Lights!!

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:18:13 +0100, "Just zis Guy, you know?"
<[email hidden]> wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

On 27 Sep 2004 23:31:37 GMT, Mark Thompson
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

If you're on unlit country lanes then more money, more weight and less
battery life is what you're doomed to.

Or a SON. Indefinite life, low weight, *ulp* money though :-)

Is SON an acronym rather than a brand name, then?

--
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Euan
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On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 11:43:47 GMT someone who may be "elyob"
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Go back to bed, get out the other side.

Excellent. No answer given to the points under discussion.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 19:43:02 +0100 someone who may be Jon Senior
<jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Have you calmed down yet David?

I was not uncalm when I made the original posting. I am happy with
it.

I noted a few weeks ago that universities are becoming concerned
about the amount of spoon-feeding that people demand now. They are
incapable of getting off their backsides and finding things out for
themselves, preferring instead to wait for mummy or daddy bird.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 19:35:18 GMT, Gawnsoft
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Is SON an acronym rather than a brand name, then?

Schmidt Original Nabendynamo.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

I spent £40 on these front lights last year:

http://www.xpedia.co.uk/cgi/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2expedia%2e
co%2euk%2facatalog%2fXpedia_Online_MISCELLANEOUS_3%2ehtml&WD=halogen%20smart
&SHOP=%20&PREVQUERY=SS%3dsmart%2bhalogen%26ACTION%3dGo%2521%26PR%3d%2d1%26TB
%3dA%26SHOP%3d%20&PN=Xpedia_Online_GENERAL_LIGHTING_94%2ehtml%23a612#a612

or if the URL is too long, try:

http://www.xpedia.co.uk/cgi/ss000001.pl?SS=smart+halogen&ACTION=Go%21&PR=-1&
TB=A&SHOP=

and click the link for the LASMA003(GENERAL LIGHTING)

and they are excellent. Twin headlights which will give you twin full beam
for 2 hours. On country lanes at night they light up the road. If you have
only 1 of the 2 lights on you get lots more battery time. I think it's about
8 hours on the lower power (2.4 watt) light. Downside is the heavy battery
pack, but as I seem to carry a lot in my panniers then a bit of extra weight
makes little difference.

After years of messing around with puny battery lights, these came as a
revelation. It's so nice to have good lights. A few weeks ago I was out in
the dark and rain on country lanes and they helped give me the impression of
being safe and visible to other cars.

£40 seems a lot at first, but once you've paid for batteries over the
winter, they soon pay for themselves (over a few years).

Jim

In news:[email hidden],
David Hansen <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 11:43:47 GMT someone who may be "elyob"
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Go back to bed, get out the other side.

Excellent. No answer given to the points under discussion.

It was quite funny, though.

A

In news:4159bc75.0@entanet,
Zog The Undeniable <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

David Martin said:

1. You will be limited to either a heavy SLA set (up to about 50 quid
depending on model) or doomed to low power disposable battery eaters
with krypton bulbs.

Some little battery lights have 2.4W *halogen* bulbs and are much
better than the krypton ones, although not quite as good as a dynamo
running a
2.4W headlight. I'm not sure why, as the electrical power is the same
on paper, but maybe the AC from a dynamo gives a brighter light -
after all, the rated power is only the RMS value - and I suppose the
dynamo gives slightly more than 6V at anything above its minimum
design speed. Presumably bulb life is reduced pro rata.

FWIW, I get about 2 hours out of a 2.4W halogen lamp using 4 x AA NiMH
batteries. Halve that for NiCd. When the batteries die, they do so
in a matter of minutes!

Indeed, the NiMH are driving the 6V lamp at 4.8V. Alkalines will drive it at
even less than that, and unregulated dynamo will be driving it at probably
over 7V. Light output is quadratic on voltage, so the dynamo will be at
least twice as bright.

A

In news:[email hidden],

David Hansen said:

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 19:43:02 +0100 someone who may be Jon Senior
<jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Have you calmed down yet David?

I was not uncalm when I made the original posting. I am happy with
it.

I noted a few weeks ago that universities are becoming concerned
about the amount of spoon-feeding that people demand now. They are
incapable of getting off their backsides and finding things out for
themselves, preferring instead to wait for mummy or daddy bird.

I'd like to know more about that. Can you post a URL please?

;]
--

Martin Bulmer

Ian <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Looking at wiggle, amongst others, I'm quite interested in the Smart
10w/2.4w Twin Rechargeable Headlight or the Vistalite NightStick Code
5. I read elsewhere that the Iistalite is badly manufactured and
unreliable. Can anyone confirm/contradict this?

Before you decide, have a look at these:

http://qurl.com/f5np

" Electron Light System Twin 5w-10w NiMH, £44.99

Powerful 5 and 10 watt focused handlebar mounted headlights
Ni-Mh Bottle cage mounted battery recharges in approx 7.5 hours
Ni-Mh batteries are lighter, more reliable and more compact than lead-acid
or Ni-Cad alternatives
Remote handlebar switch for easy mid ride control
Runtime up to 5.4 hours in 5w only mode 2.7 hours in 10w only mode (Based
on a fully charged battery)
UK 110-240v fast mains charger"

These seem pretty good lights for the money, although spares might be
difficult to find as it doesn't seem to be a very well known manufacturer.

