my 1st dive light - where to start

[batman diver]

i have been looking through the forums and the talk is some wat over my head , retractors and stuff , i wanna make a small portable relatively powerful dive torch good for 40m , were would i start ? i was thinking of buying some Leds , putting them onto a noard and adding a magnified glass to the front to boost the concentration, i was then gonna place it into a pvc pipe , the problem seems to be the switch ...

 

[350xfire]

i have been looking through the forums and the talk is some wat over my head , retractors and stuff , i wanna make a small portable relatively powerful dive torch good for 40m , were would i start ? i was thinking of buying some Leds , putting them onto a noard and adding a magnified glass to the front to boost the concentration, i was then gonna place it into a pvc pipe , the problem seems to be the switch ...

Easiest is a toggle switch... And probably the easier design would be a canister light.

 

[fjpatrum]

i have been looking through the forums and the talk is some wat over my head , retractors and stuff , i wanna make a small portable relatively powerful dive torch good for 40m , were would i start ? i was thinking of buying some Leds , putting them onto a noard and adding a magnified glass to the front to boost the concentration, i was then gonna place it into a pvc pipe , the problem seems to be the switch ...

A lot of people like the "reed switch", which is a magnetic switch, so you don't need any holes in the housing. I think you'll find if you use a magnifying glass as your lens you're not going to get very much distance from your light. Other than that, the idea is a good one for a DIY project.

 

[batman diver]

A lot of people like the "reed switch", which is a magnetic switch, so you don't need any holes in the housing. I think you'll find if you use a magnifying glass as your lens you're not going to get very much distance from your light. Other than that, the idea is a good one for a DIY project.

hmmmm i thought the magnified glass would work , dam , .... the leds just seem too weak though

 

[knowone]

Do you know that in the ocean the power generally shines back in your face and irritates others

 

[batman diver]

never done a night dive in the ocean , so no clue i just want something to use to shine into holes etc looking for little critters , and i wanna make it cause i feel like doing a lil project

 

[fjpatrum]

batman, if you can get a magnifying lens that only magnifies from one side, IE is flat on one surface and convex on the other, then you might be able to make it work. The trick is getting the light source at the right focal length. This will spread the light out, though, not necessarily amplify it to and degree.

There are mirrored reflectors you can use to amplify the light that you basically put behind the light source, but again, those only get you so much distance. A combination of the two might help, but I'm not sure as the reflectors would tend to take the intensity of the light source away from the correct focal length for the magnifying lens, unless you used a similarly parabolic shape for the reflector.