If you think about it Tim, what you really want is this thing for dimming. Makes you invisible from just a few meters away. The review says it's real good.
And your current switch can't be beat.
And your current switch can't be beat.
Dyno powered triple cutter R2
- Thread starter znomit
- Start date
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You could put the bulk in from the top then cablefrom th bottom of the stem no drilling needed
formantjim
Newly Enlightened
Amazing stuff putting the electronics in the downtube and switch in the stem well done.
I have a quick question I too have the Qaud R2 and wonder are you driving all four from the dyno circuit?
If you are what is the current through the LED's?
I have a quick question I too have the Qaud R2 and wonder are you driving all four from the dyno circuit?
If you are what is the current through the LED's?
znomit
Enlightened
Yep all four in series (ktronik has 8!). Current ... from pilom.com it tells me around 500mA, over 600lm.
Enough light from walking speed, around 300lm at 12kph and maxing around 20k.
:rock::rock::rock::rock::rock:
kurni
Enlightened
Hello,
I'm not a regular visitor of bicycle forum, but I noticed the dyno-powered LED and immediately curious how one can capture the beamshot.
I really like your photo :twothumbs very nice night sky too; well done :thumbsup:
znomit
Enlightened
Thanks!
Usually people do f2.8 2s for beamshots to give a good approximation of how your eyes see the lights. Hard to keep camera steady on bike for that long! I have made a handlebar mount for on board shots...one day I will play with it.
For that shot I put the camera beside the road on a mini tripod. f2.8 and 15s exposure. Timer delay 10s so click...jump on bike, pedal up road, turn around and back past camera in time. Ride close to camera to light up the road really well. Probably wasn't going fast enough to have the light going full.
These next two are f9 because I was worried about the sky washing out under full moon.
Here I got chased by a car (lower lights). Top red is sl100 on helmet, middle is blackburn mars. Yellow is from dynolight.
See I need a bigger capacitor because you can see it pulsing! Or maybe I just needed to pedal faster.
And if you put your tail light onto blink it looks like battlestar galactica.
:twothumbs:twothumbs:twothumbs
trout
Enlightened
Hell znomit I never even noticed the switch in the forktube the first time I read this thread that is neat .
How have you preloaded the headset without the starnut and bolt
How have you preloaded the headset without the starnut and bolt
znomit
Enlightened
Troutie, bearing are set for now so ok. When I need to redo the headset I'll get a removable "star nut" replacement, takes 2min to get the driver out.
znomit
Enlightened
Latest update to the road light.
The circuit from pilom.com has two drive modes, 250 and 500mA, giving aprox 275 and 500lm. Normal riding on flat roads 275 didn't quite cut it, so the low mode only got used for low speed climbing and as a dip for oncoming traffic.
So, I figured with 2 more LEDs I'd run it on low almost all the time, less leg power required and have a huge boost for the downhills.
I also wanted a little more peripheral light as some of the back country roads I ride have really twisty downhill sections.
I was also bothered by the lack of standlight.
And so the penta light was born.
Running with circuit 10 from pilom.com again. This time I've used a three position switch, center off so one switch does everything.
LEDs are all R2s. 4 with cutter narrow optic and the 5th with polymer optic 6x25. The polymer optic led has a 1F supercap across it to keep it burning for a few minutes when I stop. Works kinda ok.
Same old trusty rectangular aluminium extrusion for a housing. Now painted black.
Same sized plastic box holds the electronics. This was a real squeeze so I went without a nice tidy circuit board and worked everything around the switch.
Different approach to sealing the ends. Instead of translucent orange epoxy I've used carbon fiber. I'm running a cateye LD1100 rear light now that had really good side viz, and I was hoping for less light in the cockpit to preserve night vision somewhat.
Been on a few rides and much as expected. This thing is damn bright. 460/800lm :rock::rock::rock:
Haven't needed the high setting except for when a tractor left clumps of dirt all over the road.
The standlight is ok. Ill probably still run a blinky. The 6x25 isn't that effective, probably overpowered a little by the other 4 and in retrospect maybe isn't needed.
Things I stuffed up along the way:
I sold my old light way before finishing this so had to resurrect and old P3 dual(200lm on a good night) for a few rides. :mecry:
Blew 5 R2s running on my dodgy power supply. Not nice. :mecry:
On removing the blown quad board I found it wasn't seated to the housing. I'd run out of AA so was using normal heatsink compound and epoxy around the outside. This has worked well in the past. For whatever reason the epoxy had flowed under the MCPCB, so there was a gap and no heat transfer at all! :mecry:
Took a few goes to get the carbon fiber right, mainly for cosmetic reasons.
The wires from LED housing to circuit box needed to be a cm longer, It was supposed to loop over the bars. :mecry:
Next up... MC-E light with gruntier standlight. Maybe next winter. Maybe.
