same as bigjim here, trout/balckcat, if anymore kits were to come up i’d certainly be interested.

Well I’m slowly working my way through the screwing through the angle heatsink and have found that putting a bit of chain lube in the hole helps the process nicely 😉

Ok I’ve got my holes done and threaded in the angle heatsink which is cool. I was about to whack on the LED stars and then remembered some mention of “insulating material under the screws to make sure they dont short on the solder pads”

What can I use for this, could I make an inner tube washer or would that be not quite upto the job?

Nearly done just have to solder the wires to the driver should be done tomorrow. So if you hear a big bang and see a mushroom cloud over southport area tomorrow that will be be connecting the battery. 😯

Lipseal; Well done fella, fingers crossed for battery connection tomorrow. BTW, have you used any washers or the like where youu have screwed the starboard onto the heatsink? Thats where I’m currently stumped?

Stayhigh have a look at the CK picture on page 11 and you will see he has used counter sunk screw heads, they just hold the LEDs without going over the board too much. Look for 3mm fiber washers on eBay you can get some for a few quid, failing that some mentioned making washers from oven read meal packs as they can take some heat also maplin do shake proof 3mm screws that have o rings fitted. HTH

Hey trout and the LED collective…

Re: troutie old little one 😯

Not much LED construction coming out of the LT workshop atm, sorry guys. I’m currently up against it work wise atm.

That said, I’m amassing parts: power socket gonna look tidy; thinking of adding a visor to the unit to increase surface area with heat loss in mind…have pivot mounting in mind..might separate two small&thin Ali plates between mount and unit for further heat sinking.

Any news on CK’s mounting source??

I’ve a few fibre type washers with my motherboard screws, used for putting under the screw heads. Anyone know they are likely to stand upto heat?
Also how can you tell if screws are self tappers?
Thanks for the replies and sorry for the stupid questions.

Jazid wood screws have a slightly more corse thread than a self tapper plus they are made of a harder material, as for the washer they will be ok.

So are you suggesting wood screws as a better alternative?

Forgive me if people have already posted this, but I found this for a battery lead connector idea on my ebay watch list.
Magicshine 900 Lumen Bike Light 1 Meter extension
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180566313468

Trouts right about the silicone, you need a nutral cure. If you have an acid evolving cure you will corrode you solder joints and if you assemble before full cure you will have a corrosive fog inside your light.

My LED’s are fitted with pan head M2 screws which are way to small for the slottted holes in the stars. I’ve adjusted the centres of these to 18mm so the screws positivly locate the stars and then fitted small fibre washers under each one. I to couldnt source fibre washers so had to make my own from some this insulating sheet.

I think you will struggle to source Cateye base plates anywhere, mine were brought several years ago and they just dont seem to be available anymore.

Tapping sizes for metric screws will be the size minus the pitch, so M2 is 0.4mm pitch so tapping size will be 1.6 mm.

No not wood screws jazid as they are soft and could snap when being screw into the hole.

Morning All

The screws that I have are’nt countersunk however they dont cover the gold contacts either so would I still need to use a washer?

The star does slightly overhang the angle though so will this need to be filed down in case it shorts anything out?

And just to check I got this right; one star has a + at the top and the other the – when placed on the angle?

Thanks all, I think I’m getting there 🙂

Sorry to disagree on the wood screws thing. they are hardened nowadays to withstand the torque from the
lacy screwdrivers .
and if you drill your holes just a little smaller than the thread dia. it will tap into the soft ally OK

Hi Stayhigh .. have a read of Lipseal’s comment on page 12, around the middle, regarding insulating the screws from the star … it surprised me! If Lipseal’s experience is typical …it’s almost like you might be trusting things to luck … not a good idea!

Stayhigh, man youve got good finger nails. Dont forget that the angle is 19mm and the case is 20 mm, I just set my stars so they are flush with the base.
In theory if your away from the solder pads you should be good to go, you could check with a meter. I would go with insulating washer just to be on the safe side.

