# My homebrew lights .. finally ...



## fisha (9 Jan 2008)

A long time i set out on here to list out how i was going to build up a set of lights. I never really kept up with the posts and my design changed somewhat since then, so i figured i would complete my task and share the ideas with others. 


I took them out on their first full nighttime ride the other day and quite simply, they are fantastic. The fronts are so bright that car drivers flashed me to dip them ... i just pointed them at the ground a bit more. In a couple of cases, some drivers dipped their beam before coming round the corner ! Now thats what i'm talking about  


In another forum, i posted this picture of the throw from my twin 3W Lux red light unit ... remember, this is the REAR light ... 







Some people were asking questions about it, so i thought i would share the deets ....

Seriously folks, its blindingly / dazzlingly bright and i think too powerful for using on the roads in all but the absolute worst of weather. I have 2 units of a similar design on the front of the bike which are Seoul P4's and oncoming drivers flash their headlights at me to point them downwards.

I will finish the rear light build though and get it seat / seatpost mounted, just for the sake of completing the build and novelty factor. 

---------------------------------------

As for its components, actually its quite a simple build compared to some excellent detailed work that i have seen posted here in terms of workmanship. Having wasted time and money trying to build something fancy using dimmer controlled boards, i wanted something simple that would switch on and off and thats it. So I spent a *LOT* of time looking round for the right bits so that the build would be simple and this is result of the internals :






*Case:*
An extruded aluminium case which has an internal dimension of about 20mm x 42mm ... perfect for two 20mm LED's + lenses. 
Source: Maplin 
Box type: 1455C801

*Current Driver:*
An all in one driver with integral heatsink. Big bonus was that it has screw in connectors for less hassle of me making an arse of soldering tiny joints. Also 20mm in height ... a perfect fit for inside the box !






Source:
LED-Tech.de
See similar products for different versions of the this ( 1A, 700mA, 350mA )

*LED*
i think they came from dotlight.de. But basically, any luxeon start emitter should do the job. Remember, this design will work for front and rear lights

*Optics + Holders* 
Carclo optics and holders ... 20mm in diameter ( oh look, that magic size again ! ) 
The rears were elliptical lenses.
The fronts were a narrow beam + wider beam in each unit. Great for a good spread of light.

For the rear lenses, to get the lens stripes vertical, i had to file out an extra notch in the holder so the lens would sit in the right direction. ( Its only plastic ) 






What you dont see above, but is fitted on the final units is a small thin sheet of plastic which covers the front of the lights to protect them from the rain and muck. 


*LED heatsink / mount*
Ah, my master stroke
In BnQ, there is normally a small section where you can buy lengths of steel and aluminium in all shapes and profiles. One of these is an alu C-section shape which is ... you guessed it ... 20mm tall. Cut to the right length and filed down to allow it to fit into the box at the edges and its a perfect sized heatsink/mount combo.


*Bar Mount*
I used a lumicycle bar mount ( you can buy them as spares online ). If you slot the driver in upside down, then the middle space between the heatsink sides leaves enough space to put a small nut to tighten the lumicycle bolt onto. Simple.







*Power source*
7.2V RC batteries NiMH. ( these read 8.4V when fully charged ) 
But basically, if you read the specs on the driver board, then it can handle a max supply voltage of the 2 leds ( 6.5V ) PLUS an additional 4 to 5V on top of that ... so that gives me and input of around about 7 to 11V .... the RC batteries sit perfectly in that range and are easy to source and connect together using tamiya connectors. 



Throw it all together and its a perfect little fit with super heatsinking quality and minimal fuss about making it.








so there you go.



What about the price ? I hear you ask. Well, cause i bought the bits of a long long time and wasted money on previous driver boards, i dont have an exact figure. But i reckon that its in the region of about £45 to £50 per light unit, not including the power source.




cheers, 

Don Fisha


----------



## PrettyboyTim (9 Jan 2008)

Nice!


