Commuting - Nova LED police strobe v. Cateye LD-1000, NiteRider, others. Overlook THIS!

Updates in post #48 now, with pics of a simple improvised mount that puts the light on the rear of a rear rack :)

I got my Nova BULL LED strobe today. It's outta control, as I think the video clips will show. People who want extreme-duty blinkie may want to think about one or more of these. They have a sync wire so you can synchronize the flashing of up to 20 of them. If you have a home-built light system where you could wire this right into it, and can spare another 3 watts of power draw (and have US$60 to spend), then think it over :)

http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/megablinkie0.jpg
about the size of a Cateye LD-1000

For the demos below, I used my 9.6-volt Radio Shack remote-controlled-car battery since I had it around. Since the Nova is made for 10 to 16 volts, I wasn't sure 9.6 volts was going to be enough... until I fired it up, that is! :eek:


http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/megablinkie1.jpg
Oh yess, Preciouss, 9.6 voltses will work. My living room in the evening daylight, with the Nova firing at the opposite wall.


http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/megablinkie2.jpg
my living room in near-darkness. The white light is my 13-watt NiteRider FlameThrower HID, the red light is the Nova on steady-fire. Umm... yikes!

Now the funnest part: comparison video! :) The video clips below compare a Cateye LD-500, a Blackburn Mars 2.0, a current-generation NiteRider, a Cateye LD-1000, the Cateye+NiteRider combination, and then the Nova.

5MB Windows Media Player version (http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/MEGABLINKIE.wmv)
2MB version in lower resolution (http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/MEGABLINKIE_small.wmv)

The Nova has eight modes, I used one of the single-flash modes for those videos because the flashes are longer and less prone to falling inbetween the frames captured by my digicam.

Any questions? :) Requests...?

Source for best price?

Too bad it's 16V max. My headlight system has a 20V battery.

There's a 4-element as well. http://www.strobe.com/images/LEDMT.jpg

Source for best price?Here's Nova's distributor list, to start with: http://www.strobe.com/buy.asp Out of those, StrobesNmore, Hyper-Lites and LiteSaver seem to be tied at $60.xx.

Here's a site showing more of the flash patterns: http://12.152.68.2/video/Nova/bullled.htm

Now I got to figure out a mounting arrangement. This would go nicely across the rear of a rear rack, except I don't normally use a rear rack. I was thinking maybe a seat-cleat type of seat bag would make a good foundation for it, because it could hold a battery pack, plus I could remove the whole thing if I had to leave the bike outside for a long time. Don't want people stealing the Precious... ;)

Holy UFO light batman! What's the power draw on that thing?

Edit. It has 3 1 watt LEDs, so 3 watts. That's not much compared to the 20+ watts a home made halogen will pull.

Holy UFO light batman! What's the power draw on that thing?3 watts (max) at 12 volts, therefore 0.25 amps. I think it probably is like other blinkies, in that its aggregate power consumption is lower when it's on the flashing modes, and only hits a full 3W on the steady-fire mode.

I like how wide the beam is, it spreads out across a pretty wide horizontal arc.

Now I got to figure out a mounting arrangement.

Under your seat.

They need to offer one with oval beam optics, for a more effective light pattern. It is possible that you could open this unit up and put in the standard oval beam optics, though. Looks like it probably uses the standard Luxeon plastic optics.

My concern would be with the standard blinky its a "blinky" but with the strobe its much more like a police light so red/blue might get you into trouble (I had non strobing little blue led windshield washer nipples on my hood of my truck and got a ticket for it)

Not saying it will but its possible.

For convience sake the cateye comes ready to mount and with its own battery tho right?

Only blue is restricted to the police, as far as I know.

You definitely don't want a fast strobe on your bike, though - some people have bad reactions to those. You could end up attracting a car to run you down like a moth to a flame.

its red + blue i know this for sure. atleast here it is.

white and yellow are genarly reserved for construction vehicles and other service vehicles but should be totally legal.

somthing like green would be fine as its not used by anything.

of course you can get a ticket for somthing no matter what you do, if your light is TOO bright you can get a ticket for obstructing sombodies view, or causing a road hazzard.

sort of the same way if a tail light has a broken cover and the bright white light shows.

