Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Photos of you 'all lit up'

errrm, no not in that way...

Just curious to see how bright/visible one needs to be in the dark...and what setup works for you.

So whaddya look like ridin' in the dark?

Cheers

http://www.rebel-cycles.com/trikephotos/sideview.jpg

http://www.rebel-cycles.com/trikephotos/sideview.jpg

That's actually artistic! Cool!

That's actually artistic! Cool!

Now all I need is some EL wire to fill the gap! ;)

http://www.rebel-cycles.com/trikephotos/sideview.jpg

I like it a lot, but to make it a bit more edgy, add a wino in the headlight and a street walker in the tail light. The street walker may be shown with or without cigarette, but the smoke from the cigarette could put this photo over the top. ;)

I give this one 4 and a half stars, but I'll give it a 5 if you add in the wino and the smoking hooker. :D

thanks for the cool foto jeff-o

anyone else?

Wow, what taillight is that? It appears to be brighter than your headlight.

I'm hoping to get a shot of me.

Until then here's what my backyard looks like at night without an HID shining on it:
http://pod.ath.cx/hid/without.jpg

And with:
http://pod.ath.cx/hid/with.jpg

I'll update these pics later, I really want to get some "lit up" shots as directed.

Click the links, they're stupidly large - sorry.

Wow, what taillight is that? It appears to be brighter than your headlight.

It's homemade. It's a 120-LED lightbar that flashes in a left-right pattern. Apparently people can (literally) see me from a mile away.

From the back:

http://www.rebel-cycles.com/trikephotos/rearview.jpg

I'm hoping to get a shot of me.

Until then here's what my backyard looks like at night without an HID shining on it:
http://pod.ath.cx/hid/without.jpg

And with:
http://pod.ath.cx/hid/with.jpg

I'll update these pics later, I really want to get some "lit up" shots as directed.

Click the links, they're stupidly large - sorry.

Nice! Is that a 13W HID from Batteryspace?

Took a few pictures in my garage with the cheap digital camera (kodak c743) on auto, with the camera sitting on a table...had 10 seconds to run from the camera to my bike. Here goes...

Front view with flash:
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/jeffb502/NightVisibility002.jpg

Side view with flash:
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/jeffb502/NightVisibility004.jpg

Rear view with flash:
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/jeffb502/NightVisibility006.jpg

Front view without flash:
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/jeffb502/NightVisibility011.jpg

Rear view without flash:
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/jeffb502/NightVisibility009.jpg

It's homemade. It's a 120-LED lightbar that flashes in a left-right pattern. Apparently people can (literally) see me from a mile away.

From the back:

http://www.rebel-cycles.com/trikephotos/rearview.jpg

You should make these.. I'd buy one.

You should make these.. I'd buy one.

I'm considering it... The biggest problem so far is buying the CAD software I need to design the PCB used in the light. It's very expensive, so I'd have to make and sell a whole lot of these to recoup my costs!

I'll buy one when you are able to make it! :)

Mine's pretty basic, plus I only have one of my reflective tires installed (the front) but in a way it's useful in the picture because you can compare the reflective front tire versus the flat black rear tire.

http://www.autocrossing.com/misc/junk/bike1.jpg

http://www.autocrossing.com/misc/junk/bike2.jpg

http://www.autocrossing.com/misc/junk/bike3.jpg

Took a few too many last night, forgot to get any with the flash to show the reflective tape though...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1028/1407158059_5a728bbfe4.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1199/1407308611_2e12bfa9f7.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1026/1407308615_482e9bd90f.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1209/1407308631_95ca15b0fd.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1391/1407461581_9a8610db14.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1391/1407519157_65a5e0d3ea.jpg

UMMMM. Could you folks please include with photos of you all lit up, exactly what you are lit up with???
thanks

For me: Dual Dinotte 200L Li-ion, one wide lens one regular, Blackburn Mars 3.0 on top, Planet Bike Superflash on bottom

Love the 200L's. Love the tail lights. But i gotta say, it is a very narrow comparison between the Blackburn and the Superflash. The superflash is astonishingly bright, unique pow-pow flashing pattern, and a long range. Though the long range is due to a fairly narrow beam, which i think is not a problem so much as a driver is more than 10 yards back it is going to hit them at its full fury, though not to say its not visible from the sides, it is.

