Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
A connection to the back light on the bike failed on Monday night, but it happened as I was putting it away, so it wasn't an issue - and I saw no other traffic all the three miles back here anyway.
The lights are LEDs, driven from a 12 volt rechargeable battery and have been very reliable.
I started using this system back in the 1980s, but had to use ordinary 12V tungsten bulbs, as used in the cars of the time, and NiCad batteries. These bulbs often fell victim to the rough condition of the roads, even back then.
I could see easily when a front bulb failed, but the rear was probably more important and harder to spot. So, I hit on a system to display a signal to show if the light was actually working or not.
One of the many things I've saved from skips over the decades was a roll of plastic fibre optic cable. By running this from inside the back light to a point on the handlebars, I then had a small light which indicated if light was actually being emitted or not. Even better, because I used a clear bulb in the back light then, the red aspect being generated by the lens, it meant that I saw a white indication, if the bulb was working - not being confused by illumination from the lights of a following vehicle, which would show as red, because of the lens.
The recent issue with my fibre optic internet connection and the (non-bulb related) failure of the rear lamp led me to institute the system on this bike, even if this is the first failure in five years, since I fitted the lighting system. The fibre runs in through the drain hole at the bottom of the light.
Because the LED in the rear light is red, not white, I don't have the benefit of knowing if the signal is being generated by the LED itself or the light of a following vehicle this time, it will show red either way - but, that hardly matters here. I rarely have company on the road and if they are there behind me, the reflector will do the job.
But, it will be nice to glance now and then and see that it really is working, without looking back over my shoulder.
The lights are LEDs, driven from a 12 volt rechargeable battery and have been very reliable.
I started using this system back in the 1980s, but had to use ordinary 12V tungsten bulbs, as used in the cars of the time, and NiCad batteries. These bulbs often fell victim to the rough condition of the roads, even back then.
I could see easily when a front bulb failed, but the rear was probably more important and harder to spot. So, I hit on a system to display a signal to show if the light was actually working or not.
One of the many things I've saved from skips over the decades was a roll of plastic fibre optic cable. By running this from inside the back light to a point on the handlebars, I then had a small light which indicated if light was actually being emitted or not. Even better, because I used a clear bulb in the back light then, the red aspect being generated by the lens, it meant that I saw a white indication, if the bulb was working - not being confused by illumination from the lights of a following vehicle, which would show as red, because of the lens.
The recent issue with my fibre optic internet connection and the (non-bulb related) failure of the rear lamp led me to institute the system on this bike, even if this is the first failure in five years, since I fitted the lighting system. The fibre runs in through the drain hole at the bottom of the light.
Because the LED in the rear light is red, not white, I don't have the benefit of knowing if the signal is being generated by the LED itself or the light of a following vehicle this time, it will show red either way - but, that hardly matters here. I rarely have company on the road and if they are there behind me, the reflector will do the job.
But, it will be nice to glance now and then and see that it really is working, without looking back over my shoulder.
