The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014

diy

It seems getting a recycled junk 18650 with a Panasonic Shrink wrap is not the worse you can expect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOshOXcSkDA

On the "unseasonal" comment - Now is the time people, now is the time to consider your winter lighting requirements. In just 6 or 7 weeks we will all be wanting to dust off our lights ready for cold dark days of mid-week winter riding.

end of Aug early sept is the best time to buy for the winter.

bamba

what are you running atm , led wise ? im still using xml t6,are xml2 a worth while change,will i see a noticeable difference ?

diy

I will be ordering some XM-L2s as soon as I can get to a source of supply around the 2A mark. I'll be sticking with 501bs though. I have one U2, but it is severely under powered due to a crappy driver.

I'd like to try a direct drive option, but my best cells put out 5A and two parallel 18650s will flash the LED in an instant. I want to avoid resisters if possible, so will probably go with some variable input drivers.

I have yet to see anything options wise that beats the 501b for price/performance/flexibility.

jairaj

bamba wrote:

what are you running atm , led wise ? im still using xml t6,are xml2 a worth while change,will i see a noticeable difference ?

It's been a while since I read the data sheet but I think the XML2 is 20% more efficient than the XML.

So for any given current rating the XML2 will produce 20% more light. Or for any given lumen rating the XML2 will require 20% less battery power.

If you're using the 501 style torches you should be able to source a drop in to upgrade it rather than buying a whole new torch.

diy

There is normally less than £3 difference in price between the drop in and the whole light. So I tend to go for the light and get spares.

Thinking of using this to direct drive a couple of LEDs for the road bike. Should give me 500mA x 2 or 1A x 1 with a 10 hour run time at around 4-600 Lumen.

http://www.suntekstore.co.uk/goods.php?id=14002339

Ideally I could do with a 2A output.

bamba

that looks good, i was thinking about running from a battery pack where you can use your own cells,might invest.

jairaj

Are you using those battery packs because of lack of decent drivers? Any idea how good the current regulation on those actually is?

Also could you not use two 1A battery packs in parrallel to get the 2A?

john2002

i recently got one of these usb power supply. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190829067933? ... 1439.l2649 you can select 0.5A, 1A or 2A output.
not sure how well it supplys the selected currents. only £6.50..

broona

Strange question, but is there a simple solution to keeping the power cables on the cheap Cree XML lights (like these - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-XM-L-XML ... 4d0ea256c5) connected?

Went out for a night ride last week, 1 light on the handlebars, 1 light on my helmet, 2 battery packs in the back pocket of my jersey, and almost every time I hit a bump, the cables came apart!

I appreciate that I could tape them together every time I went out, but I was thinking that there must be something like a rubber band or similar to stop them separating?

diy

john2002 wrote:

i recently got one of these usb power supply. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190829067933? ... 1439.l2649 you can select 0.5A, 1A or 2A output.
not sure how well it supplys the selected currents. only £6.50..

Thanks that is exactly what I am after. I have a 5v 1A unit at the moment, so just need to test it on an old XML T6.

diy

Making a loop in the wire where the connector is and securing with a clip will probably take the connector out of tension.

john2002

diy wrote:

Making a loop in the wire where the connector is and securing with a clip will probably take the connector out of tension.

just what i was going to sugguest

prawny

What's the emitter de jour this winter? Looking at getting something dual led for the bars to compliment a t6 on me bonce, cheap.

Found this on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5200-Lm-2x-T6 ... 670wt_1170

Worth a punt? I know it's probably going to be nowhere near the stated lumens but I prefer the spread of the small bike lights over torches on the bars

RandG

prawny wrote:

What's the emitter de jour this winter? Looking at getting something dual led for the bars to compliment a t6 on me bonce, cheap.

