Adding safety reflectors

[dmethvin]

Sometimes I ride late in the day, so I wanted to improve visibility for those cases when it's near or just after dark. My Firewheel already has both a headlight and a tail light, so that's a better start than most EUCs on the market. The headlight is pretty weak though, and visibility from the side is still not good at all, even with the lights on. Reflective stickers seemed like the best way to improve things since they can be trimmed to fit any pattern. Here is an album of how I made the template for the reflectors and some before/after pics: 

http://imgur.com/a/2aW76

 

[Gimlet]

My son bought me a reversable hi vis body warmer for wearing in bad light for Christmas last year.

It's black one side so you can go out in daylight without looking like a Belisha beacon and then reverse it for the hi vis effect when the light fails.

I can fit a much bigger reflective surface on my body than will ever be possible on my wheel, and to be honest although I value my wheels highly I value my body more.

Lightweight hi vis jackets are even made of mesh now so they can fold up small enough to fit in your pocket and people generally realise that there's a person inside a jacket whereas they may wonder what a few small reflectors on a strange shaped object on the ground are.

[esaj]

I've used reflector tape from the beginning, although still not legal, the reflectors are required once the law passes. I was also thinking of replacing the original frontlight of the Firewheel with 10W led-chip (12V / around 1A) at some point, those give around 100 lumens / W (so 1000 lumens in total), but probably need separate power source for them. The sizes seem similar enough to fit into place of the original light. 1000 lumens is about the power of a single car head light.

[dmethvin]

I can fit a much bigger reflective surface on my body than will ever be possible on my wheel, and to be honest although I value my wheels highly I value my body more. 

I would definitely get one of those reflective vests if I was going to commute regularly. The helmet I wear has some reflectors already.

I was also thinking of replacing the original frontlight of the Firewheel with 10W led-chip (12V / around 1A) at some point, those give around 100 lumens / W (so 1000 lumens in total), but probably need separate power source for them. 

Be sure to do a writeup if you decide to do that. It sure would be helpful if the built-in 12V converter could deliver a little bit of extra power so we wouldn't need extra circuitry. 

 

[Daan]

 

I added also front and back reflectors using 3M white reflector tape (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K2QUL42?psc=1) -- really reflects well.

As a front light, I can attach a 300 lumens LED lamp ('urban350") to the carry handle -- not used it much yet but 300 lumens seems more than enough and it charges through USB; it was already quite pricey though  so I probably don't want to know what 1000 lumens with separate power supply will cost

To the sides, I attached some custom decals -- looks fun but are perhaps too small for a seriously dark night (they are about 3"x3").

 

[esaj]

As a front light, I can attach a 300 lumens LED lamp ('urban350") to the carry handle -- not used it much yet but 300 lumens seems more than enough and it charges through USB; it was already quite pricey though  so I probably don't want to know what 1000 lumens with separate power supply will cost

The chips themselves cost next to nothing, for example:  http://www.aliexpress.com/item/LED-Chip-10W-20W-30W-50W-100W-Gold-wire-chips-Copper-Bracket-High-Power-Integrated-SMD/32426004588.html  (10W white, 0.69€). The Firewheel mainboard does have a +12V -output, but I'd be wary of trying to pull 1A out of it, knowing that my board is the old kind, which had problems with the step-down (voltage lowering) chip burning, that's why I'd look for a separate powersupply (which could simply be 3 Li-Ion cells, as the chip works with 9-12V).

[Daan]

Dang ‌@esaj: why did you tell me!  -- 69 cents!! now I feel even more ripped off by the urban 350 light! ($60) -- Well, I must admit they are super high quality, very water resistant and convenient. But wow. They sell the urban 800 (800 lumens) for $130,-....

[esaj]

I don't expect the chips at that price-range to be of any super high quality, plus there's more to a flashlight than the led-chip (for example, if they use high quality li-ion cells with internal safety circuits, those could be 10-20$ a piece, plus designing & machining the shell, other electronics parts, shipping & distribution, margins etc.)... but I do wonder how they can afford to sell the chips at such low prices, especially with free shipping?   Don't know how much heat they generate either, that might be a problem if they're kept on for several hours, don't know how easily the chip burns. But for that price, not that big of a loss (unless it destroys something else on the side ).

 

[Rotator]

I don't expect the chips at that price-range to be of any super high quality, plus there's more to a flashlight than the led-chip (for example, if they use high quality li-ion cells with internal safety circuits, those could be 10-20$ a piece, plus designing & machining the shell, other electronics parts, shipping & distribution, margins etc.)... but I do wonder how they can afford to sell the chips at such low prices, especially with free shipping?   Don't know how much heat they generate either, that might be a problem if they're kept on for several hours, don't know how easily the chip burns. But for that price, not that big of a loss (unless it destroys something else on the side ).

 

They need a heatsink. And do not expect 1000 lumens for a cheap 10W chip, but about 700 lumens. Anyway, great feature/price.

I would give a chance to the 12V output of the wheel. It must be overcurrent protected.

[Chriull]

The chips themselves cost next to nothing, for example:  http://www.aliexpress.com/item/LED-Chip-10W-20W-30W-50W-100W-Gold-wire-chips-Copper-Bracket-High-Power-Integrated-SMD/32426004588.html  (10W white, 0.69€). The Firewheel mainboard does have a +12V -output, but I'd be wary of trying to pull 1A out of it, knowing that my board is the old kind, which had problems with the step-down (voltage lowering) chip burning, that's why I'd look for a separate powersupply (which could simply be 3 Li-Ion cells, as the chip works with 9-12V).

 

I looked at comparable power leds from cree. These you cannot not drive directly with a stabilized voltage - you will need at least a power resistor to get a defined current through the diodes, which will burn a couple of watts, too... You need to look at the detailed data sheet if this is at all possible with 12v supply voltage.

the best solution would be a switched mode current supply directly from the accu pack... Unfortionately i did not find ready made current supplies which could be driven directly from the accu pack. I just found switched mode voltage supplies ( replacements for the 78xx family with 3.3 5 and 12v) which should work quite efficiently from the ca. 50-70V. But they are limited the about 500ma... Maybe i just take the switched mode 7805 replacement and some "normal" white and red leds plus resistor and as main light source a headlamp. Or i play around and try to build myself a switched mode current source...

At one night trip i have to try to fix my headlamp to the wheel and try if it makes sense to have the main light at this position...