So, I've gotten so enamored of this blogging thing (note: TWO posts this month!!!) that I've started up another one. While I expect a good bit of the content there may cross over into the realm of the velocipede, it's more oriented toward documenting my screwups in various crafty endeavors.
To kick it off, here's a bit of LED fun : ill-advised jiggery-pokery.
Showing posts with label making. Show all posts
Showing posts with label making. Show all posts
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Friday, May 9, 2008
Worst possible time...
...to make modifications to your bike? Why, the day before a brevet, of course! The Eastern PA 300K is this weekend, so I couldn't leave well enough alone, now could I?
As mentioned previously, I felt a need to over-complicate my nice, simple, and reliable SON dynamo lighting system with a handlebar-mounted three-position switch. The concept was simple; center position == off, other two positions correspond to primary (LED) headlamp only and primary + secondary (halogen) lamps. The execution, well, let's just say that A) it's a prototype and B) I still have some strategic work to do with heat-shrink tubing and sealant of varying forms.
Pictures(please excuse quality: rushed lunchtime camera phone shots are not my forte)
Sheerest elegance in recycled design. Note the velcro strap holding the case together.
Glorious proliferation of unrestrained cables
Note lack of bulb in front view. Silly-looking, eh? Cries out for something to fill the aching void.
The interior. Actually, this looks neater than it has any right to...
Extra quick-connects at the hub, so I can readily rewire the lights directly to the hub if necessary
I ended up cannibalizing an old Schwinn halogen handlebar light for the main housing; pulled out all of the guts, and did some drilling and filing to get an el cheapo SPDT center-off switch to fit nicely. JB Weld-ed a two-position barrier block inside, just so I didn't have to twist all the wires together, and did up a bunch of connectors using 18ga speaker wire and standard 1/4" quick-connect terminals. I was clever enough to wire it such that, if needs must, I can throw in a little 2" jumper cable and cut the switch out of the system completely, effectively going back to the original wiring plan if the switch barfs.
I still need to do some weather-resistance work on most of the joins, and may well throw some dielectric grease in all the contact points while I'm at it.
It's ugly as sin; the old Schwinn light is huge, and having the empty reflector in front just looks silly; I'll probably throw in a blinking "be-seen" LED at some point. For that matter, I'm giving thought to attaching a LED reading light to the housing as well, for cue sheet perusal in darkness.
Long term, I'd like to fabricate up something more polished, maybe design it in kit form so that it can be readily added to an off-the-shelf dynamo system.
As mentioned previously, I felt a need to over-complicate my nice, simple, and reliable SON dynamo lighting system with a handlebar-mounted three-position switch. The concept was simple; center position == off, other two positions correspond to primary (LED) headlamp only and primary + secondary (halogen) lamps. The execution, well, let's just say that A) it's a prototype and B) I still have some strategic work to do with heat-shrink tubing and sealant of varying forms.
Pictures(please excuse quality: rushed lunchtime camera phone shots are not my forte)
Sheerest elegance in recycled design. Note the velcro strap holding the case together.
Glorious proliferation of unrestrained cables
Note lack of bulb in front view. Silly-looking, eh? Cries out for something to fill the aching void.
The interior. Actually, this looks neater than it has any right to...
Extra quick-connects at the hub, so I can readily rewire the lights directly to the hub if necessaryI ended up cannibalizing an old Schwinn halogen handlebar light for the main housing; pulled out all of the guts, and did some drilling and filing to get an el cheapo SPDT center-off switch to fit nicely. JB Weld-ed a two-position barrier block inside, just so I didn't have to twist all the wires together, and did up a bunch of connectors using 18ga speaker wire and standard 1/4" quick-connect terminals. I was clever enough to wire it such that, if needs must, I can throw in a little 2" jumper cable and cut the switch out of the system completely, effectively going back to the original wiring plan if the switch barfs.
I still need to do some weather-resistance work on most of the joins, and may well throw some dielectric grease in all the contact points while I'm at it.
It's ugly as sin; the old Schwinn light is huge, and having the empty reflector in front just looks silly; I'll probably throw in a blinking "be-seen" LED at some point. For that matter, I'm giving thought to attaching a LED reading light to the housing as well, for cue sheet perusal in darkness.
Long term, I'd like to fabricate up something more polished, maybe design it in kit form so that it can be readily added to an off-the-shelf dynamo system.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Lighting system plotting
I'm not one to leave well enough alone. I've had the SON hub, Lumotec LED, and E6 halogen lights running for a whole week, so of course it's time to screw about with a perfectly good working system. It's just so terribly inconvenient to have to stop the bike to turn lights on and off.
Being the lazy sort that I am, and in the interests of experimenting with just how much difference in pedaling effort I can perceive with the lights on and off, I've decided to build a remote switching system for the lights. I figure a nice three-position OFF, PRIMARY ON, and PRIMARY+SECONDARY ON switch mounted on the handlebars would be cool.
Now, the problem. I'm barely competent to plug in a soldering iron, much less do even the simplest of circuit designs. Of course, ignorance has never stopped me before, but I figured consulting someone who has a vague idea of what they're doing would be wise, when it comes to potentially screwing up a $mumblemuttermumble lighting system. Enter the patriarch, the wise engineer, my dear old Dad, who was courteous enough to suppress laughter at my feeble excuse for a schematic, and kind enough to transcribe into legible format:
So, the next step will be to swing by Radio Shack and source a nice switch, plus some simple weather-resistant disconnects, extra wire, silicone sealant, heat-shrink tubing, and all that good stuff. I figure I'll bodge something together, get it working, then plan to do a nicer setup later, based on the mistakes I make on this version. (I'm envisioning marine-grade illuminated LED rocker switches and all sorts of similar craziness...probably will never do it, if the first version works, but what the heck.)
Being the lazy sort that I am, and in the interests of experimenting with just how much difference in pedaling effort I can perceive with the lights on and off, I've decided to build a remote switching system for the lights. I figure a nice three-position OFF, PRIMARY ON, and PRIMARY+SECONDARY ON switch mounted on the handlebars would be cool.
Now, the problem. I'm barely competent to plug in a soldering iron, much less do even the simplest of circuit designs. Of course, ignorance has never stopped me before, but I figured consulting someone who has a vague idea of what they're doing would be wise, when it comes to potentially screwing up a $mumblemuttermumble lighting system. Enter the patriarch, the wise engineer, my dear old Dad, who was courteous enough to suppress laughter at my feeble excuse for a schematic, and kind enough to transcribe into legible format:
So, the next step will be to swing by Radio Shack and source a nice switch, plus some simple weather-resistant disconnects, extra wire, silicone sealant, heat-shrink tubing, and all that good stuff. I figure I'll bodge something together, get it working, then plan to do a nicer setup later, based on the mistakes I make on this version. (I'm envisioning marine-grade illuminated LED rocker switches and all sorts of similar craziness...probably will never do it, if the first version works, but what the heck.)
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