The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014
Comments
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Thanks, where did you find beam deflectors with the frenzel section? I can only find the eurolite ones where I can't make out any frenzel areas0
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This is my modified 501b. I think it needs trimming a little & the bottom couple of lines "removing"
Used something like this :
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEADLAMP-BEAM ... SwUuFWzebT
You need to put a marker at the top of the light so it gets mounted on the bike the right way round!
All credit goes to Ouija for the idea & instructions
There is no secret ingredient...0 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nMIhShd78g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK1upvC6Ps0&t=1s
my action cam is cheap rubbish mind so naff in the dark
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there is 1 xhp 50 and 2 xhp 70 leds and i just removed the shite that was in the motor bike light that was a 3w 300l led and put those in it.
for now im using a buck converter for the driver with 4 18650 cells, i have some Panasonic 3400 tested cells to run them from tho i just use the pink ones for testing.
cost was cheap
bike light 9 quid from china.
boost converter 3 quid.
xhp70 11.53
xhp50 6.58
there is a driver for the 6v version of the xhp 70 and it is 10 quid 0 -
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OK, so my favourite light (quite old but has a really good throw due to well focussed beam) had an accident - the screw holding it onto its mount came loose & the head unit cheerfully flew off into the road at 30mph or so. Sorry about slightly poor image quality but hopefully it'll do.
Can any of you technical hotshots offer any clues as to where I should try soldering the wires back on?0 -
I think they would have come from the other side of the circuit boardbompington wrote:OK, so my favourite light (quite old but has a really good throw due to well focussed beam) had an accident - the screw holding it onto its mount came loose & the head unit cheerfully flew off into the road at 30mph or so. Sorry about slightly poor image quality but hopefully it'll do.
Can any of you technical hotshots offer any clues as to where I should try soldering the wires back on?0 -
??
The other side of the circuit board (still) has the connections to the emitter itself. The detached wires in my picture are the battery cable - are you saying that they should also be attached on the other side?0 -
The battery connections have broken off, there are no signs of where they would be attached on that picture, you would normally see a few bits of wire sticking up where they broke off, hence probably on the other side. External cables on a circuit board are normally all taken off on the same side0
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Any thoughts on one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01HHW77PE
Been using a couple of torches, one on my bars and one on my helmet but wouldn't mind something a bit brighter for night time mountain biking.0 -
Read the Amazon reviews, there are some scary stories of batteries and chargers blowing up0
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Hmm, yeah that is worrying. I actually linked to a different listing than I first looked at, same item but under a different name. It didn't have the exploding battery reviews. Seems the light is good but the battery isn't.
So should I cancel my order and buy something else, try it and charge it outside, or get a better battery for it? Which is what I did with my torches, 2 batteries cost similar to my torches with cheap batteries.0 -
Well I kept the lights. They're very bright, much better than my single torch and light up the woods very nicely.
Think I might get a better battery for it though just in case. Any recommendations for either a waterproof case which I can put my own batteries in or a waterproof battery pack?
Think I should only need 2 cells in it as it doesn't need to last long.0 -
How good are the Magicshine MJ900?
They are in my price range.0 -
Ross Gardner wrote:How good are the Magicshine MJ900?
They are in my price range.
My wife has one, It is fairly powerful light. But compared to my MJ 858 which is £5 more it has a narrower and less punchy beam, not really been very impressed to be honest.0 -
my stripped and polished push-iron http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=127542860
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bompington wrote:??
The other side of the circuit board (still) has the connections to the emitter itself. The detached wires in my picture are the battery cable - are you saying that they should also be attached on the other side?
I'd try C2 and the blob below U99200 -
Just curious - has anyone hard wired an XHP50 directly to a 2A USB. minimum voltage is 6v, but I'm wondering if it would work at 5v driver less.0
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Wow, cant Believe this thread is still here. Stopped doing DIY lights about 2011 and now just bang on my Six pack and Equinox and never worry. Glad to see your all still pushing the boundaries and following the new LEDs, i remember going on the cree website looking for News of New Spec LED's. After the P7 and MCE made life easier.0
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The nights are drawing in again now, time to dig up the lights thread.
Has anyone got a good design for a homemade 4 x 18650, 8.4V battery pack with cable, that I can take the cells out of daily for charging? Needs to be waterproof and reliable.
If I use single battery cases, is any circuitry needed, or can I just connect them 2 series 2 parallel and plug directly into the light?0 -
You can get battery cases for your own cells.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-8-4V-4x-186 ... 20154797670 -
2/3s of the junior Bomps have gone to the bigger smoke for uni, so they can no longer use the family light pool: so has anyone got any suggestions for cheap, bright-ish lights? I'm thinking single 18650, maybe USB chargeable, easy to remove (or very, very hard) as they're in Glasgow.0
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What's the latest on the old cheap lights then? Has the big lights thread been updated with the latest LED options? Am I right in thinking T6 torches are the way to go?
I've got all the battery charging units for the batteries so just after couple of torches for the lid and bars, I think...
Cheers0 -
What's the current 'go to' for value single battery 18650 torches and handlebar mount? Just needed for commuting, so bright enough for unlit roads (and potentially easy trails) but not needed for full on night MTB riding. Need to be easy to remove so can take with me when parked up at work/meetings.0
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501b torches are excellent0
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fossyant wrote:501b torches are excellent
and sourced from where (somewhere reputable, with reasonable delivery time)?
And a suitable mount for the handlebar?0 -
Whats the latest LED? This used to change every year - I think the last time I looked, XML had become XML2 and even that was beng replaced by XPE?0
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Doesn't look like much has changed this year since the general move from CREE XM-L2 and CREE XP-Ls to XHP50/70. The problem with those still seems to be the price. XM-L2/XP-L are still coming in around £7.50 for a single cell, bar mount and head mount unit.
Mounts - still using innertube rings on the bars, which works fine.
I did notice a few lights have magnetic dimmer/drivers rather than modes. Not sure how they work yet.
I did spot some Tesla-like cell holders on ebay which would help anyone who needs to assemble home made packs.
99p
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from ... cer&_sop=20 -
Rather than build my own, has anyone got any recommendations for bar & helmet mounted lights on a budget (approx £50 per light)? I don't have the budget to run to Exposure & the like. I have looked at the Chinese imports on eBay & Amazon, but am unsure what the brightness & reliability would be like, so am looking for recommendations.
Ta."There's a way of transferring funds that is even faster than electronic banking. It's called marriage."
James Holt McGavran0 -
The cheap 501bs with the up to date LEDs are fine and pretty reliable.
http://gb.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf-5 ... gLJ2fD_BwE0
