Latest Homemade Light

Yeah, but how do you mount that 'water'-rocket onto the bars???

Man, that WOULD come in handy

F-"I'd buy THAT fer a dollerrr!"-D

"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I finally got around to posting my latest set (Version 8) of homemade bike
lights.

http://www.users.tpg.com.au/adsl4xun/

I have also just finished an LED version that has 19 x 10,000 mcd LEDs, a
simple constant current circuit, and uses the same conduit fitting as the
Version 8 one, but I have attached it to a Vistalight mount. Hopefully I
will get a photo of it sometime soon.

Can anyone tell me whether the connector for the Vistalight nightsticks
has
a 2.1mm or 2.5mm centre post??? The LED light that I have made runs from
6V
and so I am looking at making it "nightstick compatible"

Note to IT gurus....(Dutch, Hippy, DRS, et al)......Although I have not
used
any flash items on my site, I know that I suck as a web designer so please
be nice.

Ride On,

Gags

Not a bad little set-up there Gags with the lights but i must confess, I
was more interested in the High Pressure water rocket....that was real
cool!!

cheers
DJ

Gags said:

Note to IT gurus....(Dutch, Hippy, DRS, et al)......Although I have not used
any flash items on my site, I know that I suck as a web designer so please
be nice.

If you want a really bad web layout (or any GUI) get a programmer to do it.
?20%? of my floor don't appear to think about it at all, not even - is it incredibly ugly!

DJ said:

Quoted message said:

Not a bad little set-up there Gags with the lights but i must confess, I
was more interested in the High Pressure water rocket....that was real
cool!!

cheers
DJ

Me too.

"as soon as I improve on the safety aspects I am going to invite the
kids in the street to make some rockets and come down for some fun."

Invite please Gags.

DaveB

"DaveB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

DJ said:

Quoted message said:

Not a bad little set-up there Gags with the lights but i must confess, I
was more interested in the High Pressure water rocket....that was real
cool!!

cheers
DJ

Me too.

"as soon as I improve on the safety aspects I am going to invite the
kids in the street to make some rockets and come down for some fun."

Invite please Gags.

DaveB

I know I shouldn't encourage you guys, nor corrupt our youth, but these look
like fun.

http://www.spudtech.com/

Marty

The Vistalight connector uses a 2.5mm centre post. I know this as I too,
like you, felt the urge to DIY.

"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I finally got around to posting my latest set (Version 8) of homemade bike
lights.

http://www.users.tpg.com.au/adsl4xun/

I have also just finished an LED version that has 19 x 10,000 mcd LEDs, a
simple constant current circuit, and uses the same conduit fitting as the
Version 8 one, but I have attached it to a Vistalight mount. Hopefully I
will get a photo of it sometime soon.

Can anyone tell me whether the connector for the Vistalight nightsticks
has
a 2.1mm or 2.5mm centre post??? The LED light that I have made runs from
6V
and so I am looking at making it "nightstick compatible"

Note to IT gurus....(Dutch, Hippy, DRS, et al)......Although I have not
used
any flash items on my site, I know that I suck as a web designer so please
be nice.

Ride On,

Gags

"Justin Vincent" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The Vistalight connector uses a 2.5mm centre post. I know this as I too,
like you, felt the urge to DIY.

Thanks Justin.....I have both types of connector in the spares box but I am
keen to make it compatible with Vistalights......I have an empty Nightstick
(without batteries or connector) that I am planning on packing with sub-c
NiMh batteries in the near future. I wanted to make it the same connector
on the off chance that I aquire Vistalights in the future.

Now you have to post a link to your lights so I can have a stickybeak and
steal any good ideas that you might have had.

Ride On,

Gags

"DaveB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

DJ said:

Quoted message said:

Not a bad little set-up there Gags with the lights but i must confess, I
was more interested in the High Pressure water rocket....that was real
cool!!

cheers
DJ

Me too.

"as soon as I improve on the safety aspects I am going to invite the
kids in the street to make some rockets and come down for some fun."

Invite please Gags.

DaveB

Maybe on the next BR (I clean forgot that today was Sunday....did anyone
go??) we could take a short detour to my place and set a couple off......I
reckon that I am getting them 50 or 60 metres in the air at 100psi or
so.......pretty good fun.