Im right tho that the cateye 1000 contains its own batteries and comes ready to mount right? If so thats probably what i would get, even tho this thing looks like it could be a headlight ^^

Ahhh.... we are not worthy...

That's incredibly impressive. I'd be a little concerned though; it looks like it might actually be TOO bright, particularly for use in rural areas. I'll definitely be considering one though.

FYI, in many states, green strobes or bubble lights are reserved for volunteer firefighters responding to a call. Using one otherwise can get you a citation for impersonating a firefighter.

Just stick to plain old red or amber, and you don't have to worry.

I'd be a little concerned though; it looks like it might actually be TOO bright, particularly for use in rural areas.

They imply that it isn't very focussed, but you could always spread the beam even more with a simple plastic lens cover.

Any idea on runtime for this thing? I don't run a large battery pack, but would be interested if this could be run off a small pack. How big is that radio shack pack? get us pictures of how you eventually mount it and stuff, I don't have a rack, so would be interested in the mounting to the seat pack options.

Ahhh.... we are not worthy...

+1

I think "Son Of Death Star" has been beaten. More visible from off center and maybe more even coverage too.


mech.......the mother ship will find you now! :D I think the seat cleat type of bag is a great idea, you can even add a reinforcing bracket to hold the light in place that goes to the inside of the bag cleat.

of course you can get a ticket for somthing no matter what you do, if your light is TOO bright you can get a ticket for obstructing sombodies view, or causing a road hazzard.


I would not worry about being too bright as long as long as the beam can be directed down at the road and not in drivers eyes. Years ago I mounted a 100watt headlight on my handlebars, rode over to a local policeman at night, and asked his opinion. He advised, "As long as it is pointed down on the rode and not shining in peoples eyes it will be OK." That 100 watt light was a shielded beam spotlight putting out a very tight beam. A 100 watt light that is putting out a 12 to 25 degree beam might blind people even if it was pointed the right way.

mech.......the mother ship will find you now! :DDarn, and they'll find out I was overvolting the implant! :eek:

My state law expressly states that I can have a red flashing Light-Emitting Diode taillight, so technically that's provided for. One of the slower-flash modes would probably be best so I don't make the police uptight. There's also the option to run it steady, not flashing, in which case it would make a sweet taillight and be less obnoxious.

It's a dilemma: to show up against city traffic, store lights, etc, you need something powerful. But if it's that powerful, then it may be hard on others' eyes when they're pulled up behind you at a stoplight. Anyway, this is just a baby model compared to some of the ones Nova and Whelen make, and yet people survive being near police cars that have the big boys, so maybe I overestimate the impact.

Any idea on runtime for this thing? I don't run a large battery pack, but would be interested if this could be run off a small pack. How big is that radio shack pack? get us pictures of how you eventually mount it and stuff, I don't have a rack, so would be interested in the mounting to the seat pack options.The Radio Shack pack is a 1600mAh one that looks like this: http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/blinkie1.jpg (sorry, very big photo). At 250 milliAmps, I'm guessing a 1600mAH pack could manage maybe 4+ hours on a charge, allowing for some fudge factor. If the light takes less power on a flashing mode than when it's running steady-on, then that might extend it towards 8 hours.

What I really had in mind was to get a 4000mAh Lithium-Ion battery pack & charger from BatterySpace (http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1996).
http://www.batteryspace.com/ProductImages/bike-battery/Li11V2K-1.jpg

I read that actually side/front collisions are a bigger threat than being hit from the rear, so maybe some cheap amber truck clearance lights (http://www.led-r-us.com/smlights.shtml) on the sides of my front panniers would be worthwhile, and that battery pack would have plenty of runtime to do that with.

http://www.led-r-us.com/lights/1284a-small.jpg

The front/side approaches really are a weakness. My bike's got a lot of reflective tape, but it only shows when there are lights aimed at it, and by then it could be much too late. A single headlight, however bright, is easy to misjudge the range of because there's nothing to triangulate, unlike a car. I saw a car coming at me the other day in darkness with the driver's side headlight and parking light burned out, and it was difficult to range it. Is it a motorcycle, is it a car, how far away is it? If even the drivers'-side parking light were working, it would've helped.

