Tests on the Trigon NT have indicated that it maxes out at 75 degrees, shut in a cupboard!

How long were you in the cupboard Roy? Could you not find the door handle?? ;)

Good to see you at the weekend.

How long were you in the cupboard Roy?

Bloody ages, I had a bird with me.

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How long were you in the cupboard Roy?

Bloody ages, I had a bird with me.

Parrot?

How long were you in the cupboard Roy?

Bloody ages, I had a bird with me.

Parrot?

No, she just looked like one

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A couple of things:
#1 Upgrading
My technology upgrade guarantee still applies to Trigons with the earlier heat sink system, if more powerful emitters etc come along, we can have your lamp in an upgrade for a reasonable price.
Upgrading can only be done within that particular model of lamp however, I cannot upgrade a lamp of the 4V series to a Trigon, I cannot upgrade the earlier Trigon to the new thermal design.

# Trigon NT, change in power settings from earlier model.
The internal layout remains unchanged however I have changed the power settings of the 2 serial XM-Ls as follows.


Standard Mode is reduced from 0.2 amps down to 0.15 to return 140 lumens. The old setting was too bright in calcited passages and the new level saves 0.5 watts for a cost of 25 lumens. Yes the new level only pulls about 1.1 watts from the battery.

High Mode is increased to 1 amp to return 750 lumens

Turbo Mode is increased to 2.75 amps to return about 1700 lumens. This has been done to reflect the increased thermal efficiency of the new design. Its doubtful whether the increase will be noticeable however. I am still using T6 XM-Ls, if and when U BIN fall in price I shall of course change to these, so even more output.
I already have advance orders for the new lamp but have just come back from holiday and have spent most of time meeting an order for several WSPs plus spare power packs. These should be ready by week end. (reading this Mr RM?)

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Update

I am turning out and shipping the new Trigon, now rechristened the “Trigon 1750” to reflect is new maximum output.
I have been experimenting with the optimum Standard mode and have settled on 0.19 amps which gives over 150 lumens for a battery draw of 1.2 watts, 30 hours on a 4 cell helmet battery pack, nice one.
My previous was a bit dim in dark rock passages like in slate mines and I want to encourage the use of the Standard Mode setting.
The Cree XM-L emitter is usually associated with high level lighting but I wonder how many other people have explored its potential for series arrays at low drive currents?

I have incorporated a low battery warning which is in the Emergency Light circuit, hold your hand in front of the lamp to see. Red light will flicker at 7 volts, come on permanently at 6.8 or less. At this level you can still use Turbo without the Lithium Ion protection circuits disconnecting. This was my major concern.

As the 4 cell helmet mount power pack gives 30 hours on Standard, you would still get a few hours light.

A new MagnumStar based on my new heatsink technology (all covered by the same patent) is slowly taking shape in my brain.
The issue with the output of the last one was the little visual appreciation of the difference between 1600 lumens and 3200 lumens on the beams, however as far as the bare emitters are concerned, that is the area where an increase in output is most noticeable.

Also, the new lighter Trigon makes the previous MagnumStar feel more of a brick, I really want to get the size and weight down to that of the new Trigon.

What I can say at this time is that a new model will have all beam emitters and all bare emitters wired in 2 series arrays so as to take advantage of the low current efficiency of the XM-Ls for a Standard Mode, as well as improving user friendliness. So obviously, the new model will run on a voltage system all of its own, possibly using LM 22676 switchers.

I shall also be taking a fresh look at mixing outputs, as there are people out there who like this.

My new design has already attracted some attention, not surprisingly from China, but I shall continue to produce New Technology Trigons myself for the time being.

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Just to advise: Shop closed for business until Monday 24th October

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For all lamp owners:

#1 Under no circumstances should the cable glands on the power packs be interfered with in any way whatsoever. They do not screw out and disconnect, neither do they allow any adjustment in length of cable. The power packs contain batteries, causing a short on any battery can cause fire and injury.

#2 It is highly recommended that the plugs be maintained by cleaning out any dirt and the liberal use of WD 40 or contact cleaner.

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Trigons

Sorry, no more advance orders until further notice please, me inundated!

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A NEW ECOSTAR FOR THE NEW YEAR

I am announcing a new version of the EcoStar Caplamp. The mission here is to produce the most sturdy and reliable lamp available at the same cost effective price as the previous one.

The outputs, modes and basic design remain unchanged, however there are three other important changes:

1/ All circuit diodes have been dispensed with and replaced by P channel MOSFETS as a reverse polarity protection. This means that circuit no has a virtually zero voltage drop making it ideal for running off AA batteries additional to the standard Li Ion power pack.

2/ A 4 X AA battery holder is now available for £8. This is of very sturdy construction using genuine Oldham cable, and also includes short circuit protection. Anything that uses 3 AAs I consider a nuisance as they come in twos and recharge in twos or fours.

🔗Personal-Album-128-Image-71209[linkphoto]Personal-Album-128-Image-71209[/linkphoto][/link]

3/ The red Deans connectors have been replaced by the very high quality yellow XT 60 connectors as used on the Trigon. There has never been a single issue reported on these, however the previously used Deans proved troublesome if not cleaned properly.
I have reversed the fitting however so that an 8V power pack cannot be fitted to a 4V lamp.