Ride On,

Gags

Gags said:

Maybe on the next BR (I clean forgot that today was Sunday....did
anyone go??)

Yep 5 of us today. Me, Jazmo, Bikesoiler, BT and Blah. Beautiful day for
it, especially sitting in the sun at the Smiths Gully cafe, but I think
we all missed being able to catch a ride on the Gags Express when the
wind started up.

DaveB

Gags said:

I finally got around to posting my latest set (Version 8) of homemade bike
lights.

http://www.users.tpg.com.au/adsl4xun/

....

Quoted message said:

Ride On,

Gags

Wow.

Wow, wow, wow.

Please send me Halogen Bike Lights v.8 and the LED Head Lamp - attached
a blank cheque that you can fill out for whatever amount they are worth:

..____________________________________________________________________.
|NBA | Niemanwealth Bank of Australia 88/ Som/ Street, |
| | ACN 007 123 456 B/unsw/ck Vic 3056 |
| DATE: | / / |
| 2 Jan05 | / e/ |
| -------- | Pay: Gags (gags_44nospamat / l/ |
| | -------------------------/t b/______________. |
| TO: | nospamtpg.com.au) /o a/| | |
| gags for | -----------------------/n i/ | $ : | |
| lights | / t/ | ------- -- | |
| -------- | ---------------------/-- o/ .______________. |
| | / g/ |
| AMOUNT: | / e/ |
| $ : | Cheque Number BSB / n/ Account Number |
| ---- -- | 109876 063 666 / 1000 2345 |
..____________________________________________________________________.

Don't send them as binaries to a.b, because that everyone else will get
them for free.

Love doing business with you.

[censored]

ppppppppp

"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Justin Vincent" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The Vistalight connector uses a 2.5mm centre post. I know this as I too,
like you, felt the urge to DIY.

Thanks Justin.....I have both types of connector in the spares box but I

am

Quoted message said:

keen to make it compatible with Vistalights......I have an empty

Nightstick

Quoted message said:

(without batteries or connector) that I am planning on packing with sub-c
NiMh batteries in the near future. I wanted to make it the same connector
on the off chance that I aquire Vistalights in the future.

Now you have to post a link to your lights so I can have a stickybeak and
steal any good ideas that you might have had.

Ride On,

Gags

I made up a battery pack recently using 10 NiMh cells. I chose the size so
that they fit in an old water bottle with a bit of bubble wrap packing
around them. I cut the top off a water bottle, wrap the packing around the
batterys and slide it in. It's very convenient. I have two packs, one is 12
volt, 4 amp hour and the other is 12 volt, 2.5 amp hour. I use the
connectors that they use on electric model cars. You can buy them from [censored]
Smiths. They're polarised so you can't blow anything up.
It's best to remove the bubble wrap while you charge them so they don't get
too warm.

Marty

"Marty Wallace" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Justin Vincent" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The Vistalight connector uses a 2.5mm centre post. I know this as I

too,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

like you, felt the urge to DIY.

Thanks Justin.....I have both types of connector in the spares box but I

am

Quoted message said:

keen to make it compatible with Vistalights......I have an empty

Nightstick

Quoted message said:

(without batteries or connector) that I am planning on packing with

sub-c

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

NiMh batteries in the near future. I wanted to make it the same

connector

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

on the off chance that I aquire Vistalights in the future.

Now you have to post a link to your lights so I can have a stickybeak

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

steal any good ideas that you might have had.

Ride On,

Gags

I made up a battery pack recently using 10 NiMh cells. I chose the size so
that they fit in an old water bottle with a bit of bubble wrap packing
around them. I cut the top off a water bottle, wrap the packing around the
batterys and slide it in. It's very convenient. I have two packs, one is

12

Quoted message said:

volt, 4 amp hour and the other is 12 volt, 2.5 amp hour. I use the
connectors that they use on electric model cars. You can buy them from

[censored]

Quoted message said:

Smiths. They're polarised so you can't blow anything up.
It's best to remove the bubble wrap while you charge them so they don't

get

Quoted message said:

too warm.

