H
HoughMade
Guest
I like that style. Very, very nice!
I like that style. Very, very nice!
SKY,
Please post pictures of your project, sounds interesting!
I also like the solor panel deal, I was thinking of that for a long time, just wondering when others would post about it. After the trike is done I'll work on the lights!
Please post pictures of your project, sounds interesting!
I also like the solor panel deal, I was thinking of that for a long time, just wondering when others would post about it. After the trike is done I'll work on the lights!
S
skyl4rk
Guest
I don't have it put together yet, still need a place to mount the solar panel. I am thinking of bolting an ammo case to the Titan rack and gluing/caulking the solar panel to the side of the ammo case. I usually park my bike with one side facing the south, so I can probably get by with one panel facing to the side.
The 10 pack of AA batteries is made up using this case:
http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=sGAEpiMZZMupuRtfu7GC%2bZ6mF4cJPNKjajOOsrDeEj0=
I have used this solar panel to charge 10 NiMH AA batteries in the above case:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=44768
I took the ugly red case off of the solar panel, and now have an ugly hunk of black glass that I taped up facing south (on my boat). There is a simple charge controller inside of a cigarette lighter connector. I took apart the cigarette lighter connector and put a smaller connector on the output of the charge controller. The guts of the charge controller now live in a plastic film canister.
This combination has worked for several years. I used it on my boat to always have charged NiMH batts for my VHF radio for emergencies. They have been out in the sun for 3 or 4 years and stay charged up, no problem. A battery pack of this size should be able to power lights for quite a while.
As far as the circuit goes, the solar panels will be connected to the batteries all the time through the charge controller that comes with them. There will be a switch to turn the lights on and off. I will add a diode to the output of the dynamo and connect the output wire to the battery to allow for charging when the lights are off.
The 10 pack of AA batteries is made up using this case:
http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=sGAEpiMZZMupuRtfu7GC%2bZ6mF4cJPNKjajOOsrDeEj0=
I have used this solar panel to charge 10 NiMH AA batteries in the above case:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=44768
I took the ugly red case off of the solar panel, and now have an ugly hunk of black glass that I taped up facing south (on my boat). There is a simple charge controller inside of a cigarette lighter connector. I took apart the cigarette lighter connector and put a smaller connector on the output of the charge controller. The guts of the charge controller now live in a plastic film canister.
This combination has worked for several years. I used it on my boat to always have charged NiMH batts for my VHF radio for emergencies. They have been out in the sun for 3 or 4 years and stay charged up, no problem. A battery pack of this size should be able to power lights for quite a while.
As far as the circuit goes, the solar panels will be connected to the batteries all the time through the charge controller that comes with them. There will be a switch to turn the lights on and off. I will add a diode to the output of the dynamo and connect the output wire to the battery to allow for charging when the lights are off.
Last edited by a moderator:
H
HoughMade
Guest
Got some more parts and figured some things out this weekend.
The first picture below is the clearance light which will be my tail/brake light. It is about 2.5 inches across. It comes with a socket for a single element light, but I am removing that and installing a dual element socket for a standard 1157 tail/brake lamp. Actually, the socket in there now will fit a single element 1156 turn bulb, but I need the dual element so that with one bulb, I will have the tail and brake light. Of course I will paint the housing gray to match the rest of the bike. It is actually slightly narrower than the bell bicycle light there, but because it will use the automotive light- it has a running light of 6.7 watts and a brake light of 21 watts- big wattage for the brake, but it has to show up in daylight and is used a couple of minutes total in a long ride.
The second pic below shows the rear fender/leaf assembly. You can see where the tail/brake light will go. I have been thinking about the turn signals and I think I have decided to remove the 1/2" steel tube that runs horizontally to connect the leaf to the struts that connect down by the axle. I will use a 3/4" tube in its place which will allow a lamp socket to fit within it. The bulbs will extend out either side where the acorn nuts are now (circled). Right now i am thinking of using exposed amber bulbs...yes, the glass is exposed, but I can see if that is a problem. Also, I will be setting the socket deep enough to allow the bulb to be depressed to be removed but so that the neck of the bulb and the socket are inside the tube. Only the round portion of the bulb will be exposed. The wiring will run inside the tube and exit under and through the leaves to hide it.
