NiteHawk Emitter (wow!)

I just got this thing. I put some batteries in it and went outside to see
how well it worked. I hit the button once to turn it on (the button is a
bit of a pain). I was impressed by the beam. I could illuminate a
previously invisible stop sign a good 75 yards away. What was really cool
was when I tried to see how to activate the low-power mode. I then
discovered the 100% mode -- which generates a beam that reminds me of my big
Mag flashlight which runs on 4 D size batteries. I can't believe this thing
can get anywhere near 9 hours on 4 AA size batteries - but if it comes close
I'm going to be a happy camper. It should really open up the road on a
dark morning when I'm leaving my house for an early AM ride. I can't wait.

Roger Zoul wrote:

I just got this thing. I put some batteries in it and went outside to see
how well it worked. I hit the button once to turn it on (the button is a
bit of a pain). I was impressed by the beam. I could illuminate a
previously invisible stop sign a good 75 yards away. What was really cool
was when I tried to see how to activate the low-power mode. I then
discovered the 100% mode -- which generates a beam that reminds me of my big
Mag flashlight which runs on 4 D size batteries. I can't believe this thing
can get anywhere near 9 hours on 4 AA size batteries - but if it comes close
I'm going to be a happy camper. It should really open up the road on a
dark morning when I'm leaving my house for an early AM ride. I can't wait.



Please keep track of the hours of use, to tell us how long the batteries
last.

Are you an electrical kind of guy? Could you put a meter on it and see
what the voltage and current readings are when it's running? That would
be interesting.

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

Roger Zoul wrote:

I just got this thing. I put some batteries in it and went outside to see
how well it worked. I hit the button once to turn it on (the button is a
bit of a pain). I was impressed by the beam. I could illuminate a
previously invisible stop sign a good 75 yards away. What was really cool
was when I tried to see how to activate the low-power mode. I then
discovered the 100% mode -- which generates a beam that reminds me of my big
Mag flashlight which runs on 4 D size batteries. I can't believe this thing
can get anywhere near 9 hours on 4 AA size batteries - but if it comes close
I'm going to be a happy camper. It should really open up the road on a
dark morning when I'm leaving my house for an early AM ride. I can't wait.



Please keep track of the hours of use, to tell us how long the batteries
last.

Are you an electrical kind of guy? Could you put a meter on it and see
what the voltage and current readings are when it's running? That would
be interesting.

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

Frank Krygowski wrote:
|| Roger Zoul wrote:
||
||| I just got this thing. I put some batteries in it and went outside
||| to see how well it worked. I hit the button once to turn it on
||| (the button is a bit of a pain). I was impressed by the beam. I
||| could illuminate a previously invisible stop sign a good 75 yards
||| away. What was really cool was when I tried to see how to activate
||| the low-power mode. I then discovered the 100% mode -- which
||| generates a beam that reminds me of my big Mag flashlight which
||| runs on 4 D size batteries. I can't believe this thing can get
||| anywhere near 9 hours on 4 AA size batteries - but if it comes
||| close I'm going to be a happy camper. It should really open up the
||| road on a dark morning when I'm leaving my house for an early AM
||| ride. I can't wait.
|||
|||
||
|| Please keep track of the hours of use, to tell us how long the
|| batteries last.

Okay...no problem.

||
|| Are you an electrical kind of guy? Could you put a meter on it and
|| see
|| what the voltage and current readings are when it's running? That
|| would
|| be interesting.
||

Yes, I'm going to try to measure the current draw with my meter.

BTW, what is the theory on aiming the beam? I just did a quick spin around
the neighborhood. The light definitely can light up a dark road....but
riding in the dark is a totally new experience...I may need a helmet version
of this light too, as well as something as bright on the back so I can make
sure cars seem be from behind. I currently have a 3 LED Trek tail light
now.

I'd hate to get chased by a pack of dogs at night....

|| --
|| --------------------+
|| Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
|| replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

Frank Krygowski wrote:
|| Roger Zoul wrote:
||
||| I just got this thing. I put some batteries in it and went outside
||| to see how well it worked. I hit the button once to turn it on
||| (the button is a bit of a pain). I was impressed by the beam. I
||| could illuminate a previously invisible stop sign a good 75 yards
||| away. What was really cool was when I tried to see how to activate
||| the low-power mode. I then discovered the 100% mode -- which
||| generates a beam that reminds me of my big Mag flashlight which
||| runs on 4 D size batteries. I can't believe this thing can get
||| anywhere near 9 hours on 4 AA size batteries - but if it comes
||| close I'm going to be a happy camper. It should really open up the
||| road on a dark morning when I'm leaving my house for an early AM
||| ride. I can't wait.
|||
|||
||
|| Please keep track of the hours of use, to tell us how long the
|| batteries last.

Okay...no problem.

||
|| Are you an electrical kind of guy? Could you put a meter on it and
|| see
|| what the voltage and current readings are when it's running? That
|| would
|| be interesting.
||

Yes, I'm going to try to measure the current draw with my meter.

BTW, what is the theory on aiming the beam? I just did a quick spin around
the neighborhood. The light definitely can light up a dark road....but
riding in the dark is a totally new experience...I may need a helmet version
of this light too, as well as something as bright on the back so I can make
sure cars seem be from behind. I currently have a 3 LED Trek tail light
now.

