LED Headlight for my Vision

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This evening I added a low wattage 24-LED headlight to my Vision. It is pretty bright indoors. I hope to get some flying in tomorrow to see how it does for helping with distant orientation (500 to 1000 feet).
 

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Celt in Siam said:
Neat solution! Can you please post details of the LED, power connection etc as I'm looking to do something similar

+1
 
That light looks great! I had been thinking about using one of these (at the link below) which I happen to already have... a fairly high-powered LED made for attaching under the barrel of a handgun. They make these in various sizes, brightnesses, etc. for handguns, rifles, and shotguns.

They typically attach via a quick-release clamp that fits onto a mil-spec rail system such as a picatinny rail. Some of these lights are expensive since law enforcement and military personnel stake their lives on them... others are less expensive.

Thought I would throw it out as an option. There are tons of clamps, rail adapters, etc. for all kinds of things ranging from lights to laser sights. Shouldn't be hard to attach somewhere to the Phantom. Mounting two of them, one attached to each landing rail, would throw a lot of light!

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/699580 ... ubv1417216

Would still like to see the link to the light that started this thread!
 
Celt in Siam said:
Neat solution! Can you please post details of the LED, power connection etc as I'm looking to do something similar

Here is a link to what I bought from eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DJI-Phantom-Quadcopter-Bright-White-Head-Light-Kit-By-VGE/130867103190

I cut the fastener off the end of the lead. Then I drilled two holes through the lower shell just above the Phantom wording. I routed the headlight leads to two main power leads coming up from the battery (large gauge red & black leads). I soldered leads from headlight to the battery leads (sorry, no pics).

The headlight only comes on when the battery is powered up. I'm flying later today in bright sunlight. I'll post later on how it performed.

Cheers!
 
I have done the same thing, but wired it a little differently. I tapped off of the same 2 main power wires right where they are soldered from the battery to the main board, just like the OP. However, I wired to a rc female plug jack, which I mounted in the body of the P2V. I connected the headlight (and other led lights for fun) to a male rc plug, and just plug in the light when I want it. I connect the lights to the body with thin Velcro so they are removable. The white multi LED round lights are BRIGHT (I bought the same one the OP did), and the colored LED strip lights look cool at night!
 
Here's another option for the Phantom which will work off the battery's balance lead on a P1: http://www.dronefly.com/ProductDetails. ... ed%2Dwhite

And one more exactly like the one the OP posted: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C4U ... UTF8&psc=1

I also tried mounting a 800Lumen LED taclight on the Phantom (using the flashlight's internal rechargeable batt)...worked ok but the weight was a problem, and it was a challenge to get it in a position that didn't put the metal housing too close to the compass. Works great on my F550 but wasn't really practical on the Phantom. This is the one I used: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009YM ... UTF8&psc=1
 
browntw79 said:
I'm flying later today in bright sunlight. I'll post later on how it performed.

I flew this afternoon . . . I conclude the headlight only looks cool. While it is pretty bright it was not bright enough to distinguish the front from back beyond about 50 to 75 feet. I can see the red LEDs much easier than the headlight.

I got some pictures on my DSLR but my daughter absconded with the camera. I'll post more pics later today.
 
browntw79 said:
browntw79 said:
I'm flying later today in bright sunlight. I'll post later on how it performed.

I flew this afternoon . . . I conclude the headlight only looks cool. While it is pretty bright it was not bright enough to distinguish the front from back beyond about 50 to 75 feet. I can see the red LEDs much easier than the headlight.

I got some pictures on my DSLR but my daughter absconded with the camera. I'll post more pics later today.

Here are the pics I took earlier today.
 

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jg technology said:
Great job! Thanks for the info on the install as well.

I was wondering, does it effect the picture quality during the daytime e.g. glare from the LED?

Can you post any pics from the PV camera?

Kind regards, John

John --

It is not bright enough during daytime to affect the camera. I have not flown at night yet.

I attached a picture take yesterday during my test flight. Interesting capture of the props in the photo. I think I might have been flying backwards at the time.

Cheers!
 

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For daylight visibility some form of flashing is a good idea - it's more likely to catch the eye than a constantly on light of the same brightness.

I've got a black dog, and I walk her in the black mornings around an unlit park with wooded areas (all black!). I use a small bicycle rear light to clip to her collar so I can spot where she's gone. Hadn't thought of its use as a visibility aid on the Vision until just now. It's not this one but similar: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lezyne-Femto-Dr ... d_sim_sg_1 That one weighs 30g.
 
I used the same light as the original poster but I didn't want to open my shell and worry about soldering to my board. So...I just cut the adapter off of the light leaving just the black and red wire. I then took a 9 volt battery adapter and solder the red wire from the battery adapter to the red wire for the light and the same with the black wire. I now have a 24 led light that is powered by a 9 volt battery. I then just use a small piece of Velcro to stick the battery to the bottom of the vision just behind the camera!! Super easy and a different alternative than opening up the phantom and soldering to the board.

25h2zbp.jpg


28m1lhx.jpg
 
I have just ordered some Cree emitters from China in various forms which i will experiment with. Some of these come with 'clicky' type switches, one function of which is a strobe. There is huge glut of leds in China at the moment so the prices are just ridiculous. The one to look for is XML-T6 and they come singly or in groups. If you have not seen one of these prepared to be amazed - almost dangerously bright. Most on ebay are fakes but that does not matter as they are so cheap.
(have also ordered a small Cree torch( 300 Lumens) £1.39 delivered - that is less than the postage so you are basically getting it subsidised by the Chinese government in some kind of export grant scam !).

Edit: if you do decide to get one of these, ignore the stated brightness - they are grossly overstated but as i said they are so cheap you cannot complain - for under £10 you can get a torch the brightness of which you will have never seen before :)
 

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