----------



## Tynan (9 Jan 2008)

endurance?

and they look rather professional


----------



## domtyler (9 Jan 2008)

Superb!! Give us some shots of the front lights in action please!


----------



## fisha (9 Jan 2008)

Endurance .... not done a full burn time as yet. But basically my target spec was to acheive a burn time of 2 hours. This was because at the time, my commute was 1hr each way, and i wanted the facility to have lights on the whole time for that. 

The front light units use a 1000mA driver unit, and I use two 3300mAh 7.2V RC batterys. So on given a typical 10% efficiency overhead on the driver, thats about 1100mA current drain .... so *in theory* the batteries should be able to last 3 hours. Even if they dont quite manage 3 hours, then my 2hour target would be easily acheived. 


The rear light unit uses a 700mA driver, so with the another RC battery, that burn time should push out a bit more .... again definitely reaching the 2hr target. 



In terms of coupling the batteries and lights for the front, I have 2 batteries in parallel which feed a pair of switched ( 1 for each light unit ). So both batteries act as a single unit running both lights. That way, i can then run 1 light off both batteries and further double the burn time if I only use one light.


In terms of being usable on the go: One light unit is easily enough to cycle by in a general manner. At speed, the second light steps in and the pair provide enough light to feel happy at running at full speed down hills. With them pointed at the ground about 3 to 4 metres in front, they dont get drowned out by oncoming headlights. With them pointing more forwards, they'll notably highlight reflective signs about 200yrds away. 

The front lights have a narrow spot lens and a medium spread lens in each unit. That way i get a nice wide even spread of light plus a nice sweet bright spot, regardless of whether 1 or 2 lights are on.



If its not crap weather tonight, i'll try and take some pics of them running in complete darkness.


----------



## Amanda P (9 Jan 2008)

I'm impressed. I'd like one. Can you post links to the LEDs and optics you used? I started looking at optics and just got overwhelmed with the combinations possible. It seemed quite expensive and I didn't want to try things that wouldn't work and then have no further use for them. 

Those two bits of info are all we'd need to repeat your success.


----------



## fisha (9 Jan 2008)

Phil, no problem. I understand what you mean about which LED and lens. There is a ton of the out there and easy to get bogged down in it all.

Nowadays, the LED ( or emitters as they are often called ) seem to come in 2 main formats. one where the emitter is just on its own ... so its a small blob with 2 little solder arms on it, or as a star emitter. The star emitter is the same blob, but its already attached to a star shaped heatsink with considerably larger solder tabs. The star emitter is the one to go for - much easier to work with.

Then of course you have the choice of which make of emitter do you go for. Again, there are loads out there. Luxeon are one of the first, but these days, the Seoul P4 and Cree emitters are some of the more commonly available top end choices . The principle factor is lumens. The higher the lumens, the brighter the output. At the time of me buying, the Cree emitters just slightly outperformed the Seoul P4's, but the Seouls were easier to get a hold of, so i went with Seouls P4's. When driven at 1000mA, they crank out 240 lumens each. So my set of 4 cranks out 800+ lumens. 


Optics:
Again, another minefield, and there are all sorts out there. As i see it, there are 3 main categories. Fraen, Carclo and Reflectors.

Fraen and Carclo are similar in that they generally have clear lenses which you hold in place over the emitter with a lens holder.

Typically:

Fraens are taller and wider ( say about 1" wide and 1" tall ), so they take up much more space. Too much space for my build. 

Carclo optics and holders are typically about 20mm in diameter. So the lens and its holder occupy the same space as the star emitter it sits on. This make them great for grouping them together without worrying about spacing the stars apart. from each other. 

Reflectors are kind of an all in one unit. More like the reflector of a torch. They needed to come from the states and i wasn't really sure about the dimensions and stuff. Although, from what i had read, certain reflectors offer the best performance of light spread versus loss. 

I went with Carclo lenses for my build. 

