New lighting system.

pr0wlunwoof

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Alright so here we go:

Buying this
http://www.amazon.com/Factor-3-Inch-Bicycle-Generator-Light/dp/B003H3Z8CW

Hooking it to this so the lights works at a complete stop(rechargeable batteries):
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062253&CAWELAID=107591570

gonna use a switch similar to this:
http://www.weisd.com/store2/nteswitch/54-503W.php

Doing this in response to the power coming off the engine not being sufficient to power this:
http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Lumina-Bike-Light-Silver/dp/B003NV8YKQ

Any criticism is welcomed. I just don't want to deal with recharging batteries so the system needs to be self sustaining.

-Benjamin

If I wanted to recharge batteries I'd of bought an electric system ;)
 
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Thats a 12V 6W generator. 4 AA's are 6V total. I believe that would'nt work. I looked into this before myself and am interested.
 
Get ahold of an engineer to see if 6W is enough to charge you pack.
I was thinking about it and and you could just run the light direct to the generator have like a high beem low beem switch that would switch to and from the generator to the rechargeable battery pack to give you and extended battery life period. If you do that youd probley want to use a few d Bateries instead of the AA.
I used and made D battery packs before on like a walkman with tape deck velcrod to the walkman and the baterry like is huge difference. It could power the walkman for 3 months instead of a few day AA batery setup.
Good luck either way.
 
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That Bull headlight is gonna give out after a short while from the vibration. What I mean is that the vibration will screw up the soft switch and you will not be able to turn on the light without keeping the button pressed down with your finger. I've used 2 Bull headlights on my MB, one of them being the one you posted.

The other light I I used had one of the inner electrodes fall out from the vibration and I couldn't fix it(rather I didn't want to).

They're not bad lights as far as brightness, but the way they're engineered just doesn't hold up to the engine vibration. If possible, you might be able to replace the push button with a more solid switch that will hold up better.
 
My night riding is going to be very limited. Like 10-15 mins every once in a while. The set up I have right now is running off the 6v out from the engine and I don't like it because its more of a strobe than a constant light.
As far as Switches I was planning on trying to figure out the wiring to harness both the 2stroke 6v out and the generator provided in the kit to help keep the battery charged. The Switch when in off would provide the current to recharge the battery and when on would harness all the power from the generator, battery, and 6v out. This means I'm probably gonna need some kind of 3 way switch and be able to fase everything correctly.
My Dad is an electrical engineer so I'm probably gonna have to call him to figure out the actual wiring skematic.
 
Just so you're aware of their 'issues' :
  • These 'bottle' type generators have very poor efficiency (there's a lot of drag in use)
  • They also have very cheap bushings that wear out very soon, (and even sooner at the higher speeds that you get with motored bikes)
  • They have no voltage regulation; the faster they spin, the higher the voltage. (which means that voltage regulation is necessary)
  • They produce AC voltage, and not DC. So rectification is needed for any DC equipment.
  • A bridge rectifier should be used (so as to use both positive and negative voltage pulses) but a bridge rectifier also has two diodes in series and thus has double the forward voltage drop. With the low voltages produced by the generator, this loss can be a substantial portion of the total power. To reduce these diode losses, don't use standard silicon diodes; instead use Schottky diodes. Schottky diodes have about half the forward voltage drop as standard diodes.
  • Since bottle generators use a one-wire output, this means that they use the frame as the ground for the return circuit. But, since you use a bridge rectifier, you must isolate any DC circuitry 'downstream' of the bridge rectifier from ground. Otherwise, you short out half of the bridge.
  • because of their 'drag,' bottle-type generators tend to slip when the tire gets wet, reducing electrical output just when you need it the most.

A much better approach, when looking at self generated power for lighting, is a hub dynamo, like the Sturmey-Archer Drum brake Dynahub, the SRAM i-Light, or the Shimano 3D72 Nexus dynamo hub. The drag is unnoticeable when you're not using the light, (and I can't tell a difference even when using a light with my S/A Dynahub,) and efficiency is high. Also, hub-dynamos are designed with self-regulating voltage (the power output keep going up as speed increases, but the voltage is self limiting, so it doesn't get nearly as high as the 'bottle' type generators. In addition, Hub dynamos are an isolated circuit, with two wires, so you don't have to worry about isolating any downstream lighting. The Sturmey-Archer version also includes a sealed drum brake. :cool3: and the SRAM version is available with disk brake mounting.

Like bottle-generators, hub-type dynamos also produce low-voltage AC, so it's still a good idea to use Schottky diodes for the bridge rectifier.
 

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The Hub option is way more $$ than I will ever be able to afford. I will have to figure something else out.
 
Ok went back and looked at the description. So the generator is a 6v 3amp generator. The light then must be able to run off of 6v be it ac or dc. If i have a 6v rechargeable battery and wire the 6v dc from the engine to it then that should keep it charged and I should be able to use the battery pack to power the light (with possibly an ac/dc invert-er). Thereby I take the generator out of the picture and don't even have to use it. I could mount it and wire it just in-case the battery dies, but never be forced to use it otherwise.

---- My end product above all else has to be priced as to not detect my wife's attention ;)

I'm starting to feel like data from the Goonies.
 
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Ok I purchased two of these batteries.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QDSNVU
Going to wire the 6v out from the engine to the batteries to keep them charged. Then put a switch from the battery to the lights. This setup should be very stable and bright.
 
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