hotbike

https://www.toshiba.com/lighting/file...s_Cutsheet.pdf

This pdf lists the Toshiba 12 volt MR16 LED equivalents that I use. You might be able to use a 6.2 watt bulb, they are "dimable", you'd likely get 85% brightness.

Your generator looks tres ancienne, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it?

Doohickie

It was on my 1966 Raleigh DL-1 when I got it a few years ago.

hotbike

Sir,
this is a photo of a ceramic socket for the MR16 style bulb. I paid eight dollars and change for each of these:

hotbike

And this is a photo of the box the LED Bulb came in:


Says 6.7 watts.

hotbike

Now for our feature presentation:


This brings us up-to-date.

Doohickie

Burton

No dial-up modem - in fact no Internet access other than via iPhone because I spend so little time at the house and there's WiFi access at the shop to support the store anyway.

The suggestion is to post a link SEPERATELY from the embedded video. Apparently some embedded items aren't always recognized by iPhones. Obviously there are two classes of smart phones that providers don't want to tell you about - smart smart phones and stupid smart phones.

hotbike

Here is the Direct Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSU0FctRKhI

This video is only 30 seconds, but it gives a good idea of the lighting, on the front end of the bike.

Burton

Used the 'reply with quote' option to isolate, copy out and access the link from the original posts. A seperate link would just be more convenient.

Understand you have budget restrictions, but still can't see driving comfortably with that configuration. The spot is bright enough but doesn't give any real coverage. Have you considered mounting multiple 35 degree bulbs instead?

hotbike

Sorry I forced you to isolate, copy, and paste the link, my bad.

Budget Restrictions? I have GOOD News, I quit smoking 27 days ago, and I am saving ten dollars a day. that money will go for new wheels, and additional lights, and more bike and non-bike stuff generally.

The current setup has a 25 degree on the right, and an 8 degree on the left. Yes, I am thinking about adding more. I want to mount a light on my tripod, so the light goes wherever the camera is pointed. I have the lights on the bottom of the fairing, which minimizes glare in my eyes, but It might be better to mount some more lights *Higher*, which will light the road ahead better, and maybe be more visible to mootorists.

Yes, I quit smoking, and I'm spending money like crazy on other stuff. Yesterday, I bought a small wheelbarrow, one with two wheels, so "maybe" I can tow it behind my bike, but don't quote me on that. We are stil cleaning up after Hurricane Sandy, which struck late October, 2012. I am cleaning up a sidewalk this week, which is on a blind curve. with a ten foot high concrete retaining wall on the right.

Burton

Congrads on dropping the cigarettes! Not only will your buget be better off - your cycling will too.

Dead Roman

you can run your 12v batteries with a 4 cell lithium polymer battery like is used in RC aircraft. I am going to be running LED strips on my bike with a LiPo. Ill post pics when they get in. 19 bux shipped for 16 feet and the controller.

Dead Roman

i mean 12v LED's

Dead Roman

Just got these rigged up, video as promised.

hotbike

THAT is really interesting. (Please Click on the picture, folks, to see the video, so you know what we're talking about) Are you using some kind of radio control, or a length or wire, to control the colors of the lights? That's the part I can't figure out.
My LED strip is plain white, though I did recently purchase a bunch of LED night-lights which each have 1 blue, 1 green and 2 red LED's, which give the room a soft white light (color television fans will know what RGB stands for).

I think you need more lights to the rear, but maybe you already have a Dinotte or a PBSF, which isn't shown in the video, and you're just supplementing it.

I have another video, which is uploading right now, which shows my headlights against the road (at least until I turn into a lighted parking lot). My headlights are 300 lumens each.

The video is now 77% complete. Please stand by.

Dead Roman

The video does not do justice to how bright the LED strips. The light setup came with a controller and an infra-red light. With the battery I am using I should be able to run these lights for 24 hrs without re-charging. Ive got some 3 watt LED's that I am gonna use on the front as headlights. they will be on a separate switch though so I only have to run em when there are no streetlights, so i dont burn as much battery.

hotbike

Here's the video. You can see the headlight hitting the road for the first twelve seconds, but then I pan the camera. I'm trying to get a picture of the train leaving the station, Glen Cove Station, on the Long Island Rail Road.


It is not fully dark yet, and the car headlights are pretty bright, but you can see the 300 lumens beam.

Burton

Kinda cool - alternatively you could key it into a sound sensor and a mobile boom box and run your own mobile disco!

hotbike

The problem is Wattage. These LED's use only milliwatts, the whole string probably uses only four or five watts. But audio speakers are going to demand much, much more wattage, like 35 watts each, or 75 or 200 watts before you get anywhere near Loud.

PS-I removed the radio from my bike, it wasn't worth the hassle, and it was a distraction.

dougmc

Be careful with those ... some of the LED strips I've seen don't last long when the voltage goes over 14 v (the alternator in a car tends to keep things right at 13.8v) ... and a 4s LiPo pack puts out 16.8v when fully charged.

I'd suggest a 3s pack instead -- starts at 12.6v, goes down to 10.8v by the time it's time to recharge.

Dead Roman

4 cell was a typo, Im using a 3 cell battery

hotbike

I like my 12 volt , 12 amp/hour lead/acid, on account it is 13.1 volts when fully charged, and is still 12.5 after a 3 hour ride.

dougmc

You probably already know this, but as a rough rule of thumb, for these batteries, 13.0 (or 13.1, it's a rough rule of thumb) volts means fully charged, 12.0 volts means just about dead, and it's linear between the two -- so 12.5v means about half charged. But the electrical system in a car is generally about 13.8v while the engine is running and the battery is fully charged -- but it drops to about 13.0v when the engine is turned off.

The problem with a 12v 12Ah lead acid battery is that it weighs 8 or 9 lbs. The advantage is that it's cheap, at least compared to the LiPo equivalent.

Dead Roman

lipos are less than 20$ I dont see any advantage to running a lead acid battery, except if you crash and smash the battery, it wont catch on fire like a solar flare. www.hobbycity.com has all the LIPO batteries youcould ever ask for at dirt cheap. I got the battery I am using on sale for 5 dollars.

Burton

Most LED lights require a driver or 'light engine' to operate and that driver has an input range. The LED's I'm using myself will accept anything from 9V to 50VDC which makes a 3S1P (11.1V) ideal. The initial voltage will drive them effeciently and when the voltage drops below the minimum 9V required, everything shuts down. Which has the secondary effect of protecting the Lipo cells from over discharging.

I went to Lipos because lead acid, besides being heavy, doesn't like heavy drains or deep discharges. The rated capacity falls off rapidly and they are only good for a few hundred cycles. Some people might be happy with that - I use batteries for multiple applications, some of which draw a lot of amps, and I want to get as long a useful life as possible - hopefully hundreds of charges at close to full capacity. So far, moving into the second year - everything still looks good.