---------------------------------------------

So. Links:

LEDs: 
Front Seoul P4's
Rear Lux 3's

Lenses:
Front Spot Beam 6°
Front Spread Beam 15°
_( One of each in my front units ) _
Rear Elliptical Beam

Optic Holders
Carclo Holders


Just take care when mounting the LED's onto the heatsink / holder part. Make sure you put the optic holders on top of the LED's in order to make sure they are in the right place and that you can fit the holders on when the glue has set.

Also there are a couple of other points to this which if you serious about copying the design would help to make things a little easier rather than you having to figure it all out from scratch.


----------



## Aperitif (10 Jan 2008)

Thanks Fisha - interesting stuff...just waiting for the blazing fronts pic now!


----------



## Amanda P (10 Jan 2008)

I used a Luxeon 1W emitter wired via a couple of resistors to make an LED bulb, a drop-in replacement for the 2.4W bulb in a front dynamo light (altho I actually power it with a pack of five AA tagged NiMH batteries) a couple of years back. In fact I have pics of it:
















It's just a couple of resistors (I didn't have a single one of the right value) soldered into an old bulb cap, with the emitter soldered (carefully) on top. Then I used epoxy to insulate the bits from each other and to fix it all together. 

Now you can buy bulbs like this ready-made (but not as cheap) from Nite-Ize and the like - and I believe some of them have constant-current circuits built-in, so a bit more efficient than my crude resistor chain.

But it's not bright enough - I want MORE! Hence my interest. I may well look into replicating what you did in some way, so the clues about the driver, lenses etc are most welcome. I hadn't hit upon either of the .de suppliers you name - they seem well worth knowing about.

Thanks!


----------



## Commuter (10 Jan 2008)

Fisha's lights are seriously bright, I can vouch for that !

I decided to go down what I thought was an easier route.
I used a D cell maglight cut down with a Seoul 3x 3.5W Plug & Light Kit driven by a 1 amp constant current buckpuck. I have a 5 position switch controlling the brightness, I am going to experiment with other lenses as the standard 40 deg lens on the led kit is a bit too wide for the single track road I normally use.
Build was probably around £90 excluding battery and charger.
If I knew how to post pics from my " My Pictures" file I would put some up to let you see the build etc.

LED thingy ...
http://www.led-tech.de/en/High-Powe...3x-3.5W-Plug-und-Light-Kit-LT-984_121_80.html


Buckpuck thingy ....
http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/buckpuck-03023de1000-1000ma-1w3w-luxeon-driver-p-1324.html


----------



## fisha (10 Jan 2008)

Kenny ?

how goes it.


----------



## Amanda P (10 Jan 2008)

fisha said:


> Also there are a couple of other points to this which if you serious about copying the design would help to make things a little easier rather than you having to figure it all out from scratch.



I am serious. I'm always looking for a better light. What are the other points? PM me if you like.


----------



## fisha (10 Jan 2008)

Phil, 

its nothing secret or anything ... just daft little things like filing down 1 edge of each of the LED bases and also the optic holders so that your wire slots through the gap easier.

i have pictures on CD's somewhere which i'll dig out soon and show you the points i mean.


----------



## Amanda P (15 Jan 2008)

Fisha, the parts are ordered. Expect plaguey posts/pms asking for details you thought were trivial...

I'm going for a front light initially. I'm planning to add an extra 2000mAh AA NiMH battery to my present pack of five, to up it from 6V and 10 Ah to 7.2V and 12 Ah. The 7.2V should be enough to drive the two LEDs, and the extra capacity won't hurt.

I'm a bit ignorant about these constant current thingies. Could I simply put in a switch between the constant current power supply and one of the LEDs so I can drop to one of them when not so much light is needed? (I like to eke out my batteries by switching to a lower power light when I don't actually need the light to see where I'm going. It helps ease the feeling that my batteries are going to conk out before I reach my destination).


----------



## fisha (16 Jan 2008)

i dont think you would be ableto switch off just 1 led like that. 

reason is that you wire them up in series ... one after another. 

