Coming home late last night, we had all lights on in full UFO mode. 3 bikes: 4 led blinkies, 2 Cateye white 3-led headlights on blick, 2 yellow strobes, and my 25 watt halogen headlight and 8 led taillight. I did notice cars giving us more space. :D

I have been surfing some of the homebuilt led flashlight sites. They have some sources for very bright led components, like these luxeons. The appeal of high candlepower and low wattage is strong. I just don't quite see how it put it all together right now. I would be interested in whatever homebrew led lights anyone has, like this "spare rib" system.

As far as neon goes, I saw some neon wire lights for cars at Big Lots this week. Does anyone know how this wire works?

Map Testor

Guess a frame of reference is needed here. i.e., how many lumens is an average car tail light?

Back in 1998 I purchased a Niterider Digital Pro-6. The Lighting system worked great up until just last year. The battery pack is no longer able to keep a charge. Well, I took apart the water bottle battery and what I found was quite disappointing to say the least. To replace the batteries it would have cost about a hundred dollars plus shipping maybe, then throw in at least a week to two weeks for replacement from the factory. Anyway, to my horror there were only five 'D' sized batteries arranged just so to fit in the bottle type container. I believe that they are Ni-cads. Either they must be some special factory or industry spec'd batteries or I was really ripped off! I went to Radio Shack to find replacement batteries similiar to the ones I was replacing. I wasn't satisfied with the cheap regular ones, so I was thinking of using 7.2 volt battery pack used for radio controlled cars. Has anyone had any experience with this sort of thing or am I going to have to pioneer this thing and probably fry my headlamp. I'm a bit hesitant to do so on the account of using a higher voltage battery. Will overvolting the headlamp ruin the circuitry or processor? Also, what halogen bulb, if any, will work to replace the bulb currently in the headlamp now? If I'm able to figure out how to post pics, I will most certainly do so. Thanks in advance.

What did you expect to find in the battery pack? Most packs are built from standard size cells. batteryspace.com might be able to recommend something. Probably shouldn't stray too far from the original voltage, and make sure that you have the right charger for the new batteries so you don't ruin 'em.

If those are ni-cads make sure to recycle 'em.

I've read somewhere that over-volting will cause the bulb to burn whiter/brighter but also reduce the life of the bulb. Besides there will only be a 1.2 volt difference between the 7.2 and the 6.0v older battery I have also been considering putting two of these battery packs together, as in a parallel hook up to increase burn time. So two, 7.2 battery packs should double my burn time right? There is one thing I've just remembered, the battery packs are 'C' sized cells so that means less capacity compared to 'D' sized cells. Hhhmmm, perhaps I could put three 7.2 battery packs together to get the burn time I desire.

Whether 6V vs. 7.2V matters depends on how they set up the circuit. I would doubt its a huge deal, because batteries don't operate at a constant voltage anyway. The 6V pack was probably more like 7-7.5V when fully charged, and drooped down below 4V when empty. In between it lingered somewhere around 6V for a while, when reasonably loaded.

You could just put together your own set of 5 C or D size NiMH cells and get 6V if you wanted, which would allow you to use a normal off-the-shelf NiMH battery charger in which you could charge AAA's and AA's for other devices as well.

One of my 6v SLA batteries died recently so I went shopping for an upgrade. I found the following at Action Auto Parts in Olympia: 12v 12AH Motorcycle battery $19.95, plus on their "sale" table a 55 Watt halogen backup light $4.99. It is enclosed in a waterproof holder with an adjustable bracket. I just received 2 amber zenon flashers from All Electronics so I'm all set to build up a light box & long run headlight that can be switched between my Winter rain bikes at a total cost of $52.34 which includes tax, shipping & $1.20 core charge on the battery. It will be a bit heavy(10 pounds for the whole package) & I won't have time to put everything together for a few weeks but I will post my results when everything is up & running. Don

SoLoDoc, your battery pack lasted 6 years--that's very respectable. All batteries have a limited number of recharge cycles. I'd say your's was a good investment, as far as batteries go.

Don't be fooled by the humble look of a battery pack. It might look like just a bunch of flashlight batteries covered in plastic shrink wrap, but it's not about looks, it's about performance.

