how to build your own (cheap) light canister...

[ShoalDiverSA]

Hi guys,

with some work, you can switch from a regular UK C4 light to a 3xLuxeon III bulb. I've made this kind of work and found after (ie with regulation board and round heatsink) that I had enough space to put an additionnal laser diode

...

I will probably put some plans in a near future.

Great idea to include the laser pointer. The configuration is very neat.

Now you've given me an idea....

PS - How is the laser pointer triggered?

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[teckhead]

can,y wait to see others making the canister light?
i like to see others with photos , and to see if and how any changers ,

 

[Scubacastor]

PS - How is the laser pointer triggered?

In the same way, the diodes are triggered , the C4 has a 2 positions switch so inside I used 2 sub-microswitchs from digikey to activate the laser or the diodes. That's very simple

 

[mddolson]

That is a cool inovation.
How well does it work? I notice your's is green BTW.
I've got one of those red 2 AA cell U/W laser pointers, but you can't see the dot beyond about 7 -8 feet even in pool water.
RED? why would they pick red ? It's the first colour absorbed underwater.


Mike D

In the same way, the diodes are triggered , the C4 has a 2 positions switch so inside I used 2 sub-microswitchs from digikey to activate the laser or the diodes. That's very simple

 

[Scubacastor]

I will test the laser this week-end in real condition (Monterey, green water, low viz) but I expect to have far more better results than with previous red modules. The green color is supposed to be better than red underwater. I guess red was a good choice before because green lasers were very expensive. Prices for green modules have dropped. You can expect to find a green module for 50 $ on ebay for example.

 

[Freeflyer]

Well, it's finally finished.

Living in Brunei, Borneo, I'm a bit limited on what I can get locally, parts wise, so it's been an interesting project. Fortunately, a holiday down to Perth last year sourced the cable glands and battery pack, saving me lots of shipping costs.

The can is made from 3" pvc, which the 9ah battery pack fits into nicely. The top is made of 4 layers of pvc, from a flattened out pipe, cut with a circle cutter, laminated in pairs (inner and outer) and then glued into a single piece. I couldn't source any thick acrylic or similar. The cable glands have an M16 thread but I couldn't source a tap of the correct size, so they were JB welded into the can top and the maglite.

Before I drilled and installed the cable gland into the top, I installed the latches and o -ring and dived it to 40m. The switch just had an o-ring under the toggle cover but I was pleased to find not a drop ofwater inside. Despite this, I still siliconed the switch into place after the gland was installed. Belt and braces. The switch guard is a bit of a pvc coupling cut down and glued on.

I painted the can, but it was a bit dusty and breezy that day, so it's a bit rough here and there, but at least looks better than plain pvc.

The goodman handle was made out of an offcut of flat pvc, as the only metal stockholder here would only sell me a 20' length of aluminium, when I only needed about a foot. To bend it, I wrapped it in newspaper, leaving a gap where I wanted it to bend, put it on the bbq for a couple of minutes and then it was hot enough to shape. It's a bit bigger than ideal, but I'll fix that with the second version when I have a few minutes spare.

I can only source 38 degree bulbs here with the glass covers, but I'm hoping to make a stepped lens for the maglite head, which would mean I could use an open bulb which I can get in a narrower beam. I did find a 12 degree bulb, but it's only 20w.

I left it at the bottom of a swimming pool during swim training on Wednesday and it was bone dry, so on Sunday, it will get it's first dive (without battery) and, if it comes up dry, the second dive of the day will be fully equipped. Our weekend diving the Labuan wrecks was cancelled due to weather, so just the local reef tomorrow.

I'd like to thank everyone here who offered advice along the way and particularly to Scott for the effort he puts in here, and giving me the idea of making my own can light in the first place.

There's a couple of photos here, but the rest are on Scott's msn group, here:

http://groups.msn.com/Divelight/jsdivelight.msnw?Page=1

Cheers,

Justin.

 

[ShoalDiverSA]

Well, it's finally finished.

...

Not only is it finished, it also looks Pro! Well done.

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[willydiver]

Great job Freeflyer. I like the clear tubing protectors that cover the hose clamp worm gear. Nice detail. That lid looks like it was turned on a lathe. Nice work.

WD

 

[Freeflyer]

Thanks for the nice comments, I have to admit it came out better than I expected. It went to 20m on Sunday and no leaks at all. I do want to change out the bulb for a spot one though.

The clear tubing was another idea I nicked from padipro, keeps them from rubbing at the bcd and possibly causing a leak one day.

J.

 

[wunat]

Thanks for the great postings, I have now decided to try to build my own canister and is currently doing some research to see what's available in the local hardware market.

In regards to the light bulbs, is xenon bulbs a better alternative over halogen for the lighting unit? Maglite are selling them s upgrade bulbs.

If we use the 12V 50W halogen bulbs, how often do we need to replace the bulbs?