[+ve driver] <---> [+ve LED1][-ve LED1] <---> [+ve LED2][-ve LED2] <---> [ -ve driver ] 

as for the battery, the voltages do add up like that, but the Ah bits bits dont. your overall 5 piece battery is 6V 2000mAH, adding another cell will only increase the voltage, not the Ah part.

so depending on which driver you chose, you basically divide the Ah by the rating of the driver. So a 1Amp driver will last about 2 hours, probably slightly less. 



that being said, you could make up a second battery pack, and put that in parallel. That way you would have 2 sources of 7.2V, but also 2 sets of 2000mAh to drive the lights .... so that would give you 4000mAh ... thereby increasing your run time.


----------



## Amanda P (22 Jan 2008)

So, Fisha, I've got a box full of little bits and it's time to start joining them up. First question: how do I secure the star emitters to the holders? How did you secure the emitter/holder/lens assembly to case?


----------



## Amanda P (15 Feb 2008)

He went all quiet. So I did it anyway. Just in case anyone's interested, I used tiny nuts and bolts to secure the star emitters to the aluminium strip, with a smear of heat conduciting gunge between them.







Then I wired them up in series. I used a tiny bit of epoxy on each foot to secure the lens holders in place. (That's the lens holders' feet, not mine). The lenses clip into the holders, but not terribly securely, so I added further tiny blobs of epoxy to secure them further.

When that was all dry, it was straightforward to assemble the whole thing inside the case, which, as Fisha says is exactly the right shape and size. And here's the finished product:






It's about the size of a fag packet - try to ignore the other bikes and lights in the background.

It's a really excellent light, the best I've ever had. I just bought one of the new Busch & Muller IQ Fly lights, and I thought that was good, but this is an order of magnitude better - really bright with a good even beam. The 6 degree lens gives a slightly brighter central area, but it's subtle.

I've not tried the really expensive lights (Dinotte, Ayup and so on) so I can't compare it with those - all I can say is it gives all the light I could need, but cost about £30 all up. I commend it to the house.

Fisha (wherever you are) - thanks a lot.


----------



## PrettyboyTim (15 Feb 2008)

Gosh, that's really quite exciting! Or perhaps I'm just a nerd. How much light do you find shines upwards as compared to down to the road? I've always been a bit concerned by some of these ultrabright LED things that they may be too dazzling to other road users and pedestrians.

I currently have the Smart twin halogen lights, but I've been thinking of seeing if I can replace the halogen bulbs with LEDs, as the battery life is pretty pants when I have both lights on.


----------



## Amanda P (15 Feb 2008)

You can get LED bulbs that are direct replacements for halogen ones, with constant current gubbins built-in. (not cheap though, unless you build your own like I did). However, I suspect that the LEDs aren't run at full current as there's no real heat dissipation capability. I found that an LED bulb gives about the same light as a 3W halogen. It only draws about 1W, though, so you'd get three times the battery life. 

You could have an LED bulb in one light head and a 3 or 6 W halogen in the other. Run the LED in town and use a 6W halogen when you really need the extra light, maybe.

There is quite a bit of light shining upwards, it's true - the light lights overhanging trees and high-up road signs pretty well. But I have the light angled down so that the brightest part of the beam is on the road 10 - 20 yards away. So far no-one's complained of being dazzled by them; then again, I'm having less trouble than I used to with oncoming drivers not dipping their lights on dark roads. So I reckon it's about right.


----------



## PrettyboyTim (15 Feb 2008)

Yes, I was looking at those drop-in replacements last night, but as a single one would cost more than the entire light set did, I think building my own is a better idea.

Currently my Smart lights each have a 10W halogen bulb, and I tend to like having them both on, even though my route is streetlit the whole way. I like the way the lights give a good patch of light out in front, so that even pedestrians walking away from me can tell that something's coming. Especially as some of my route is along a cycle path that a lot of pedestrians walk past. I also like to think that a nice pair of bright halogens out in front give me a bit more respect out on the road, but that might just be wishful thinking.

However, 20 Watts of lighting doesn't half race through a battery!


