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#1
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Some thoughts on Vistalight (vistalite?) batteries
Have you ever seen the discharge graph for NiCd batteries? It goes roughly: |............... V | : | : +==================== time I can tell you that NiMH feels about the same. The problem is that, as Murphy would have it, that abrupt turn in the graph corresponds to the curve you're riding down, in the rain, on the commute home from work. You've just about got time to to think "Hmmm, that light is looking a bit dull", and then a minute later it's just about out. Maybe it had been a bit duller earlier, but riding in those dawn/dusk times it's impossible to tell. This has led me to thoughts of other batteries. IMHO the vistalight 'nitestick' is not too bad, and I think for it's price it's good, I'm happy with mine anyway. I must remember to charge it every couple of days though. But each battery is only 2200mAh at 7.2V. Why is it such a bulky battery supplies only 2200mAh? I must be missing something. I know a photo shop that sells 2000mAh 'AA' batteries - admittedly AA is only 1.5 volts (which is really 1.2V talking NiCd/NiMH). Wouldn't 6 of these ganged together give me 12000mAh and probably weigh the same as a nightstick? Have I missed someting here? Can someone suggest a better SLA alternative? A nightstick battery (NiMH) costs about $70, a pack of 4 2000mAh AAs (IIRC) about $50 with a charger. cheers, -kt |
#2
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Some thoughts on Vistalight (vistalite?) batteries
yes you are missing something
6 2000mAh AA batteries can give you 12000mAh at 1.2V or 6000mAh at 2.4V or 4000 mAh at 3.6V or 2000 mAh at 7.2V maybe it would help if you work it out in w/h 12000mAh at 1.2V or =14.4w/h(l think l have this right) 6000mAh at 2.4V or =14.4w/h 4000 mAh at 3.6V or =14.4w/h 2000 mAh at 7.2V =14.4w/h |
#3
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Some thoughts on Vistalight (vistalite?) batteries
On Fri, 04 Jul 2003 23:11:43 +1000, stu wrote:
6 2000mAh AA batteries can give you 12000mAh at 1.2V or ... 2000 mAh at 7.2V Ahhh, of course... damn laws of physics. So I'd be wantin' 8 of "7000mAh size 'F' 1.8v"[1] to give me 14000 mAh @ 7.2V. And maybe a trailer to carry them, how big is 'F' anyway. [1] http://www.onlybatteries.com/showite...temID=10661.25 -kt |
#4
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Some thoughts on Vistalight (vistalite?) batteries
l wonder if 1.8V is a typo on there part. l thought all ni-cd batteries were
1.2V and that was it. l just finished building lights for my bike, you know the ones, 2*20W quartz halogen down lights plus a 12V SLA battery. l used a 7.0 amp hour battery(it does weigh 2.5 kgs so it isn't for weight weenies) http://www.customer-self-service.com...popup=1&Produc t=03294155 when for my first long night ride last night and it seems to be good for 3 hours or more with one light on. cost me less then $50 including the rear light, but l had all the wire and stuff. best $50 l ever spent!!!!!!! great fun |
#5
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Some thoughts on Vistalight (vistalite?) batteries
"stu" wrote in message
... l wonder if 1.8V is a typo on there part. l thought all ni-cd batteries were 1.2V and that was it. l just finished building lights for my bike, you know the ones, 2*20W quartz halogen down lights plus a 12V SLA battery. l used a 7.0 amp hour battery(it does weigh 2.5 kgs so it isn't for weight weenies) Good to see that someone else has decided to build their own lights.......I still reckon they are the best value for money. I have recently finished my fifth set of lights for which i machined up an aluminium housing for a 35mm halogen globe (20W). I made up a NiMh battery pack in an old water bottle using 10 x 4500mAh batteries which are 4/3 AA size (basically a bit longer and bit fatter than standard AA batteries). These are in series which gives me a 12V, 4.5Ah battery. I am also currently repacking a Vistalight nightstick for a mate whos old one was pretty well had it. I am using 5 x sub-C NiMh cells (as per the original) but I have bought 2700 mAh ones from Jaycar (www.jaycar.com.au) that cost around $9 each. This means my mate gets a new nighstick for around $45 bucks that has around 25% higher capacity than the original!!!!! It is a pretty simple process that only involves some basic soldering. If you are interested in having a look at my lights, they are at http://members.ozemail.com.au/~drgagnon/lights_5.htm Cheers, Gags |
#6
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Some thoughts on Vistalight (vistalite?) batteries
"stu" wrote in message
... l wonder if 1.8V is a typo on there part. l thought all ni-cd batteries were 1.2V and that was it. l just finished building lights for my bike, you know the ones, 2*20W quartz halogen down lights plus a 12V SLA battery. l used a 7.0 amp hour battery(it does weigh 2.5 kgs so it isn't for weight weenies) Good to see that someone else has decided to build their own lights.......I still reckon they are the best value for money. I have recently finished my fifth set of lights for which i machined up an aluminium housing for a 35mm halogen globe (20W). I made up a NiMh battery pack in an old water bottle using 10 x 4500mAh batteries which are 4/3 AA size (basically a bit longer and bit fatter than standard AA batteries). These are in series which gives me a 12V, 4.5Ah battery. I am also currently repacking a Vistalight nightstick for a mate whos old one was pretty well had it. I am using 5 x sub-C NiMh cells (as per the original) but I have bought 2700 mAh ones from Jaycar (www.jaycar.com.au) that cost around $9 each. This means my mate gets a new nighstick for around $45 bucks that has around 25% higher capacity than the original!!!!! It is a pretty simple process that only involves some basic soldering. If you are interested in having a look at my lights, they are at http://members.ozemail.com.au/~drgagnon/lights_5.htm Cheers, Gags |
