Paradise Canyon.... at night (7/6/10)

[theking648]

computer geek + mountain biking = night riding.

about a week ago I got my Cree XR-E's and I was dieing to try them out so I found a heatsink to a Pentium 3 chip, taped the cree's on (for now) and soldered up a pot and a switch. then I ""borrowed"" :haha: a 12 v battery to my dads drill and I was ready to go.

the pictures are blurry but there's a good reason for that.... I have a !@#4ty camera.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l280/theking648/3f05e03c.jpg

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l280/theking648/24f0fb77.jpg

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l280/theking648/6fcf7a81.jpg

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l280/theking648/PICT0379-1.jpg

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l280/theking648/PICT0380-1.jpg

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l280/theking648/PICT0384-1.jpg

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l280/theking648/PICT0385-1.jpg

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l280/theking648/PICT0387-1.jpg


so I'm taking off in about 30min to do it all over again.

O and sorry Bo, I think I killed a desert rat on the way down. they were everywhere and I was going to fast to stop. :roll:

cheers,
Dave.

[blueeyes]

sweet!

[live2ride]

night riding kicks ass! reminds me that I need to get out and do it more often. I am impressed with the sweet lights you Mcgrubered together! nice!

[JONBOYLEMON]

If you really want to take it to the next level. Run these off a 12 volt LIPO battery like I use for my RC planes. The 12 volt LIPO is very lite...

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8944&Product_Name=Turnigy_High_Density_R/C_LED_Flexible_Strip-White_(1mtr)

And all the options.
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store/uh_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?catname=Night+Fly ing+Accs%2E&idCategory=280&ParentCat=58

To your door in 2 weeks.

You can cut these strips into any 3 LED segment you want. You could put these on your forks and handle bars and make it day. You could do Red on the back if you really need to Nerd it out. Plus would be good for the guy behind you since he could see your taillights....

I have 4 strips of these on a 60" wingspan RC plane and @ 50' up I can turn night into DAY!!!!! Its awesome in a very nerdy way.

[JONBOYLEMON]

http://vimeo.com/9628253

Yep, cheap and easy.

[Sombeech]

I've gotta get myself a light, I'd like to do some night rides to get out of the crowds.

[accadacca]

I've gotta get myself a light, I'd like to do some night rides to get out of the crowds.
And away from horses... :haha:

[theking648]

If you really want to take it to the next level. Run these off a 12 volt LIPO battery like I use for my RC planes. The 12 volt LIPO is very lite...

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8944&Product_Name=Turnigy_High_Density_R/C_LED_Flexible_Strip-White_(1mtr)

And all the options.
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store/uh_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?catname=Night+Fly ing+Accs%2E&idCategory=280&ParentCat=58

To your door in 2 weeks.

You can cut these strips into any 3 LED segment you want. You could put these on your forks and handle bars and make it day. You could do Red on the back if you really need to Nerd it out. Plus would be good for the guy behind you since he could see your taillights....

I have 4 strips of these on a 60" wingspan RC plane and @ 50' up I can turn night into DAY!!!!! Its awesome in a very nerdy way.

thanks for the suggestion but, that won't even light up 1/16th of what my crees light up. the pictures really don't do it justice. and I have hundreds of leds everywhere for all my other projects..

6 bucks for 60 is a nice price i get 100 leds for 10bucks from some sources but the crees are about 7 bucks a pop. the standard led is about 3.3v @ 25mA max the crees are 3.3v @ 350mA - 1A.

@ 350mA they put out 110lm each, so thats 330Lm at the lowest setting and upward of 750 -800 at the higest setting.

I really don't have a problem with the weight, the 12V bats i'm using now are 1300mAh and last about 1 and a half to 2 hours (plus fan) so I'll need somthing in the 2500mAh range I just cant afford one right now... this was basically a quick test to see how well it works.

I'm still going to build a housing and add lenses for it. (http://www.cutter.com.au/proddetail.php?prod=cut678&cat=33)

[JONBOYLEMON]

I would love to put the Crees on a plane as well, but the cost is a factor, esp for something that may explode at any moment.:haha: Heres 3000mAh for cheap.
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8851

[theking648]

I would love to put the Crees on a plane as well, but the cost is a factor, esp for something that may explode at any moment.:haha: Heres 3000mAh for cheap.
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8851

oooo... that is nice. 11.1V hmm might work.. 9.9 volts for the lights + 2v for buckpuck, 12v seams to be my min but 12 - 14v

this one could work 14.8V might make extra heat but should work.
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=9463&Product_Name=Turnigy_4000mAh_4S_20C_Lipo_Pack

only problem is i'll need to get the charger too, but thats a cool site with some good prices.

[JONBOYLEMON]

Time to pull out the cushions on the sofa to pay for this charger. I have 4 of them. Works just as well as my $120.00 charger for 2S and 3S packs, just no fancy "Cool" features. But it charges just as well.

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6507&Product_Name=Turnigy_2-3_Cell_Lipoly_Balance/Charger

This charger only goes to 3S though.

I have heard 4S on the LED strips = very short LED life and tons of heat. 5S makes a cool sound and = 0 life and a funny smell.. Yep thats 1st hand knowledge. But @ $6.00 for 1 meter of lights, its not the end of the world.

[live2ride]

my night riders are all I need, light the whole side of the mountain up and run for over 3 hours and take a beating. coolest thing at night is seeing all the spider eyes on the trails, and ACCA I know you said no horses but in some places this means more Moose! It is a little freaky but waaay cool.