In the interest of an accurate restoration, what was the favored bottle generator found on Raleigh (Sports) in the 1970's? What's the group's opinion of bottle generators by Union?

TSapp

In looking through the 70s catalogs I have (not a complete set), I don't see any mention of bottle generators until the 1980 catalog, and in that one Union and Soubitez are mentioned as "Ten-Speed Accessories" while just Union is referenced as for "All-Purpose Accessories." In the 70s, there was a battery-operated headlamp that fit the headset bracket on a Sports.

Neal

I have a bottle generator I bought in the early 70's. I know the date to that level because I bought the bike I used it on in 1972 and I used before moving to Cambridge in 1975. If I recall correctly it was a set with a headlight labeled Union, a largish taillight, and a generator marked Schwinn-approved. (I still use it occasionally though now with a halogen headlight.)

Bottle generators have been around for a long time, but in terms of the OP's question as to what would have been found on a 70s Raleigh Sports, from the Raleigh perspective, they might not have been typical.

Neal

In the 50's and 60's, I'm pretty sure it would have been a Miller. I don't know when they stopped making those. If you want a Miller bottle generator, pm me; I think I have one or two that I can let go.

I used Union dynamos for years, starting in the 70's, and I thought they were fine. I don't remember what headlights I used them with, though. I have a couple more recent Union headlights that I'm not using; the lenses have this weird shape that scatters the light in stripes that's really annoying. Evidently the idea is to make you visible to cars, rather than to help you see the road ahead.

Lights were not included with the Sports (but a lamp bracket was). Any bottle generator would suffice.

I picked up a NOS Sankyo bottle generator and light set (2 bulb chromed "bullet" headlight!) for a song on eBay and put it on my wife's Sports:

Understood. I just figured that though it might not have been a typical factory option, anyone who wanted one would pick up whatever was available at the local bike store.

As I recall, when I got mine there was another option. Someone, possibly Shimano, made a generator which sat between the chainstays behind the BB and bore on the center of the tire tread. The guy at the bike store seemed to think it was a better arrangement but it looked like a great place for it to pick up road dirt.

I had one of those, made by Sanyo. It was nice, but didn't hold up in the long term.

Union also makes/made a BB dynamo; I think you can get those from Yellow Jersey.

My Pro Tour actually has internal wiring for a bottom-bracket generator. No idea where you'd find one, but they must have been popular enough at some point if bikes were being built with holes in the frame specifically for them.

Both Soubitez (France) and Sanyo (Japan) offered bottom-bracket mounted generators. I've had the Soubitez units on a couple of my bikes for over 20 years now without problems. One is on my regular commuter bike that gets ridden in all kinds of nasty weather.