#7
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Some thoughts on Vistalight (vistalite?) batteries
l wonder if 1.8V is a typo on there part. l thought all ni-cd batteries were
1.2V and that was it. l just finished building lights for my bike, you know the ones, 2*20W quartz halogen down lights plus a 12V SLA battery. l used a 7.0 amp hour battery(it does weigh 2.5 kgs so it isn't for weight weenies) http://www.customer-self-service.com...popup=1&Produc t=03294155 when for my first long night ride last night and it seems to be good for 3 hours or more with one light on. cost me less then $50 including the rear light, but l had all the wire and stuff. best $50 l ever spent!!!!!!! great fun |
#8
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Some thoughts on Vistalight (vistalite?) batteries
On Fri, 04 Jul 2003 23:11:43 +1000, stu wrote:
6 2000mAh AA batteries can give you 12000mAh at 1.2V or ... 2000 mAh at 7.2V Ahhh, of course... damn laws of physics. So I'd be wantin' 8 of "7000mAh size 'F' 1.8v"[1] to give me 14000 mAh @ 7.2V. And maybe a trailer to carry them, how big is 'F' anyway. [1] http://www.onlybatteries.com/showite...temID=10661.25 -kt |
#9
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Some thoughts on Vistalight (vistalite?) batteries
yes you are missing something
6 2000mAh AA batteries can give you 12000mAh at 1.2V or 6000mAh at 2.4V or 4000 mAh at 3.6V or 2000 mAh at 7.2V maybe it would help if you work it out in w/h 12000mAh at 1.2V or =14.4w/h(l think l have this right) 6000mAh at 2.4V or =14.4w/h 4000 mAh at 3.6V or =14.4w/h 2000 mAh at 7.2V =14.4w/h |
#10
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Some thoughts on Lighting
I have spent a few hours and some $$ on lighting lately. Here are some of my thoughts. Try and get Phillips, GE or Osram. The Jaycar bulbs and light assembly are quite poor. Poor light output, Poor colouring. Basically junk. If anyone is looking at using bi pin bulbs (I haven't tested assemblies yet) then GE is the way to go (34715 Is what I tested). Nice white light. I would then go for Phillips and Osram in that order. How do I know this ? Well I have just finished building some lights using small car spotlights (Don't waste your money of cheapies) and custom bulb holders. It works very well. I spent MANY hours testing differing bulbs, filament types Ect. side by side. I am currently looking for some projector bulbs to test them. If they can cope with the vibration then I will probably stick with them. 25% brighter than the brightest bulb I can find with the usual reduced life. I know that Osram make a assembly that uses an Xenon bulb (IRC). I was not overly impressed with these (Actually disappointed). Not as bright as they should have been until over voltaged. (I know that someone in Adelaide is currently looking at using these to take a product to market with.) There is a HUGE different in light output, colour and quality between different bulb's/housings. For the people who have built them I would recommend looking at what they are using and if they can get an additional performance increase for little outlay. I hope this is of interest and help to a few of you. It was not posted to a relevant post in this thread as I could not decide which one. AJS P.s I am looking at setting up an light meter and measuring the output and spectrum of different lights. If I do I will post URL for interested parties. If anyone know where I can get HID 10-20W bulbs for a decent price let me know, this is my pet project that is just a little to expensive to finish at the moment "kingsley" wrote in message newsan.2003.07.02.21.46.21.258743@maddogsbreakfa st.com.au... Have you ever seen the discharge graph for NiCd batteries? It goes roughly: |............... V | : | : +==================== time I can tell you that NiMH feels about the same. The problem is that, as Murphy would have it, that abrupt turn in the graph corresponds to the curve you're riding down, in the rain, on the commute home from work. You've just about got time to to think "Hmmm, that light is looking a bit dull", and then a minute later it's just about out. Maybe it had been a bit duller earlier, but riding in those dawn/dusk times it's impossible to tell. This has led me to thoughts of other batteries. IMHO the vistalight 'nitestick' is not too bad, and I think for it's price it's good, I'm happy with mine anyway. I must remember to charge it every couple of days though. But each battery is only 2200mAh at 7.2V. Why is it such a bulky battery supplies only 2200mAh? I must be missing something. I know a photo shop that sells 2000mAh 'AA' batteries - admittedly AA is only 1.5 volts (which is really 1.2V talking NiCd/NiMH). Wouldn't 6 of these ganged together give me 12000mAh and probably weigh the same as a nightstick? Have I missed someting here? Can someone suggest a better SLA alternative? A nightstick battery (NiMH) costs about $70, a pack of 4 2000mAh AAs (IIRC) about $50 with a charger. cheers, -kt |
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