Anyone made their own. There are quite a few online how to's and I know it works. Just wondering if anyone has tried it.

https://www.dansworkshop.com/Monster%...%20Light.shtml

Don't worry I'm not going to use that huge battery. I've found one that's only 3.7 pounds and re-chargeable.

I made one almost just like this, I used a 1 1/2 inch under the sink fitting with a screw on end for the housing and a sealed 12v Lead battry. I used two pipe clamps to hold the housing to the bars also.
One thing I would point out is that NiCad and NiMh can be fast charged where LA can not, and you can buy chargers that will charge them with out over charging if you do a little homework on charge rates and delta peak charging of the NiCad and NiMh battries.

Yes, I constructed a very similar light. I used the housing from an Irritrol CR500 sprinkler head as the housing. It fits like it was made to hold the MR-16 halogen 20 watt spot light. It works VERY well.

Okay, here's the plan. Cheaper than I've been able to come up with from the first design. The batteries and charger are the two most expensive things.





Switch from Radioshack along with most of the connectors. The light can be changed to any 20W MR-16 halogen and I think I can mount that to my bike better than a home made. So if anyone else wants the plans after I'm done and do some tests with it I'll be happy to send them to ya.

Are those sub C or D cells? You should get a good long run time out of those cells. Niterider gets 3:30 at the 6 watt level with 4 or 5 AA cells.

Have fun developing this system, it looks interesting.

They are sub-C. I'm not exactly sure what that is. They are 1.2V 4Ah batteries. They say 4000mAh, but everywhere I've read say you divide by 1000 with mA and you get amps. The best designed DIY headlight was made of PVC. I went to the local hardware store and spent about 45 minutes looking at piping. None would come close to the correct type of material that I liked. Then I got onto Home Depot's website and found the light. I figured that if I could find a pre-assembled something it would hold out better. I'll try and take some pictures once I'm done.

i did something simliar last year and have been very happy: bought a pre-built lamp-housing, a smart charger and built my own NiMh battery pack.

lamp: 20W spot - about $30 with bulb
5x size D 1.2V NIMH 7000mAh batteries = 6V and 7Ah
P = I x V
so (Current) I = P/V = 20W/6V = 3.33A (under ideal conditions)

with Capacity=7Ah, Time = Capacity/Current = 7Ah/3.3A = 2.1 hours = 2 hours, 6 minutes running time

as NiMH batteries are relatively light (not as light as Lithiom Ion) - it's not bad - i through the battery pack in my backpack and built a cable to the lamp which is mounted on my helmet.

i bought a good charger for about $45, batteries were like $70 i think, so all in all it was a little under $150 - cheap compared to a Nightrider or the new Cateye or the other high-power systems (yes, you can get a 1hr system for like $100)

i also have a 5W lamp/bulb that i hooked up to give a longer running time, but i rarely use it as most of my night rides are either 1-2 hour solo rides or group rides of 2-3 hours where i can turn it off for a few minutes and have not yet run out of light (2 weeks ago i hit around 2:05 and expected it to go out, but it did not) --- i may change it to a 10W bulb, so i can choose between 10W, 20W or 30W...

buying a pre-built lamp is a decent idea as it is important to a) dissapate heat effictively so you don't melt anything, b) keep water out, c) not have any vibration --- and for $20 to $30 a pre-built is worth it in my eyes unless you just want the satisfaction of building it all for yourself.

my next step (if i ever get time) will be to add some white LEDs so i can switch to "save power, but be seen" mode to increase my battery time.

P.S. yes, 1A = 1000mA --- with what you listed above with 12 1.2V 4000mAh batteries, you have 12V at 4Ah, so for 20W you need 20W/12V = 1.67A ---> time = Capactiy/Current = 4Ah/1.67A = 2.4 hours = 2 hours, 24 minutes

*--- note this is the ideal time which is greatly reduced if the batteries are COLD and the battery capacity also reduces with time (Lead Acid much more than NiMh) --- so try putting the batteries in a backpack if you ride in cold temps (cold = less than 40F)

** PPS sorry i studied electrical engineering so hopefully i didn't use too many "unknown" terms here - i tried to explain abbreviations

No that's okay. I have a basic knowledge of electrical terminology. That gives me an idea of about how long my batteries are going to last me.

I got it finally fitted last night and running. Took about a 15 minute ride through some of the more darker areas in my neighborhood. Works wonders over my old light. I have a 40 degree flood, which covers most of the road in front of me and looks down quite a ways. I bought a 1.5A trickle charge 12V charger. It takes a while to charge but an over night is good. On top of that it has an auto shut off when the battery is charged, to prevent overcharging. I've heard that NiMh have a tendency to go bad due to over charging. The batteries have a weight of only 2lbs and the light is super light.

The best part is the batteries side by side all fit perfectly into a 3X5 card box that is plastic.

I'll get some pictures soon.

You can duct-tape to your bars one of those million or 1.5 million candlepower flashlights from the discount store. Some are rechargeable. If you like you can devise a more readily detachable mounting system.

Is there a purpose for this.

Hy guys,
By far, the best site I've found on the topic is here:
https://nordicgroup.us/s78/
My plan is to get the 20W eagle eye driving lights, use one of those. I'm also going to order the $44 charger (I considered making one and I actually even ordered samples of some Maxim ICs). Two 10xAA holders, put connectors on those guys that match the connector going into the battery charger. Make a Y cable so you can use both battery packs, or just one. Mount one of the 20W Eagle Eye lights up front, get a seat bag to put the battery pack(s) and switch in, put some velcro on the back of the seat bag (flexibility), and attach a xenon strobe by velcro. Very simple and it should work well. You might want to re-consider using AAs because they are so much cheaper - you can find 10 packs of 2000mAh AA's for $9 online. Check out that page, it's a really great page.
Also, if you need discounty type electronic components, a source he doesnt name on that page is jameco.com. Radioshack is usually a rip-off, try to find a real electronics store near you.
Good luck, I'll try to post pictures if I ever can get this going in the next couple of months.