If you want someone who knows batteries and you don't want to wait two weeks for the factory, you might find good help at a retail battery specialty store* that can custom-build a replacement battery pack, and give you great advice, as well (Radio Shack is not in that league.) You might even want to go with a sealed lead-acid battery (which would require a new charger,) for a fraction of the cost of NiCd's (but it won't last nearly as long as your NiCd did, and they are heavier.)

The only problem with going outside the original company for a battery replacement is that it might void your warranty, but since your system is already 6 years old, I'm not sure your warranty is still good, anyway. But check with the manufacturer, just to be sure.


* Batteries Plus might be good, but service can vary according to location.

It's really not that hard, as long as you use similar cell chemistry, operate within the battery specs and use a charger that's appropriate for the cells (!!!) . But, if you don't remember your physics class it should be no problem to get a replacement made or off-the-shelf.

Exactly. Just because it looks humble, that doesn't mean it won't perform.

There is a bulb-life price for over-voltage operation, but since most MR-11 and MR-16 bulbs are inexpensive and rated for 3000-5000 hours you can still expect several hundred hours. Running a 6V lamp at 7.2 is 25% over which may be pushing the limit. You can let us know how it works out.

Got my light box up & operating last night & made the first commute today. The 55 watt flood type light is more than enough for the dark part of my commute. The 2 yellow xenon flashers are mounted front & rear. I also had a red blinkie hanging from my hip pocket & my usual reflective vest & ankle bands. The few cars that passed me on the 2 lane country road (darkest part of my commute) moved out & straddled the center line. Usually cars just zoom past with some giving a bit more room on my side. I put all on 1 circuit with a switch on the side of the box. I ran the setup on my ride home at lunch time & noticed some drivers checking out my setup. Put it on the charger tonight & the gauge showed 75%. Total burn time (including playing around & a short ride last night plus all the demonstrations for my co-workers this morning) was 45 minutes so it appears I might be able to get a 3 hour run time but 2.5 hrs seems more realistic.
The recharge time was 1.5 hrs at the 2 amp setting on my charger. The motorcycle battery is a bit heavy but it didn't affect handling & I didn't notice the extra weight on the 2 hills I climb. Don

Ollo Ollo,
Can you describe the physical and electrical setup of the box itself? For instance:
Is it mounted on your rack? How attached? What kind of connector/plug are you using at the box? Do you unplug the lights to plug in the charger? What kind of connectors have you used for making the other electical connections - Wires twisted together and taped? Spade connectors, aka, auto disconnects? Some other type of plug? Trailer plugs? What kind of wire - Zip cord? Lamp cord? Trailer wire?

Right now I have a combination of the above connections. I am pretty well satisfied with my setup overall, but I am always looking to improve the details.

Most of my bikes have racks & fenders. The box is a plastic Spin Doctor tool box that came with bike tools that now hang on the wall by my workbench. It is held in place on the rack with 2 bungee cords. I used 16 gauge wire from the auto parts store with all connections soldered & taped for now (later I will coat with liquid tape). I mounted a push type on/off switch on the side of the box. The wires to the headlight & front strobe are long enough to reach the stem with a bit extra & they connect there with spade type electrical connectors, I also taped them to the top tube at both ends. The headlight bracket attaches to the bar with 2 stainless steel hose clamps & the front xenon flasher is mounted on the reflector bracket which was already there. In order to transfer to another bike, I would unplug from the front headlight & move the box to the backup bike. I bought another of the 55watt lights since they were so cheap & plan to have it mounted on the backup bike so it would only have the headlight plus the xenon flasher on the box along with any blinkie I care to add. The battery measures 3 3/16 deep X 5 3/8 wide X 6 3/8 tall so that leaves most of the box for cargo if I need to carry anything. To charge, I just lean the bike against my workbench, open the box & attach my automobile charger to the battery terminals. This is a conventional lead/acid battery so if I catch a flat, I will have to remove the box before I lay my bike down to remove the rear wheel. I ran a piece of plastic hose from the vent tube through the side of the box. Rode it again today & had to demonstrate it to one of our attorneys who mountain bikes a lot. He was fascinated by the whole concept of a do it yourself light system that turned out so well. I will try to get a picture up this weekend. Don