I think in this way, it is more work, but alters the overall look less than other options I have looked at.
I will post pics when there is something to see.
The first picture below is the clearance light which will be my tail/brake light. It is about 2.5 inches across. It comes with a socket for a single element light, but I am removing that and installing a dual element socket for a standard 1157 tail/brake lamp. Actually, the socket in there now will fit a single element 1156 turn bulb, but I need the dual element so that with one bulb, I will have the tail and brake light. Of course I will paint the housing gray to match the rest of the bike. It is actually slightly narrower than the bell bicycle light there, but because it will use the automotive light- it has a running light of 6.7 watts and a brake light of 21 watts- big wattage for the brake, but it has to show up in daylight and is used a couple of minutes total in a long ride.
The second pic below shows the rear fender/leaf assembly. You can see where the tail/brake light will go. I have been thinking about the turn signals and I think I have decided to remove the 1/2" steel tube that runs horizontally to connect the leaf to the struts that connect down by the axle. I will use a 3/4" tube in its place which will allow a lamp socket to fit within it. The bulbs will extend out either side where the acorn nuts are now (circled). Right now i am thinking of using exposed amber bulbs...yes, the glass is exposed, but I can see if that is a problem. Also, I will be setting the socket deep enough to allow the bulb to be depressed to be removed but so that the neck of the bulb and the socket are inside the tube. Only the round portion of the bulb will be exposed. The wiring will run inside the tube and exit under and through the leaves to hide it.
I think in this way, it is more work, but alters the overall look less than other options I have looked at.
I will post pics when there is something to see.
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RdKryton
Active Member
H
HoughMade
Guest
Now that's an idea! Do they draw enough current to make a regular thermal flasher work?
loquin
Well-Known Member
If you have LED turn signal lamps that don't provide enough load for a standard flasher, you may want to try the circuit below.
I's a simple circuit, using a 12 volt, low current relay, with SPDT or DPDT contacts (Single Pole, Double-Throw, or Double Pole Double-Throw,) a resistor, and a capacitor. It takes advantage of the fact that relays pull in, or energize, at a higher voltage than they drop out, or de-energize. With a typical, 12 volt relay, it might pull in at around 9 to 10 volts, and drop out at about 7 volts.
In the circuit below, note that K1-NC and K1-NO are the Normally Closed and Normally Open K1 relay contacts, respectively.
When you energize the circuit, current flows through the normally closed (NC) contact, through R1, to the relay coil and the capacitor. Initially, there isn't enough voltage across the relay coil to energize the relay. As time goes by, the voltage builds up across the capacitor, and eventually, there's enough voltage (about 10 volts, with a 12V relay) to energize the relay. Energizing the relay opens the normally open contact, allowing the capacitor to discharge through the relay coil. after a while, the voltage drops enough so that the relay becomes de-energized (at about 7 volts.) The normally closed relay contact closes again, and the current flows through the contact & resistor to the relay coil / capacitor, and process starts over again. This charge-discharge cycle will repeat as long as power is applied to the circuit.
Now, while all this is going on, when the relay is not energized, the power to the indicator lamp is on. When the relay IS energized, power to the lamp is off.
(If you use a DPDT relay, you can use the second NC contact to make the current flow to both at the same time.)
I haven't included values for the capacitor C1 and the resistor, R1, as they depend on the relay.
The value of R1 should be about that of the relay coil. If your relay coil is 250 ohms, the resistor should be about 250 ohms. The actual value isn't critical - so long as it's within 20 percent or so. The power rating should be calculated as follows.
P = E * E / R
If you had a 220 ohm resistor, this value would be 12V * 12V / 220 Ohm, or, 0.65 Watts. You should have at a minimum of 50 percent 'extra' power capacity, so, multiplying by 1.5, the value needed is 0.98 watts. The next larger resistor power rating is 1 watt.
