Just wanted to post some pics of my new light. Does this qualify me for "bike geek"?

Notes: Optronics driving lights, 20W spot, 20W flood, 7AH gel cell, Target box, misc parts from junk box. All told I spent about $85, including the charger, but not counting the front rack (I used the rack all summer for donut duty).

Last photo from the front about 150 ft away. Bright light is the spot, light to the left is the flood (or it may be a reflection), and the light above them is a dual beam 6V CyGlo for comparison.

http://www.tekisp.com/~gene/diylight1.jpg
http://www.tekisp.com/~gene/diylight2.jpg
http://www.tekisp.com/~gene/diylight3.jpg

It's true. You've been geeked.

How did you attach the box to the rack? I found that plastic boxes end up cracking far too easily when I drill through them and anchor them down to something...I solved this by going to outdoor conduit. See my setup on page 43.

Where did you get the 7AH gel cell? Are you happy with how it works?

I used 4 tie wraps. I'm really looking for some other more removable method, but I had these in the parts box. I lined the box with 1/2" closed cell foam, I'm hoping that this will reduce the vibration form the battery, and reduce cracking of the plastic.

I just bought the battery and charger at the "Battery Store". If I like the way the lights work I'm planning on an upgrade to NiCd or NiMH at some point. Not enough experience yet to form an opinion on how it's working. Only about 1/2 hour on it so far.

anyone here use the lightbrain and understand it? if so, I was wondering what the web page said about not being able to use a strobe with it. Is there any way around this, or do you need a seperate battery pack and fuse to run your strobe, or can you just run a seperate line from your batter for it? Im thinking I would just make a smaller battery pack for the strobe, as Im going to go with 12 volt strobe, and really dont want to send 14.4 volts into it.

Also, Im torn between going with a dual 20w and 10w or just going 2x20w with one spot and one flood, any suggestions? I have read most of the geekpages, but some are older and not sure what current thought is on the subject.

For the strobe, run a separate connection to the battery pack that bypasses the controller. The 14.4 volts won't hurt it.

I have a lightbrain that works well. I use a 18v battery so the (14.4 or 15.6) version 12v cutoff and other protections are moot. I have multiple optronics housings with 20w and 35w bulbs. The 35w are mostly various degrees K Solux - whiter light.
My advice is to use 8 - 11 degrees for spot and 15 - 20 degrees for flood. The spillover on even a 8 degree spot takes care of the first 10 yards.

Horn blows...
 

I finally got my horn to work by using a button that specified "low voltage." Scared the crap out of my kids when I tested it sitting in the garage. Now I'm a happy camper...er...cyclist. I still don't have pictures of my setup but will try to get those soon.

I finished my "new" headlight/battery setup today.

This is the old 2001 NiteRider NiteOwl light (10W, 6V) and battery.
http://home.mindspring.com/~rhorne/G...ight%20001.jpg

The "new" light (10W, 12V) and battery.
http://home.mindspring.com/~rhorne/G...ight%20002.jpg

The lights mounted on the bike.
http://home.mindspring.com/~rhorne/G...ight%20003.jpg

I changed the battery connectors to Molex. I didn't like the original connectors (in the second picture, above)
http://home.mindspring.com/~rhorne/G...ight%20004.jpg

The batteries mounted on the rack.
http://home.mindspring.com/~rhorne/G...ight%20005.jpg

The whole bike.
http://home.mindspring.com/~rhorne/G...ight%20006.jpg

I'll be changing all the white zip ties to black after my next trip to Home Depot or Fry's Electronics. :o

I'll probably use large hose clamps to secure the batteries rather than zip ties.

Very geeky Ron, we are so proud (sniff, sniff).

I was going to make a comment about the white zip ties, but you will be taking care of that issue soon. While you are out at Fry's, you might want to look at some of the black heat-shrink tubing for the wires on your stem--would make in blend in more and adds a bit of 'rub-though' protection.

kjmillig: glad you got your horn to work--I didn't know there were 'low voltage' horn switches. I scare myself all the time when working on the front end of the bike and I accidently hit the horn switch.

I'm also thinking about buying (if I could remember the soure) a small flat rack for the front of the bike. I saw one in a post on BF. The batteries would then be moved to that rack and all the wiring would be at the front. No more wires on the top tube, etc.

Do you mean something like this: Nashbar front rack
http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/NA-FRR.gif

Would something like this work for you?

Blast...no one posts in almost three hours and we do it at the same time.

cool, I was just posting about getting something like that to build my light system on. Do many others use that rack or should I just mount to the bars and forget about it?

I dont know how much weight will bother me at this point, as im already on a mountain bike with slicks. Im probably not going to notice much difference at this point.

Can anyone suggest a helmet lamp wattage? I have never made my own home light before, and am wondering if I should go with a really low spotlight or not, on the helmet. Can you get a 5 wat spot? or should I go higher?

Has anyone tried using a CFL light for a bicycle headlight? I am using a 50W MR16 right now, but using a bit less power would be nice. If anyone does, do you use an inverter and run the light at 120VAC or do you have a 12V CFL?

I don't think that a fluorescent light could be sufficiently focused into a useable beam. It could probably be done, but your effort would be better spent on more traditional lighting systems.

I'm not sure if this has been covered before... I have a Makita ML902 9.6v stick flashlight. It is very bright, probably equivalent to 15 - 20 watts of halogen output (I also have a 15 watt NiteRider but the battery won't take a charge; it's every bit as bright as the NiteRider). It runs about 2 hrs. off one battery, but I have 4 batteries = 8 hrs run time!