Found this on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5200-Lm-2x-T6 ... 670wt_1170

Worth a punt? I know it's probably going to be nowhere near the stated lumens but I prefer the spread of the small bike lights over torches on the bars

I considered this, my issue would be how long the battery would last with the twin lights.

bobbygloss

broona wrote:

Strange question, but is there a simple solution to keeping the power cables ...... connected?

I just use an elastic band, larks-footed behind the connector on each side. Enough tension to hold the wires together but loose enough to unplug for charging.

broona

Bobbygloss wrote:

broona wrote:

Strange question, but is there a simple solution to keeping the power cables ...... connected?

I just use an elastic band, larks-footed behind the connector on each side. Enough tension to hold the wires together but loose enough to unplug for charging.

That was my latest thought, either an elastic band or an o-ring looped around the connectors, I was just Googling to see if someone already made something similar as I'm lazy, lol!

diy

That twin light job has smooth reflectors which aren't ideal.

IMO there is a lot of benefit in being able to independently adjust each light. e.g. one near, one far, wide angle, close angle etc.

Still need to avoid the nasty shrink wrap packs with rubbish cells.

my suggestions are these:
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf- ... ch-1-18650

Ouija

diy wrote:

That twin light job has smooth reflectors which aren't ideal.

IMO there is a lot of benefit in being able to independently adjust each light. e.g. one near, one far, wide angle, close angle etc.

Still need to avoid the nasty shrink wrap packs with rubbish cells.

my suggestions are these:
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf- ... ch-1-18650

Yeah, i always use independent lights either side of the stem as it allows more versatility. Though the wiring can be a pain on some of the separate head systems i have (less of a problem with the all in one torches). I also currently have a twin head system that i don't use simply because you can't have just one of the emitters on to conserve battery life, though it does have a brightness knob on the back rather than being limited to fixed modes.

If i was going to get another twin head design i'd probably go for something like this....



.. simply because each head as it's own power/mode button so you can run them independently of each other while only retaining one lead and battery. Putting a frosted lens or OP reflector in one of the heads would yield the best results as you could ramp up the brightness of one and decrease the brightness of the other to give a floody or spotty beam pattern as required for your riding environment... Good bar clamp too (no rubber rings).

Dawesy92

This is currently my light, its apprently 3600lm, i dont beleive its that much but it is bloody bright, holds charge well, on full power bettery lasts about 2/3 hours, can run it with the middle light on its own, the two outer ones only or all 3, the 2 side bulbs do create a floodlight effect. Also made a mount for it at work!

wormishere

Ouija wrote:

diy wrote:

That twin light job has smooth reflectors which aren't ideal.

IMO there is a lot of benefit in being able to independently adjust each light. e.g. one near, one far, wide angle, close angle etc.

Still need to avoid the nasty shrink wrap packs with rubbish cells.

my suggestions are these:
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf- ... ch-1-18650

Yeah, i always use independent lights either side of the stem as it allows more versatility. Though the wiring can be a pain on some of the separate head systems i have (less of a problem with the all in one torches). I also currently have a twin head system that i don't use simply because you can't have just one of the emitters on to conserve battery life, though it does have a brightness knob on the back rather than being limited to fixed modes.

If i was going to get another twin head design i'd probably go for something like this....



.. simply because each head as it's own power/mode button so you can run them independently of each other while only retaining one lead and battery. Putting a frosted lens or OP reflector in one of the heads would yield the best results as you could ramp up the brightness of one and decrease the brightness of the other to give a floody or spotty beam pattern as required for your riding environment... Good bar clamp too (no rubber rings).

Just been looking at this - they can be had for £39.99. From what I have read on here they seem to be quite good - but then I never knew there was as much to understand before I bought a light. Is there anything in there that would make you think twice or should I just take the plunge?

diy

reflectors
adjust-ability
crap batteries
may not be that bright due to driver.
but you could do a lot worse for the money

john2002

it looks ok, just check what size the clamp is if it will fit your handle bars (it doesnt say in the description). also keep in mind that you cant adjust the postion of the lights independently.
i would prefer a couple of tourches.

wormishere

diy wrote:

reflectors
adjust-ability
crap batteries
may not be that bright due to driver.
but you could do a lot worse for the money

Cheers, so are you saying that these are known problems with that unit or just potential problems? I have the oversize bar size so again that could be a problem.