----------



## Tharg2007 (29 Oct 2009)

hmmm, i like this plan, especially if i could use these new ones --->
http://www.led-tech.de/de/High-Powe...-auf-Triple-Star-Platine-LT-1588_120_138.html

1000+ lumens per star €15


----------



## Amanda P (29 Oct 2009)

Those are the same physical size, although if I read the spec right, need more power. So you'd get more light, but need higher voltage to drive all three (I use a pack of 6 NiMH AA cells, giving 7.2V and about 10 Ah). You might need a different driver/constant current as well.

One of these triple stars seems to give three times the light of a single P4, so you could build a light using only one - although that removes the advantage of using two different lenses to give a bright central spot and a wide beam too.

The point is, I suppose, that Fisha's found a combination of case, heatsink, LEDs and optics that looks neat and fits together very neatly. What actual LEDs, driver and batteries you use is up to you.


----------



## Downward (29 Oct 2009)

Bookmarked for reading when I get home !


----------



## Tharg2007 (29 Oct 2009)

average is 3v per emmiter, so 9v , 12v would get allot more out of it. I recon with 9v you would get about 800 lumen out of it, maybe more.
Might look into building one of these with a more compact driver into some kind of tube.


----------



## Amanda P (29 Oct 2009)

I've built a number of these Fisha lights. For more recent versions, I've used this constant current circuit, which is slim enough to fit in a tube. 

It's supposed to be fixed to something that acts as a heat sink, though. Not sure how you'd do that in a round tube... I'm also not sure how necessary it is - the cases of Fisha lights only barely get warm.

I'd like to be able to switch the light to low power - a full power setting for out in the sticks, and a battery-saving option for use in town where you don't need so much light. I'm sure there'll be a constant-current gadget that can do this, but I lack the knowledge to find it or to be sure of getting the right one.

Any electronics gurus have any advice?


----------



## Tharg2007 (29 Oct 2009)

Uncle Phil said:


> One of these triple stars seems to give three times the light of a single P4, so you could build a light using only one - although that removes the advantage of using two different lenses to give a bright central spot and a wide beam too.
> 
> The point is, I suppose, that Fisha's found a combination of case, heatsink, LEDs and optics that looks neat and fits together very neatly. What actual LEDs, driver and batteries you use is up to you.



they do single ones too http://www.led-tech.de/en/High-Powe...CREE-XP-G-R4-on-Star-PCB-LT-1567_120_138.html


----------



## fossyant (29 Oct 2009)

I have a habit of making light's go up in smoke...literally....... fried my old BLT Lead Acid battery pack...... smoke everywhere....threw pack outside......


----------



## Tharg2007 (2 Nov 2009)

Uncle Phil,
looking at the specs on the P4 and the Cree XP you seem to get about 100 lumens more for slightly less wattage on the cree. I think these cree emitters are the latest giving more output while conserving power. I can see this things getting better and better over the next few years.


----------



## Tharg2007 (2 Nov 2009)

I have some more questions,
in fishas pics I would like to know what the connectors are he is using for the external plug, is it water resistant, links would be good.
Is there a switch on the back of the unit? looking at one of fishas pics there seem to be some holes on the rear end cap of the outer housing.
I had a couple more questions but cant think atm.


----------



## Amanda P (2 Nov 2009)

He mentions "Tamiya connectors". I think these are used for radio-controlled models, but beyond that I know nothing about them.

I've used these jobbies for lights in the past. For my current "Fisha lights" I've just used insulated automotive spade terminals, and a standard DC coaxial power plug and socket to plug in the charger.

Water resistance isn't as important as you might think, unless you regularly ride your bike underwater in sea water.

My setup has the switch on the battery box, but there's enough room inside the case Fisha suggests to fit a miniature toggle switch on the back panel.

Shortly after starting this thread, Fisha disappeared from the forum - don't expect answers from him. Let's hope it's not because his lights failed!