However the NiMH battery is a good feature.

--
Brian

Gawnsoft said:

Is SON an acronym rather than a brand name, then?

Probably. The company that make them is Schmidt, and the SON is their
dynamo hub. Though I'd have a good guess at the 'S', no idea about the
'O' and 'N'.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch said:

Gawnsoft wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Is SON an acronym rather than a brand name, then?

Quoted message said:

Probably. The company that make them is Schmidt, and the SON is their
dynamo hub. Though I'd have a good guess at the 'S', no idea about the
'O' and 'N'.

Maybe they're just very emotionally attached to their first-born
product 🙂

Roos

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:33:03 +0100 someone who may be Zog The
Undeniable <[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Some little battery lights have 2.4W *halogen* bulbs and are much better
than the krypton ones, although not quite as good as a dynamo running a
2.4W headlight. I'm not sure why, as the electrical power is the same
on paper, but maybe the AC from a dynamo gives a brighter light - after
all, the rated power is only the RMS value - and I suppose the dynamo
gives slightly more than 6V at anything above its minimum design speed.
Presumably bulb life is reduced pro rata.

Incandescent light bulbs tend to fail due to sudden changes in
current, which cause sudden changes in temperature, ie being
switched on and off. A "dynamo" powered bulb is switched on and off
gently and I would guess that this outweighs a reduction in life
caused by running at a higher voltage than designed for.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 11:43:47 GMT, "elyob" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Go back to bed, get out the other side.

Cloff!

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

Ambrose Nankivell said:

Indeed, the NiMH are driving the 6V lamp at 4.8V.

Does that mean you have rats powering the lamp?

IGMC...

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Indeed, the NiMH are driving the 6V lamp at 4.8V.

Does that mean you have rats powering the lamp?

IGMC...

He he. You're definately on form at the minute!

Jon

Roos Eisma said:

Peter Clinch said:

Gawnsoft wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Is SON an acronym rather than a brand name, then?

Quoted message said:

Probably. The company that make them is Schmidt, and the SON is their
dynamo hub. Though I'd have a good guess at the 'S', no idea about the
'O' and 'N'.

Maybe they're just very emotionally attached to their first-born
product 🙂

Drifting OT, but I read that some bloke invented an electronic printer
for his computer.

He then improved it, and called it Son of Electronic Printer, or
EPSon.

Tim
--
Blue Witch laughed at me

David Hansen said:

I noted a few weeks ago that universities are becoming concerned
about the amount of spoon-feeding that people demand now. They are
incapable of getting off their backsides and finding things out for
themselves, preferring instead to wait for mummy or daddy bird.

Although I agree with the above comment, this is not a university.

The whole ethos of a newsgroup is that people with common interests
congregate to discuss and help one another. It isn't supposed to be
difficult or a challenge, this defeats the whole purpose of the
group.

I agree that I could have googled. But, I chose not to, as I prefer
the community spirit (shown by most people) of the NG.

Mostly, I find people are very friendly and helpful. There are a few,
unfortunate, exceptions.... :-(

David Hansen said:

Excellent. No answer given to the points under discussion.

and what did your last post answer?

<plonk>

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 22:54:02 +0100, "Jim" <www.jimpix.co.uk/email/>

Quoted message said:

£40 seems a lot at first, but once you've paid for batteries over the
winter, they soon pay for themselves (over a few years).

Thank you for the info. High on the wish list.

Upon the miasma of midnight, a darkling spirit identified as Exiddor
<[email hidden]> gently breathed:

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 27 Sep 2004 23:22:26 +0100, Pyromancer wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For 10.95 I got a set of LED lamps, red rear and green front, each pod
takes 2 x AAA batteries and can be set to steady, flash, or knight-rider
style sweep. There are 5 LEDs in each light.

Quoted message said:

I also got a dinky little computer from the same LBS for 7.50, doesn't
do cadence but for the first time in my life I have a speedo on a

Quoted message said:

This sounds like exactly the setup I have. One snag is that the lights
affect the speedo. I can have the rear light on steady without problems
but if I switch to one of the flashing modes the speedo reads around 3
times the correct speed - the first time it happened I thought I must be
feeling really good as I was doing 29 MPH :-)

If I switch the front light on, in any mode, the speedo reads 0 MPH.

When I'm in the mood, I intend to see if I can do a bit of screening with
kitchen foil.

Eeek - something badly wrong there. I've had no trouble, the comp reads
sensibly all the time.

I did have a problem with eratic readings when I first installed it, but
then I discovered that I should have put the magnet at one end of the
sensor, not in the middle, and once it was moved, problem solved.

NP: Chris de Burgh - Crying and Laughing.
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