Marty

I have actually done similar (see my version 5 lights) and I was lucky
enough to score twenty of the 4.5Ah, 4/3A batteries for free (I think they
are about $23 each last time I looked). In a "champagne comedy" moment, I
decided to use an old Powerade bottle as the container for the battery
pack.....get it???......"Power"ade.....hehehehe - I crack me up.

As for charging, I was using a constant current circuit that I put together
using a voltage regulator.....I would connect this up to an electronic timer
for the appropriate amount of time and it would do the job. This was a
stop-gap measure and I was planning on building a PIC controlled smart
charger but then I managed to pick up a charging unit at cost for about $40
through a mate (thank god for mates). It basically charges between 1 and 10
cells (NiMh or NiCd) and I can adjust the current between 0 and 4.5 Amps.
It is a pulse charger that auto senses how many cells are present and has a
soft start up before the main charging cycle and can be left on indefinately
as it then reverts to a trickle mode once the batteries are charged. During
the charging cycle, it also pulse discharges the battery slightly between
the charging pulses in order to keep the heat in the battery down (an
engineer who is a bit of a charger guru once explained something to me about
charging being exothermic and discharging being endothermic so I think this
is good??). There is also a nifty little temperature sensor that can be
attached to the battery (it is on a velcro strap) that stops the charger if
the battery gets too hot.

All I need to run it is a 13.8V or so power supply that is able to deliver
enough current (I actually have a 13.8V, 25A power supply that I scored of
yet another mate - he built it from scratch). The charger seems to do the
job nicely and I even occasionally utilise the in-built discharge cycle
before charging them back up.

Anyway, enough technobabble.....people will think they have been sucked into
aus.geektalk or something.

Ride On,

Gags

Gags said:

"DaveB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

DJ said:

>Not a bad little set-up there Gags with the lights but i must confess, I
>was more interested in the High Pressure water rocket....that was real
>cool!!

cheers
DJ

Me too.

"as soon as I improve on the safety aspects I am going to invite the
kids in the street to make some rockets and come down for some fun."

Invite please Gags.

DaveB

Maybe on the next BR (I clean forgot that today was Sunday....did anyone
go??) we could take a short detour to my place and set a couple off......I
reckon that I am getting them 50 or 60 metres in the air at 100psi or
so.......pretty good fun.

Ride On,

Gags

Just been watching Mythbusters (SBS 7:30pm Monday nights) where they
wanted to setup a Chevy with a JATO (Jet air take-off unit) on the roof.
The US Air Force wouldn't give them one so they had to make do with 3
hobby rockets in combination. So do we have a volunteer from the
audience to donate an old MTB and ride it with several of Gags's air
rockets. To make it really worthwhile I think it should be at the end of
a BR up Burgundy St. 🙂

DaveB "kids don't try this at home"

"DaveB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Gags said:

"DaveB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

DJ wrote:

>>Not a bad little set-up there Gags with the lights but i must confess,

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>>was more interested in the High Pressure water rocket....that was real
>>cool!!
>
>cheers
>DJ
>
>

Me too.

"as soon as I improve on the safety aspects I am going to invite the
kids in the street to make some rockets and come down for some fun."

Invite please Gags.

DaveB

Maybe on the next BR (I clean forgot that today was Sunday....did anyone
go??) we could take a short detour to my place and set a couple

off......I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

reckon that I am getting them 50 or 60 metres in the air at 100psi or
so.......pretty good fun.

Ride On,

Gags

Just been watching Mythbusters (SBS 7:30pm Monday nights) where they
wanted to setup a Chevy with a JATO (Jet air take-off unit) on the roof.
The US Air Force wouldn't give them one so they had to make do with 3
hobby rockets in combination. So do we have a volunteer from the
audience to donate an old MTB and ride it with several of Gags's air
rockets. To make it really worthwhile I think it should be at the end of
a BR up Burgundy St. 🙂

DaveB "kids don't try this at home"

I did see an online clip of a crazy Japanese guy who had strapped and
pressurised abut 20 water rockets that were actually the big 20 litre
bottles that you get on the office water coolers. He was standing on the
end of a jetty and an assistant pulled a cord attached to the lids and he
took off "like a rocket". He hadn't really thought out the dynamics of 20
different sources of thrust, all out of alignment and he was "rag-dolled"
for 5 seconds or so before landing in the ocean (how he didn't spud into the
jetty I don't know).

