RipplesOfLife
Newly Enlightened
Aside from it being a Kinderegg toy container with four wires coming out of it. Can anyone guess what it may be or guess what it may be used for? It's something I put together. It's a very simple device, actually it's more of a component than a device. It's really nothing new. Just that it's inside a mystery box (or actually container).
I'll open the mystery box some time tomorrow, as to allow users some time to post their guesses.
***********************
Ok, here's what it is.
Now that summer's here where I live, I've been doing a lot of biking often riding into night fall. For head lights, I sometimes would strap a 1 watt headlamp that I have, and a dynamo incandesent light which I replaced the bulb with a 10 mm LED plus resistor.
The dynamo LED light worked ok without any other component, but since the dynamo generates AC, the LED was on only half the time. Of course it (the blinking) was too fast to really notice at all. Though it seemed that the LED was not as bright as it can be. And also by having this current setup, the LED would of course go off when I stop like at an intersection, and which means that if I wanted some light while peddling all the way home, I'd have to generate the power the entire trip.
I don't know if it's just me, but using the dynamo slows my bike down by about I would say 20%, or it slows down that much faster. The dynamo LED light is really just a light to let other cyclists/pedestrians know that I'm coming their way. In terms of lighting my path, it's not enough. Even my 1 watt headlamp is not enough to light my path sometimes, especially when there is no other public light source.
So, what does this Kinderegg container with wires coming out of it do?
Lets see, there are four wires. One red, one black, two greys (or of the same color). The container could have been any container, but this one worked the best, it was lying around doing nothing anyways.
So, the red wire would most likely be a positive terminal. The black wire would most likely be a negative terminal. And the grey wires would most likely be terminals without polarity.
Yeah, that's all it is. A bridge rectifier with a 1 F capacitor.
Yeah, it looks wierd, but it'll solve some of my bike lighting problems. Now I can charge the light and then take the dynamo off my tire and still have light, even when I stop. I initially wanted to install it inside the casing of the light, but there was no room. I guess this is better, since this way gives more versatility.
I was think of putting a switch, but wasn't really sure where to mount it. So, yeah, can't turn off the light once it's charged. Oh well.
With a bit of rearrangement, like flipping the bike over, and mounting the dynamo and homemade ac-dc converter to the rear wheel, it can probably serve as an emergency battery charger for AAA, AA, C, and Ds. The DC output should be upto 6 volts (maybe less because of the rectifier) depending on how fast the wheel spins.
Again, nothing new. I guess I just got a bit excited by to making what I needed, and not having to go out and buy it.
*Edit*
Well, tried it out tonight. The performance is comparable to most shake lights that use a capacitor, in that it does not stay bright for too long. The light does stay on for quite some time, but "useable light" has a very different meaning between being outdoor and indoor (unless you paint your walls a black).
As far bicycle lighting goes, has anyone ever thought of, tried, or wished at times they had the following setup. (of course with proper weather proofing).
Though, I guess one fall, and the light is history.
I wonder if it's even allowed. It's like having a super big umbrella when it rains.
I'll open the mystery box some time tomorrow, as to allow users some time to post their guesses.
***********************
Ok, here's what it is.
Now that summer's here where I live, I've been doing a lot of biking often riding into night fall. For head lights, I sometimes would strap a 1 watt headlamp that I have, and a dynamo incandesent light which I replaced the bulb with a 10 mm LED plus resistor.
The dynamo LED light worked ok without any other component, but since the dynamo generates AC, the LED was on only half the time. Of course it (the blinking) was too fast to really notice at all. Though it seemed that the LED was not as bright as it can be. And also by having this current setup, the LED would of course go off when I stop like at an intersection, and which means that if I wanted some light while peddling all the way home, I'd have to generate the power the entire trip.
I don't know if it's just me, but using the dynamo slows my bike down by about I would say 20%, or it slows down that much faster. The dynamo LED light is really just a light to let other cyclists/pedestrians know that I'm coming their way. In terms of lighting my path, it's not enough. Even my 1 watt headlamp is not enough to light my path sometimes, especially when there is no other public light source.
So, what does this Kinderegg container with wires coming out of it do?
Lets see, there are four wires. One red, one black, two greys (or of the same color). The container could have been any container, but this one worked the best, it was lying around doing nothing anyways.
So, the red wire would most likely be a positive terminal. The black wire would most likely be a negative terminal. And the grey wires would most likely be terminals without polarity.
Yeah, that's all it is. A bridge rectifier with a 1 F capacitor.
Yeah, it looks wierd, but it'll solve some of my bike lighting problems. Now I can charge the light and then take the dynamo off my tire and still have light, even when I stop. I initially wanted to install it inside the casing of the light, but there was no room. I guess this is better, since this way gives more versatility.
I was think of putting a switch, but wasn't really sure where to mount it. So, yeah, can't turn off the light once it's charged. Oh well.
With a bit of rearrangement, like flipping the bike over, and mounting the dynamo and homemade ac-dc converter to the rear wheel, it can probably serve as an emergency battery charger for AAA, AA, C, and Ds. The DC output should be upto 6 volts (maybe less because of the rectifier) depending on how fast the wheel spins.
Again, nothing new. I guess I just got a bit excited by to making what I needed, and not having to go out and buy it.
*Edit*
Well, tried it out tonight. The performance is comparable to most shake lights that use a capacitor, in that it does not stay bright for too long. The light does stay on for quite some time, but "useable light" has a very different meaning between being outdoor and indoor (unless you paint your walls a black).
As far bicycle lighting goes, has anyone ever thought of, tried, or wished at times they had the following setup. (of course with proper weather proofing).
Though, I guess one fall, and the light is history.
I wonder if it's even allowed. It's like having a super big umbrella when it rains.
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