Trail Tech HID Light?

"Gurrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1332

Seems to represent good value?

Sh!t yea. Way cheaper than I can find parts. They have some gear that really
looks worthwhile.
I had a quick look and couldn't see any details specs. I would want to know
who makes the HID "bulb" before buying them.

AJS

AJS said:

I had a quick look and couldn't see any details specs. I would
want to know who makes the HID "bulb" before buying them.

It's a Welch Allyn 10W, with the Welch Allyn ballast (I can't remember
which one). TTBOMK, no one other than Welch Allyn make low power HID
lamps, and I now every 10W (often specced as 13, to include ballast
draw) bike HID light uses a WA lamp.

Dave - who has a trail tech HID, but hasn't had a chance to use it
offroad yet.

"Random Data" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dave - who has a trail tech HID, but hasn't had a chance to use it
offroad yet.

So what's it like? Nice? Got photos? Even beam? Sharp focus?

AJS

AJS said:

So what's it like? Nice? Got photos? Even beam? Sharp focus?

Like I said, I haven't really had a chance to ride it yet (stupid early
shifts and damn daylight savings. Though riding during the day is
nice...).

I got the broader beam (12 degree?) and can light from one end of the
house to the other (say 12m). It's disturbingly bright. When I get
around to it, I'll update the beam photos at
http://hired-goons.net/lights/beams.php.
Dave - who needs to finish the 3W replacement for the blown 1W Luxeon.

Looking forward to seeing the updated beam pics.....

What is the mounting system like? Can it be handle bar mounted? It looks
like it might be just a 'velcro' job when fastening to a helmet?

Where did you get yours from?

Thanks in advance,

Craig

"Random Data" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

AJS said:

So what's it like? Nice? Got photos? Even beam? Sharp focus?

Like I said, I haven't really had a chance to ride it yet (stupid early
shifts and damn daylight savings. Though riding during the day is
nice...).

I got the broader beam (12 degree?) and can light from one end of the
house to the other (say 12m). It's disturbingly bright. When I get
around to it, I'll update the beam photos at
http://hired-goons.net/lights/beams.php.
Dave - who needs to finish the 3W replacement for the blown 1W Luxeon.

Gurrie said:

Looking forward to seeing the updated beam pics.....

I'm not sure when I'll get a chance, but I'll post it here when I do.
I've worked out I do have a digital camera that I can lock
aperture/shutter/white balance better than "turn fixed light on, half
press shutter, turn fixed light off, turn test light on, take shot". I
also want to take offroad shots so you can see what they're like in the
real world, where you don't tend to have Lords of the Sith jumping out
at you.

Anyway, I actually got out for a spin on Saturday night, and was rather
impressed. You don't seem to be able to see that much further down the
track than a decent 20W light, but what you do see is so much clearer
(I suspect the light is going further, but the close in reflection
means your pupil is more constricted than with the 20W, so no extra
distance). I normally run a 10W bar light with around a 5W helmet
light, because a more powerful helmet light would wash out the shadows
that let you see the bump. I had the HID on my helmet with no bar light
and it's bright enough you don't need shadows, because you can actually
see well enough to determine distance as you do in the day (ie, depth
perception is better). Oh, and even when it's aimed down at the road
oncoming cars don't like it much. Mwuahahahahaha!

Quoted message said:

What is the mounting system like? Can it be handle bar
mounted? It looks like it might be just a 'velcro' job when
fastening to a helmet?

It mounts using fiendishly strong velcro on an adhesive pad. You get a
couple of the pads, so it'd be easy enough to have one on a helmet and
bodge up a zip ties and plastic handlebar mount (hose clamp might work
better than zip ties).

Quoted message said:

Where did you get yours from?

Direct from Trailtech. They're not bad to deal with, but only do UPS
for shipping, so the cost is a bit high (especially if you order 2, and
get stung for customs). http://www.batteryspace.com will ship USPS, so
you'll save around $30.

Dave - who is still using the 10W for commuting, since I'm not sure
blinding oncoming traffic is a particularly smart thing to do (and a
$20 home made jobbie is a lot less painful to have nicked).

So the big question is, where do Cateye get their 21w HID globe from
or tis that 21w including discharge?
A great local supplier for batteries is www.masterinstuments.com.au They have a massive range of lithium-ion batteries and will assemble battery packs if required. I am fairly sure that they will deal with the public. I had a look at
batteryspace.com and they had the one thing that is beyond my skills to make and I was going to ask a friend to make it for me and that is the overcharge/discharge protection.

I deliberately aim my cateye stadium at mirror level just to make damn sure that the morons take notice and see us on the tandem. We have had zero problems (where's that bit of wood) of cars pulling out infront of us from side streets since we've been using it.
YXMV

geoff

Dave,

Couple more questions:

* How much was the Customs Duties etc??

* Did you get the battery from them as well? If not, what are you using to
power it?

Thanks,

Craig

"Random Data" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Gurrie said:

Looking forward to seeing the updated beam pics.....

I'm not sure when I'll get a chance, but I'll post it here when I do.
I've worked out I do have a digital camera that I can lock
aperture/shutter/white balance better than "turn fixed light on, half
press shutter, turn fixed light off, turn test light on, take shot". I
also want to take offroad shots so you can see what they're like in the
real world, where you don't tend to have Lords of the Sith jumping out
at you.

Anyway, I actually got out for a spin on Saturday night, and was rather
impressed. You don't seem to be able to see that much further down the
track than a decent 20W light, but what you do see is so much clearer
(I suspect the light is going further, but the close in reflection
means your pupil is more constricted than with the 20W, so no extra
distance). I normally run a 10W bar light with around a 5W helmet
light, because a more powerful helmet light would wash out the shadows
that let you see the bump. I had the HID on my helmet with no bar light
and it's bright enough you don't need shadows, because you can actually
see well enough to determine distance as you do in the day (ie, depth
perception is better). Oh, and even when it's aimed down at the road
oncoming cars don't like it much. Mwuahahahahaha!

Quoted message said:

What is the mounting system like? Can it be handle bar
mounted? It looks like it might be just a 'velcro' job when
fastening to a helmet?

It mounts using fiendishly strong velcro on an adhesive pad. You get a
couple of the pads, so it'd be easy enough to have one on a helmet and
bodge up a zip ties and plastic handlebar mount (hose clamp might work
better than zip ties).

Quoted message said:

Where did you get yours from?

Direct from Trailtech. They're not bad to deal with, but only do UPS
for shipping, so the cost is a bit high (especially if you order 2, and
get stung for customs). http://www.batteryspace.com will ship USPS, so
you'll save around $30.

Dave - who is still using the 10W for commuting, since I'm not sure
blinding oncoming traffic is a particularly smart thing to do (and a
$20 home made jobbie is a lot less painful to have nicked).

Gurrie said:

* How much was the Customs Duties etc??

If it's over A$400, you get slugged with 10% + a broker's fee. It came
out to roughly $100 for a pair of HID helmet lights + controllers.

Quoted message said:

* Did you get the battery from them as well? If not, what are you

using to

Quoted message said:

power it?

I'm running mine from a 10 cell NiMH pack I already had. I'm looking at
the battery space Li-Ion pack, but keep spending toy money on other
bike bits (like a new front rim due to excessive sidewaysness).

Dave