NeezyDeezy

How's a 20 watt 2300 lumen flood sound? LOL, I think they mean CP, but it is infrared, which is good.
https://www.lightbulbemporium.com/pro...asp?prod=S2631

Will anyone please tell me how to attach the optronic lights to my bike?
EDIT - I guess this is what people are using...? https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

but, this looks more convenient if I want to remove it and take it with me for when I lock my bike:

QB-90

Map tester

That is what I am using. I cut off the two tabs that would attached to the water bottle cage. You are left with a shallow u-shaped bit of metal. You can then use the bracket from the optronics lights (a deeper u-shaped metal bracket). I'll see if I can get a picture for you later today if you need it.

cuda2k

Just ordered my Optronics housings and 2 bulbs. A 20W Energy Saver in 8* spot, and a 20W 15* spot. I ordered from bulbs.com which has a $19.95 minimum order, so I threw in some uber low beam bulbs for my truck along with the order. If I'm going to be on the road after dark, be it bike or truck, I want to see and be seen!

NeezyDeezy

I think that would add a lot to the thread and help me out, thank you so much!

robtown

The optronics has a short bolt and nut that it swivels on. I got a couple used reflectors from the LBS for a buck each and used their mounts. It seems the LBS takes them off the new bikes.

This site https://www.bulbsource.com/soluxpricer.htm
sells 35w and 50w Solux MR16 bulbs. They range from the brightest - 3500K to the whitest - 4700K. I'd stick with 10 degrees for spot and 17 degrees for narrow flood.

NeezyDeezy

Yeah, I really am not about to spend 15 dollars shipped for a watter bottle cage just to mount my lights. I'll look into this LBS business, see if I can't find something that will be compatible. Thanks robtown!

kjmillig

Heeeeeeeelp!! For the life of me, I can't find an MR16 socket locally. I found ONE sourse online, but have to pay more for S&H and have to wait for it to arrive. Any suggestions? Radio Shack no longer carries them, and Home Depot said they don't have have them either.

LittleBigMan

I'd say "white," but I guess it all depends on what you are comparing it to.

One thing I discovered accidentally this morning. When I use the 20W and 35W together, the 20W dims a little. It might be because my battery is getting worn out, or that it's too small in the first place (5 amp/hrs.)

But truth be told, I never have needed the extra bulb. The 20W energy-saver seems to work fine all by itself.

As for attaching the Optronics housings to your handlebar, if you're not concerned about appearances, you might try a hose-clamp, using sections of tire-tubes to prevent scratches (you would definitely need some rubber tubing to cover the sharp end of the hose-clamp, you don't want that sucker sticking out where it might cut you in a crash.) Some folk might think that's too sloppy, but still, it's strong.

I like the reflector-mount idea, however.

M3ta7h3ad

Ebay mate. I bought my two ceramic MR16 holders for £3.50 I believe including shipping.

ken cummings

I got mine for $4.40 at a store that dpecializes in fancy lamps and decorative track lighting. There were scores of different MR16 bulbs and hardware to go with them. The backroom tech/salesman was facinated with my bike lights (MR16/NightSun) and was very helpfull. If no lamp stores nearby maybe find out where interior decorators get their wholesale track lighting supplies and try there. I have found that many stores that say For The Trade, Not for The Public are happy if you wave cash and know what you want in advance.

jeff-o

Sweet! My BuckPuck and BuckToot LED drivers arrived yesterday, and I have started building my next-gen lights. I'll post pics of my setup when it's finished.

Kotts

The early posts in this thread got me to considering building my own LED-based lights (yes, I've read all the caveats and "don't bother"s, but I'm a habitual tinkerer).

I'm looking at an array of (10) 125,000 mcd LEDs (3.4v @ 25mA), driven by a Lithium-ion battery pack that is rated at 3.6 volts and 1000mA. A suitable current-limiter will be included. I'll post results after I get it all together and run some tests.

If it works without letting all the smoke out, I might try a bigger array. (If 1.25 candela is good 2.5 must be better, right?)

Kotts

jeff-o

125,000 mcd LEDs? Are these 5mm LEDs? Where did you find these? Ebay, right?

Check this out: https://home.att.net/~ledmuseum/ledwht.htm

Anyway, by my calculations (based on research on the internet), with a 12 degree beam divergence your "1.25 Cd" array would output 39 lumens. That's... not very bright. However, if you calculate the output based on what the output of those LEDs actually is (33,500 mcd), then you get an output of... 11.3 lumens.

You've been warned....

ken cummings

Where can I get one of those arrays used in traffic lights. Especially one of the amber ones. I do not ming carrying a battery that can power one. As they are not so over-volted as the Luxeon 1, 3, and 5 watt LEDs they shoudl be far more efficient. The green lights around here are painfully bright so a pass there.

M3ta7h3ad

I dont think they are that bright @ Ken to be honest.

All the LED lights here in the UK have big "cowls" over them so you can see them in sunlight, and at nighttime they are shining out of a dark tube basically... with a dark background.

Old traffic lights used to light the road up as they went through a cycle, cant say i've ever noticed it with the new led lights.

M3ta7h3ad

Just looking at this myself, after making the halogen light set, its a wee bit bulky, and I think luxeon led's may produce better output.

But im wondering, why do you have a Buckpuck and a BuckToot?? they do the same thing surely? and can both power multiple led's.

robtown

I saw a used red traffic light - 8" diameter for sale at some site for $25. It required 120v ac current.

jeff-o

I have a BuckPuck to run two white Luxeon III LEDs at 700-1000mA. I have a BuckToot to run two red Luxeon I LEDs at 350mA. Plus, the whole shebang has to run off 9V, so I don't have enough voltage to run all three from the same regulator (voltage overhead and all that).

diff_lock2

So far i havnt found 12v 20 -25w halogen housings, such and gardening lights and what not, so i thought i might go with one 55w fog light or somthing like that for cars... i can get 2 but ill need an 8Ah+ bat and thats heavy. So if i run one 55w light and a 5-6Ah 12v batt i should get 1 hour run time, right?!?

jeff-o

Go to your local Home Depot and visit their garden lighting section.

diff_lock2

I will AGAIN! and AGAIN...

jeff-o

Ah, they don't have what you want then? Weird. Anyway, try online:

https://www.sunriselights.com/outdoor.html

Just do a Google search for outdoor lighting.

robtown

The 55w MR16 bulbs that came with my Optronics were yellow and I ended up tossing them. Get a Phillips high efficiency 20w MR16 - 55w draws too much current. The one thing I found about batteries is they never last even close to your calculations.
I bought my first set of 2 optronics housings from J.C. Whitney for about $22 shipped. I got a deal on several more off ebay. The only ones on ebay now are a 5-pack currently at $26 shipped.

diff_lock2

I know what i want. But i dont want to ship somthing worth 20$ from the states to finland... and shiping a few housing is prety useless for me. I might as well soder the batt leads right to the bulbs leads and slap a switch in there... but i want a housing in witch i can change the bulbs... and i havnt found any out door ones yet.


----

About the 55w light and Ah ratings. I think your right. So i might step down to <30w

jeff-o

Aha, you're in Finland! Ok, that's different. I suppose you could look for products shipped from elsewhere in Eurpoe, maybe the shipping costs would be lower. By all means, look for automobile fog and driving lights. These are available as after-market add-ons for cars. They come in losts of different styles, just make sure they use MR-16 or "H3" bulbs, which are both replaceable with lower-wattage bulbs.