Could be fun??

Gags

"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Maybe on the next BR (I clean forgot that today was Sunday....did anyone
go??)

Yeah BR 29 went ahead - not a bad day for it. As DaveB said, 5 of us out.
I'm pretty chuffed as I managed to do crack exactly 90.0kph down the DH with
no lead out or drafting (couldn't quite catch bikesoiler's draft on the
steep bit that matters, though I tried and was gaining fast) and also
managed to stay on Jazmo's wheel as he set out to set a time on the long
climb. Jeez that guy can climb! It was all I could do to stay on the wheel
for most of it. We both forgot to set the stopwatch going at the bottom, but
I reckon he broke the 14min mark to the high point. Now, the important
bit... he's still on an mtb! God help us when he gets the new Bianchi
roadie.

On Sat, 01 Jan 2005 at 11:02 GMT, Gags (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

I finally got around to posting my latest set (Version 8) of homemade bike
lights.

http://www.users.tpg.com.au/adsl4xun/

I have also just finished an LED version that has 19 x 10,000 mcd LEDs, a
simple constant current circuit, and uses the same conduit fitting as the
Version 8 one, but I have attached it to a Vistalight mount. Hopefully I
will get a photo of it sometime soon.

Yummy.

Quoted message said:

Note to IT gurus....(Dutch, Hippy, DRS, et al)......Although I have not used
any flash items on my site, I know that I suck as a web designer so please
be nice.

Simple is good!

One of my pet hates is javascript that simply opens up an image in
another window. Use an adequate operating system, and that happens
when you middle click. Leave it up to the user to open up what they
want how they want, and that way, you don't override the wishes of the
viewer.

And Flash is eevil!

--
TimC -- http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/tconnors/
If you tried to understand this, you'd be very confused, in the standard
way we talk about confusion. -- Some astronomer at a talk.

"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Marty Wallace" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Justin Vincent" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> The Vistalight connector uses a 2.5mm centre post. I know this as I

too,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> like you, felt the urge to DIY.
>
Thanks Justin.....I have both types of connector in the spares box but

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

am

Quoted message said:

keen to make it compatible with Vistalights......I have an empty

Nightstick

Quoted message said:

(without batteries or connector) that I am planning on packing with

sub-c

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

NiMh batteries in the near future. I wanted to make it the same

connector

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

on the off chance that I aquire Vistalights in the future.

Now you have to post a link to your lights so I can have a stickybeak

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

steal any good ideas that you might have had.

Ride On,

Gags

I made up a battery pack recently using 10 NiMh cells. I chose the size

so

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

that they fit in an old water bottle with a bit of bubble wrap packing
around them. I cut the top off a water bottle, wrap the packing around

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

batterys and slide it in. It's very convenient. I have two packs, one is

12

Quoted message said:

volt, 4 amp hour and the other is 12 volt, 2.5 amp hour. I use the
connectors that they use on electric model cars. You can buy them from

[censored]

Quoted message said:

Smiths. They're polarised so you can't blow anything up.
It's best to remove the bubble wrap while you charge them so they don't

get

Quoted message said:

too warm.

Marty

I have actually done similar (see my version 5 lights) and I was lucky
enough to score twenty of the 4.5Ah, 4/3A batteries for free (I think they
are about $23 each last time I looked). In a "champagne comedy" moment, I
decided to use an old Powerade bottle as the container for the battery
pack.....get it???......"Power"ade.....hehehehe - I crack me up.

As for charging, I was using a constant current circuit that I put

together

Quoted message said:

using a voltage regulator.....I would connect this up to an electronic

timer

Quoted message said:

for the appropriate amount of time and it would do the job. This was a
stop-gap measure and I was planning on building a PIC controlled smart
charger but then I managed to pick up a charging unit at cost for about

$40

Quoted message said:

through a mate (thank god for mates). It basically charges between 1 and

10

Quoted message said:

cells (NiMh or NiCd) and I can adjust the current between 0 and 4.5 Amps.
It is a pulse charger that auto senses how many cells are present and has

a

Quoted message said:

soft start up before the main charging cycle and can be left on

indefinately

Quoted message said:

as it then reverts to a trickle mode once the batteries are charged.