I have looked at the recommendations regarding the torches from Deal Time with the batteries etc but it sounds like postage can be quite an issue and I could do with them sooner rather than later. It does sound like torches are the way to go so I think I just need to take the plunge with them. Do you have any convenient links to eBay set or should I just trawl through.

Really sorry to trouble you but the help is much appreciated. If a job is worth doing it is worth doing correctly so I would just like to ensure I get the right product/s, but with so much information spread out over these threads it is great when someone who knows can offer some advise!

bartimaeus

diy wrote:

my suggestions are these:
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf- ... ch-1-18650

Curse you! I was trying to avoid buying any new lights, but for a tenner I just could not resist a better light for my lid. Any idea what current each mode draws?

diy

@Bartimaeus Nope and I have never had 3 the same anyway.

@wormishere this time of year you could probably get them in 2 weeks.
If you go with one of the USB power supplies I linked to earlier you have a useful tool doubling up as a charger.
helmet mounting is a doddle and there are plenty of options for bar mounts.

Most of my night riding is on my road bike now as I ride solo a lot and I just use innertubes to attach the lights to my aero bars. 2 of the above on medium or low is perfect for road and 4 is over kill for off-road. even on medium most of the time (which will give me 3 hours easy). Then you just carry a couple of spare cells or even spare torches and you are covered for the ride to and from the woods.

the 8.8Ah pack in your link is pretty avg. given a decent quality 18650 will push 2.5 or 2.8Ah (each) without any problems

Greer_

What's the best way to make a spotty light more floody? If you know what I mean! I currently have a light like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330958001861 and I'm thinking about getting another so i can mount one on the bars, the other on the helmet. I've read about frosted tape but can't find anywhere to buy it? Or if you know of a lighter, better (yet cheapish) helmet mounted light it would be appreciated - it needs to have a burn time of 2 - 3 hours without needing to change batteries though, which is why I like the light linked above.

Cheers, Adam.

diy

Any sticky tape (opaque if possible) will work. As will taking a drill to widen the hole in the reflector. the other option is so put a light coating of Vaseline on the lens (the old photographers soft focus trick).

Greer_

Cheers! I'll give it a go once the dark nights are back!

diy

These are also fine for helmet use and will give you the run time you want on medium or low:

http://dx.com/p/ultrafire-wf-501b-cree- ... 650-223254

http://dx.com/p/ultrafire-wf-502b-cree- ... 650-202250

http://dx.com/p/uitrefire-wf-501b-cree- ... 650-198222

wormishere

diy wrote:

@Bartimaeus Nope and I have never had 3 the same anyway.

@wormishere this time of year you could probably get them in 2 weeks.
If you go with one of the USB power supplies I linked to earlier you have a useful tool doubling up as a charger.
helmet mounting is a doddle and there are plenty of options for bar mounts.

Most of my night riding is on my road bike now as I ride solo a lot and I just use innertubes to attach the lights to my aero bars. 2 of the above on medium or low is perfect for road and 4 is over kill for off-road. even on medium most of the time (which will give me 3 hours easy). Then you just carry a couple of spare cells or even spare torches and you are covered for the ride to and from the woods.

the 8.8Ah pack in your link is pretty avg. given a decent quality 18650 will push 2.5 or 2.8Ah (each) without any problems

Thanks for the advise - I took your advise and went for these (x2):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321166361935? ... 1439.l2649

these to hold them to my bars:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320964788440? ... 1439.l2649

and these to power them:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190817721915? ... 1439.l2649

Yes it cost a little more than buying from foreign sellers but they will be with me on Monday.