----------



## Coco (2 Nov 2009)

Uncle Phil said:


> I'd like to be able to switch the light to low power - a full power setting for out in the sticks, and a battery-saving option for use in town where you don't need so much light. I'm sure there'll be a constant-current gadget that can do this, but I lack the knowledge to find it or to be sure of getting the right one.
> 
> Any electronics gurus have any advice?


Not quite a guru but I've been doing some reading into this. The supply you have seems to suggest that it can be dimmed using PWM, although this isn't quite clear. Using PWM is going to complicate matters quite a bit as you need something to generate the PWM signal. 
I've been looking at other circuits that are probably less efficient, but allow the output to be controlled via resistors and switches.
The other alternative is to get a dimmable 'buck puck', but these cost around £20 each.

I've orderd some LEDs and some boards, so I'll play with them and then let you know what I find.

cheers


----------



## fisha (13 Nov 2009)

Hello folks. Really sorry for not being around. My time had to be given over to a new job for the last while, so time on here has been considerably limited now that i dont sit in front of a PC all day. I'll look back through the thread and see if there any answers I can provide, but its good to see that some have made similar lights. 

Mine are still going strong. Certainly live up to purpose and run for at least 2 hours which is the main issue for me. I may look at different ones further down the line in terms of brighter LED's but at the moment, i dont feel I need brighter.


----------



## Amanda P (13 Nov 2009)

Welcome back fisha!

Your light design is excellent! If you haven't read the whole thread, I've built four or five which Mrs Uncle Phil and I use on various bikes, and they're excellent. Brilliant in every sense - thanks for posting your design.

We run ours on packs of six 2400mAh NiMH batteries, and they'll run for five hours plus (we've never actually run one flat).


----------



## Brahan (13 Nov 2009)

Yay, he's back!


----------



## Tharg2007 (13 Nov 2009)

was it my come back fisha PM that tempted you back


----------



## ACW (13 Nov 2009)

Seriously good lights. make my homemade led light look crap, i have a 1.2w led and a 10w halogen mr16 lamps mounted in a b&q matchpot. works ok but not bright enough.

off to maplin tomorow.


----------



## ACW (13 Nov 2009)

Picture didnt work

try this one


----------



## ACW (13 Nov 2009)

AaaaagH
how do i get a picture to link

try

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tlLltwuTYYg4xgGpl1VmrA?feat=directlink


----------



## fisha (13 Nov 2009)

Thanks Phil for the compliments. I have to admit I spent a lot of time finding the right bits and bobs so that assembly was relatively easy, but there is little i would change thinking back about it. 

Tharg, yeah, i spotted an unread message and wondered about it and followed it back here.


----------



## Tharg2007 (15 Nov 2009)

fisha, I want to build a set of these, what is the red connector you are using? also what switche do you use at the back. Also what is the little grommet you are using underneath to secure the power cable?

Thanks!!


----------



## Coco (15 Nov 2009)

Ok, I'm almost finished with my build of the FishaLight.

Changed a couple of things. I've used this LED driver. Really tiny and allows for the output to be adjusted, either via a pot or switched resistor. There is also a version with screw terminals if you don't want to solder.
I've also used a longer case from Maplin (same width & height) which has allowed me to sneak in a LiPo battery that I had. Still to wire in the battery charging socket and add the QR bracket. I'll post more details when I've done that.


----------



## Tharg2007 (16 Nov 2009)

YIKES!!! I've ordered my bits
Here is the list so far:
4 x cree xp-G R4s
1 x PowerLine SLIM Constant Current
1 x PowerLine Constant Current Power Supply
4 x Various carclo optics
heat cunductive pads
wires
2 x cases from maplins
2 x switches with waterproof covers.
connectors etc

Next need a couple of power packs and charger. Anyone got any sources for getting good ones cheap. Not sure weather to get the 8.4v or 7.2v RC ones, suggestions?


----------



## Sh4rkyBloke (16 Nov 2009)

Tharg2007 said:


> YIKES!!! I've ordered my bits
> Here is the list so far:
> 4 x cree xp-G R4s
> 1 x PowerLine SLIM Constant Current
> ...