During

Quoted message said:

the charging cycle, it also pulse discharges the battery slightly between
the charging pulses in order to keep the heat in the battery down (an
engineer who is a bit of a charger guru once explained something to me

about

Quoted message said:

charging being exothermic and discharging being endothermic so I think

this

Quoted message said:

is good??). There is also a nifty little temperature sensor that can be
attached to the battery (it is on a velcro strap) that stops the charger

if

Quoted message said:

the battery gets too hot.

All I need to run it is a 13.8V or so power supply that is able to deliver
enough current (I actually have a 13.8V, 25A power supply that I scored of
yet another mate - he built it from scratch). The charger seems to do the
job nicely and I even occasionally utilise the in-built discharge cycle
before charging them back up.

Anyway, enough technobabble.....people will think they have been sucked

into

Quoted message said:

aus.geektalk or something.

Ride On,

Gags

It sounds like I have the same setup as you.
I have 10 4.5Ah, 4/3A batteries to give 12 volts. (NiMh)
Connections are done with a polarised plug the same as used on RC electric
cars to prevent "accidents".
My charger is a MW7168.
http://www.master-instruments.com.au/browse/Model/MW7168.html

I did make up a Universal battery charger kit of a Silicon Chip design which
I got from Jaycar but it was problematic and I didn't trust it to give a
full charge. The MW7168 works great and I recommend it. It needs a 12 volt
supply so you need a car battery or something to run it from. I use a 12
volt supply I have left from my amateur radio days.

I've since built a smaller battery pack using 10 cells which is good for 2.5
amp hour. I use it as a backup on long rides or as the main supply for
shorter rides. On my road bike I only use one Luxeon 5 watt so the battery
lasts a few hours.

Ride on!

Marty (VK6ABC)

"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Marty Wallace" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Justin Vincent" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> The Vistalight connector uses a 2.5mm centre post. I know this as I

too,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> like you, felt the urge to DIY.
>
Thanks Justin.....I have both types of connector in the spares box but

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

am

Quoted message said:

keen to make it compatible with Vistalights......I have an empty

Nightstick

Quoted message said:

(without batteries or connector) that I am planning on packing with

sub-c

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

NiMh batteries in the near future. I wanted to make it the same

connector

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

on the off chance that I aquire Vistalights in the future.

Now you have to post a link to your lights so I can have a stickybeak

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

steal any good ideas that you might have had.

Ride On,

Gags

I made up a battery pack recently using 10 NiMh cells. I chose the size

so

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

that they fit in an old water bottle with a bit of bubble wrap packing
around them. I cut the top off a water bottle, wrap the packing around

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

batterys and slide it in. It's very convenient. I have two packs, one is

12

Quoted message said:

volt, 4 amp hour and the other is 12 volt, 2.5 amp hour. I use the
connectors that they use on electric model cars. You can buy them from

[censored]

Quoted message said:

Smiths. They're polarised so you can't blow anything up.
It's best to remove the bubble wrap while you charge them so they don't

get

Quoted message said:

too warm.

Marty

I have actually done similar (see my version 5 lights) and I was lucky
enough to score twenty of the 4.5Ah, 4/3A batteries for free (I think they
are about $23 each last time I looked). In a "champagne comedy" moment, I
decided to use an old Powerade bottle as the container for the battery
pack.....get it???......"Power"ade.....hehehehe - I crack me up.

As for charging, I was using a constant current circuit that I put

together

Quoted message said:

using a voltage regulator.....I would connect this up to an electronic

timer

Quoted message said:

for the appropriate amount of time and it would do the job. This was a
stop-gap measure and I was planning on building a PIC controlled smart
charger but then I managed to pick up a charging unit at cost for about

$40

Quoted message said:

through a mate (thank god for mates). It basically charges between 1 and

10

Quoted message said:

cells (NiMh or NiCd) and I can adjust the current between 0 and 4.5 Amps.
It is a pulse charger that auto senses how many cells are present and has

a

Quoted message said:

soft start up before the main charging cycle and can be left on

indefinately

Quoted message said:

as it then reverts to a trickle mode once the batteries are charged.

