WillemT

understand, thanks

BL would you sell batteries and chargers separate? just to know for when i have money in the future...

take a look under the "order your development kit" on the website. I think they're about $100 for 6 cells. you can order them on the internet. I wont have the money to get them at this stage. i'm a student so i live on a low budget. I already have 8 NiMH so i'll just stick with them for now.

BL I came across some lithium battery's. A123 systems makes them. have you looked at them. They look quite amazing, pulse currents of up to 120A for 10 sec and 70 amps continuos discharge. I'm waiting for components to build a light but would stick with NiMH as lithium is a bit exspensive and you need special chargers. They use this new lithium batteries in cars and build a drag motorbike with it that reaches 100km/h in no time... They say the batteries are a lot more robust than previous batteries. http://www.a123systems.com/#/products/

Well you can choose if you want to put it in series or parralel. The four chips is controlled seperatly so you can choose, the thing is as you say that very little circuits can handle high amps... I thought of maybe using 2 buckpucks in order to get the amps needed to put 2 in series and then the other 2 also in series and connect it to the second driver. then you'll need about 9 or 10 V for a nice constant drive and about 2 amps. If you get a decent polymer bat it should work. But I guess if you want more light you'll always have to get more batt, basic fisics... hehe The nice thing is if you build the circuits yourself, you can not only dim it but cut out two of the LEDs and only run on two wich will give you better bat life. If you maybe run 2 LEDs per buckpuck you can only shut off your one driver and you run of half capacity. They plan to launch it middle - end of july with the optics designed for it!! Can't wait!!!!!!!!

That light looks very cool!! Have you seen the new MC-E LED from cree? Hear its going to be on sale at the end of july... Same idea as the P7 except you can choose whether you drive it in series or parralel.

I might be wrong here but seeming that the seetpost is designed to take your weight I can't see how it will be a problem. If it's a carbon bike it doesn't even weigh that much...

How much did the bracket cost? Could you maybe post a pic of it some time?

Does anybody know if you can buy separate handlebar mountings, or oder them from somewhere? I'm looking at mounting options so if anyone has an idea feel free to speak!!

it's two different things, it's not like metre and foot that you can convert. maybe this would explain it better... ***************************************** "Candlepower vs Lumens Peak beam candlepower is the measure of the brightest spot in the beam and is a function of both the output of the lamp and the efficiency of the reflector. As a result, peak beam candlepower is a subjective measurement, and different flashlight manufacturers measure it differently. Therefore, comparing peak beam candlepower ratings of flashlights from various manufacturers will not give an accurate comparison of brightness. On the other hand, lumens can be used when comparing brightness because it is a measurement of the entire light output regardless of beam focus. Since peak beam candlepower is a measure of the reflected light, there is no way to convert peak beam candlepower into lumens. The BrightGuy website shows light output in peak beam candlepower (referred to as candlepower or CP) and/or lumens. This information comes directly from the manufacturers. " ************************************** night tider2008-05-30 12:46:35

this a mount of a cateye. I'm looking for a mount like this. I know you can buy the bottom part of this at the LBS, but not the top part. You'll see the screw standing out, that's where i want to mount the light.

i'll quickly you post a photo of the mount I have in mind.

both housings can take either three of four LEDs Will make a muck simpler and smaller one to take 1 LED

Love being a student!!! Still lives at home, wich not always nice but has some huge advantages!!! Ok so I put together a few ideas, really just had 30 mins so it's done very rough, just the idea... When I have some time on my hands i'll make nice a nice detailed design... Anyway basic I have two ideas for housings. The one you see below is just a normal alluminium tube. It will get a glass cover in the front. At the rear you can put a grommet for the wire or maybe a pannel mount DC socket where you see the whole, you can put flip switches in the back just like the grander housing. The idea for mounting on this is a hole drilled in the bottom(not in the pic), the screw that goes in there will be screwing into the back plate behind the LEDs, tha cover plate at the back will be connected to the LED backplate with stack screws working as spacers. So basicly the screw in the bottom will hold the whole assembly together. If you take out that screw the internals can be pulled out the back. The better housing of the two has a taperred inside (right where you see the "fins" on the outside) where the LED mounting plate (approx 5mm thick) contact the housing and the heatsink is integratet with the housing as you can see. In 2 of the pics you'll be able to see a flat part on the outside meant for mounting. This housing will have to get a screw on lid or something on the front wich will hold the LEDs and somthing simmilar at the back. This is just a shape idea that in did in 10 mins so it doesn't have the detail of the design yet. I will find out next week more or less what the manufacturing costs will be of a housing like this one. Bottom view: bottom side view: Side view: The three pins sticking out is where i'll put my toggle switches. I'm going to go with 3 toggle swichtes wich will give you on, of, dimm, bright, 4 Leds, 2 LEDs (with the 3 LED light you'll just have 1 2 or 3). So this is more or less my two ideas in development... night tider2008-05-30 11:58:35