The circuit from pilom.com has two drive modes, 250 and 500mA, giving aprox 275 and 500lm. Normal riding on flat roads 275 didn't quite cut it, so the low mode only got used for low speed climbing and as a dip for oncoming traffic.
So, I figured with 2 more LEDs I'd run it on low almost all the time, less leg power required and have a huge boost for the downhills.
I also wanted a little more peripheral light as some of the back country roads I ride have really twisty downhill sections.
I was also bothered by the lack of standlight.
And so the penta light was born.
Running with circuit 10 from pilom.com again. This time I've used a three position switch, center off so one switch does everything.
LEDs are all R2s. 4 with cutter narrow optic and the 5th with polymer optic 6x25. The polymer optic led has a 1F supercap across it to keep it burning for a few minutes when I stop. Works kinda ok.
Same old trusty rectangular aluminium extrusion for a housing. Now painted black.
Same sized plastic box holds the electronics. This was a real squeeze so I went without a nice tidy circuit board and worked everything around the switch.
Different approach to sealing the ends. Instead of translucent orange epoxy I've used carbon fiber. I'm running a cateye LD1100 rear light now that had really good side viz, and I was hoping for less light in the cockpit to preserve night vision somewhat.
Been on a few rides and much as expected. This thing is damn bright. 460/800lm :rock::rock::rock:
Haven't needed the high setting except for when a tractor left clumps of dirt all over the road.
The standlight is ok. Ill probably still run a blinky. The 6x25 isn't that effective, probably overpowered a little by the other 4 and in retrospect maybe isn't needed.
Things I stuffed up along the way:
I sold my old light way before finishing this so had to resurrect and old P3 dual(200lm on a good night) for a few rides. :mecry:
Blew 5 R2s running on my dodgy power supply. Not nice. :mecry:
On removing the blown quad board I found it wasn't seated to the housing. I'd run out of AA so was using normal heatsink compound and epoxy around the outside. This has worked well in the past. For whatever reason the epoxy had flowed under the MCPCB, so there was a gap and no heat transfer at all! :mecry:
Took a few goes to get the carbon fiber right, mainly for cosmetic reasons.
The wires from LED housing to circuit box needed to be a cm longer, It was supposed to loop over the bars. :mecry:
Next up... MC-E light with gruntier standlight. Maybe next winter. Maybe.
SAVAGESAM
Newly Enlightened
You do some fascinating stuff. Great work.
Out of curiousity, what's your typical speed riding on flats that you felt was outrunning the low setting? I remember reading before that you were concerned that too many LED's would end up soaking up wattage you would rather use for moving the bike.
Steve
znomit
Enlightened
25-30kph on the flats. I found that I was almost never using the low setting on the triple unless climbing. The low setting on the penta is about the same as the high on the triple. End result is I'm using the same power most of the time but have that extra boost when needed. I haven't done any serious hill climbing yet but it looks like it should be ok even at the slow speeds around 8kph. Im hoping I dont get used to using the high setting because you can definitely feel it slow the bike when turned on, with the triple it was hard to pick.
As I said I've been using my old 200lm light recently and have managed on that ok, but its always nice to have more.
I'm doing a 400miler in a few weeks and figure more light will help me keep awake through those nasty pre dawn hours and help to keep fatigue away.
Cool Is it a 600k brevet or something else? I didn't really start to appreciate bicycle lighting until I got stuck at the end of a double century without lighting for the last 15 miles or so.
Steve
znomit
Enlightened
Its a 640. Theres a century ride around lake taupo here in NZ that attracts around 10,000 riders and they also do a double and a longer one, usually 4 laps but sometimes 500 or 1000km :sick2:. The double last year was fun, lights ranged from nothing (car following with headlights) to a nice range of 300-500lm setups.
Yes I've been caught out without decent lights and had to rely on blinkies or cut short rides. The dyno stays on the bike now all the time. Thats why I'd like a smaller simpler one for summer rides.
POH
Newly Enlightened
znomit, Do you have a picture of the circuit you used for the dynamo?
I've read pilmo's site and being a newbie in reading electrical diagrams I'm confused by it.
I've read pilmo's site and being a newbie in reading electrical diagrams I'm confused by it.
znomit
Enlightened
I use circuit 10 from here
http://www.pilom.com/BicycleElectronics/DynamoCircuits.htm
Picture is previous post.
There isn't room to do a tidy circuit board in my box so the components are just wired direct between switch and capacitors. Kinda messy and complicated to wire up but my space is limited.
Circuit 9 is much easier to wire up but requires two extra capacitors.
POH
Newly Enlightened
Znomit, If I follow the pilom site and your picture correctly the resistors act as the bridge rectifier changing AC to DC? Am I following this correctly.
