Homemade *bright* LED light setup

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by Grandad

I am just wondering if I am wasting my time. It might have been easier and cheaper to modify an existing led lamp.


I have just found this lamp at £4.26 plus postage and others here.
They run on internal batteries but could probably be modified.

I don't know what the quality is like however. Anyone else used them?

I've just recieved the set I ordered, front and back lights for £6.50 INC p&p.
The back one is a simple 5 LED flashing light the button cycles through about 10 flashing sequences so you can even have a Knight Industries Two Thousand effect if you wish. It has what seems to be a waterproof seal and feels quite strong.
The front one has four modes - 10, 27 or 56 LEDs lit and all flashing. 10 LED mode is bright and glaring and suitable for lit streets so I'm guessing the 56 LED mode is good for off road although the beam may be a bit too focussed. My guess is that it gives off about the same amount of light as a 10 watt low energy bulb, difficult to guage as it is a focussed beam. It is slightly sturdier than I expected and should cope with a couple of falls to the floor, it say water resistant but I'm going to seal the lens and put tape around the joints then it should be fine.
The rear light takes 2 AA cells and the front takes 3 AA cells, should be easy enough to wire into the bike as the battery box can hold the extra electronics. I'm not going to bother yet as it may not be much hassle using rechargeables.
In all this is a very cheap and easy way to get bright lights on the bike, but not with the satisfaction of having done something special.


EDIT:
The front light is OK but not amazingly bright, in the dark through Greenwich park I could see about enough to ride at 10mph safely. As I ride through there at 30+ I need to go back to the drawing board and no, I'm not slowing down.

[SEATALTEA]

76 Bike Led

$14 - £7 delivered from Hong Kong

http://www.ledshoppe.com/Product/ledp/LP3025.htm

I now have the cheaper (£6) smaller 37 Led version fitted to the Mistral

http://www.ledshoppe.com/Product/ledp/LP3018.htm

Not home made but a lot less hassle.

[Haku]

Pre-made LED cluster lights are an easy way of having a bright front light on your bike, but because they use cheap 5mm LEDs the beam spread will mostly be quite narrow and give you a spotlight effect, the 5mm LED in my PhotonLight torch has a really nice smooth beam spread but because it's made by Nichia it's not cheap or easy to get hold of, whereas the cheap 3mm LEDs I bought off eBay have a beam spread similar to the Nicha one and are perfect for night cycling when you have a large cluster of them.

I still have my old 17x 5mm LED bike light so sometime I should really take a photo of the beamspread compared to my 60x 3mm LED bike light in 60 & 18 LED modes.

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by Haku

Pre-made LED cluster lights are an easy way of having a bright front light on your bike, but because they use cheap 5mm LEDs the beam spread will mostly be quite narrow and give you a spotlight effect,

It does but instead of having a quality reflector behind the LEDs there is a piece of what looks like kitchen foil and this scatters the light quite nicely.

[Crawf]

I wanted some lights that would get noticed so use this Xenon Strobe in RED with the top pointing directly towards the vehicle behind. The great advantage is that they can be seen from the side so effectively making the bike visible through 180 degrees. They can be sourced from maplin for £8.99 - I got mine from somewhere else cheaper but can't remember where!

Working voltage: 12Vdc
Supply current: 180mA
Power output: 1W
Flash rate: 2Hz (approx)
Overall size: 70mm dia. x 44mm high

Picture shows blue version which would not be legal.

Dave

[Gyro]

Am I correct in thinking that in British law cyclists should be displaying permanently on lights after lights on time? and that flashing ones only do not comply with regulations. I heard a rumour somewhere that flashers should only be displayed along with fixed on lights!
Any further info???

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by Gyro

Am I correct in thinking that in British law cyclists should be displaying permanently on lights after lights on time? and that flashing ones only do not comply with regulations. I heard a rumour somewhere that flashers should only be displayed along with fixed on lights!
Any further info???

I read this as well, British standards recognise LEDs and flashing lights but British law demands a steady filament bulb - LEDs are not acceptable.

[iaing]

Originally Posted by Mussels

I read this as well, British standards recognise LEDs and flashing lights but British law demands a steady filament bulb - LEDs are not acceptable.

Nice to know I was not completely daft buying LED flashing lights (Blackburn Quadrant & Mars 3.0) to add to the steady lights that my Tasman came with.

Iain

[john]

Originally Posted by Mussels

I read this as well, British standards recognise LEDs and flashing lights but British law demands a steady filament bulb - LEDs are not acceptable.

That is no longer the case, the law was amended in 2005. LED's and flashing lights are now allowed.
See: Lighting Regulations