While the Blackburn has a bit wider viewing angle, is bright as hell, though I dont feel quite as bright nor eye catching as the superflash due to the superflashes bright double pulse as apposed to a constant rate flash, but does have the amber side marker led's.

So all in all, to solve the problem until i ball up and get the dinotte tail light, i feel like running both is a real killer. I run the superflash on strobe to get the attention from those coming from behind, and the Mars constant on for the wider angle, and for those from the side to see the amber side markers. Plus this covers the whole 'one flashing, one steady on' to help drivers see you. Im kind of partial to the Superflash as it was my first REAL tail light. But i came across the Mars 3.0 for $3.83 at the REI garage sale in Dallas, it worked fine and was in perfect shape, so of course i got it. So I have gotten a chance to compare them, and again its a close call, so if you can, just run both. Then if you end up with the Dinotte as i hope to, you have other back ups, and lights to keep in the 'steady on' mode to compliment its hellacious flashing... In the end, any of them are a fantastical choice!

UMMMM. Could you folks please include with photos of you all lit up, exactly what you are lit up with???
thanks

Heh sorry about that... here's my setup (pictures are in post #11)

Front:
Fenix P3D Rebel 100 and 2xAA Mag Lite with Nite Ize 3 LED drop in on bars
Fenix P3D CE on helmet

Rear:
3 Planet Bike Superflashes (2 on rear rack supports on either side of rear wheel, 1 on trunk bag)
Viewpoint Flashpoint mounted on rear rack taillight mounting tab

Shirt:
ANSI lime/reflective t shirt from www.bostonindustrial.com

And of course liberally applied 3M DOT C2 white reflective strips and 3M Scotchlite red reflective tape

UMMMM. Could you folks please include with photos of you all lit up, exactly what you are lit up with???
thanks

Well you know the tail light is custom. So are the headlights! I used two Chinese-made flashlights with "3W Luxeon emitters." The emitters were fakes, so I bought the real things and soldered them in instead. Then I pulled the AAA battery packs and hard-wired them to a buck puck for brightness control. Everything is powered by an 11.1V 7200mAh Li-ion battery.

multo grazie. Keep em coming!

Took a few pictures in my garage with the cheap digital camera (kodak c743) on auto, with the camera sitting on a table...had 10 seconds to run from the camera to my bike. Here goes...

Yeah, you do look a little out of breath from your wind sprints in a couple of those shots... :p (joking)


Rear view with flash:
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/jeffb502/NightVisibility006.jpg


You look really well lit up. I especially like how the tail lights (and entire rear of bike) stand out in the above. Looks highly visible.

Dual Fenix L2D Premium 100 (Rebel 100) headlights, Cateye TL-LD1000 (upper) and Planet Bike Super Flash (lower) tail lights. (Even I admit that the tail lights don't really look like that to the human eye, but it's really very hard for a digital camera to accurately show a tail light -- colors and brightness seem to go all out of whack even with minor adjustments. At least it's nice and spooky.)


http://www.ruscelli.com/images/Biking/070917-027a_small.jpg (http://www.ruscelli.com/images/Biking/070917-027a.jpg) http://www.ruscelli.com/images/Biking/070917-020a_small.jpg (http://www.ruscelli.com/images/Biking/070917-020a.jpg) http://www.ruscelli.com/images/Biking/070917-007a_small.jpg (http://www.ruscelli.com/images/Biking/070917-007a.jpg)

And my highly experimental triple Fenix danger zone lightning helmet (too heavy for actual comfortable wear).


http://www.ruscelli.com/images/Biking/070914-047a_small.jpg (http://www.ruscelli.com/images/Biking/070914-044c.jpg)

Nice! Is that a 13W HID from Batteryspace?

Yep.

