Rear LED light effectiveness.
Driving home last night I overtook a cyclist with what from about 100m
away I thought was a very dim constant rear light. As I overtook him I saw it was a Cateye LD600 on the chasing mode where each LED lights up in turn but there is only one LED on at any time. So from the perspective of a driver this mode would appear to be useless. IE only 1 fifth of the light put out compared to either the constant mode where all LEDs are lit or the flashing mode where all LEDs flash simultaneously. Plus from a distance the chasing mode loses the flashing effect. I use two LD600s on my commuter but don't use the chasing mode anyway. But it made me wonder whether anyone knew of any side by side comparisons of LED lights. Given sites like "Your Tube" and Google Video it would be possible to post video clips of different lights "in action" so to speak, perhaps side by side comparisons. As a side issue the cyclist concerned had a poor rear light, no reflectors and dark clothing. But he was wearing a helmet so everything would be OK right? Iain |
Rear LED light effectiveness.
I've made the same point many times i.e. that flashing. flickering or
otherwise intermittent lights are bad news and reduce visibility. This based mainly on my observation from a drivers point of view, and the logical argument that less light = less visibility. The counter argument is that flickering will more likely attract attention, but I am not convinced at all. cheers Jacob |
Rear LED light effectiveness.
I've made the same point many times i.e. that flashing. flickering or
otherwise intermittent lights are bad news and reduce visibility. This based mainly on my observation from a drivers point of view, and the logical argument that less light = less visibility. The counter argument is that flickering will more likely attract attention, but I am not convinced at all. cheers Jacob |
Rear LED light effectiveness.
and the
logical argument that less light = less visibility. Does this extend to more posts = more visibility (I got yours twice :-) |
Rear LED light effectiveness.
"Mark Thompson" pleasegivegenerously@warmmail*_turn_up_the_heat_t o_reply*.com wrote in message .99... and the logical argument that less light = less visibility. Does this extend to more posts = more visibility (I got yours twice :-) You aren't the only one with double vision ;-) Cheers, helen s |
Rear LED light effectiveness.
|
Rear LED light effectiveness.
wafflycat wrote: "Mark Thompson" pleasegivegenerously@warmmail*_turn_up_the_heat_t o_reply*.com wrote in message .99... and the logical argument that less light = less visibility. Does this extend to more posts = more visibility (I got yours twice :-) You aren't the only one with double vision ;-) Cheers, helen s oops sorry. Deleted it from google groups. cheers jacob |
Rear LED light effectiveness.
oops sorry. Deleted it from google groups.
D'oh, I enjoyed reading usenet in stereo. |
Rear LED light effectiveness.
Peter Fox wrote:
Following on from 's message. . . Driving home last night I overtook a cyclist with what from about 100m away I thought was a very dim constant rear light. As I overtook him I saw it was a Cateye LD600 on the chasing mode where each LED lights up in turn but there is only one LED on at any time. So from the perspective of a driver this mode would appear to be useless. IE only 1 fifth of the light put out compared to either the constant mode where all LEDs are lit or the flashing mode where all LEDs flash simultaneously. Plus from a distance the chasing mode loses the flashing effect. Actually when 'all LEDs are on' they are switched. In the dark wave the light in front of you and you won't see a constant blur. (But that's not very relevant to the discussion.) LED lights are usually powered from dry cells which go slowly from being 100% to empty. (Unlike rechargeables, which is why they are used on the rear where you can't keep an eye on them.) Naturally you only batteries when necessary so one day you'll think to yourself 'the lights are a little feeble - to be replaced!' At that point a sequencing flasher is borderline. (Note that typically one LED will have the same brightness _each_ as five together - which is not the same experience as most people have had with filament bulbs, where you get two half-bright bulbs instead of one fully bright one. So 5 LEDs give plenty more light than 1.) A single flasher is probably not much good in built-up areas but if bright will be fine in the country. Obviously the reason for using fewer LEDs is extended battery life. This is where you can't make rules but need to get people to ask themselves "can I be seen in the current circumstances?". FWIW I use five flashing about town except at dusk or wet when I use all and in the country when it is properly dark a single sequencing flasher. LEDs are also generally awful when run from NiMH cells. The slightly lower voltage gives *half* the brightness (I measured it with a light meter). Stick to alkalines, or, if financially possible, the Energizer lithium cells which are the full 1.5V and have a more or less flat discharge curve. If you need another incentive, they're very light in weight. |
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