rear lights electrickery

adam85 said:

It's a bit hard to get into it without breaking it, but I'll try some
contact cleaner spray. Any electronic boffins care to comment? Cracked
or rusted track on the board?

My s-sun did the same thing, once it gets water in it, it's rooted.

The best tail light I've had is a vistalight 7 LED job. I've had the
same one for 3 years now and it's still going strong.

This is the puppy :

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/11536-225_VISTE0-2-Accessories-35-Lights/VistaLite-Total-Eclipse-Rear-Safety-Light.htm

Nothing else I've used has been as reliable, and in a taillight, one
wants reliable ....

On 2005-12-22, adam85 (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

I've got two 5-led rear lights (branded as SMART I think). They are
quite good, very bright with 2 LEDs angled out to the side for a bit
more visibility.

Someone should release a brand called "SMRT".

Quoted message said:

Only problem is one got water in it, and now it switches off
occasionally when you least expect it, which is not cool.

Mine did that when it hadn't gotten wet -- but the same thing might
have happened to yours -- if the spring no longer has a brilliant
connection to the battery, then little bumps will cause a
disconnection that will last for the smallest amount of time, but will
still cause it to switch off.

So put a tiny capacitor across the power supply somewhere on the board
where there's room (I just tucked a capacitor under the board where
there was a big gap, and soldered it in).

Until it finally died somewhere along the line, it could withstand
having the battery disconnected for many seconds.

Quoted message said:

The other one went flat after getting soaked last friday. New batteries
and it's good as gold...though this morning when I went to go riding it
was still on. Must have forgotten to switch it off I thought. Then
after a ride this morning it was on again. So I've got one that
switches itself off, and the other that switches itself on!

People have seen the plastic wrapping I have over mine now. It's hit
the ground twice on two separate helmets, and the casing is stuffed.
One day it did that not-switch-off thing after rain, but the next day,
after things had dried, it was fine.

Quoted message said:

It's a bit hard to get into it without breaking it, but I'll try some
contact cleaner spray. Any electronic boffins care to comment? Cracked
or rusted track on the board?

Perhaps a bit of salt (from sweat) got in too. Wash the whole thing
out (except for the batteries) with fresh water, and then leave to dry
all the way again.

--
TimC
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.12
GS d- s:- a-- C+++(++++) UL(SOBI)+++(++++) P+++ L+++ E++(----)
W++(--) N+++ o K+++ w---(++) O- M--(+) V PS++ PE-(--) Y PGP t->+
!5 X R? tv- b- DI+ D--- G e++>++++ h* r(--) y?
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

adam85 said:

I've got two 5-led rear lights (branded as SMART I think). They are quite good, very bright with 2 LEDs angled out to the side for a bit more visibility.

Only problem is one got water in it, and now it switches off occasionally when you least expect it, which is not cool.

The other one went flat after getting soaked last friday. New batteries and it's good as gold...though this morning when I went to go riding it was still on. Must have forgotten to switch it off I thought. Then after a ride this morning it was on again. So I've got one that switches itself off, and the other that switches itself on!

It's a bit hard to get into it without breaking it, but I'll try some contact cleaner spray. Any electronic boffins care to comment? Cracked or rusted track on the board?

Mumblegrumblefeckinstoopid....

Any electronic boffins care to comment?

How about a comment from a statistician?

"On average, you have 2 good lights"

runs and hides from all statisticians

note to self - MrsA is economist/statistician. Do not mention this at home.

SteveA

On 2005-12-22, Bleve (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

adam85 said:

It's a bit hard to get into it without breaking it, but I'll try some
contact cleaner spray. Any electronic boffins care to comment? Cracked
or rusted track on the board?

My s-sun did the same thing, once it gets water in it, it's rooted.

The best tail light I've had is a vistalight 7 LED job. I've had the
same one for 3 years now and it's still going strong.

This is the puppy :

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/11536-225_VISTE0-2-Accessories-35-Lights/VistaLite-Total-Eclipse-Rear-Safety-Light.htm

Nothing else I've used has been as reliable, and in a taillight, one
wants reliable ....

One also wants brightness. Hence why I keep reserecting my S-Sun[1]
from certain death. Just got to remember to take it off in the wet 🙂

[1] Eagle eye. Seriously, how the heck do they get it that bright?
Overdriving the LEDs? One LED on these suckers is brighter than
other entire flashers. And the battery lasts about accordingly
(always a good sign, as long as you have a good recharging regime).

--
TimC
So y'know, when the girl octopus slaps the boy octopus for being too
forward, he could say it wasn't his fault, the arm just kind of did its
own thing. -- Kasatka in AFAFDA

TimC, I wanna know where you get all this stuff under your signature!

