High Powered Targeting light on amazon

[dirtbikerxz]

I know that andymark started offering the targeting "photon cannon", but what is a similar alternative, that is just as powerful, on amazon (with prime shipping)?

Thanks

[AdamHeard]

I know that andymark started offering the targeting "photon cannon", but what is a similar alternative, that is just as powerful, on amazon (with prime shipping)?

Thanks

This is what we (and many others) used;
https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Flashlight-Batteries-Included-Flashlights/dp/B005FEGYCO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1472053320&sr=8-2&keywords=flashlight

[marshall]

I know that andymark started offering the targeting "photon cannon", but what is a similar alternative, that is just as powerful, on amazon (with prime shipping)?

Thanks

https://amzn.com/B015OHXQAO

Or go big:

https://amzn.com/B00EVIIZC2

or just search:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=12v+led+spotlight

[AdamHeard]

https://amzn.com/B015OHXQAO

Or go big:

https://amzn.com/B00EVIIZC2

or just search:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=12v+led+spotlight

Do you know that these are nice focused beams, or are you just guessing?

[marshall]

Do you know that these are nice focused beams, or are you just guessing?

Fair point. I don't know for certain but I suspect they are as focused as some of the lights I've seen teams use.

Were you able to use the flashlight linked with a battery with no inspection issues?

[AdamHeard]

We shotgun ordered a variety initially to get something that was reasonably light/small and also had a nice focused beam.

Fair point. I don't know for certain but I suspect they are as focused as some of the lights I've seen teams use.

Were you able to use the flashlight linked with a battery with no issues?

It runs fine off a 3.3V regulator.

We initially did it on 0 lead time and were forced to do 5V regulator w/ two diodes in series to step voltage down. We ended up continuing all season this way because it was already installed on the robots.

We ended up going through a LOT of spares... not because they break, but because lots of teams at events start wanting them...

[marshall]

We shotgun ordered a variety initially to get something that was reasonably light/small and also had a nice focused beam.



It runs fine off a 3.3V regulator.

We initially did it on 0 lead time and were forced to do 5V regulator w/ two diodes in series to step voltage down. We ended up continuing all season this way because it was already installed on the robots.

We ended up going through a LOT of spares... not because they break, but because lots of teams at events start wanting them...

Good to know. Good link to have handy.

[AlexanderLuke]

This is what we (and many others) used;
https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Flashlight-Batteries-Included-Flashlights/dp/B005FEGYCO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1472053320&sr=8-2&keywords=flashlight

Did you guys run this particular model of flashlight all season?

[AdamHeard]

Did you guys run this particular model of flashlight all season?

Yup, no change throughout the season.

[messer5740]

This is what we (and many others) used;
https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Flashlight-Batteries-Included-Flashlights/dp/B005FEGYCO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1472053320&sr=8-2&keywords=flashlight

How do you connect the flashlight to the RIO so that you can toggle the on/off of the flashlight?

[AdamHeard]

How do you connect the flashlight to the RIO so that you can toggle the on/off of the flashlight?

We didn't. It could have been done with a spike, or a custom circuit. Potentially off the PCM as well, unsure what the true current rating of that is and I heard some teams switched loads that large from it.

[Jeremy Germita]

We didn't. It could have been done with a spike, or a custom circuit. Potentially off the PCM as well, unsure what the true current rating of that is and I heard some teams switched loads that large from it.

We ran the exact same flashlight through a 3.3v regulator from the PCM with no problems all season.

[rsisk]

Fair point. I don't know for certain but I suspect they are as focused as some of the lights I've seen teams use.

Were you able to use the flashlight linked with a battery with no inspection issues?

I inspected their robot at Ventura and saw no problems with the light.

[Michael Hill]

We used these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00O8DVFDG/ref=sxts1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472069772&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65

The only difficulty was getting power to it. We rigged up a "mock battery" with a regulator and some (I think) delrin.

[otherguy]

We used a CREE flashlight similar to what Adam linked. A little smaller from the sounds of it. Ran off a single AA in the stock configuration.
2pk for $8 w/ prime shipping: http://goo.gl/ptnOUi

Ours was wired through a spike so we could turn it off as it could interfere with our cameras detection of the goal.
This means 12vdc going to the flashlight coming off the PDB.

To get down to the 1.5vdc needed by the light, we used a tiny little buck regulator. They are adjustable and $10 for qty 5 on Amazon with prime shipping.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B014Y3OT6Y/

You can get them off eBay for cheaper but you'll be waiting 3-5 weeks for delivery.

The cool thing is that the regulator board is small enough to fit in the area the battery formerly occupied. So packaging was real clean. These will work to step 12vdc down to whatever your flashlight needs.

A note of caution. Some of the metal body flashlights out there have their case shorted to ground. So keep an eye on how things are mounted to ensure isolation from the chassis. A hose clamp with rubber gasket worked great for us.

