Peter & Laural
Nate,
I do a little bit of riding at night. What works really well for me is a
sulfur-plasma lamp. They're great, dimmable to 20% and crank to a color
temperature of 5700 degrees Kelvin. The color balance is pretty nice too.
You can focus on two ranges simultaneously with a partially silvered
intermediate reflector; erm, you might need a robust cooling system for that
part. Mine just has a 15 meter focal point. If you add a cheap
laser-pointer to the rig you've got a good way to jacklight idiots in cars
that aren't paying attention to you. It's kind of fun flashing the paint
off road signs and starting small brush fires with it too.
The power supply issues are kind of a pain, currently I use a Burley trailer
full of sealed lead acid batteries and a high-impulse capacitor bank. It's
heavy, but it makes hill repeats more challenging. Considering becoming a
weight-weenie and rigging a natural gas turbine, which would have the extra
benefit of supplying a warming breeze in the winter.
Make sure people can see you from the back too. If you go out to the
airport with a Torx driver you can pick up a really nice high-output coiled
xenon strobe with a red quartz glass lens. Make sure you've got some way to
anchor yourself to the runway, ground turbulence from some of the bigger
landing aircraft can really toss you around.
I don't use my back light too much, I think the trail of smoldering pavement
makes drivers pay a little more attention.
For backup I've got one of those multiple LED lamps.
Cheers,
Peter Drake
ps. I'm not responsible for anyone that takes this seriously.
----- Original Message -----
From: <nate-@hotmail.com>
To: <ob-@topica.com>
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 7:50 AM
Subject: [OBRA Chat] commuting lights
Can anyone recommend a good light for commuting? I'm looking for
something that is rechargeable, has a 2+ hour run time and has an
adjustable beam (flood to spot). The adjustable beam is the function I'm
having trouble finding.
Thanks,
Nate Armbrust
nate-@hotmail.com
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