Here's my backyard with no lighting:
http://pod.ath.cx/hid/backyard-without-lights.jpg

Here's my backyard with one Cateye EL300:
http://pod.ath.cx/hid/01-one-el300.jpg

Here's my backyard with two Cateye EL300s:
http://pod.ath.cx/hid/01-two-el300.jpg

Here's my backyard with the 5 watt spot from a Niterider Classic Select:
http://pod.ath.cx/hid/niteriderclassicselect-5w.jpg

Here's my backyard with the 25 watts of the spot + flood of the Niterider Classic Select:
http://pod.ath.cx/hid/niterider-classicselect-25watts.jpg

Here's my backyard with the 15 watt flood of the Niterider Classic Select:
http://pod.ath.cx/hid/niteriderclassicselect-5w.jpg

Here it is with the Trailtech Eclipse 13W HID:
http://pod.ath.cx/hid/03-one-trailtech-eclipse.jpg

And from another angle:
http://pod.ath.cx/hid/03-one-trailtech-eclipse-view2.jpg

The EL300s are white plastic cased so they can be seen from the
side:

http://pod.ath.cx/lock.jpg

Snip...

And my highly experimental triple Fenix danger zone lightning helmet (too heavy for actual comfortable wear).


http://www.ruscelli.com/images/Biking/070914-047a_small.jpg (http://www.ruscelli.com/images/Biking/070914-044c.jpg)

Your pictures look great - my camera weeps at its inadequacy but the helmet triple Phenix
setup looks like an actual alien spacecraft! Great!

Your pictures look great - my camera weeps at its inadequacy but the helmet triple Phenix
setup looks like an actual alien spacecraft! Great!

Well, thanks, I appreciate the comments. But, because of my work (and my hobbies) I have some pretty high-end equipment available when I need it. That gives me a slight advantage when I want to do some photographic playing around, if you know what I mean. ;)

If only the spacecraft effect would frighten the unnecessary drivers off the street during regular cycling hours, I'd be happy. :p

Yep.

Here's my backyard with no lighting:

Here's my backyard with one Cateye EL300:

Here's my backyard with two Cateye EL300s:

Here it is with the Trailtech Eclipse 13W HID:

And from another angle:

I'm going to try to get kitted up with my setup tonight so on bike photos can be taken.



Well, I'm sold. The 13W HID is now on my wish list (aka expenditures to be approved by my wife)

thanks for the photos everyone. i recently bought a superflash for the rear and a blaze for the front. Pretty happy with these for now

Jeffb, you have definitely convinced me to get a reflective vest with that photo....wow, its bright!

I'm considering it... The biggest problem so far is buying the CAD software I need to design the PCB used in the light. It's very expensive, so I'd have to make and sell a whole lot of these to recoup my costs!

Think you can find out how much it costs for a 10, 50, 100, 200 batch order of the lights then work out the pricing ballpark per unit and get back to us so we know how many people you need for a starter run to keep costs low. I love the light. Is it waterproof/resistant? How much did it cost you build your first unit?

Think you can find out how much it costs for a 10, 50, 100, 200 batch order of the lights then work out the pricing ballpark per unit and get back to us so we know how many people you need for a starter run to keep costs low. I love the light. Is it waterproof/resistant? How much did it cost you build your first unit?

What size lights do you want? I can make them in 30, 90 or 120 LED versions (and have plans for all 3). The length of the light bar would be approximately 5, 12 or 14 inches long, respectively. The 90 LED version has 60 (30+30) blinking LEDs, and 30 solid LEDs. The 120 LED version has 90 blinking LEDs (45+45) and 30 solid LEDs. The 30 LED version would be a "single sided version", designed to attach like a direction indicator (and indeed, be used like one if you like) on one side, ie. the seat post, chainstay, dropouts, etc. It has 30 blinking LEDs.

I've found that having both solid and blinking LEDs is more effective, as it provides the movement necessary to attract driver's eyes and a solid light to track movement.

Any one of the designs could be sold as a kit or fully assembled. Red is the default LED colour, but amber, green or yellow could be substituted. Blue or white would require a 14V battery, or a redesigned board (a possibility if there's enough demand).

The assembled kit would be painted whatever colour you like as long as it's a valid Krylon paint colour. The light is designed to operate from 12V (ideal), but 11-14V would work. However, you'll have to wire it up to a battery and switch yourself.

Yes! It is designed to be totally sealed and waterproof. It is made of a lexan inner layer and a PVC protective shell. Once sealed up, you need a hacksaw to open it up again.