During

Quoted message said:

the charging cycle, it also pulse discharges the battery slightly between
the charging pulses in order to keep the heat in the battery down (an
engineer who is a bit of a charger guru once explained something to me

about

Quoted message said:

charging being exothermic and discharging being endothermic so I think

this

Quoted message said:

is good??). There is also a nifty little temperature sensor that can be
attached to the battery (it is on a velcro strap) that stops the charger

if

Quoted message said:

the battery gets too hot.

All I need to run it is a 13.8V or so power supply that is able to deliver
enough current (I actually have a 13.8V, 25A power supply that I scored of
yet another mate - he built it from scratch). The charger seems to do the
job nicely and I even occasionally utilise the in-built discharge cycle
before charging them back up.

Anyway, enough technobabble.....people will think they have been sucked

into

Quoted message said:

aus.geektalk or something.

Ride On,

Gags

It sounds like I have the same setup as you.
I have 10 4.5Ah, 4/3A batteries to give 12 volts. (NiMh)
Connections are done with a polarised plug the same as used on RC electric
cars to prevent "accidents".
My charger is a MW7168.
http://www.master-instruments.com.au/browse/Model/MW7168.html

I did make up a Universal battery charger kit of a Silicon Chip design which
I got from Jaycar but it was problematic and I didn't trust it to give a
full charge. The MW7168 works great and I recommend it. It needs a 12 volt
supply so you need a car battery or something to run it from. I use a 12
volt supply I have left from my amateur radio days.

I've since built a smaller battery pack using 10 cells which is good for 2.5
amp hour. I use it as a backup on long rides or as the main supply for
shorter rides. On my road bike I only use one Luxeon 5 watt so the battery
lasts a few hours.

Ride on!

Marty (VK6ABC)

Gags said:

I have also just finished an LED version that has 19 x 10,000 mcd LEDs, a
simple constant current circuit, and uses the same conduit fitting as the
Version 8 one, but I have attached it to a Vistalight mount. Hopefully I
will get a photo of it sometime soon.

Sounds very cool. I'm currently working on my own LED headlight, after being muchly impressed by Poiter's one at the GSR last year.

Basically it's an aluminium rod 80mm long and 38mm dia, with the inside bored out to 32mm, except for a lip at the end. Into the tube is stuffed an o-ring, a 32mm dia piece of polycarbonate sheet (cut from a CD case), a Fraen spot-collimator, a luxeon-III bolted to a 16mm long, 32mm dia aluminium disc (transfers heat to the case), then a luxdrive led driver block. The end is capped off with a piece of aluminium sheet, in which is mounted a simple toggle switch and the socket nicked from my vistalite light. I'll steal the vistalite mount, as it's really neat, and drill through the case into the aluminium disc (tapped M5) to hold the disc firmly against the case, for good heat transfer.

I've got a three-position switch (on-off-on), and it's easy to wire it up to the luxdrive with a resistor to give off-high(700mA)-low(250mA). That's the main benefit for me of the Luxeon. They're a little more efficient than a comparable halogen at three watts, but underdrive them to (say) 1W and they're _much_ more efficient than a 1W halogen.

The battery can be either my nightstick battery (3Ah 6V NiMH) or else an 8.4V 8.9Ah pack I made with eight 18650 Li+ cells. The luxdrive thingy is very cool, and takes anything from 5V up to lots (I've tested it to 12V, and it works fine) to power the LED.

Anyway, I reckon I'll get about 5-6 hours (high beam) out of my nightstick, and better than a whole night high beam from the Li+ pack.

Thus far I've made the tube and bought all the electronics and optics. I just have to make the heat-transfer disc and plug for the open end of the tube, then put it all together.

Quoted message said:

Can anyone tell me whether the connector for the Vistalight nightsticks has
a 2.1mm or 2.5mm centre post??? The LED light that I have made runs
from 6V and so I am looking at making it "nightstick compatible"

It's 2.5mm, but be aware that the positive bit of the vistalite sockets are just a turned pin, with no spring. The vistalite plug has a formed contact in it to make contact to this.

What this meant for me was that a cord that I made up with a different 2.5mm dia plug (actually scavenged off an old nightsun light) was annoyingly intermittent with the vistalite light-head. The opposite (vistalite cord with Jaycar socket) works fine.

Regards,

Suzy