Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Suggestions for my new taillight.

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mrbubbles

05-28-08, 07:02 PM

I've been itching to build another taillight with these LEDs.

http://www.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_1776_1.jpg

Which would you prefer two of these LED in series? With each LED getting full 1A.

Or 4 of these, with each two banks in series and parallel?
Each LED with be getting 0.5A
For those who are suggesting that I power all 4 LEDs in series, forget it, I'm not doing that.

Keep in mind, this is how bright one of these is at full power 1A compared to a PB Superflash.
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p202/bubbles_mr/lite1.jpg

znomit

05-28-08, 07:36 PM

4 at 500mA is better than two at 1A.
I would throw in a 6x25 optic on at least one of them too to broaden the beam. There are a few options for this, OPTX and polymer optics.

Personally I would be happy with one 6x25 at 350mA(micropuck driven off 2xAA).

chewybrian

05-30-08, 03:33 PM

When I was looking to make mine, I checked out a lot of car tails on my commutes. I concluded that a larger surface area was more visible. I settled on an LED trailer light from Lowe's (item 248852). The thing is about 6" wide and 4" high, and you just can't miss seeing it when lit at night. It does not take much power, either.

Long story short, I vote for more lights over more power.