Price would not be different even if I made 200 of them - that's actually not enough to get a price discount! I think that the 120 LED version would be about $70-$80 in kit form, or $120 fully assembled. That is just an estimate though, so give me an evening to calculate the exact cost.

Here is a picture of the prototype being assembled:

http://www.rebel-cycles.com/trikephotos/tube.jpg

You can see the unpainted PVC tube (yes, it's electrical conduit) and the LED light bars a bit further back. The Lexan tube slides into the PVC shell, and the electronics are sealed into the Lexan tube.

This is definitely a homebrew solution, but it sure works well...

Those lightbars are cool!

Okay, we have ANOTHER bike light in-house, the Niterider Classic Select which is on
my wifes' commuter roadie.

Hoping to get beamshots this eve, I was unable to last night due to other stuff occurring.

Cygolite Dual Cross 300 front light, dinotte tail light and bar end lights.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j226/lannes2007/IMG_7156.jpg

Here is a picture of the prototype being assembled:

http://www.rebel-cycles.com/trikephotos/tube.jpg

This is definitely a homebrew solution, but it sure works well...

Wow, that's really some kind of home brew, jeff-o. Pretty dang cool... :)

It's interesting to see exactly what some of the pieces and parts are after seeing the photo of one of those in action.

By the way, I think that's my tape measure sitting on your table. I've been looking for that thing for weeks. :(

;)

Updated shots on page one adding the Niterider Classic Select.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/diff_lock_cr-v_awd/batts/NightPics013.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/diff_lock_cr-v_awd/batts/NightPics005.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/diff_lock_cr-v_awd/batts/NightPics013.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/diff_lock_cr-v_awd/batts/NightPics005.jpg

Wow, what's that setup?

Wow, what's that setup?

Well, the top photo is a helmet stealing someone's bike, but doing it the safe way -- with proper lighting. I don't know what the bottom one is.

I just hope that son-of-a-***** helmet was caught got what it deserves.

Well, the top photo is a helmet stealing someone's bike, but doing it the safe way -- with proper lighting. I don't know what the bottom one is.

I just hope that son-of-a-***** helmet was caught got what it deserves.

Never leave your bike unlocked next to a helmet. Sneaky buggers, they are!

Never leave your bike unlocked next to a helmet. Sneaky buggers, they are!

I see we're in agreement. ;)

Its just a direct driven 1watt red luxeon. There are much better red leds out now.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/diff_lock_cr-v_awd/head%20taillight/DSC_0405.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/diff_lock_cr-v_awd/head%20taillight/DSC_0404.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/diff_lock_cr-v_awd/head%20taillight/DSC_0403.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/diff_lock_cr-v_awd/head%20taillight/DSC_0402.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/diff_lock_cr-v_awd/head%20taillight/DSC_0401.jpg

And the front is just a typical Overvolted MR16 bulb. Its a bit wide (good for forest trails) but its ok for now.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/diff_lock_cr-v_awd/batts/DSC_0772.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/diff_lock_cr-v_awd/batts/DSC_0771.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/diff_lock_cr-v_awd/batts/DSC_0770.jpg

And yeah they are all out of focus... my eyes weren't working.

I'm considering it... The biggest problem so far is buying the CAD software I need to design the PCB used in the light. It's very expensive, so I'd have to make and sell a whole lot of these to recoup my costs!

There is no need to buy expensive PCB layout software anymore. There are several PCB companies with free software available (to lock you into their PC fabrication services (very cheap, I would add)).
Our small company uses PCB123.com, but there are others. These aren't just for the hobbiest - we have designed -many- 8" x10" 4-layer boards full of surface mount components using them.

Good Luck.

There is no need to buy expensive PCB layout software anymore. There are several PCB companies with free software available (to lock you into their PC fabrication services (very cheap, I would add)).
Our small company uses PCB123.com, but there are others. These aren't just for the hobbiest - we have designed -many- 8" x10" 4-layer boards full of surface mount components using them.

Good Luck.

I figured out a solution, so I've now got finished designs for the boards I'm going to build. I'm just testing the prototype of one of them, and then I can send off the designs to be fabricated!