.

I sure am glad the VIPs have all arrived so far...sure would hate for another "incident" where one goes missing in the mail. Even with "Delivery Confirmation" confirmed!

6.17.04

I'm not sure how all you guys' different current readings were taken, but from the "factory" the VIP amperage flow to the Luxeon are

~30mA on Low

~350mA on Medium

800-900mA on High

YMMV depending on minor individual variances from converter to converter. Not to mention exactly "where" you are measuring from, as well as whether you are using a .1-ohm resistor in parallel to negate any spurious readings that can result when taking current measurements directly through a DMM.