[AdamHeard]

We used a CREE flashlight similar to what Adam linked. A little smaller from the sounds of it. Ran off a single AA in the stock configuration.

Ours was wired through a spike so we could turn it off as it could interfere with our cameras detection of the goal.
This means 12vdc going to the flashlight coming off the PDB.

To get down to the 1.5vdc needed by the light, we used a tiny little buck regulator. They are adjustable and $10 for qty 5 on Amazon with prime shipping.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B014Y3OT6Y/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472069334&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=buck+regulator&dpPl=1&dpID=51-As5oISoL&ref=plSrch

You can get them off eBay for cheaper but you'll be waiting 3-5 weeks for delivery.

The cool thing is that the regulator board is small enough to fit in the area the battery formerly occupied. So packaging was real clean. These will work to step 12vdc down to whatever your flashlight needs.

A note of caution. Some of the metal body flashlights out there have their case shorted to ground. So keep an eye on how things are mounted to ensure isolation from the chassis. A hose clamp with rubber gasket worked great for us.

Sent from my LGLS751 using Tapatalk

Which flashlight did you use?

[R.C.]

Which flashlight did you use?

Look above broo!

http://goo.gl/ptnOUi

[otherguy]

Which flashlight did you use?
Too fast. Tried to sneak an edit in before someone asked. Had to dig through my purchase history.

[Kevin Ainsworth]

Pwnage, student John Duffy, designed a custom Photon Cannon back in 2013 and we redesigned it this year to make it smaller and lighter.

Here's what when into it...
CREE_XPEBWT-L1-0000-00C51 Xlamp XP-E2 High Power LED Star, Cool White = $3.49
TDK_CC6-1205SF-E Converter DC/DC 6W Sngle 12V to 5V 1.2A = $15.96
Resistors to dial in voltage and therefore brightness.
Army Surplus Len?
Custom Aluminum Housing
Powered by a spike relay

More work than a purchased flashlight, but the projection is a diamond (diode shaped) that is extremely crisp edged. John designed the aluminum housing to be slotted so we can slide the lens forward and backwards to set the focus at the nominal working distance.

[Tom Line]

We used this flashlight:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016UGGBHS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I chose it because it was powered by 3 AAA batteries. That is 'nominally' 4.5 volts, but I know fresh AA's sometimes go up to 1.6V. I didn't feel bad driving it from a cheapie 12 to 5 volt DC DC converter from ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Better-Waterproof-DC-DC-Converter-12V-Step-Down-to-5V-Power-Supply-Module-3A-15W-/380794929775

Hint: Water Game

And here's what it looked like on field:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA0_ILmJoXw

We had it focused so it spanned the bottom goal edge-to-edge.

[tjwolter]

OK, ridiculously basic question here but bear with a mentor for a soon to be second year team. I can see how these light sources would work well in tele op, just pick up the reflective tape around your target and pull the trigger. Are they also being used significantly in autonomous?

T Wolter

[otherguy]

OK, ridiculously basic question here but bear with a mentor for a soon to be second year team. I can see how these light sources would work well in tele op, just pick up the reflective tape around your target and pull the trigger. Are they also being used significantly in autonomous?

T Wolter
They are primarily an aid in teleop to get the robot aligned at a distance quickly without added software complexity.

In auto they aren't as helpful in my opinion, unless you have a game where your robots alignment, at the beginning of auto, is critical. In this case they could be used to align your robot to some target position.
In our case, the light was helpful In debugging our auto modes in that we could see if a shot was missed due to the chassis being misaligned or if there was variability in our shooter or ball compression that led to a miss. This information, while not the primary intent of the light, was helpful in getting things dialed in.

[Chris is me]

OK, ridiculously basic question here but bear with a mentor for a soon to be second year team. I can see how these light sources would work well in tele op, just pick up the reflective tape around your target and pull the trigger. Are they also being used significantly in autonomous?

T Wolter

Generally, humans aligning a flashlight are faster than camera tracking, so teams that use both rely on the flashlight in teleop. In auton, you generally have the time you need to get a camera tracked shot dialed in anyway, and you don't have a choice in the matter since it's autonomous, so cameras are used there.

[wilsonmw04]

I would strongly encourage everyone who uses a photon cannon to be able to turn it off in game. A spike works really well for this. As we went through the season, the flashlight got more and more scrutiny. Being able to tell the inspector that it was only active during alignment got us through more than one inspection. I was told if it was constantly on it would have been deemed "unsafe" and we would not pass inspection.

[IKE]

I would strongly encourage everyone who uses a photon cannon to be able to turn it off in game. A spike works really well for this. As we went through the season, the flashlight got more and more scrutiny. Being able to tell the inspector that it was only active during alignment got us through more than one inspection. I was told if it was constantly on it would have been deemed "unsafe" and we would not pass inspection.

As I told a lot of teams, if another team or ref complains about you temporarily blinding them, then it will have to come off.