Anyway, I'll update the first post with pics of the light mounted to the bike once I get to that point, so check back every couple days :) and feel free to PM me if you need anything in particular :)

mechBgon you seem pretty knowledgeable about what kind of batteries there are.

I just ordered the cateye LD-1000 i think it will suit my needs and for 27$ its not too expensive.

For headlight I just got the DiNotte Ultra 5 on sale for 153$ but I want to convert it into the more expensive Li Ion version on my own thats very possible without damaging it right?

Just as long as I match up the voltage, the rest should take care of itself as far as I know but these lights are pretty forgin to me.

As far as the nova, I wouldnt be supprised if sombody thinks you ARE the mothership! :P dont go treking thru those ufo sighting areas, sombody might run you down or somthing.

bkrownd: if you want to wire it into a 20v battery you can just use a in line resistor to lower the voltage down acordingly.

I would not worry about being too bright as long as long as the beam can be directed down at the road and not in drivers eyes. Years ago I mounted a 100watt headlight on my handlebars, rode over to a local policeman at night, and asked his opinion. He advised, "As long as it is pointed down on the rode and not shining in peoples eyes it will be OK."

Yeah, but that's apples and oranges. The purpose of a headlight is largely to light the road so you can see where you're going.

A taillight has NO PURPOSE other than to make you visible to drivers. Only light that goes from the taillight to the driver's eyes serves any purpose. It's silly to buy a super powerful taillight and then point it at the ground.

I have a ViewPoint 9 LED that works well in dusk and night conditions. It's not usefull for daylight / cloudy / rain. How does the strobe look from a distance during daylight?

I have a ViewPoint 9 LED that works well in dusk and night conditions. It's not usefull for daylight / cloudy / rain. How does the strobe look from a distance during daylight?I haven't tested in that scenario yet, but given that the LD-1000 and NiteRider are individually visible at 100+ meters in daylight, and the Nova is significantly more powerful than both the LD-1000 and NiteRider combined, it should be good.

I'll plan to take some daylight photos and/or video from a good distance and send you a PM so you can check them out. What sort of riding do you do, like what types of road/traffic situations?


I just ordered the cateye LD-1000 i think it will suit my needs and for 27$ its not too expensive.
The LD-1000 can be further enhanced with Lithium cells if you happen to be able to get a good buy on them. They don't "fade" in voltage like alkaline, and they don't run a wimpy voltage like NiMH, so your LD-1000 will be as bright as possible, almost to the very end.

http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1506

http://www.batteryspace.com/productimages/lithiumbatteries/li_primary_aa_20_4_5.jpg

bkrownd: if you want to wire it into a 20v battery you can just use a in line resistor to lower the voltage down acordingly.

That would waste a lot of power, though. Right now I'm going homebrew, and I have a Luxeon regulator module that will accept the 20V DC in.

The LD-1000 can be further enhanced with Lithium cells if you happen to be able to get a good buy on them. They don't "fade" in voltage like alkaline, and they don't run a wimpy voltage like NiMH, so your LD-1000 will be as bright as possible, almost to the very end.


Heh maybe I didnt word that as best as possible I was up all night at work and most of the day when I got home with my son so I was half unconsious.

I meant transfrom the Ultra 5 to Li Ion.

I got it on sale for 153$ vs the 200-250 it normally goes for so I think it was a good deal, they sell a Li Ion version of it for more that last much longer but it was not on performances page to buy and was not on sale.

I emaled the company about it, for 100$ I can send my light in and they will fully upgrade it to the Li Ion verson. I am in debate if its worth it, the quality might be just a notch or two above DIY but I also pretty much am broke right now ^^

http://www.dinottelighting.com/ProductLines.htm

in this case using the link above I am trying to take the Ultra 5 and make it into a Ultra 5 lithium.

So your call? 100$ full offical upgrade or DIY.

Heh maybe I didnt word that as best as possible I was up all night at work and most of the day when I got home with my son so I was half unconsious.

I meant transfrom the Ultra 5 to Li Ion.