Donga

On 2005-12-22, Donga (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

TimC, I wanna know where you get all this stuff under your signature!

Years of timewasting and saving of gems on places like
rec.humor.oracle.d and alt.fan.afda (where afda stands for
alt.fan.douglas-adams, hence a meta meta group) and the scary devil
monastery and alt.religion.kibology and suchlike.

Trust me, you don't want to waste so much time yourself that you come
up with the ~336 entries I currently have (and why is it that some of
them never appear, and others keep popping up all the time?). I swear
this is the reason why my thesis isn't done yet.

P.S. Rarely do I bring out the "unsafe" entries, except if I
deliberately grab one. I've got to get around to allowing the unsafe
entries for things that can't possibly be work related email.

--
TimC
Just don't create a file called -rf. :-)
-- Larry Wall in <[email hidden]>

TimC said:

On 2005-12-22, Bleve (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

adam85 said:

It's a bit hard to get into it without breaking it, but I'll try some
contact cleaner spray. Any electronic boffins care to comment? Cracked
or rusted track on the board?

My s-sun did the same thing, once it gets water in it, it's rooted.

The best tail light I've had is a vistalight 7 LED job. I've had the
same one for 3 years now and it's still going strong.

This is the puppy :

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/11536-225_VISTE0-2-Accessories-35-Lights/VistaLite-Total-Eclipse-Rear-Safety-Light.htm

Nothing else I've used has been as reliable, and in a taillight, one
wants reliable ....

One also wants brightness. Hence why I keep reserecting my S-Sun[1]
from certain death. Just got to remember to take it off in the wet 🙂

[1] Eagle eye. Seriously, how the heck do they get it that bright?
Overdriving the LEDs? One LED on these suckers is brighter than
other entire flashers. And the battery lasts about accordingly
(always a good sign, as long as you have a good recharging regime).

Sort of off topic but still related to lights, I got a Lithium Poly
battery from Hong Kong in the mail yesterday. 11.1 volt, 3 amp hour,
took it for a 2.5 hour ride last night and it worked well. Weighs 57
percent of equivalent NiMh battery.

NiMh 2.5 Amp hour 12 volts is 430 grams. (30 watt.hours)
LiPo 3 amp hour 11.1 volt is 245 grams. (33 watt.hours)

Marty

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

Quoted message said:

On 2005-12-22, adam85 (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

I've got two 5-led rear lights (branded as SMART I think). They are
quite good, very bright with 2 LEDs angled out to the side for a bit
more visibility.

Someone should release a brand called "SMRT".

*whoosh* what's SMRT?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Only problem is one got water in it, and now it switches off
occasionally when you least expect it, which is not cool.

Mine did that when it hadn't gotten wet -- but the same thing might
have happened to yours -- if the spring no longer has a brilliant
connection to the battery, then little bumps will cause a
disconnection that will last for the smallest amount of time, but will
still cause it to switch off.

OK I'll check that but I suspect the problem is on the board.

Quoted message said:

So put a tiny capacitor across the power supply somewhere on the board
where there's room (I just tucked a capacitor under the board where
there was a big gap, and soldered it in).

Until it finally died somewhere along the line, it could withstand
having the battery disconnected for many seconds.

Thanks, I'd forgotten about that. I don't think I can open it without
busting it but I might be able to get a tiny cap in where the batteries are.

Quoted message said:

People have seen the plastic wrapping I have over mine now. It's hit
the ground twice on two separate helmets, and the casing is stuffed.
One day it did that not-switch-off thing after rain, but the next day,
after things had dried, it was fine.

Perhaps a bit of salt (from sweat) got in too. Wash the whole thing
out (except for the batteries) with fresh water, and then leave to dry
all the way again.

I'll give it a go. Ta.

Adam

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

Quoted message said:

adam85 said:

It's a bit hard to get into it without breaking it, but I'll try some
contact cleaner spray. Any electronic boffins care to comment? Cracked
or rusted track on the board?

My s-sun did the same thing, once it gets water in it, it's rooted.

The best tail light I've had is a vistalight 7 LED job. I've had the
same one for 3 years now and it's still going strong.

This is the puppy :

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/11536-225_VISTE0-2-Accessories-35-Lights/VistaLite-Total-Eclipse-Rear-Safety-Light.htm

Nothing else I've used has been as reliable, and in a taillight, one
wants reliable ....

You bet! I'm reluctant to buy another light, I have three brackets on
different bikes and I can just swap the light from bike to bike. If I do I
might get one of those puppys. If I can fix mine I'll seal it up with grease
or plastic wrap or something to stop the water getting in.