All done not explosions or puffs of smoke just need to glue the driver to the rear cover job done. I’ll get the pics up tonight and I might put a bigger resistor in as there doesn’t seem to be much difference between high and low(tested in garage) but for now it’s ok.

Was just covering my back trout 😉

Betcha can’t wait for it to get dark now. 🙂

😆

Been wonderimg about the possibility of a 6 led fitting in the 120 mm long case .

Dont know whether to give it a go or sell 3 more kits when the leds arrive

+2200Lm – got to be worth it – just for drying the winter trails 🙂

Trout, if you have a spare kit I would be interested as it looks an interesting project. Drop me an email if you do, my address is in my profile.

It gets warm quite quickly, hope cutting it down to 50mm not gong to cause a problem, time will tell I suppose.

As mentioned above, i’d be happy to pay for a kit if you decide to sell them as a kit. Was gutted i missed teh boat first time round. Email is in profile.

If it gets warm quickly that is a good sign as it means the heat transfer is working well .

It can go up to ouch before you need to panic .

but on a ride even a little moving air will keep it cool
just need to remember to dim it when stopped .

I have got more leds coming in this week and have plenty of Reflectors

had a work out and was a few quid out of pocket in the final tally but not worried .

for the same kit I supplied the others and if Steven is happy to supply the other bits the price posted will be £20 as have run out of offcuts of the Aluminium and will have to buy some more

if you want one start a new list on here and drop me a mail .

Not going to do the 6 led in the side of the case as its too tight to make a nice job of it but with a diferent case it might make a good un .

Trout, I’ll start a new list, and have dropped you an email. I will also take a driver if Steven does another batch.

john_walker74 LEDs & Driver

Put me down for a kit as well please Trout, backed out last time but bugger it, ill give it a go.

Here’s some pictures feel free to give advice on gardening… 😉

plus I’m no professional at taking pictures..hang head in shame 😳

home brew light full

low

+20 meters

magic shine +20 meters

Garden looks fine .
is that a pet tomb by the gate.

looks a narrower and brighter beam than the Bastid .

whens the first ride report

Build looks good too is it bar or helmet mount

I Bet you were chuffed when it worked 😀

I’ll take a kit trout. Will also take a black cat driver kit if they are made again. Was the mail to be from the list organiser or from each person?

Am crap at writing reports…mucho happy it works and can’t wait to try it out this week.

Just to add it will be more helmet but will try both

Well done Lipseal you must be well pleased, good beam shots and nice windmill too 😀

Still got a way to go, faffing & hangover have seen to that 😳 As a thought could you make a gasket out of inner tube rubber to seal the ends up with?

Oh and what size drill to use for the cable grommet that came with the trout kit, guessing 6mm?

EDIT: make that 8mm?

Stayhigh cheers, I used 6mm ( nice tight fit and the cable doesn’t go all the way in had to cut it back, made it more flexable) drill and used a bit of glue around the grommet and where the cable enters plus the heat shrink just to finish it off, pity I didn’t have any black that size. Has anyone got any ideas how to make the (smudges) battery pack weather proof?

Just a little tip on the cable and grommet put a zip tie on inside to give it some strength .

some old innertube and 2 zip ties work well .
or for light weight a condom 😯

Forgot to say on last reply that the connectors where from sumdge, just like the hope pop lock ones so it was a tight fit(the lions sleep tonight).

Ribbed or feather lite? 😆

Lipseal, nice job, beam shots look good as well. Just be carful, light building can become addictive.

Out of interest did you have to use any specialist tools or did you get away with the normal stuff you would expect to find in a cyclist shed.

Cheers CK, the only thing I bought was the glue off fleabay (plus the leds etc) all other bits in the garage stores. Was going to tap holes out but used self tappers as I have a good selection, so yeah all the usual stuff.

Hopefully extra strong with my fumbling fingers lol

Anyone tried this…CLICK..out of interest?