I think if I was going to do it again, I'd just buy everything from TrailTech. If you use their battery and lights, then everything should be good. Also, having dealt with TrailTech, I think they're going to be very good to people who have failures while using 100% their equipment. They understandably can't do many favors for people who are buying their bare lamp assemblies and frying them due to ignorance (like I did).

Anyway, I wrote up a page on the voltage regulator.
https://www.hauntedfrog.com/wiki/?VoltageRegulator
The regulator works but it's still a work in progress, it's not super-stable. The voltage goes up from 12.65 to 13.25 when the temp drops from 60*F to 0*F. I'll be working on that.

To be honest, it's probably too much work. I'd probably just go with a 12v or 13.2v pack in the future, or just buy a 100% TrailTech solution. By the time I got done buying a smart charger for my BatterySpace battery, I could have bought the TrailTech LiIon pack for the same price and saved a lot of time and trouble.

There is a drawback to LiIon; it works horribly at low temps, so I'd have to keep it inside my jacket. But I think I could live with that.

You're right, it's probably not worth the hassle to use the Batteryspace battery with the TrailTech HID. I've had good luck with Batteryspace Li Ion packs powering lights that I built myself. Thanks for the voltage regulator circuit. I just bought a tube of fifty IRF4905s which have an Rds of 0.02 Ohms, and this will give me something to play with.

20W MR-16 Bulbs. Those trying to squeeze more light should look at the Phillips energy saver lamps that produce 35W equivalent light for a power draw of only 20W. I have on in an Optronics driving light on my regular commuter. My favorite MR-16 though is the Solux daylight lamp, actual 35W lamp but beautiful white light almost like HID. I have one of those on my fixed gear secondary commuter. I prefer the simple roll your own light systems because it is so easy and cheap to replace parts and because...well, see my signature. I had a HID system, but the switch failed so I returned it. My $25-30 homemade is very close in light output with the Solux lamp. My commuters are not wimpy weight weenie machines so I don't care about a 4,7 or even10 pound SLA battery. Eventually I may switch to a 12-15 AH SLA so I can run the 50W Solux. Because I need it? Nah, just because I can. I use 54-LED truck brake lights on the rear. Hard to miss. With my light setup I feel safer riding in the dark than in daylight. In daylight I might get lost in the surroundings, but with the lights I have drivers can see me from a long way back.

The Phillips lamp costs about $10 and the Solux about $7. I have posted more complete descriptions of my setup a couple of times on this thread so I won't repeat it here. Every now and then I want to remind everyone of these lamps and the Optronics driving lights which, at $15 for a pack of 2 are perfect for homemade systems. I replace the stock 50W lamps with either the Phillips or Solux.

I made my initial trip to Radio Shack tody to start piecing together a setup. This particular Shack had 7 Ah SLAs for $14.99. One less thing to mail-order.

I'm trying to go barebones cheap, so I'm sticking with the Malibu outdoor light, and going with the Xenon strobe in the back. All of my night riding will be on well lit streets, so I'm more interested in just being seen. Big props to everyone in this thread for all the direction and advice. I've been off of my bike since the DST switch, so I'm really anxious to get my lighting system up and running.

Be sure to check out the comments at the bottom. The circuit needs work. In particular, I'd definitely recommend going with the programmable zener. As is the circuit is very temperature sensitive; even now when the ride in is a relatively balmy 27*F, the voltage goes up from 12.5 to 12.9 volts. In my freezer it went to 13.25. Still well within the operating range of the light, but there's no excuse for building a circuit that can't hold better than that.

I was thinking I may use this enclosure from RadioShack for my switch. and then thought it may be a good idea to put a voltage regulator in the mix. I'm not much of an electronics guy so what I'm wondering is would I have a heat problem with having the regulator mounted inside that enclosure? I should mention that I'm trying to make everything as water tight as possible...since i live in Oregon.

It's probably the diode. They make excellent temperature sensors. A TL431 or equiv. should give you better temp stability.

That box isn't water tight, but should be good enough if you mount it with the metal plate facing down. The 7812 regulator will handle up to 1 Amp with a heat sink, which will power a 12 Watt bulb, and it has about 2V overhead, so you will need to get at least 14V from your battery.

I got the parts!

Now the challenge is how to mount a 5in x 6in x 2.5in, 6lbs. SLA battery in a weatherproof manner. Any ideas?

Small Ice chest on your rear rack. Ask Zin.

WWW.TOURDEPANTS.COM

Seems to me only the connections need to be waterproof, maybe lube them heavly with dielectric grease?

I have seen this same battery at ny area radio shacks for $14.99. They must be blowing them out at all their stores -- a really great deal since you don't pay shipping.

That would make things MUCH easier, but then there's the fuse too. Not sure how weatherproof those mini-blade fuse holders are.

OK

So I worked this backwards. I first bought the Velleman strobe and began running it off a 9v alkaline. That got old fast. I also realized that my 6v 10w helmet mounted halogen was not enough.

I purchased this battery:
NiMH Universal External Battery, 12V 4500mAh + Universal Smart fast Charger

The Optronics driving lights and assorted connectors and wiring as described here: https://nordicgroup.us/s78/

I would like to run both a 10w on my helmet and a 20w on the bike and the strobe during the darkest part of my commute, about 1 hour now. I know that some of this has been discussed here but I would like it applied directly to my set up.

