I just spent the last 4 days reading every single post in this thread and viewing most of the homebrew light pics that people posted... and I have to say "Thanks!"

I'm getting geared up to start bike commuting again, and my commute presents some challenges. My ride is only 10 or 11 miles each way, but I live several miles outside of town in a very rural area. So the first part of my ride is on unlit roads that are not just dark... they are utterly blacked out after dark! When it's cloudy or moonless, the surrounding trees make it sort of like riding through an unlit tunnel. For these stretches I need light to see by... good strong light.

As I get nearer to my workplace, I'm faced with different challenges. I work on a military installation, so my lights must meet very specific guidelines. If you run bright lights on the base, the police tend to freak out and stop you every five minutes so that you can explain what the hell you're doing blinding other drivers. Most of the base is lighted very well with street lights, so I mainly need lights to be seen by.

The last factor is rearward visibility. Some of the roads that I ride have some very fast moving traffic on them... lots of shoulder room and extra lanes for cars to give me space, but the cars need to see me a long way off. I need to give them plenty of reaction time.

So you see... I was looking at buying 2 different headlight systems so I could turn off the high beams while on base... and some expensive tail light system for safety. I was looking easily at several hundred dollars. But no more!

I'm an engineer and a tinkerer anyways, so you guys have inspired me to make my own lights! With the stuff that is available out there today, I figure I can put together a system that does exactly what I need it to do for about $100 or so. I could probably do it for less, but I hate shopping endlessly for prices and components.

So thanks to you all... and look for me if you're ever out on Georgia's roads!

Bobby