Custom 80w LED light bar for Phantom 3

[BVC]

So my father decided to build a LED spot light for his drone. And is this sucker BRIGHT! I don't know the full details on the parts list but I do know they are 10w CREE bulbs. 8 bulbs total driven at full power.

Here's a few photos and an initial test flight video. We flew at my home so we didn't go too far as you know.. drones + spotlights = pissy neighbors!!

We will be headed to the Notomas dog fights this thursday and I plan to get some better video of this setup and a much better example of how bright this sucker is. There was a lot of light interference at my home that I'm sure adjusted my camera a bit too much.


Anyway - questions or comments - here are the photos and video!!

[video]

[/video]

 

[flpholt]

yep that would thrill the neighbor's but I love it

 

[BVC]

A bit. Thankfully I fly quite often and all my neighbors that are actively out and about are on the same page as I am. Still need to be respectful though.

 

[flpholt]

my neighbors love mine

 

[BigAl07]

That's pretty dang impressive.

Can you get more specs from him? How much does it weigh? How is it powered? what's the battery life? Where can we order one? LOL

This would be GREAT for Search & Rescue work. If it didn't cut down flight time by much it would be SWEET!

Just make sure the LED are well cooled because HEAT is the biggest issue with high output LED. Heat is your biggest killer of LED "emitters".

 

[BVC]

my neighbors love mine

I thought about doing this!!

This club meets up every thursday in Northern Sacramento, CA and they dog fight at night. At day/dusk they fly for fun then about half an hour past sunset they do dog fights. In between the matches it's fun flying again. ALL are laced with LED lights!! I thought about getting some and joining them in the fun flight session.

 

[SamNetwork]

Maybe add a 50 or 100 watt LED? Heat can get really bad there.

 

[SamNetwork]

Just make sure the LED are well cooled because HEAT is the biggest issue with high output LED. Heat is your biggest killer of LED "emitters".

The propwash can cool those light down pretty well, especially at high altitudes.

 

[BVC]

That's pretty dang impressive.

Can you get more specs from him? How much does it weigh? How is it powered? what's the battery life? Where can we order one? LOL

This would be GREAT for Search & Rescue work. If it didn't cut down flight time by much it would be SWEET!

Just make sure the LED are well cooled because HEAT is the biggest issue with high output LED. Heat is your biggest killer of LED "emitters".

Thanks!! I'll try to get a build sheet from him this week.

It weighs a lot.. Before he had just this (photo below) and while it was bright - there was just a ton of light loss. So he ordered these inner flashlight housings in order to make for an easy way to attach a lens to control the beam. So with this new setup he actually got a warning last night with something along the lines of "motors are at max propulsion" lol But the drone did handle the weight and flew very well. Of course in the video you can see that any movment makes for somewhat of a jerk motion of the light as to be expected. But it was impressive to say the least!!

He already had an inquire from a local guy about search and rescue lighting on his drone (attends the air show as posted in the video above).

I told him about the heat (I'm into headlight retrofitting and custom LED light builds are a huge part of HID retrofitting (and now with koito led projectors) and I forced him to buy more heatsink for the back of the bar. After a few test flights we learned that the props proved more than enough cooling power. If you hold just the light bar solo it gets hot, fast. 200* plus by a thermo laser reading. However after a flight the light bar had been on for 10+ minutes on multiple flights and the light bar is at most "luke warm". By luke warm I'm talking temp of water you'd brush your teeth with!


Anywho.. i'm rambling again.

 

[BVC]

Maybe add a 50 or 100 watt LED? Heat can get really bad there.

My father got his idea from this exact video!!

However he did the math and said that electrically the math didn't add up to being 100w as claimed in the video?? I'll need to check with him on that. He knows electrical and all those in depth calculations.

But pretty much that was the goal with this build. Getting a TON of light out there.

 

[ScatSpeak]

my neighbors love mine

@flpholt that is very cool.... do you have a parts list for all that you used for that solution? I'm debating doing an LED tape vs LED flashers for improving LOS visibility at distance...

 

[Fallguy]

Is there a way to recalibrate how your bird handles the additional weight without a constant decrease in altitude? I installed a light weight setup on my P4 and it was not acting like I wanted and I landed and removed the lights before I had a mishap. It was drifting and not holding altitude.

 

[flpholt]

@flpholt that is very cool.... do you have a parts list for all that you used for that solution? I'm debating doing an LED tape vs LED flashers for improving LOS visibility at distance...

Amazon.com: LE® 12V 16.4ft/5m Flexible RGB LED Strip Light Kit, Multi-colored, 150 Units 5050 LEDs, LED Strip Kit with 44-key IR Controller + 12V 2A Power Supply, Non-waterproof, Adhesive Light Strips: Home Improvement
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[flpholt]

my lights haven't done any effect to mine also cant even notice loss of flight time

 

[Fallguy]

my lights haven't done any effect to mine also cant even notice loss of flight time

So you let go of the sticks and it will hover ? Mine would not.

 

[BVC]

It will adjust properly and fly like normal. Of course more weight equals less flight.

The light bar is pretty heavy but the bird keeps like normal, as it should

 

[thunderbird]

Is there a way to recalibrate how your bird handles the additional weight without a constant decrease in altitude? I installed a light weight setup on my P4 and it was not acting like I wanted and I landed and removed the lights before I had a mishap. It was drifting and not holding altitude.

How much weight u added

 

[SamNetwork]

my neighbors love mine

How to do yuo power that LED strip?

 

[thunderbird]

my lights haven't done any effect to mine also cant even notice loss of flight time

What type of battery do you use to power the LED? How long does it last?

 

[fastsmiles]

BVC,
weight and flight time please. very interesting