Sounds great. Not too different from my setup except that I am using 35W or 35W equivalent lights. My box is Carlon 6x6x4 electrical box on one bike, and I am getting a Pelican waterproof case for the other bike so I can use a larger battery which is currently in a bar bag. I am using SLA batteries so I don't have to be concerned about which side is up. Do you know the brand name of the light you are using? Does it take MR16 bulbs (about 2 inches in diameter) or is it more like a sealed beam headlight?
Regards,
Raymond

Wow 55W flood! Cool! How about a few pictures of your new setup?

here are the pictures:
Headlight brand is unknown, store has a bunch of them loose on a table top labeled "55 watt backup lights $4.99" & the only I.D. on the whole piece is the word "top" on the glass. I'll ask for more details.
My bike is a Centurion LeMans $9.95 special from a local thrift store. I added an old set of Weinmann brake levers with mirror & a used set of Blumel fenders. The rack came with the bike. Cost of the light setup makes this a $65 bike which will serve a few seasons & help preserve my better bikes. Don

Ooops, 2nd try!

Number two

Number three

Number four

Ollo
How about a lot of technical details. Like what sort of bracket worked for the Floodlight. What's that blue bottle in Picture #4. Is that car actually backing up? :D

That's the great part! Look closely at the other picture of the light & you can see the bracket which came on the light. There is a Phillips screw attaching it on each side which can be loosened enough to hold the light while still allowing you to adjustthe beam up & down. Like I said, the bracket is just attached to my bar with a couple of hose clamps: just happened to have stainless clamps in my tool box. This light setup works like a Soviet block weapon, crude but effective! The blue bottle was mentioned by somebody else on this forum, its a "dry" type lube that contains teflon, available from Lowe's at a very reasonable(cheap, cheap) price. I've been using it for chain lube & seems to work fine, comes out liquid then evaporates leaving a dry lube behind that doesn't seem to pickup dirt as quickly as other lubes I've tried & also doesn't wash off right away in the rain. Look for it by their tool section where they have a rack full of various lubricants & grease. Don

P.S. The car isn't backing up, that's an optical delusion!

How did I miss this post!!

I love this stuff! , I have been running home mades for almost 20 years now.


Time for me to show off , But a little backgroud. at a Job I had many moons ago. we had a medical instrument that was hideous , and when all the sales Demos came back from the field they had to me made un usable . well in this instument was a 7.2 volt 4 Ah Nicad pack . They were going to have to pay to get rid of them instead My self and 4 or 5 others "took" them off there hands . so I started out with about 30 of these Packs , I'm down to about 10 now.

here was my first Light
using 2 - 7.2 volt 4.0 aH batteries . stated that isa Fog lamp with some angle iron and pipe clamps.
it started with a 55 watt Bulb in it butthat ate batteries just too fast , so It later became a 20 Wtt andthe tail light would be replaced by vista lights , other wise it is a trucks tail light .

http://www.nemba.org/yabbse/attachments/Im002422.jpg



Next I gutted a Cateye , and Put a 20 Watt Halogen in it , worked great in Cold weather . unfortuantly one warm March night it caught fire . I wish I had saved the rest of it ( the reflector and back cover were destroyed ) I actually ran with 2 of these on the bars 1 with a 10 watt bulb , and 1 with a 20 watt.

and they were powered with the same Batteries

http://www.nemba.org/yabbse/attachments/cat-i1.jpg

OK this was another early attempt to "be lit up like a cristmas tree" I still have them and they still work

http://www.nemba.org/yabbse/attachments/Im002417.jpg

OK this is one of my CUrrent lights .
using a low voltage light from Home depot with a 12 volt 20 watt MR16

http://www.nemba.org/yabbse/attachments/Im002424.jpg

Now this was a good idea but it had heat problems , an 12 volt 28 watt MR 11 , in a Piece of PVC , it suffered a Meltdown . ( this same bulb lived for a long while in a Cheezy flash light case till is finally melted it away. ) and it also put a good melt mark in my helmet.