I got it on sale for 153$ vs the 200-250 it normally goes for so I think it was a good deal, they sell a Li Ion version of it for more that last much longer but it was not on performances page to buy and was not on sale.

I emaled the company about it, for 100$ I can send my light in and they will fully upgrade it to the Li Ion verson. I am in debate if its worth it, the quality might be just a notch or two above DIY but I also pretty much am broke right now ^^

http://www.dinottelighting.com/ProductLines.htm

in this case using the link above I am trying to take the Ultra 5 and make it into a Ultra 5 lithium.

So your call? 100$ full offical upgrade or DIY.It sounds like you want more runtime. I would think that electricity is electricity as far as the light's concerned, so a DIY upgrade might get you the runtime you want without paying full ride. But one of the goodies you get with the official DiNotte Li-Ion version is that you can then make a dual-beam setup out of it, so that could be a perk of having them do the upgrade their way, too. Plus you'd have your warranty intact for sure.

***Update*** prototype mount photos. This would put the light low enough that a person who's pulled up behind me at a turn lane would be above the light's line of fire:

http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/strut.jpg
the unsuspecting victim


http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/strut2.jpg
removing the bends with my Bicycle Research chainring tools


http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/strut3.jpg
it's flat!


http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/strut4.jpg
you see where this is going...


http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/tap.jpg
tapping to 5 x 0.8


http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/screws.jpg
these look good


http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/blinkie-on-a-stick.jpg
Look, it's Blinkie-On-A-Stick™! :)


http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/mount1.jpg
now we just need a 90° bend...


http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/mount3.jpg
...and one more Cateye nylon reflector-bracket band. I'll have to hit the LBS for one.

Looks like you're 50% of the way to having turn signals. :beer: I may have to consider these for my turn signal project.

Looks like you're 50% of the way to having turn signals. :beer:Hehe! :D One of the modes is a slow-enough flash that it would work as a turn signal, too! And they do make amber ones...

(for now, I guess I can only make left turns ;))

For anyone who might be curious, the Nova DOES remember the last mode that you used. If you turn it off and turn it on again, it'll be in the same mode as you left it.

hell actually since you have it off to the side like that might as well add another one on and make turn signals ^^ have them both on (aka hazzard lights) for your riding, and turn one off when your turning.(even better if you can just change the strobe mode to constant on the opposite side for visual reasons) Easy to mount some radio shack switches up front to do that.

As far as the DIY Li Ion for the Ultra 5, I will test the stock batery pack with my multimeter when I get it, if there is a cheap Li Ion pack avl with near the same voltage that will save me a good amount of $ I will make one myself. I am just going to make a batery pack and not actually change the light system so I wont void my warrenty.

If there is no Li Ion close to working with it, then I will maybe save for the offical upgrade.

I can just carry a 2nd set of rechargables with me too and replace the batteries, I will do that till the money is good again.

If the Fiance finds out how much I just spent, you will never see me again.

Yeah, but that's apples and oranges. The purpose of a headlight is largely to light the road so you can see where you're going.

A taillight has NO PURPOSE other than to make you visible to drivers. Only light that goes from the taillight to the driver's eyes serves any purpose. It's silly to buy a super powerful taillight and then point it at the ground.

I stand corrected. I missed that the comments were about tail lights. I use a 2 watt Xenon strobe as a taillight myself.

Holy Crap I want two

They would be perfect for late night snow storms.


mechBgon, You have went above and be on the call of duty for a tail light master.

I can't see,
Johnny

Holy Crap I want two

They would be perfect for late night snow storms.


mechBgon, You have went above and be on the call of duty for a tail light master.