Now, for the capacitor. We could go through an involved calculation, but, we would need to know the actual resistor value, the relay pull-in voltage, and drop-out voltage. Probably a better approach is to do a little experimentation, using your actual relay and resistor. Start with a 220 microfarad, 16V (or greater) capacitor. If it flashes too fast, increase the capacitor value. If it flashes too slow, decrease the value. (You can wire two capacitors in parallel, and the capacitance is added together. Don't wire them in series for this circuit, as the result will be much too small.
This circuit can be used with 6 volt batteries, or just about any voltage, for that matter, with the proper selection of relay, resistor, and capacitor values. I've also added a diode in series with R1, and a 120 volt DC relay and used the circuit in industrial applications, to flash a 120 AC volt lamp as a warning indicator.
I's a simple circuit, using a 12 volt, low current relay, with SPDT or DPDT contacts (Single Pole, Double-Throw, or Double Pole Double-Throw,) a resistor, and a capacitor. It takes advantage of the fact that relays pull in, or energize, at a higher voltage than they drop out, or de-energize. With a typical, 12 volt relay, it might pull in at around 9 to 10 volts, and drop out at about 7 volts.
In the circuit below, note that K1-NC and K1-NO are the Normally Closed and Normally Open K1 relay contacts, respectively.
When you energize the circuit, current flows through the normally closed (NC) contact, through R1, to the relay coil and the capacitor. Initially, there isn't enough voltage across the relay coil to energize the relay. As time goes by, the voltage builds up across the capacitor, and eventually, there's enough voltage (about 10 volts, with a 12V relay) to energize the relay. Energizing the relay opens the normally open contact, allowing the capacitor to discharge through the relay coil. after a while, the voltage drops enough so that the relay becomes de-energized (at about 7 volts.) The normally closed relay contact closes again, and the current flows through the contact & resistor to the relay coil / capacitor, and process starts over again. This charge-discharge cycle will repeat as long as power is applied to the circuit.
Now, while all this is going on, when the relay is not energized, the power to the indicator lamp is on. When the relay IS energized, power to the lamp is off.
(If you use a DPDT relay, you can use the second NC contact to make the current flow to both at the same time.)
I haven't included values for the capacitor C1 and the resistor, R1, as they depend on the relay.
The value of R1 should be about that of the relay coil. If your relay coil is 250 ohms, the resistor should be about 250 ohms. The actual value isn't critical - so long as it's within 20 percent or so. The power rating should be calculated as follows.
P = E * E / R
If you had a 220 ohm resistor, this value would be 12V * 12V / 220 Ohm, or, 0.65 Watts. You should have at a minimum of 50 percent 'extra' power capacity, so, multiplying by 1.5, the value needed is 0.98 watts. The next larger resistor power rating is 1 watt.
Now, for the capacitor. We could go through an involved calculation, but, we would need to know the actual resistor value, the relay pull-in voltage, and drop-out voltage. Probably a better approach is to do a little experimentation, using your actual relay and resistor. Start with a 220 microfarad, 16V (or greater) capacitor. If it flashes too fast, increase the capacitor value. If it flashes too slow, decrease the value. (You can wire two capacitors in parallel, and the capacitance is added together. Don't wire them in series for this circuit, as the result will be much too small.
This circuit can be used with 6 volt batteries, or just about any voltage, for that matter, with the proper selection of relay, resistor, and capacitor values. I've also added a diode in series with R1, and a 120 volt DC relay and used the circuit in industrial applications, to flash a 120 AC volt lamp as a warning indicator.
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Last edited:
RdKryton
Active Member
I Have not used them on the flasher circuit only the tail and brake light.
Jim
Jim
H
HoughMade
Guest
The answer to my question is "no"...they do not trigger a thermal flasher. At least one alone does not. I'm too far into this to not use them, though. A further report and pics coming....eventually.
RdKryton
Active Member
I have found flasher units that will work with LED's. I need to see which bulb my turn signals are so I can change them out. The more current I can save for the headlight the better. I noticed already the LED tail/brake light makes the turn signals work good even at an idle. Ebay has a big selection of LED's and flashers.
Jim
Jim
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