I need a light to use while I send my NiteRider in for repair. So tonight, using a hose clamp, I attached it to the finger of my front reflector bracket. I angled this a little, laying the flashlight down on top of the stem (the top of the light is approx. 3/4" up off the stem, the bottom of the light rests on the stem). I used a velcro strap to strap the bottom of the light to the stem.

I took it on a short 8 mile loop to test it out. It was flawless. I now have a very bright bicycle light with plenty of run time. I'm not sure how much the light/battery/charger would cost separately. I got it, a drill, two NiMH batteries, and the charger 4 or 5 years ago for $75.

I took the plunge and built up a home made lighting system based on some of the info that I gleaned from this thread. Powering a 20 watt light using a 12volt sealed lead acid battery. Rode it in this morning and the difference in light was amazing. The system is a bit heavy, so now I need to figure out an economical, lightweight alternative to the SLA battery.

lightweight or economical - pick one or the other

I went with a Nimh battery, and I can't say it was very economical... 14.4v 5amp $60, but it only weighs about 2 pounds.

Im looking at going with a 20 watt 10 degree spot with a 35 watt 24 degree narrow flood. The plan is to use the 20 watt most of the time, but add in the narrow flood while descending. I am also waiting on my xenon amber strobe to arrive. I have looked at various batteries, and will probably go with SLA for now, and down the road get the nimh 10 amp hour D batteries, when I can afford it. My question is, should I go with the old 8lb brick 10AH to run the system or drop 2 lbs and go with around a 7AH? I will likely lose 8lbs over the next month and a half, so not sure if carrying the battery will be that big of a deal. I already run with panniers and such, and did the hilly 50 miles at bucks county fully loaded, including my floor pump. :) anyone think it will make that much of a difference on a 10 mile hilly commute?

****Just noticed that the 8lb battery is 12AH**

Also, as I stated in an above post, I am interested in making a helmet spot. wondering what a good watt is for something like that, and the degree I should consider. I could probably make a small battery pack that I could keep in my pocket for that.

Alright, so here's some updated pictures on my build. I moved the lights to under the rack and also added the orange bungee which eliminates any rattling. I may try to located the rattle and proper fix it - but the bungee works so well.

Comments? Suggestions to make this better?

Go with the 12AH if you use the 35w. For your NiMh get a battery pack, not individual D cells. I believe the packs can provide more current adversely affecting their output life. They're also easier to charge.

...

Neezy

You said the weight of your 14.4v 5amp Nimh battery weighs about 2 pounds? The 5amp SLA battery that I've got is right around 4 lbs. So we're only talking about a weight difference of 2 lbs from one battery to the other? Considering it's installed on a 39lb hardtail mountain bike converted to commuter, pedaled by a clydesdale rider, I don't know if the 2lbs is worth worrying about. What are the other benefits of the Nimh battery packs? What do you need in the way of chargers?

Nimh packs are smaller, so you can fit them into spots on your bike easier, which also makes them a little easier to transport off the bike. You would need a smart charger designed for your Nimh pack as well, which are more expensive, but you want to get smart so you dont overcharge your batteries.

They are way more expensive, but there is a flexibility to them. If you want to overvolt, you just make your battery packs a little bigger(by bigger I mean overvolting for increased light), 11 or 12 cells instead of ten. You can also take more of them with you and make more as you can afford them. say you start with 5ah which is 2 packs of either 10/11/12 AA batteries. Down the road you could make a couple more and wire them in. With a Sealed lead acid, your adding another monster to increase it or dumping the old battery in favor of the new. Often, the Nimhs can be recharged more often, but im not sure of that completely. The big thing about sealed lead acid is its cheap, and doesnt have the trouble with overcharging like the Nimhs. Im going with lead acid, until I have extra cash to make the Nimh packs, but when you can afford it, that is the way to go.

If you understand them and now how to run a system with them, the lithium system is even lighter. Sadly, the lithium-ion can explode, but thats just a small thing. ;)

I agree with your assessment of the battery cost/weight. I am a Clyde too, and if I really wanted to lose the extra weight a SLA battery weighs over a Nimh, it would be cheap/better to take it off me! Anyway, my 5Ah SLA battery costs about $12.38, and the recharger is so cheap I have an additional one at work to recharge during the day. I always have my lights on during my commute, both night and day. After 18 months of use, I am finally seeing the battery lose it charge earlier soon than I like, so I changed it out for a new one. 18 monthes=72 weeks=360 weekdays=360 charge cycles/$12.38=$0.03/day cost for the battery, not counting charging costs. I recycle the old SLA. The only thing to remember about SLA batteries is to NEVER discharge them too much, and to recharge ASAP after using--so I have the recharger where I lock up my bike at home and plug the battery in at the same time. YMMV.

Sometimes I regret not going SLA, it's smarter from a cost/benefit standpoint.

Map tester, does that charger know when the battery is fully charged or do you need to use a timer to make sure it doesn't over charge it?

I'm pleased with my NiMH batteries, but when they give up the ghost a year or two from now I might give SLA a try.

you can get an inexpensive charger for SLA's that will let you know when its charged and even stop charging when it reachs its full state. Most of the chargers come with led's on them that change color during differing stages of charging. There is much less to worry about when charging your sla than with Nimh. With Nimh you need to spend the extra cash and get a nice charger to be safe.

OK who's up for being bright than the cars !

a 30W HID Housing ! yowsua!!! ( equvialnt of 100W halogen)

http://www.trailtech.net/eclipse_mr16.htm
$150 does seam a Bit much to experiment , Plus that is a Lot of light , but still the draw to it is immense