LEDs HIDs and CCFL Halo Lights

[maxtim]

Raya is looking at you!

[eil]

Neat!

What is it?

[phil.drummond]

I think it's the front-end of a motorcycle... one of those ones that blinds you remorselessly as it approaches you while you are trying to get to work at 4:30 in the morning :/

Sorry. I'm getting a bit older and my eyes are not as good at recovering as they use to be. Too bad the designers today forget about the rest of the public when they are conjuring the magic for their products. :)

phil

[maxtim]

I think it's the front-end of a motorcycle... one of those ones that blinds you remorselessly as it approaches you while you are trying to get to work at 4:30 in the morning :/

Sorry. I'm getting a bit older and my eyes are not as good at recovering as they use to be. Too bad the designers today forget about the rest of the public when they are conjuring the magic for their products.

phil

You are right; it is the front end of my Kawasaki ZX14 motorcycle.







I re-wired and installed all the lighting myself.
Hi- powere LED clusters in the turn signals and the signals turned into 1/3 brightness running lights.
Ultra-high-power whits LEDs installed in the running lights.
CCFL halos around the hi-beam projectors.
and, yes the ultra-bright HIDs in the lo-beams.
It was a fun and challenging custom project and turned out really well (I think)

I am also aware of the problems of these new breeds of lights but on a motorcycle seeing and being seen is survival.
Actually, I wish that I could decrease the power at night. Like having a hi/lo lo beam.
They are in the proper modern projector style headlight, so the cut-off of at the top of the beam is very distinct and does not refract upwards into oncoming traffic's vision.

The cars that blind oncoming traffic are those that have Aftermarket HID kits installed into those old style reflective beam headlights. They were not designed for HIDs and should not be converted.

[amberwolf]

Part of my safety bicycle lighting and motor control system is to have that automatic dimming you're talking about--one that dims in darkness so that only the amount of light needed to see and be seen is used, and thus is MUCH brighter in the day, for headlights and markers and signals.

Thus it wouldn't be blinding at night, especially on a darker road with less ambient lighting around. It would get brighter as needed in well-lit areas, to stand out amongst all the other light sources, and brighter still in daylight. In tunnels (in daytime) and whatnot, it would dim again then brighten at leaving the tunnel. A tiny delay before action (with reset if delay doesn't expire before condition changes) would prevent it from brightening every time a shadow crossed the ALS.

As far as being seen vs seeing is concerned, when on a road in a city, generally the headlight does not need to be all that powerful. The city lighting will show you the road and objects on it well enough in most places that a very basic headlight will light up anything else important in your path.

The real important thing is to be seen, and all that requires is a large surface area of light, perhaps equalling in total the brightness of some of the headlights people use trying to be seen, but instead blinding people in the process. (very common problem with these homemade super-bright LED bicycle headlights). Thus, backlighting a large-surface-area BANNED plex or similar diffuse light source would be ideal, rather than a spot that shines almost exclusively in a forward beam.

The beam is not really helpful to see it's vehicle coming unless you're in it's path, generally, and in many lighting conditions is just about invisible from the side (a very common way to get hit, at least on a bicycle). A diffused large-surface area light can be made to be seen from a much wider angle, and is why I use the CCFL on my bicycle lighting system. It's still very bright from a distance, but is not blinding up close.

For a beam spotlight in darker road areas (and canal paths, which are almost always totally unlit) I've got a beam flashlight on my helmet, to point wherever I need to see, including around corners to ensure no one is coming before I pass, as some people (illegally) drive without lights at all at night while in local neighborhoods, for whatever reasons, making them essentially invisible if you don't light them up externally.


I know motorcycle conditions are slightly different, in that much higher speeds are involved, and thus further distances for seeing are needed, but again normal street lighting is sufficient to see most obstacles in a city, and thus just seeing doesn't require a super-bright beam.

[maxtim]

On a motorcycle it is very different from a bicycle.
The main factors are speed and traffic interaction.

An increased headlight reach allows me to see further ahead which can, at 100+ klicks, allow me a second or so of increased reaction time.

One of the worst cases and unfortunately common cases of accidents for a motorcycle is a car pulling a left hand turn across a bikes path. With the HIDs, the car drivers see the motorcycle as being closer and do not pull out into its path.

I have been riding for over 18 years and have never been so seen as I am now with these HID lights. Car drivers don't cut me off and I have not had a car pull left across my path since I installed the lights. Also, on the highway, cars move out of the passing lane because they see me coming, so I don’t have to pull right to move through traffic.

I hold the increased safety above the slight annoyance of the HIDs.

Again, I only think the aftermarket HID systems that people have installed into the incorrect lights (parabolic reflector style) as apposed to projectors, are a problem.

[kebnik]

Sorry to resurrect the thread, but I had to chime in as far as motorcycle safety goes. Although I had dual HID bi-xenon projectors retrofitted into this, as well as an SMD LED "halo" acting as a running light, I still suffered the consequences of either a distracted, or just altogether oblivious driver, during the day. I do agree that the brighter and more obnoxious looking we are (e.g. ridiculously bright paint, driving with high beams on, etc.). So, this is the result of someone not paying attention to the motorcycles on the road. The situation is exactly as maxtim spoke of. The lady made a left turn right in front of me. We were traveling in opposite directions. I was traveling EXACTLY the speed limit of 45mph...




The stock lighting on motorcycles is very poor, and the extra lighting is welcome, in all environments.