nystrpr said:
... I removed the headband off an old Petzl Tikka and used some zip ties to secure it to the underside of the seat. The swivel feature of the light was key, because I could adjust it to be visible.
That's a great idea! If you had those red filters for the Tikka, you'd be set. That's sort of what I'd be after with a modified Eos. If there are great headlamps available for $30, why are crappy bike blinkers priced equally? It simply doesn't make sense to me.
Nubo & Timson, thanks for your feedback on the LD1000; sounds promising - from what I've been reading it's about as bright as they get (for non-flashaholic standards, I guess). Are the domes on the LD1000 brittle or do they look like a softer type of plastic?
Just by coincidence I noticed a fellow in a lab downstairs has a Planet Bike BRT7. That one's supposed to have 220º "view", but I wasn't too impressed by the brightness (or, rather, dimness) of the LED's. Sure, it wasn't dark when I got to play with it, but I was expecting a little more brightness (nothing a LED-sectomy/transplant couldn't fix).
Aside from that, I like the casing; the clear dome doesn't look as brittle as the other blinkers I'm familiar with, the clip looks sturdy, and overall it looks like it'd take some abuse.
Bandgap, although I tend to use the chase mode I would be perfectly fine with a blinking pattern only. My Eos blinking matches the pattern on car turn signals. I think that's a good rate (1-2Hz?) when poiting forward, but a bit faster might be better (?).
n_den said:
is the legal stuff due to the glare? the flashing? diffusing the source might be better.
I'm fine with diffused lenses. Yeah, it may cut down on the throw, but the flashing would make up for it (I think), especially if it was a curved dome.
I don't know about glare or light intensity regulations. I know blue color is out of the question (reserved for police), but other than that red or amber/yellow would be fine (they had no issue about me using green when I asked). I've read comments about having to aim the Dinotte tail light correctly so it doesn't bug people coming from behind, and Europe has special regulations as to the intensity and strobing/flashing patterns (the LD1000 is built to those standards, AFAIK). I think having a wide-angle optic, and/or a diffused lens (or even a lightly sanded wide-angle optic) would cut down on the glare.
n_den said:
here's a shot of what i'm working with.
i'm going to road test the thing later. comments, pls.
That looks bright! Yeah, let us know how that goes. Judging by how far you've gotten so fast on the electronics, I don't think that would the greatest challenge of this project. How to design/find a suitable casing (especially a dome/window) for the light might be it instead.