I can't see,
JohnnyHehe, I can't help but LOL myself when I watch that video and finally bring the Nova into the picture after the other ones. It kicks much butt! :D

yea, i showed it to some fellow bike geeks here at work...and they flipped out. one guy laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair...i can't wait to build one. right now it's light enough that I don't use lights, but come winter time, I have a light system planned that's gonna kick ass over last winters system. I'm gonna use an inova tacticle flashlight for my headlight, keep my strobing helmet mounted photon fusion, and get one of these bull bad boys for a rear light. no one will miss me! :-)

My focus will be self contained lights. i don't like the idea of wires running all over my bike to a centrally mounted heavy power pack. I'll work the RC car battery pack (or something smaller) into a home built waterproof box that I can easily mount to my bike, or backpack...

could you do a typed comparison? the vid don't show for me.

could you do a typed comparison? the vid don't show for me.Ok, it's like seeing Luke Skywalker skimming down a canyon in a little Star Wars surface "speeder", and then OMG the X-wing and TIE fighters come flying by, that little speeder would fit inside one of their engines, and you're all WHOA. But then the Empire's Star Destroyer arrives, and you see things on a whole new scale after that :eek:

Also try this video clip, if you have QuickTime installed? http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/MegaBlinkie_small.mov It's about 4.4MB, sorry I couldn't get it smaller. I recommend right-clicking it and saving it, then view it after it's completely downloaded.


Any good?

Or... here's a frame of the NiteRider and Cateye LD-1000 combined (the pic at the left is both of them at once), and then a frame from the Nova. I also did a lil' Cateye LD-500 and a Blackburn Mars 2.0, both of which barely showed at all.

http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/NRplusCateyeLD1000.jpg http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/Nova.jpg


My focus will be self contained lights. i don't like the idea of wires running all over my bike to a centrally mounted heavy power pack. I'll work the RC car battery pack (or something smaller) into a home built waterproof box that I can easily mount to my bike, or backpack...Think about, like, a Tupperware container made for stick margarine, and one of the smaller Lithium-Ion 11.1V battery packs from BatterySpace. You could use RTV sealant if you need to poke the light out the surface of the container while keeping a good seal.

Ok, it's like seeing Luke Skywalker skimming down a canyon in a little Star Wars surface "speeder", and then OMG the X-wing and TIE fighters come flying by, that little speeder would fit inside one of their engines, and you're all WHOA. But then the Empire's Star Destroyer arrives, and you see things on a whole new scale after that :eek:

Kinda like a Death Star ? :D

Kinda like a Death Star ? :DNow then, I know better than to challenge The Death Star™! :eek: *runs away*

Now then, I know better than to challenge The Death Star™! :eek: *runs away*


Thread about lights + mention of Star Wars = Photo of Death Star. :D ;)

Ok, it's like seeing Luke Skywalker skimming down a canyon in a little Star Wars surface "speeder", and then OMG the X-wing and TIE fighters come flying by, that little speeder would fit inside one of their engines, and you're all WHOA. But then the Empire's Star Destroyer arrives, and you see things on a whole new scale after that :eek:

Also try this video clip, if you have QuickTime installed? http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/MegaBlinkie_small.mov It's about 4.4MB, sorry I couldn't get it smaller. I recommend right-clicking it and saving it, then view it after it's completely downloaded.


Any good?

Or... here's a frame of the NiteRider and Cateye LD-1000 combined (the pic at the left is both of them at once), and then a frame from the Nova. I also did a lil' Cateye LD-500 and a Blackburn Mars 2.0, both of which barely showed at all.

http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/NRplusCateyeLD1000.jpg http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/Nova.jpg

Think about, like, a Tupperware container made for stick margarine, and one of the smaller Lithium-Ion 11.1V battery packs from BatterySpace. You could use RTV sealant if you need to poke the light out the surface of the container while keeping a good seal.


the pc that i have access to that has access to the net don't handle no video right!

I will pay money for one of you to ride around using a red filter over a HID as a rear light for 1 winter.

I will pay money for one of you to ride around using a red filter over a HID as a rear light for 1 winter.

alright... you have to provide the equipment too.... and pay for all shipping.... and all other costs... i would like at least $200 a month to do this.

why not start now... in the summer?

No way, some people... *cough* Steve *cough* already have quite a few HID's lying around.


alright... you have to provide the equipment too.... and pay for all shipping.... and all other costs... i would like at least $200 a month to do this.

why not start now... in the summer?

the pc that i have access to that has access to the net don't handle no video right!When I left from work, I had my work computer working on generating an animated .GIF version. Maybe tomorrow I can give you that one (minus my narrated audio commentary). :)

No way, some people... *cough* Steve *cough* already have quite a few HID's lying around.