I have had to talk to a few teams about that complaint, and one where the light may have changed the outcome of a match in 2013 due to blinding an entire operators station. In that case, if the robot hung pointed towards the opposite alliance, its light would cause so much glare on the center drivers panel that you could not see through it. I also had complaints from a couple refs. This lead to me requesting the team turn it off for that event.
**************************************************

In auto, some teams will use colored lights or a colored filter to cause a different color of light to be reflected from the retro-reflective tape on targets. This allows for them to more easily differentiate from the reflective light on the tape and potential background lights.

[ahartnet]

I would strongly encourage everyone who uses a photon cannon to be able to turn it off in game. A spike works really well for this. As we went through the season, the flashlight got more and more scrutiny. Being able to tell the inspector that it was only active during alignment got us through more than one inspection. I was told if it was constantly on it would have been deemed "unsafe" and we would not pass inspection.

Anyone have a pike replacement? I haven't been able to find a place to purchase any.

[MichaelBick]

Generally, humans aligning a flashlight are faster than camera tracking, so teams that use both rely on the flashlight in teleop

I find this statement a bit too general. 1836 dialed in our autonomous camera usage enough to consistently use camera targeting in teleop too (from what I remember, we didn't miss more than one auto shots through OC finals). Camera tracking was definitely easier/faster for the drivers, and our flashlight was the backup, alignment confirmation, and allowed us to target "through" nets.

[marshall]

Anyone have a pike replacement? I haven't been able to find a place to purchase any.

Someone earlier mentioned the PCM but there is no direct replacement as of yet that I'm aware of.

I will also mention this widget:

http://www.ctr-electronics.com/gadgeteer-driver-module.html

Combined with this widget:

http://www.ctr-electronics.com/hro.html

Would make for a decent spike replacement. Keep in mind that for the price of those two you're getting 6 spikes, and they are a lot smaller and weigh less. Will require some coding though.

I am not making any statements as to how you have to wire that in to make it work per FRC rules though...

[ahartnet]

Thanks. I've seen the hero but hasn't considered looking at it to possibly replace the spike.

We used the pcm for our led ring light. I think they could do something like 500 ma split across all outputs.

[BrendanB]

I find this statement a bit too general. 1836 dialed in our autonomous camera usage enough to consistently use camera targeting in teleop too (from what I remember, we didn't miss more than one auto shots through OC finals). Camera tracking was definitely easier/faster for the drivers, and our flashlight was the backup, alignment confirmation, and allowed us to target "through" nets.

I think that's why Chris used the term "generally". ;)

[AdamHeard]

Someone earlier mentioned the PCM but there is no direct replacement as of yet that I'm aware of.

I will also mention this widget:

http://www.ctr-electronics.com/gadgeteer-driver-module.html

Combined with this widget:

http://www.ctr-electronics.com/hro.html

Would make for a decent spike replacement. Keep in mind that for the price of those two you're getting 6 spikes, and they are a lot smaller and weigh less. Will require some coding though.

I am not making any statements as to how you have to wire that in to make it work per FRC rules though...

whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? I don't understand.

Why not just drive the first device off of the roborio directly? It's just digital outputs driving it.

You would have to hack together a connection from roborio > Hero anyway, why not take a gadgeteer cable (which is the same as a talon encoder cable) cut one end off and put .1 connectors on it to hook to the digital out on roborio?

[marshall]

whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? I don't understand.

Why not just drive the first device off of the roborio directly? It's just digital outputs driving it.

You would have to hack together a connection from roborio > Hero anyway, why not take a gadgeteer cable (which is the same as a talon encoder cable) cut one end off and put .1 connectors on it to hook to the digital out on roborio?

You could definitely do that too. Sorry, just didn't think about it. Much simpler too.

In fact, these breakouts might make it easier: http://www.ctr-electronics.com/breakoutmodule.html

[Breakaway3937]

We used these (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S299C8W/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1).

We modified the flashlight to skip the control board and just power the light. We lathed down the aluminum enclosure to fit what we wanted. Since this had a current draw that took us over the limit for the VRM. We had to run this off this relay (https://www.amazon.com/Tolako-Module-Arduino-Official-Boards/dp/B00VRUAHLE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1472164743&sr=8-3&keywords=Relay+Arduino) controlled by the RIO.

We had some complaints about our light earlier in the season. So, as soon as the bot fired, it turn off its light and then the operator turned it on when he wanted. We couldn't just plug this into our RIO due to the high current draw. We just wanted to be perfectly safe!

[bobbysq]

Anyone have a pike replacement? I haven't been able to find a place to purchase any.

You could attempt to buy or borrow one from another local team. They should be fairly common, given that they were the only way to do pneumatics before the PCM

[wilsonmw04]

You could attempt to buy or borrow one from another local team. They should be fairly common, given that they were the only way to do pneumatics before the PCM

That's not true. We had relay slots we could use out of the crio and all other control systems I have used going back to the radio based ifi systems +10 years ago.