http://www.nemba.org/yabbse/attachments/Im002423.jpg

This is one that works remarkably well
I Did not use those batteries ( those batteries are another experiment , using LI-Ion Batteris )
I carry with with me as an emergency light . it is a 5 watt , 6 volt MR-11 in PVC .
I can't say enough about this one it is good!

http://www.nemba.org/yabbse/attachments/Im002420.jpg

this is the one I used till Just recently .
it isa MR -16 20 watt , 12 volt , from a piece of track lighting ( bought at a yard sale for 50 cents )
I cut the tranformer unit off and strap it to my Helmet and Bingo. and it uses the same Nicad batteries

I used this in 24 Hrs of adrenilin this past june !

http://www.nemba.org/yabbse/attachments/alight1_.jpg

also Used in the 24 Hr race ( bar mounted ) 45 White Led's ( at this point it only had 28 LED's

I powered it with 2 - LI-IOn cells in parralel from an Old Dell Laptop. Works very good , But Chargin LI-IOn is a Royal Pain, that is it 's big draw Back. May move it to NiMH or Ni-cad.

http://www.nemba.org/yabbse/attachments/alight2_.jpg

and Now this is my Latest and greatest! an Ebay Special $5 for a Specilized Pro-view , which is a Bad system 12 Wat tBulb , Mad to be powered by 5 D batteries , well get rid of Batteries and use one of my Ni-cad Packs and wire it up Better , and Wa-la ! a Great system !

http://www.nemba.org/yabbse/attachments/speclight.jpg


comments ? suggestions ? questions ?

Splat,
I would love to have seen a video of the flame and smoke trailing behind you as the helmet light melted down! :D

Seriously, though, folks, did you assemble your own LEDs on that light? I just put a 48 LED MR16 replacement in one of my headlights. I will be trying it for the first time tomorrow and will post a report. It seems pretty bright but obviously weak compared side by side with the 35W I usually use. I am figuring it to be about like a 10W. I don't know if I can be happy with that for regular commuting, but it might be adequate where battery life is at a premium. I need to hook it up to a meter to see what it draws. Will report on that too for anyone interested.

:D Yeah I know! :D

Yeah and if only we could harness our "flame" stuff. NOW that would get driver's attention!
Ollo and splat Awesome setups!

Gotta get a move on...I've only started assembling the bike parts for the next light. I installed the rack (for tail light) and finished the battery bag. But Trek carbon 5200 doesn't seem to have any place to mount a light bracket below the handlebars.

Looking for a bracket that'll mount here (click to zoom):

VR,
How about using a "space bar", one of the little bars that clamp to the handlebar to provide more mounting space for lights, computers, etc.? Performance has their own brand and Nasbar sell one by Minoura. You can point them wherever you want up, down, straight ahead. Then you could mount your lights on them using whatever means you can create.
Regards,
Raymond

Hi there. Glad to see this monster of a thread is still going strong!

My Vistalite 2200mAh battery just died. It had been suffering for some time now, providing only 40+ minutes of burn time with a 10w MR11 halogen. So me and mechanically inclined friend put the old battery out of its misery yesterday, tearing it completely apart to see what it was made of. I was surprised to find only 5 cells inside the stick, as I always imagined Vistalite's "HOT" technology basically meant overvolting. Does not seem to be the case here, this thing provided the nominal 6V.

While we were at it we also cannibalised an old plastic frame pump, which is now being converted to a battery holder. I cannot use the sleek nightstick housing, because there's not enough room for AA batteries (rechargeable NiMH) I plan to use. Besides, the old battered Zefal looks ueber-geeky to me :D.

If all goes well, I will be able to velcro the Zefal into Vistalite's frame mount, use original wiring and connectors between battery and lamp, and as a bonus be able to charge each cell individually. This will hopefully increase battery life, as I now seem to go through 1 battery setup every 2 years or so (our cold winter may have something to do with this).

If this fails, I will try out a bottle dynamo / dynohub -setup. The dark autumn nights are already here, and currently I am relying solely on my backup white LED, so I need to get this done fairly quickly. Today I'll go to store to buy what little I need - a couple of rechargeable AA's, some sealant for housing and perhaps some wire. I'll post pictures of the project later.

--J