Send me the equipment. It'll be done. Free.

I will pay money for one of you to ride around using a red filter over a HID as a rear light for 1 winter.

:lol:

Isn't that like paying a junkie to get a fix?

Why just the winter?

I want a bonus for every car that loses control and causes an accident.



No way, some people... *cough* Steve *cough* already have quite a few HID's lying around.

Is this because I was an only child ? Am I too materialistic ? :o

I hope there isn't any chicken hauler truck drivers on the forum. If they see this light the hiways will never be the same. Unreal.

A couple updates:

1) I'm doing runtime testing with that 9.6-volt Radio Shack RC-car battery, running the light in a flashing mode. So far it's up to about 9.5 hours and the voltage is still up around 9.8 volts.

2) I made a rack-tail mount out of a DLT tape-cartridge box, see below :) With this arrangement, I could simply put my racktop bag on the rear rack and put the battery pack inside the bag.


http://www.mechbgon.com/attach1.jpg
The Voices told me to bring this DLT-tape box home from work, and now we see what for :)


http://www.mechbgon.com/mounted3.jpg
using half of the DLT box's top flap, with a bit of trimming, I mounted the light to the end of the top flap, using the two screws that go into the rear of the light on either side of its wires



http://www.mechbgon.com/mounted1.jpg
attached to the bike and resuming the runtime test. the fender is not actually installed yet, I've still got to do that



http://www.mechbgon.com/mounted2.jpg
YOU WILL CHANGE LANES. NOW. (notice the excellent Dark Side / Light Side thing going on with this pic, BTW)



http://www.mechbgon.com/mounted4.jpg
a view from above

A couple updates:

1) I'm doing runtime testing with that 9.6-volt Radio Shack RC-car battery, running the light in a flashing mode. So far it's up to about 9.5 hours and the voltage is still up around 9.8 volts.

2) I made a rack-tail mount out of a DLT tape-cartridge box, see below :) With this arrangement, I could simply put my racktop bag on the rear rack and put the battery pack inside the bag.




I like the bracket. Nice job.

You could put the battery pack in the rack bag, however if there are days when you don't want the rack bag........

I see plenty of room under the rack and above the fender to make a thin plastic box that opens on the side to slide the batteries in and out. Also a little nylon webbing could be sewed into a nice thin bag with a Velcro closure and a Velcro strap around the center rack plate. Maybe a cheap nylon cell phone bag or large nylon jackknife sheath would hold the batteries. Or even a nylon man's wallet?
Put a sandwich bag over the batteries first for waterproofing in the nylon bag. If you don't care about looks just use a zip close sandwich bag held on by a wide Velcro strap.
Then you could skip the rack bag if you want.

I like the bracket. Nice job.

You could put the battery pack in the rack bag, however if there are days when you don't want the rack bag........

I see plenty of room under the rack and above the fender to make a thin plastic box that opens on the side to slide the batteries in and out. Also a little nylon webbing could be sewed into a nice thin bag with a Velcro closure and a Velcro strap around the center rack plate. Maybe a cheap nylon cell phone bag or large nylon jackknife sheath would hold the batteries. Or even a nylon man's wallet?
Put a sandwich bag over the batteries first for waterproofing in the nylon bag. If you don't care about looks just use a zip close sandwich bag held on by a wide Velcro strap.
Then you could skip the rack bag if you want.Those are good ideas :) Yeah, even with fenders, that rack still stands high enough to put a battery under there. Or I could just make the wiring long enough to reach a seat bag. But since I commute, I'd probably end up using the "loaf bag" in lieu of my panniers, giving decent capacity with low weight and air drag. When I ride the Cannondale, I do expect it to go a bit faster than my poor old GT workhorse. ;) So anyway, the loaf bag would probably end up on there nearly all the time.

For the record, the RC-car battery was starting to drop below 8 volts during the blinks after about 10-11 hours, so we can figure 1600mAh = about 8-10 hours on flashing modes before it begins tapering off on its output. I've also considered hacking it into my NiteRider HID system in place of the existing taillight rather than giving it its own battery.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get around to some daytime photos/video from a decent distance, like about 500 meters. :)