Front Headlight LED Installation
- Thread starter t9rob
- Start date
Hi,
Yes drilled the front of the Phantom and installed a stripped down Dot-It LED
http://www.osram.com/osram_com/products ... /index.jsp
Soldered a new cable to the LED pcb and attached it to 2x CR2032 batteries which are easily housed in the fuselage. The hardest part was installing the PCB behind the USB ribbon cable.
Yes drilled the front of the Phantom and installed a stripped down Dot-It LED
http://www.osram.com/osram_com/products ... /index.jsp
Soldered a new cable to the LED pcb and attached it to 2x CR2032 batteries which are easily housed in the fuselage. The hardest part was installing the PCB behind the USB ribbon cable.
t9rob said:
The CR2032 is 3 volts each so total 6 volt, light calls for 4.5 volt.
No problems burning out?
And how do you turn on/off?
Left them running for several hours and no burn out problems.
The on/off button is just visible in the centre of the LED cluster.
The on/off button is just visible in the centre of the LED cluster.
t9rob said:
Thank you t9rob, cool lights.
How far can you see it in day-light?
Any photo from outdoors?
No outdoor photos yet.
In very bright conditions the drone needs to be almost directly in front, facing me to see the LEDs. It's better in dull overcast conditions. When I next get the opportunity I'll try and bag a couple of snaps of it in the air. The reason I installed them was that when using the FPV to fly the drone away some distance, I struggled to get eyes on it when I looked back up. My theory was to rotate the drone through 360 degrees and hopefully spot the bright LEDs.
In very bright conditions the drone needs to be almost directly in front, facing me to see the LEDs. It's better in dull overcast conditions. When I next get the opportunity I'll try and bag a couple of snaps of it in the air. The reason I installed them was that when using the FPV to fly the drone away some distance, I struggled to get eyes on it when I looked back up. My theory was to rotate the drone through 360 degrees and hopefully spot the bright LEDs.
t9rob said:
It is a great idea, already ordered some Strobon led's and will pick up one of these units as well to test for visibility/range prior to making any decisions if/what to do.
btw, did you use specific battery holder for the 2 CR2032 batteries?
I really like the basic concept, it's something I have been asking and wondering about. For me though, I would have to be assured that the forward facing 'flight lights' were easily seen during the day. I've seen similar mods on the older PV's and the LED's looked bigger and brighter. Also, it would be best if the light(s) were hard wired to the main board negating a separate power source and so that the lights could be turned on/off with the unit's power on/off cycle somehow.
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Nice looking mod! I like the easily-accessible on-off switch, should make it easy for times when you'd rather not have the potential reflection/glare.
There are a lot of 12v LEDs (typically designed for the automotive market) that can be directly run of 3S power. 5V LEDs, depending on amp draw, may also be run off the BEC, but I'd be more careful of that option. You could probably run a few individual LEDs off the low-voltage line safely, but I would be careful with a matrix.
One of the issues with the button batteries is you have to place them in an area that's easy to get to for replacement, breaking into the shell each time the batteries go flat is not a fun proposition!
Sasquatch said:
There are a lot of 12v LEDs (typically designed for the automotive market) that can be directly run of 3S power. 5V LEDs, depending on amp draw, may also be run off the BEC, but I'd be more careful of that option. You could probably run a few individual LEDs off the low-voltage line safely, but I would be careful with a matrix.
One of the issues with the button batteries is you have to place them in an area that's easy to get to for replacement, breaking into the shell each time the batteries go flat is not a fun proposition!
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