Well you've just managed to describe my whole mission, to get cree Q5's, affordable, genuine and a reliable supplier. So as soos as I got that figured out i'll give you more info... Still waiting from a few suppliers to reply from USA, europe, and australia... I'm going to try and get them straight from the factory, that in it's turn will be a little complicated because you have to be a company that manufacture electronics as far as I know. Have a few contacts so i'll see what I can do... oooo wil be so nice if I can get that done!!!!

oh no!!!!! all stuff are not made in china. My dad and his business partner import all their stuff from the USA and none of it is made in china. They want to switch to some taiwanese PICs but not chinese. Somebody PMed me and asked about drivers. In short, i'm thinking of using normal luxdrive buckpucks, they're simple and works good, there's also some other drivers that I will look at but they're about three time's the price or more, there is some really nice ones though!! And they're step up drivers wich opens some very nice battery options! Will defenitly get at least one of them for an option.

It's a good option if you're okay with Luxeon's. I spoke to them ALOT aswell. In short, they are not allowed to import other LED brands. A luxeon will give you max 80 lumens per LED and for the same power consumption you can get 200- 250 lumens from a cree Q5... Some of the guys have build some nice lights with the luxeon's, so it's a option. I can get some cheaper LEDs but at the end it's just better buying the good stuff, not the best though cause then you're going to pay alot extra for a small difference. With the LEDs it's all about efficiency, one cree q5 wil cost you not nearly as much as three Luxeon IIIs and it uses a third of the power consumption... and thats what you want, so at the end the older LEDs will be more expensive lumen wise... night tider2008-05-30 03:47:50

hehe. Looked at that site and went on. If you contact them and start to ask just a few questions you'll see what I mean. Also dealextreme and extremeshop is basicly the same site... Go and have a look. The guy told me straight out that they import most of the stuff from china.... I also sent him a mail asking a few questions and he told me that I have to wait a week or two to get the answers. another thing. They have no stock in SA they have to wait up to 2 weeks to get the stuff and then they can send it you via "speed service". Go and read the FAQs and you'll see. not as promising as it look, but maybe an option. Just my view of the site. But if you want to try it, pls let us know what you achieved and found out! As for me, i'm going to skip that one. Oh and isn't it funny that you can not find a single spec or data/spec sheet on the site?? Something is funny or they just don't know the products they're working with, and in that case I'm not going to do business with them, what if have you have queries or problems, your stuffed...night tider2008-05-30 03:20:08

Will get back to you tonight on the pics... Have to quickly go write an exam and hopefully pass!!! Cheers

carbon will definitly look nice, but if you take carbon you'll need a heatsink, if you take a ally housing you can get a closed module with everything inside and use the housing for the heatsink...

I think you'll like the pics that i'm going to post tonight. Have the perfect picture in my head, can't wait to make the 3D on CAD!!!!! I'll try and give two options. 1: a basic housing that looks ok but not pro, but works oraait and cheap as possible!!(basicly a piece of ally tube closed both ends or simmular) 2: a machined housing that looks pro that will work brilliantly but costs more Both should be designed to be able to take 2 - 4 LEDs and different drives. That way, you can put together a kit that fits your pocket and get anything from 400 - 900 lumens in a solid and splash proof housing (watertigh for diving is another story ). BTW working with ally in small sizes and parts that don't have to by fused it's better to go with a good epoxy to put pieces together...

what i'm aiming for is a simple housing design, maybe even machined, but to design the housing in a way that you don't need to use a heatsink and use the housing as one. If you put the filler in right you will be able to get good enough heat flow to the surface. If you cycle at night it's cold most of the times in anyway so you'll just need nice heat transfer and you'll get sufficient heat loss. Going with that you will need a thick enough inner plate to mount the LEDs on, and you'll also have too look at the contact surface between the mounting plate and the housing... I'll make some 3D solid models in CAD and post pics. I'll try to have them posted by 9 pm. I'll need a few weeks to get this done though. I can only really start on this thuesday when i'm finnished with my exam. I'll take the drawings to a place that can machine them and get a qoute, doing it with a normal piece of aluminium pipe will be cheap though, and work just as good without any manufacturing costs. Have to study now so I'll get back on some more ideas...