The new 4V dual channel dedicated charger now uses these. These connectors can be easily converted from line fitting to chassis mount by soldering in brass M3 screws.

🔗Personal-Album-128-Image-71208[linkphoto]Personal-Album-128-Image-71208[/linkphoto][/link]

The new lamp will burn brighter longer due to the elimination of the forward voltage drop attributable to the old diodes. The 4 X AA battery holder will power the lamp for 4.5 hours at standard mode, and then continue to burn long afterwards.
On test I got fed up with seeing it after 9 hours, it was bed time anyway.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE

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Nice work Roy, good to see development is still going on apace :thumbsup:

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Having recently gone back into karate I now have the courage to announce yet another MagnumStar, the Mk6.

My thinking on this new model has gone along the lines of producing a lamp without the front extension and therefore much smaller, and also dispensing with the old models switching arrangement to produce a lamp that is a lot more user friendly.

To this end I have constructed a lamp that runs on 12 volts rather than the previous 8V. The battery is a 10 ampere hour, 12 cell, 4 in parallel X 3 in series belt mount pack. It balance charges through a 4 way plug in the top, and has the same built in voltmeter as the 8Volt. It’s just a little taller to take the 2 extra cells which are laid flat.
The LED layout is in series arrays of threes, so can be switched by a single driver through various modes. Gone is the ‘all the way forward, all the way back’ internal switch. An extra array is switched by an external switch built into the cable.

There are 3 XM-Ls in series behind the same small reflectors as the old MagnumStar and driven from the same basic driver as used in the Trigon to a maximum current of 2.75 amps to give 2625 lumens.
There is another 3 series bare XM-Ls, again with 1 driver being driven up to 2.5 amps to give 2400 lumens, plus 2 bare XP-Gs at about 1.3 amps to give about 830 lumens, total 3200 lumens of flood.
The XP-Gs are switched from a small light and waterproof plastic switch box mounted into the cable. This means that the 2 XP-Gs can be switched independently of the switch on the lamp, making it very user friendly.
If switched together with the beam the total output is almost 3500 lumens.

The drivers are the same as I use in the Trigon and modded to run on 12V, they fill the back of the lamp. They each have 3 modes. Beam “Standard” is set to 0.11 amps and produces about 160 lumens for a battery hit of 1.4 watts, pretty good, as if it makes any difference with that battery! Middle is about 750 mA and you know the rest.

The bare emitters are different and has its lowest mode set right down to 0.08 amps.
There is also the emergency light as in the other lamps.

I have not bothered with a low voltage warning as the belt mount pack has its own built in voltmeter.

This lamp has two thermal conductors, an aluminium based one same as the Trigon, and also a copper based one similar to the previous MagumStar, this caused the heat generated to be conducted to the external heatsinks very quickly.

In use the lamp is very user friendly and although as heavy as the previous model its smaller size places its centre of gravity further to the rear. This makes it more comfortable to wear. The battery comes across as particularly sturdy, in use even after a trip with a lot of use on the power settings, the capacity has been hardly dented.

🔗Personal-Album-128-Image-72316[linkphoto]Personal-Album-128-Image-72316[/linkphoto][/link]

🔗Personal-Album-128-Image-72317[linkphoto]Personal-Album-128-Image-72317[/linkphoto][/link]

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Roy, not connected with the above but I'm glad its now February and I don't have to see you on the AN calendar on my office wall every day! What you need is a glamourous model.

Roy, not connected with the above but I'm glad its now February and I don't have to see you on the AN calendar on my office wall every day! What you need is a glamourous model.

Yes, quite a few years younger than me, hour glass figure, penchant for leather and stilettos, mmmm
Would you put in a good word for me?
Many an old fiddle etc

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SHOP CLOSED 6TH TO 15TH APRIL 2012.

Sorry, due to theft of my netbook I will not be able to answer emails or any inquiries.

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SHOP CLOSED 16th to 25th JUNE 2012

Its also the NAMHO weekend immediately after, so sorry please do not expect prompt replies to emails etc.
One does ones best.

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SHOP CLOSED 13TH TO THE 23RD JULY 2012.

Please be advised that I will be unable to answer inquires during that time

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EMERGENCY LIGHT ISSUES, TRIGON LAMPS
I have had several reported failures of these whereby for some unknown reason they 'strobe' instead of giving a steady light. I have now developed a drop in replacement that only requires simple soldering skills. All new lamps produced will have the modified component.

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EMERGENCY LIGHT ISSUES, TRIGON LAMPS
I have had several reported failures of these whereby for some unknown reason they 'strobe' instead of giving a steady light. I have now developed a drop in replacement that only requires simple soldering skills. All new lamps produced will have the modified component.

Hello Roy, is this the same issue as on the Magnumstar emergency light?

Yes it is. The only issue with Mk 5 and 5A MSs (with the front extension) is that its not a simple unscrew and replace, as a silicone seal has to be broken.

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