"Eric S. Sande" <esande@erols.com> wrote in message news:3E02B4C1.B46DB57@erols.com...
> >I agree soft start is likely to be valuable in a light with expensive bulbs. But it seems it
> >shouldn't take digital electronics to do that.
>
> Nine dollars isn't expensive. Relatively. But consider that the mission of the light is to operate
> reliably and effectively over time with minimal operator intervention.
>
> Full power is available on demand in a battery light. This means switch on, switch off capability.
> Whether moving or stopped.
>
> It would seem reasonable that the operator would expect the bulb to last indefinitely, but the
> physics don't support the expectation if the cold filament is repeatedly subjected to a full
> power start.
>
> We agree on this, I think.
>
> The light has to be made to be resistant to failure in operation.
>
> That doesn't mean a rheostat, that means electronics that doesn't let the operator hard start
> the light.
>
> You don't have this problem with a generator, but you DO have this problem with a battery light.
> The electronics address this, but it costs more to get the feature.
>
> The real question is how many $9 bulbs do you have to burn out to justify the cost of soft start,
> and are the additional features of the electronics worthwhile as value added elements.
>
> Such as variable step down, continuous available power readout, etc.
>
> We are going to continue to disagree on this as always, but you do have some good questions.
Before going on tangents about electronics, etc., let's look at these bulbs. They're basically the
same bulbs used for low voltage track lighting, the kind you see in Ikea catalogs and such. The
standard bulbs are usually rated for 2-4000 hours. However, most bike light bulbs are not standard.
They're custom made for companies like Nightrider, with hotter, brighter burning filaments. They
give quite a bit more light at the expense of bulb life. Typically, this means about 20% more light
for about 10% of the bulb life -- a few hundred hours still being OK for most consumers. In my
opinion, getting a little over 200 hours from one of these bulbs is probably on the low side of
average, but still within the normal range.
Matt O.
> >I agree soft start is likely to be valuable in a light with expensive bulbs. But it seems it
> >shouldn't take digital electronics to do that.
>
> Nine dollars isn't expensive. Relatively. But consider that the mission of the light is to operate
> reliably and effectively over time with minimal operator intervention.
>
> Full power is available on demand in a battery light. This means switch on, switch off capability.
> Whether moving or stopped.
>
> It would seem reasonable that the operator would expect the bulb to last indefinitely, but the
> physics don't support the expectation if the cold filament is repeatedly subjected to a full
> power start.
>
> We agree on this, I think.
>
> The light has to be made to be resistant to failure in operation.
>
> That doesn't mean a rheostat, that means electronics that doesn't let the operator hard start
> the light.
>
> You don't have this problem with a generator, but you DO have this problem with a battery light.
> The electronics address this, but it costs more to get the feature.
>
> The real question is how many $9 bulbs do you have to burn out to justify the cost of soft start,
> and are the additional features of the electronics worthwhile as value added elements.
>
> Such as variable step down, continuous available power readout, etc.
>
> We are going to continue to disagree on this as always, but you do have some good questions.
Before going on tangents about electronics, etc., let's look at these bulbs. They're basically the
same bulbs used for low voltage track lighting, the kind you see in Ikea catalogs and such. The
standard bulbs are usually rated for 2-4000 hours. However, most bike light bulbs are not standard.
They're custom made for companies like Nightrider, with hotter, brighter burning filaments. They
give quite a bit more light at the expense of bulb life. Typically, this means about 20% more light
for about 10% of the bulb life -- a few hundred hours still being OK for most consumers. In my
opinion, getting a little over 200 hours from one of these bulbs is probably on the low side of
average, but still within the normal range.
Matt O.