Please let me know what kind of run time I can expect to get. Thanks for the great info!!!

Kevin

Hej :-)



Here is an update on my light system.



As I coudnt find any MR16's with a narrow beam (yeah,I live in the ****y country,I know..)
I converted to dual MR11 lamps.


Flood beam is 20W and spot is 35W 8 degree spot.

The battery is still a small 1,6Ah NiCd donated by a cordless drill,
but I have a original 4 hour charger ..


With smaller lamps,it is more of a neat setup,
and it almost looks as a one from a manufacturer :-)
The battery is placed inside a small Cannondale underseat bag.


Will be adding a Xenon strobe at the back (as soon as I can find one in this godforsaken land..)
and a bigger battery.
I just saw a very cheep 3800mAh Sony NiMH AA's last week,so that might do the trick.

Riding with this lights makes me grin









mo pictures at: https://iralic.fotopic.net/c762805.html


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Cheers!

-------------------
Igor

"We cyclists,we don't have back wind,we either have a head wind,or 'we feel exceptionally fit today'.."





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##/->
(#)\ (#)


Pictures @ https://iralic.fotopic.net
HomePage @ www.geocities.com/rrralic

Hmmm .. WHAT update ? :-/


I've had a single MR16,changing back and forth from 20-35-50W,
but coudnt find any spot reflectors,so swiched to MR11's


It used to look like this:








Cheers!

-------------------
Igor

"We cyclists,we don't have back wind,we either have a head wind,or 'we feel exceptionally fit today'.."





~ ~ o
##/->
(#)\ (#)


Pictures @ https://iralic.fotopic.net
HomePage @ www.geocities.com/rrralic

I think I may have found a solution to my battery holding/mounting dilema:



...airtight, watertight, and only $6.99! Made by SnapWare.

Very slick, Igor. The shielded mike cable has a nice heavy duty look. With 20W + 35W I agree you need a bigger battery. Where did you get the lamp housings?

Thanks :-)


Yeah,heavy duty look of the mike cable and gold plated RCA's is exactly what I waned :-)

It looks like it is powered by a small nuclear reactor ;-)
It really "says" something like "caution - high voltage" ;-)

Housings are donated by a $1 Chinese hand torch,
bought at the local "everything for a dollar shop"

Then I've adapted them by cutting of the body (where AA batteries go)
removed its internals (plastic lens cover,lens,bulb,contacts..)
and slid the MR11'a inside,just a perfect fit.
The back side (towards the rider) of the housing is closed with a kind of a "cap"
made by cutting the end of the torch's body.
As the torch is made out of plastic,and has a rubber "suit" over it,
i fixed the female RCA's to the plastic,and then slid them into that rubber "cap"
and then after soldering,just putted the cap onto the housing.


The picture might explain it better:








The housing is made out of plastic,so light cant be left on for to long
while not moving,cause I'm affraid they could melt
But anyway,I'm allways on the move,so its not a problem,
and if I didnt melt that old one,with 50W MR16 reflector,
I wount melt down these

I'll change them for some aluminium ones,as soon as I found good looking ones
Must go to the Chinatown to search,they have milions of cheep torches.
My friend saw very nice aluminium hand torches that could take MR11 bulb.
He says they cost about $6-7,as thay are made with 15-20 white LED's

I'll check them out,and if they fit,I'll change this plastic ones.



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Hej :-)




I just did some night shots


Cat Eye EL-200 beam



35W spot beam - that secont tree is at about 30 meters distance




35W spot from 60 meters distance






More night shots HERE


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The housings look really good. It's always a problem for us homebuilders to find a cheap suitable housing. The first two beam shots are good, they show how bright the 35W spot is. The third shot needs something to compare, like a car headlight.

Yeap,I did compare it,look at here: https://iralic.fotopic.net/c762805.html

Even when I know how should i make a shoot,it is difficult to make one.
I must use my own car,which is standing still,thease were just cars that were passing by.

It's A L I V E ! ! ! !

After a horrendous night of traffic, sitting in my cage I declared enough was enough! I went home and slapped my light together, not a final assembly, but good enough for testing since it's not raining. It's awesome! I tested it with both the 37.5 watt and 27 watt bulbs last night. I ran with the 27 this morning an it was great. I started this project thinking I'd need a full hour of run time in the morning, but then my shift changed and now I can get by w/ only about 35 minutes before there is plenty of daylight. So maybe I'll be able to run my 37 watt bulb w/ enough battery juice to spare.

Pics will come after the final assembly is done!

Ride on!

[edit] Woohoo, page 39!

i mounted my battery out in the open, and it gets rained on some but has not seemed to matter, i built a bracket that mounts it in my water bottle holes

Sigh...

OPTRONICS!

https://www.optronicsinc.com/competition.htm

Why reinvent the wheel when these are so cheap? Look at the QH-8CC. They are small, look right at home on bike, handle a 50 lamp, are easy to fashion mounts for, and CHEAP, about $16 per PAIR. You can order directly from Optronics if you can't find them locally. 50W is more than most people want to carry battery for, so replace them with a 20 or 35W. They have slots for ventilation. I don't tape over them, but I do make a little "hood" with tape to keep rain from dripping straight in. This has worked for a couple of years, including some very rainy rides.
FWIW,
Raymond