Recent content by Alex Wetmore

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    solar lighting for a shed

    I finished this project and thought I'd link to it in case others are interested in similar projects: http://blogs.phred.org/blogs/alex_wetmore/archive/2009/04/02/solar-led-shed-lighting.aspx I'm pretty happy with the final result.
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    Sturmey dynohub + Leds - Am I missing something ?

    You don't need something as fancy as the CREE for a tail light. You can build a blindingly bright tail light just using standard 50ma LEDs wired in parallel. I've built a few of these, this is from my first one...
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    solar lighting for a shed

    Is charging in parallel and discharging in serial a good idea? It would be more difficult, but it is feasible. It doesn't seem like a great idea since the batteries could discharge at different rates. The solar panel puts out 15 volts and the charge controller is designed for 12 volt...
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    solar lighting for a shed

    I think my power storage is more than enough. A 12v/7AH battery is good for 84 watt hours. 10 1W LEDs plus a 80% efficient driver is about 12 watts of consumption, so that is 7 hours of light. Our maximum target usage would be 2-3 hours per day, so that is a lot of surplus. I am curious...
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    solar lighting for a shed

    I have, but it seems much more efficient to keep everything on 12 volt. The cost of an inverter ($30), a good (electronic ballast, reliable in cold) T8 fixture ($40), 2 T8 bulbs, and a timer switch ($20) is not much different than the cost of 10 1W LEDs ($40), a driver ($40), and building my...
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    solar lighting for a shed

    We have a new shed which doesn't have electrical running out to it. I want to setup some basic lighting in there. The commercial solar shed lights that I could find seemed to be pretty dim. I already ordered a 15 watt solar panel and a charge controller to charge a 12 volt lead acid battery...
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    Garden spike light to Bicycle light

    Single LED optics are usually around 24-26mm and Triple LED optics are normally around 50-60mm. There are many options out there though. It makes more sense figure out your optics than the housing. I wonder if a garden light makes sense though, it seems like there are less expensive ways to...
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    Let's design a road front light beam

    I think that is a good question. It is something that I've been dealing with in my own headlight. For homebuilt headlights it is easiest to do a nearly common diameter cylinder, and those get heavy when they are 50-60mm...even with a thin wall aluminum tube. I don't see any reason to mount...
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    Let's design a road front light beam

    I think they can be mounted on your stars. They won't mount on my 4-contact stars without modifying the optic. There are two cutaways for the contacts that will line up well with the contacts that you are using. The glue isn't real strong and I think you'd need something more substaintial to...
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    Let's design a road front light beam

    I spent some time last night browsing around for mirrors that could be used. I didn't find a perfect choice, but these guys have a lot of potential options: http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/category/mirrors_1.html My guess is that a ~70mm mirror with a ~15mm focal length would work well if...
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    Cable and switch recommendations for dynamo headlights?

    A single DPST switch with one pole for the AC input and one pole shorting out the ZXSC310's shutdown pin seemed like it would do the trick. alex
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    Let's design a road front light beam

    I meant the E6 lens and reflector unit that PJW sells. I have 2 of them (and just offered one to Eamon since we live in the same city) since my E6 headlight broke. I'm just stealing ideas from this webpage: http://www.enhydralutris.de/Fahrrad/LEDWerfer0402/index.html I'm also behind in...
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    Cable and switch recommendations for dynamo headlights?

    I do feel like I can feel the difference between On and Off with SON and Shimano dynohubs. It isn't noticable at normal speeds, but there is a small vibration or notchiness that can be felt above 20mph. Since I live in a hilly area I'm often going 20mph downhill. I also like being able to...
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    Let's design a road front light beam

    The eDelux doesn't have the same beam as the E6/Bisy. It is quite a bit wider with more scatter. I have the IQ Fly now and have been using E6 and Bisy headlights for years. If you think that the IQ Fly or eDelux is too narrow then you really wouldn't like the E6. I've also considered...
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    Let's design a road front light beam

    I've played a bit with that type of optic, but it doesn't do what I want. 3 of them stacked and aimed progressively higher might help. 25 degrees in the horizontal is more width than I need. 6 degrees on the vertical still either means the beam is bright too close to me or I'm wasting a...
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