So do I just need to ride in front of you to keep warm and dry (i.e lightly toasted) in future, then?


----------



## Tharg2007 (16 Nov 2009)

Sh4rkyBloke said:


> So do I just need to ride in front of you to keep warm and dry (i.e lightly toasted) in future, then?



Im making front and rear so either way you're covered/blinded


----------



## Sh4rkyBloke (16 Nov 2009)

Tharg2007 said:


> Im making front and rear so either way you're covered/blinded


... and tanned into the bargain. Smashing.


----------



## rusky (16 Nov 2009)

Tharg2007 said:


> YIKES!!! I've ordered my bits
> Here is the list so far:
> 4 x cree xp-G R4s
> 1 x PowerLine SLIM Constant Current
> ...



Where did you get the parts from? Also, I checked Maplin for RC batteries but couldn't find them, did you have any joy?


----------



## Tharg2007 (16 Nov 2009)

i am currently researching the RC batteries. The cree XP-G stars are 4v max so the 8.4v might be ok if actual voltage drops a little.
I know someone that races RC cars and they swear by this lot http://www.rc-mushroom.com/ , its hong kong but they recon the stuff comes quick and its good quality.

LEDs and optics as well as the driver and some other bits from http://www.led-tech.de
Cases and switches from maplins


----------



## heliphil (17 Nov 2009)

for batteries try
http://www.overlander.co.uk/
or
http://www.component-shop.co.uk
or other model battery suppliers


----------



## rusky (17 Nov 2009)

Batteries aren't really a problem for me, it's either a lunchtime walk to Maplin or a10 min drive to sussex model centre!


----------



## Tharg2007 (17 Nov 2009)

maplins bits arrived today, boxes and switches.


----------



## Tharg2007 (17 Nov 2009)

heliphil said:


> http://www.component-shop.co.uk
> or other model battery suppliers



this one looks good http://www.component-shop.co.uk/html/body_6vte3300sc.html

Get a couple of them i reckon and a charger

Its all getting a bit expensive now :S


----------



## fossyant (17 Nov 2009)

Keep us posted on progress.....


----------



## Tharg2007 (18 Nov 2009)

fisha said:


>


Checking over my housings last night i noted that the black end frame where the plate sits has a 1.5mm recess, I am planning on getting some 3mm thick perspex for this as it should give off a glow around the edge.
The rear light will use a red perspex with similar effect


----------



## Origamist (18 Nov 2009)

Have you guys seen some of the homebrew lights here:

http://www.troutie.com/mainpage.html


----------



## yashicamat (18 Nov 2009)

Origamist said:


> Have you guys seen some of the homebrew lights here:
> 
> http://www.troutie.com/mainpage.html



That's a great link, cheers.

I found this a mine of information: http://www.troutie.com/XPE BUILD TUTORIAL.html


----------



## Tharg2007 (18 Nov 2009)

i had a good look on there too, very nice and helpful.

I did follow the link to the supplies site and it seems a little expensive, still interesting though.


----------



## rusky (19 Nov 2009)

There's a 25+ page thread over on singletrackworld.com!

http://www.singletrackworld.com/for...update-to-all-interested-folks-who-emailed-me


----------



## Tharg2007 (19 Nov 2009)

what a coincidence, fisha and troutie.


----------



## Tharg2007 (20 Nov 2009)

all the leds, drivers optics are here now    
just need to get to b n q for the c section alu heat sync, order batteries, power connector (phono?) then i should be ready  oh a bar mount too


----------



## snorri (21 Nov 2009)

The title of this thread is misleading and annoying.

Every time I look at New Posts, this thread title pops up and I click on expecting to read an amusing tale of home made beer self igniting.


----------



## Tharg2007 (23 Nov 2009)

Trying to track down connector. Any help appreciated.
Take a look at the images bellow, Im trying to find these connectors, seems they are a DC connector with an extended sleeve, all the ones I have found so far have no sleve at all. I looked on maplin, RS components and CPC and still nothing.
HELP!!!


----------