I'm toying with a circuit that allows me to use a home made dynamo (scavenged from a small electric motor from a CD player) I have the puts out approx 6V .5A. I wanted to try this out before I invest in a hub or bottle dynamo.
The circuit would run a Luxeon K2 LED. At .5a it won't be super bright (100lm) but it will allow me to prove things out enough to make up my mind to switch one of my lights over to dyno-power from battery pack.
I'm toying with a circuit that allows me to use a home made dynamo (scavenged from a small electric motor from a CD player) I have the puts out approx 6V .5A. I wanted to try this out before I invest in a hub or bottle dynamo.
The circuit would run a Luxeon K2 LED. At .5a it won't be super bright (100lm) but it will allow me to prove things out enough to make up my mind to switch one of my lights over to dyno-power from battery pack.
znomit
Enlightened
For a single led just make up a bridge rectifier and smoothing capacitor. Works really well and is simple to build.
Circuit 2 on Pilom.com. I've used this on single and dual LED builds with good results. The more complicated circuits offer more light at lower speeds and a high/low option.
The diodes make up the bridge rectifier converting AC -> DC. The capacitor smooths out the pulses.
Circuit 2 on Pilom.com. I've used this on single and dual LED builds with good results. The more complicated circuits offer more light at lower speeds and a high/low option.
The diodes make up the bridge rectifier converting AC -> DC. The capacitor smooths out the pulses.
znomit
Enlightened
Heres my latest dyno light.
I wanted to go back to 3 LEDs because its enough light and I can do without the drag from the other two LEDs. No standlight as I ride with a front blinky anyway. KISS.
This is the easiest build yet.
Martins circuit 10 again because it works so well.
I used inch square section, walls around 2mm thick. Perfect fit for the XP-E triple 16 degree loaded with R2s.
I tested a section on the bench with a few leds running at 5W to test heat dissipation, fine with a small fan running. Also noted the bar heats up evenly so 2mm seems to be thick enough to spread the heat around.
Bored a big hole towards one end to let the light out... probably should have gone a little larger and extended the hole a short way down the sides. Chopped a small grove in the other end for cable relief and a matching groove in the plastic ends.
Bracket is a flex-tight from cateye, only modification needed was a longer screw (screw head inside the light).
I put the C1 capacitor inside the light head but you could leave it remote. This gives extra cooling area and gives me the option of flipping the light up if using a handlebar bag. A buckpuck is a perfect fit in there too if you're into that sort of thing.
To seal the light I used mylar OHP sheets siliconed to the housing front. To get a perfect fit I taped the sheet to some section and sat in boiling water so it took the shape of the bar. It hazed somewhat but I polished this off. The end caps are sealed with silicone too.
Long distance setup:
Normal setup, note it hangs below the cable so no annoying shadows.
Performance?
Works very well. It doesn't have quite the punch of the MR11 cutter beam but I think the wider beam is more useful on the twisty stuff where it counts.
I wanted to go back to 3 LEDs because its enough light and I can do without the drag from the other two LEDs. No standlight as I ride with a front blinky anyway. KISS.
This is the easiest build yet.
Martins circuit 10 again because it works so well.
I used inch square section, walls around 2mm thick. Perfect fit for the XP-E triple 16 degree loaded with R2s.
I tested a section on the bench with a few leds running at 5W to test heat dissipation, fine with a small fan running. Also noted the bar heats up evenly so 2mm seems to be thick enough to spread the heat around.
Bored a big hole towards one end to let the light out... probably should have gone a little larger and extended the hole a short way down the sides. Chopped a small grove in the other end for cable relief and a matching groove in the plastic ends.
Bracket is a flex-tight from cateye, only modification needed was a longer screw (screw head inside the light).
I put the C1 capacitor inside the light head but you could leave it remote. This gives extra cooling area and gives me the option of flipping the light up if using a handlebar bag. A buckpuck is a perfect fit in there too if you're into that sort of thing.
To seal the light I used mylar OHP sheets siliconed to the housing front. To get a perfect fit I taped the sheet to some section and sat in boiling water so it took the shape of the bar. It hazed somewhat but I polished this off. The end caps are sealed with silicone too.
Long distance setup:
Normal setup, note it hangs below the cable so no annoying shadows.
Performance?
Works very well. It doesn't have quite the punch of the MR11 cutter beam but I think the wider beam is more useful on the twisty stuff where it counts.
unterhausen
Enlightened
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2009
- Messages
- 275
Looks good, I suppose this means your avatar should no longer be dark. I'm trying to decide if I should add a rear light, otherwise I'll be following in your footsteps. I have some aluminum that I want to turn down for the housing, but maybe I should just give up and follow your footsteps on the housing as well.
