Oh, no... More boards

I made the PCB changes to the low cost driver board after extensive bench testing and simulation. The revision 01 board was not behaving like the simulation and it was baffling to say the least. I finally think I nailed down some poor ground paths causing the problem and when I get back the rev 02 board we will find out if I corrected the issue or not.

I also ordered at the same time the board for the low voltage detect. This board will eventually have the ATtiny25 microprocessor on it. Right now I am using the 45 for development.

Today I spent the good portion of the day making the UI interface board for a Shark derivative board. The work being done on the UI daughter board will be directly applicable to the one that will be made for the Shark board. Yes, a microprocessor board for the Shark.

What's unique on this board is the ability to stay alive for more than a few seconds. This board can be controlled by the power switch button or via a dedicated push button. Either way works.

Currently, the board implements a simple UI that you can toggle through on power up. After a few seconds of inactivity the UI is locked out and the light remains at the level selected.

We finally got the two stage switch component (ball) from the plater and can now start making two stage switches again. Also, on the list of new items are:

MJ 2AA bi-pin plug in LED upgrade module (comes with a reflector)
PXE heat sinks (C, D) Jonathan came by and dropped them off after Xmas.
MCR19XRE reflectors for the PXE (These came in just before xmas)
Downboy 917 Aleph LE with Seoul P4 LED. This will drop right into A1 and A3 heads (no mod)
Nexgen 750 Aleph LE with Seoul P4 LED. (no mod for A1, A3 heads)
NG 750 XR LE (Not sure if these will be whole lights or LE yet...)
GD 666 XR LE ( The 817 were pushing too hard on the CR123 config).

I know the modders are patiently waiting for discrete LEDs whether Seoul or Cree. I can say that I have limited stock and in some cases not even enough for my own builds and don't have any to spare to make dedicated LE or sell as discrete. (In case you were curious). I have a large quantity of Seouls on order and when I get a definitive ship date I'll let you know as these are targeted for direct sales on the shoppe and a few targeted for builds.

As for the Aleph Seoul LEs. Here's the scoop. The A1, A3 reflector have a larger diameter hole allowing the Plastic perimeter to be engulfed through the reflector. By shimming the Seoul with the copper discs pushes the LED further forward into the reflector. Since the opening doesn't sit on the black plastic there is no need to modify the reflector to accomodate the Seoul. You can use either Luxeon LE or the Seoul LE interchangeably with no modifications.

The only caveat is that when making the Seoul LE the tabs as they come out of the LED body must be bent downward along the edge of the body of the LED to help prevent the legs from hitting the reflector as the opening is just wider than the body.