leokeba / high_speed_flash

Open-source high-speed (microsecond) LED strobes

high_speed_flash

This is the data repository for my microsecond strobe designs. They are high-speed flashes used for photographing bullets or other projectiles or processes. The entire project is open-source.

MK1 - The Edgerton

The original strobe was designed to be simple to assemble and as affordable as possible. Photographers, please be aware that some soldering skills are required.

MK2 - The E2 Series

These are called a series because multiple submodels are planned. Currently only the E2-A is complete.

The E2 series are very similar to the MK1 Edgerton, but have been designed with commercial production in mind. You can build one yourself, but some more complicated processes are involved. Additionally, the total cost is slightly higher. The advantage is that the E2 series is smaller, more robust, and easier to use.

Planned E2 Submodels:

E2-A	E2-K	E2-V
Standard	High-powered 1-microsecond	Videographer
Plans & specs available	In development	In development
Strobe only	Strobe only	120+ Watt Constant illumination mode
Battery only	Battery only	Battery OR external power supply
0.5 - 4 microsecond strobe	0.5 - 1 microsecond strobe	0.5 - 4 microsecond strobe
Standard LED Power	Increased LED Power	Standard LED Power
Well-Established Safety Margin	LED's more likely to fail	Well-Established Safety Margin

Comparison

If you are trying to decide which design to use, have a look through this comparison. Only the E2-A submodel is compared as it is most similar to the original Edgerton.

MK1 Edgerton	MK2 E2-A
Same Performance	Same Performance
Affordable	About 30% more expensive
Relatively simple to assemble (3D printer, soldering skills, Through-Hole Components)	Slightly more difficult (Aluminum milling / drilling, better cable management required, Surface-Mount Components)
Reliable	Reliable PLUS
8x AA batteries	4x AA batteries
Battery compartment difficult to access	Easy to use battery compartment
Cheap display	Attractive, intuitive display
Larger	Smaller
Single strobes only	Multi-strobe capable

Research & Testing

The most valuable part of this project is the research and testing. Many LED's have been destructively tested to find their limitations. I plan to upload all of my testing data to this repository and encourage others to share any testing performed as well.

License

Documentation is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Software is licensed under a GNU GPL v3 License