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World's brightest bike lights

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teravolt

Sun Oct 24 2010, 05:33AM

Registered Member #195 Joined: Fri Feb 17 2006, 08:27PM
Location: Berkeley, ca.
Posts: 1111

Hi Tesladownunder, the pelter is using 6A@12v. I did not want to mess with the batteries so I bought the 36v power supply. do you think that a parabolic dish could be used to confine the beem

Tesladownunder

Thu Oct 28 2010, 12:29AM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

Drifting off topic as external supplies, peltiers and parabolics aren't used in the current project.
Probably best to start a separate thread.

Here is the 3 rear lights on giving white when combined but colourful shadows.

1288225665 10 FT97378 Ledbikerearfirstlightwhite

Had a chat with someone I saw in a service station who had 4 x 100W spotlights on his 4WD. Asked him if he was interested in a "shootout".

Tesladownunder

Mon Nov 01 2010, 12:55AM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

I have made some progress on the front array. I have used polycarbonate discs (which cut and drill so much better than acrylic). These will all fit in to the green surround which is a rather soft structure so can't take much structural force.
The main 3 threaded bolts should provide enough strength to bolt to the bike and to the torch in turn. This was always going to be a problem area and seems partly solved.
Another problem is that I don't believe the specs quoted for the coloured LEDs. I have more discussion here. Essentially other manufacturers quote 100W blue LEDs as being 1200 lumens (av) rather than 6000 as I was quoted. This and the other colour specs put me down 8000 lumens total depending on who you believe so I have added another white LED to the front to make 12 white and 3 colours.
Now my current is pushing 55A supplying 3 A to each LED (below rated 3.2 to 3.8A) so a reduction already. But the battery voltage sag will be to 33V and the globes won't compensate for that. It remains to be seen what power I can get out when all is on.
I may just have to tack the Worlds brightest flashlight batteries in parallel on a trailer to keep the voltage up.
Either way, still the Worlds brightest but just downrated.

I also got first light on one of the new white LED's. You can judge its brightness in comparison to the two 150W shed lights.

1288572838 10 FT97378 Ledbikewhitearrayinitialconstruction

1288572838 10 FT97378 Ledbikewhitearrayconstruction

1288572838 10 FT97378 Ledbikewhitearrayconstructioncover

1288572838 10 FT97378 Ledbikewhitefirstlight

Tesladownunder

Sun Nov 07 2010, 12:57AM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

More progress. Now have the front array wired with a single red, blue, green and white LED. ie 400W. Still have 11 white LEDs to go, all the lens work and mounting hardware for the bike. Then I can start on the flashlight then the Xmas tree then start shooting. Should take 3 years .....
At present there this is running 700W which at a nominal 42,000 lumens already is already the worlds brightest, although still unfocussed.

1289090512 10 FT97378 Ledbikefront4lowpwr

1289090512 10 FT97378 Ledbikefront4rearon

1289090512 10 FT97378 Ledbikefrontbluerearred

Tesladownunder

Mon Nov 22 2010, 12:13AM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

Hmmm.. my 4th sequential post (all legal - new information and over 24h apart).
Not sexy but a very necessary part for this very top heavy bike is a solid stand for ground use and for trailer mounting. So spent the best part of a day sorting this out. Bike is on the trailer and ready to go ...somewhere.
I have completed the front array with most of the details on the "World's brightest Flashlight" thread. It has undergone testing and initial shots. The beam is a nice and tight uniform circle of about 5 degrees (which I need to measure).
It is able to be bolted on the flashlight or the bike.
So hopefully in the next few days I will be able to take it for a ride to get some shots. These will determine the shots that might work for the video.

1290384370 10 FT97378 Ledtorchfrontarrayon300

1290384370 10 FT97378 Ledbiketrailerrear

Tesladownunder

Sat Dec 04 2010, 09:49AM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

Ooohh. 5th sequential post.
I have completed and ran the bike at a local park at full power.
The local police turned up in response to a call from a householder that complained that someone was shining green lasers at them. They must have been distant because the closest houses were all empty and under construction.
Might make a good shot if the police turn up during filming tomorrow. Adds to the drama.

Filming will be with my usual cameraman Dean Lomax. My agent will be Barcoft who will run the video news reel and the stills and do a separate interview.

My entry for the night time Xmas parade in Bunbury got rejected. On the basis of liability insurance (I had rung and confirmed $20M cover for the bicycle) but the Council rang my insurance company and convinced them not to cover me.

I also had stated that their clearance was 3.7m due to low trees in the main street which I measured at 2am with a fishing rod. Council had no idea what the clearance was. I said I would build lower to accomodate this but they got all narky and said that this was lower than my clearance applied for and put people at risk if branches were pulled down.

I was a bit annoyed about this bureaucracy. Only my better nature prevented me ringing their insurance company (LGIS) to complain that some of the other floats exceeded the height limits which would have thrown the cat amongst the pigeons. I've done my due diligence but they hadn't done theirs.

I have applied to the Guinness Book of Records last week for the Bike lights and Flashlight. It's a long process but all the preliminary information is in. This takes 4-6 weeks to get to second base as it were.

Tesladownunder

Wed Dec 08 2010, 01:21AM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

I have now taken in excess of 600 shots of the bike with Xmas tree. After a long night of setup and testing believe I have the "money shot" suitable for news print with most of the elements about optimal. I had to have a low power settting for the front array white plus green at an angle which gave a compromise amount of glare. without washing out the whole shot.
Santa, waving and sitting on the stationary bike, was lit up by backlight from the front array plus a flash onto a 4ft diameter diffuser.
The Xmas tree with some 250 commercial colored LEDs was reasonably outlined and at 4.0 m high looked of reasonable size.
In the end It looked better not to point the rear LED's up at the tree but to point them backwards and just use red.
This is one of the reject shots.

Tesladownunder

Thu Dec 23 2010, 03:14AM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

My media tilt though Barcoft for the Bike and Xmas project has flopped. The video transfer to Sydney then London took 3 days but the Xmas story still hasn't yet been processed yet. The still photos have been available for some time.

So I sent it through to some local media with story written and had it on a newspaper site within 30 mins. Isn't this what agents are meant to do??
It should go on the Fairfax newspaper group website tomorrow as well.

So it looks like the Bike has done it's run, unless something comes from the Guinness World records group but I won't know that for a while.
The World's brightest flashlight may still run as video news next year but it might be better to wait until I get (hopefully) the record(s) sorted.

Time to move on as projects are lining up. If I get to the Australias Got Talent heats then I only have 6 weeks to tidy up an act and have the equipment OK.
I've got a computer keyboard to destroy with a Tesla coil and a ferrofluid project for an artist etc etc.

So Merry Xmas folks from downunder

Late news: 24th Dec. Now on 2 TV stations and over 140 websites almost all within Australia. Tell me if you see it and where.

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