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Non-Gun DIY Projects and Customizations This section is for your DIY spearfishing projects and customization other then spearguns.

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Old 12-03-2016, 10:23 PM   #1
skygear
          
 
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Join Date: Jun 2012
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Lightbulb DIVE LIGHTS - 1620 lumens each x 3? -

Have been searching for a great dive light with high lumens in a spot pattern for a reasonable price that is rechargeable with a LONG burn time.

Besides the Light & Motion brand, I wasn't finding much and they were in a dramatic price point and didn't check all the boxes.

Here is where I am at.

I had a bunch of components sitting around that I decided to put to use and here is where I am so far-

-Pilot Automotive PL-9702 6 LED SPOT 12v 18W Pods 3 floating around.
-AutoCraft Lithium Power Sport Battery LFP-4
-Plano 344010 WATERPROOF STOWAWAY UTILITY BOX 3449 SIZE & or Plano 464810 LIQUA-BAIT LOCKER WALLET same dimension in box, just different materials in the case. 2nd one being a harder case
-Random Aluminum on/off switch w/ silicone boots.
-PolyMorph re-usable thermoplastic polymer
-PEARL EX Powdered Pigments to color the polymorph
-Super Glue Blue Pro
-100% Silicone caulk
-5220 3M Adhesive
-655 G/flex Epoxy Adhesive
-14G wire
-1/4" Adhesive Lined Heat Shrink Tubing
-1/4" Drill Bit
-Grinder
-Drill
-Cell Phone Wrist Band
-Dive Belt
-Heat Gun
-M3 Hardware\\
-Soldering Iron & Solder
-Wire Cutters and Strippers.
-Black Spray Paint and Laquer.
-Razor
-Pliers

Thinks that it for now.


1. I cut open the Battery and removed the ~12v cells - Then siliconed the cells contacts to provide more protection.
2. Cut off the fins of the LED Pods and ground the edges smooth
3. decided that the hole needs to be on the side rather than where it was on the back. Drilled a 1/4" hole on the side centered. De soldered the wire, siliconed and feed it through the new hole. Re siliconed all the exposed connections, and both surfaces of the bezel. Reassembled. Painted black.
4. Moved onto the Plano case(s). I had to remove the supporting lid reinforcements with a razor and pliers. Dry fit the Lithium cells and found that they were a couple MM too tall. Hit the box with a heat gun and resolved the height issue.
5. Decided placement for the wires should be on either side of the right hand side closing tab. Drilled two 1/4" Holes.
6. Pulled the wire through the HST and used the Heat gun to shrink it. Insetted through the case and tied a knot in each line.
7. SILICONED the holes, knots and on both sides of the holes.
8. Soldered up the Switch, Siliconed it, then used the POLYMORPH to encase the switch and made a loop to mount to the Dive belt
9. Made a Polymorph LOOP on the Plano case. Used Superglue to ensure no issues in the future.
10. On the inside of the LED Pods, there were 2 screws holding the board to the housing. Um- well- they epoxied the board down so the screws were redundant. Removed and repurposed the holes to the back of the housing. Using those holes, I silicone them and made two holes in the cell phone band. Ran the M3 screws and washers through the holes and dabbed a little more silicone.
11. Mounted all up and went for a test run on he water.


----- Some Math? -----

The Lithium Battery is a 14AH battery.

The LED Pods are 18w -> 12v/18w = 1.5A

14ah/1.5a = ~9.3hrs ? - Whatever, Long Fning time for 1.
14ah/3a = ~4.7hrs? for 2
14ah/4.5 = ~3.1hrs for 3

Worked great for the 3h I was in the water and then for another hour of people asking to check it out.

------ Results -------

Everything worked as planned EXCEPT ingress of water on the Plano case due to the lack of adhesion of the silicone to the material the regular case was made of.

I have the CLEAR Poly case I am debating ongoing the same thing to and see if the silicone works on that. BUT - I have all the other adhesives. Anyone know what would work the best on these?or a combination of methods?

____Thoughts____

A thought was to rough up the surface, epoxy on the inside and outside of the hole and some of the wire surface. Once cured, Use the silicone again?

Something I have been batting around is a MAGNETIC connection for the wires. I could heat shrink a divider between two N52 Magnets in small form factor with the wires attached to either sides. Then do the same for the case. I do not see a reason to do the same for the switch since the run is so short. Less than a foot.

____Observations_____

Since I preemptively siliconed the lithium cells, I avoided any issues with salt on the contacts.

Switch function as planned - Flawlessly. Sealed up nicely.

Silicone pealed off with no effort at all. Might NOT be suitable for this type of plastic.

Routing the wires under the wetsuit was easy enough but they have to be positioned properly or they have pressure on the body that was very uncomfortable.

I find myself kneeling to reach into burrows and crevices more than I realized. In doing that. It completely snuffs out one of the lights in the sand.

_____Usage_____

I designed this system to be wearable on my ankles and Mid section/ belt buckle.

This is for my hunting of Menippe mercenaria, Palinuridae, Dendrobranchiata and hand fishing Mugilidaeand some other species.. Might use it for Gigging Pleuronectidae and Myliobatiformes in various forms.

So it is used in 20' and less right now. But wanted to get this waterproofing down so I can explore some of the greater depths. \

____QUESTIONS_____

1. Is there a better adhesive/ sealant to use on these cases?
2. Is there a better case in a similar form factor that is either CAMO or Black
3. would a Recommended Bulk head connector work better
4. any recommendations on waterproof connectors for this application?
5. Should I split up the 4 lithium cells to make it smaller and put them into a weight vest completely concealing the 14ah cells? Or better, Use a total of 30AH cells configured thin in the weight vest?
6. Could I paint this enclosure CAMO to match the wetsuit? Or anyone know of any places that would sell neoprene CAMO that I could sew into a sleeve for the enclosure? I was stopped and asked a dozen questions due to the battery on my lower back/ butt after they saw it, they looked at what I had even closer.



more Pics to follow later in the morning.

Last edited by skygear; 12-03-2016 at 11:04 PM.
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Old 12-04-2016, 01:43 AM   #2
skygear
          
 
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Arrow Re: DIVE LIGHTS - 1620 lumens each x 3? -

the above do not have the switch attached .

could even do a magnetic switch on v2

Decided the fins weren't needed due to the whole unit being submersed. Instead of air cooled, WATER cooled. Also, the size would have been prohibitive if left in the same form factor.

--

The battery was a bit of a chuckle to me. When I got my hands on one, I immediately knew what they had done inside. a near empty battery housing and a few Lithium Iron Phosphate cells internally. A few people were in disbelief so I cut it open to show them and had it sitting for awhile. anyone have any experience with the cells or other interesting projects?

Might make an underwater jet scooter with the other set. have to do some math and source a motor.
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