Adam

Marty said:

I got a Lithium Poly battery from Hong Kong in the mail yesterday

What did that puppy cost Marty?

Donga

On 2005-12-22, adam85 (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

On 2005-12-22, adam85 (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

I've got two 5-led rear lights (branded as SMART I think). They are
quite good, very bright with 2 LEDs angled out to the side for a bit
more visibility.

Someone should release a brand called "SMRT".

*whoosh* what's SMRT?

I'm SMRT. Apparently Hippy is sometimes SMRT too 🙂

--
TimC
Information wants to be beer, or something like that. --unknown

TimC said:

I'm SMRT. Apparently Hippy is sometimes SMRT too 🙂

I didn't think you'd finished your PhD, what are you burning it for?
(OK, so it'd be more like a VCE)

--
Dave Hughes | [email hidden]
Thus leading us to the obvious conclusion that all software should look
like a nipple. - Eric the Read

Donga said:

Marty said:

I got a Lithium Poly battery from Hong Kong in the mail yesterday

What did that puppy cost Marty?

Donga

It was $69 for the battery, $20 for the charger and $17 for air mail
from Hong Kong.

Marty

Crikey that's cheap. Have they got a website?

Donga said:

Marty said:

I got a Lithium Poly battery from Hong Kong in the mail yesterday

Hope that that puppy bit Marty?

and gave his the BIRD FLU
http://groups.google.com/group/aus.bicycle/browse_thread/thread/89cdc...

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

It's a bit hard to get into it without breaking it, but I'll try some
contact cleaner spray. Any electronic boffins care to comment? Cracked
or rusted track on the board?

Perhaps a bit of salt (from sweat) got in too. Wash the whole thing
out (except for the batteries) with fresh water, and then leave to dry
all the way again.

I second that.

The standard method for cleaning dunked electronics is
distilled water, then air dry. The main components (board,
LED, ICs, resistors, capacitors) should dry out well with
no ill effects. The on/off switch may be a bit more interesting.

Donga said:

Crikey that's cheap. Have they got a website?

This is the eBay shop.

http://stores.ebay.com.au/WORLD-HOBBY

Marty

On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 16:32:30 +1100, adam85
<[email hidden]> wrote in aus.bicycle:

Quoted message said:

Only problem is one got water in it, and now it switches off
occasionally when you least expect it, which is not cool.

The other one went flat after getting soaked last friday. New batteries
and it's good as gold...though this morning when I went to go riding it
was still on. Must have forgotten to switch it off I thought. Then
after a ride this morning it was on again. So I've got one that
switches itself off, and the other that switches itself on!

It's a bit hard to get into it without breaking it, but I'll try some
contact cleaner spray. Any electronic boffins care to comment? Cracked
or rusted track on the board?

I use a couple of el cheapo 4 led flashers I bought years ago from
Woolies they are very bright but they are not waterproof and after
riding in rain they usually won't turn off. Fortunately with them the
red cover snaps off to replace the batteries so I just remove the
cover and one of the batteries, dry them out and they come good again

I think the water affects the proximity device that turns them on and
off - its a button with a rubbery thingy on the inside but not a
switch. I have made some effort to water proof them by running sticky
tape over the join between the body and the lens which stops them
getting wet in anything but a downpour however if I don't replace the
tape regularly after a while the tape lifts and water gets in even in
a slight shower.

If you want to save the ones you have then you need to dry them out
and if water is getting in then it must be able to get out so leaving
them somewhere warm and letting the water evapourate should work. You
should then be able to find out if the water did any permanent damage
to the elecronics. If all is well then you need to work out how the
water is getting in and take steps to seal it.

Silastic will work if its a seam in the casing but it is more
difficult if water is getting in via a hole drilled for a switch for
example. Mind you Gladwrap has worked wonders waterproofing my speedo
for a number of years.

Regards
Prickles

This message only uses recycled electrons

In article <[email hidden]>,

Flying Echidna said:

On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 16:32:30 +1100, adam85
<[email hidden]> wrote in aus.bicycle:

(bits snipped)

Quoted message said:

Silastic will work if its a seam in the casing but it is more
difficult if water is getting in via a hole drilled for a switch for
example. Mind you Gladwrap has worked wonders waterproofing my speedo
for a number of years.

Regards
Prickles

This message only uses recycled electrons

Prickles,
I will second the Gladwrap as a suitable waterproofing solution. I have
used it before and it is good (and cheap).
At one stage I even just slipped a small plastic bag, similar size to
the bank coin bags, over a particularly useless tail-light and that kept
enough water out. Keep it simple.
cheers,
Darryl