Anyway, I'm still reading about bicycles.
Over on the Treadly And Me bicycle blog they wuz discussing bicycle lights. I thought I would take the opportunity to recycle a couple photos, and add a new one.
On the front of the Jamis I have the 15 watt 12 volt sealed beam.
It puts out a pretty good beam, but I wish it was less "flood" and more "spotlight". I could run up to a 55 watt lamp if I could figure out the mounting and increase the size of the wires. Of course!
I also have a green "white" LED blinkie for the front, but I don't have a mount yet.
On the stern is the Radio Shack strobe, a big reflector, and the LED blinkie. The blinkie is a 3 LED VistaLite.
The VistaLite is in fact not working in this picture, it is reflecting the flash. I discovered the unit was apparently left on and the batteries are dead. I replaced them. As you can see the strobe is quite bright. I have had bicyclists come up behind me in the dark and say they could see it a half-mile away. I have had pedestrians step out in front of me in the dark, even though it was on. What can you do?
This whole getup is based on the Starlight 78 Bicycle Light System by Steven M. Scharf. I purchased the instruction manual from him a zillion years ago. He has since updated and expanded the design, and put it on the web.
The whole thing weighs probably ten pounds, with the big 12v battery. I could use a smaller battery, but I have a dream of mounting that 55 watt headlamp someday...
1 comment:
You're giving me ideas, Squeaky. I've just been down to my local electronic parts store to see what they've got. Now I'm just fermenting a few thoughts...
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