I'd hate to get chased by a pack of dogs at night....

|| --
|| --------------------+
|| Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
|| replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

Fri, 3 Sep 2004 23:53:08 -0400, ,
"Roger Zoul" wrote:


BTW, what is the theory on aiming the beam? I just did a quick spin around
the neighborhood. The light definitely can light up a dark road....but
riding in the dark is a totally new experience...I may need a helmet version
of this light too, as well as something as bright on the back so I can make
sure cars seem be from behind. I currently have a 3 LED Trek tail light
now.

I use a 7LED Planet Bike lamp with 120 degree visibility. That's in
blink mode and my dynamo also powers a steady red tail lamp.

There's a good basic treatment of the subject he
http://www.bluedome.co.uk/MoutainBik...htcycling.html

Cycling at Night
By Bruce Rosar and Steve Goodridge of the NCBC

(that says in part)

A cyclist riding at high speed on a dark rural road needs a long,
relatively narrow beam of light to see surface conditions and
obstacles far enough ahead. A mountain biker riding over challenging
off-road terrain needs a wide, bright beam to find suitable paths over
obstacles and around turns. By contrast, an urban cyclist operating
under street lamps requires just enough beam strength to allow
navigation of the occasional dark stretch at reduced speed.

The faster you ride, the longer your effective headlamp beam needs to
be; if you double your speed, you need to see twice as far. Note that
since the power of reflected light decreases in proportion to the
square of distance from the lamp, doubling the range for a given
reflection power requires four times as much light power from the
lamp.

The light provided by a bicycle headlamp may be focused into a narrow
beam for maximum range, or may be spread out for better peripheral
vision. A three watt lamp can be focused into a beam suitable for high
speed cycling on the darkest roads, but will not give much
illumination of turns.

On totally dark roads, our eyes adapt to the darkness and allow us to
see surprisingly well with a low-power headlamp.
--
zk

Fri, 3 Sep 2004 23:53:08 -0400, ,
"Roger Zoul" wrote:


BTW, what is the theory on aiming the beam? I just did a quick spin around
the neighborhood. The light definitely can light up a dark road....but
riding in the dark is a totally new experience...I may need a helmet version
of this light too, as well as something as bright on the back so I can make
sure cars seem be from behind. I currently have a 3 LED Trek tail light
now.

I use a 7LED Planet Bike lamp with 120 degree visibility. That's in
blink mode and my dynamo also powers a steady red tail lamp.

There's a good basic treatment of the subject he
http://www.bluedome.co.uk/MoutainBik...htcycling.html

Cycling at Night
By Bruce Rosar and Steve Goodridge of the NCBC

(that says in part)

A cyclist riding at high speed on a dark rural road needs a long,
relatively narrow beam of light to see surface conditions and
obstacles far enough ahead. A mountain biker riding over challenging
off-road terrain needs a wide, bright beam to find suitable paths over
obstacles and around turns. By contrast, an urban cyclist operating
under street lamps requires just enough beam strength to allow
navigation of the occasional dark stretch at reduced speed.

The faster you ride, the longer your effective headlamp beam needs to
be; if you double your speed, you need to see twice as far. Note that
since the power of reflected light decreases in proportion to the
square of distance from the lamp, doubling the range for a given
reflection power requires four times as much light power from the
lamp.

The light provided by a bicycle headlamp may be focused into a narrow
beam for maximum range, or may be spread out for better peripheral
vision. A three watt lamp can be focused into a beam suitable for high
speed cycling on the darkest roads, but will not give much
illumination of turns.

On totally dark roads, our eyes adapt to the darkness and allow us to
see surprisingly well with a low-power headlamp.
--
zk

"Roger Zoul" wrote in message

I just got this thing. I put some batteries in it and went outside
to see how well it worked. I hit the button once to turn it on (the
button is a bit of a pain). I was impressed by the beam. I could
illuminate a previously invisible stop sign a good 75 yards away.
What was really cool was when I tried to see how to activate the
low-power mode. I then discovered the 100% mode -- which generates a
beam that reminds me of my big Mag flashlight which runs on 4 D size
batteries. I can't believe this thing can get anywhere near 9 hours
on 4 AA size batteries - but if it comes close I'm going to be a
happy camper. It should really open up the road on a dark morning
when I'm leaving my house for an early AM ride. I can't wait.

Interesting. What made you choose it over its competitors?

Those interested can see it at http://www.nite-hawk.com/bikeemitter.html.

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"Roger Zoul" wrote in message

I just got this thing. I put some batteries in it and went outside
to see how well it worked. I hit the button once to turn it on (the
button is a bit of a pain). I was impressed by the beam. I could
illuminate a previously invisible stop sign a good 75 yards away.
What was really cool was when I tried to see how to activate the
low-power mode. I then discovered the 100% mode -- which generates a
beam that reminds me of my big Mag flashlight which runs on 4 D size
batteries. I can't believe this thing can get anywhere near 9 hours
on 4 AA size batteries - but if it comes close I'm going to be a
happy camper. It should really open up the road on a dark morning
when I'm leaving my house for an early AM ride. I can't wait.

Interesting. What made you choose it over its competitors?

Those interested can see it at http://www.nite-hawk.com/bikeemitter.html.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

"Frank Krygowski" wrote in message


[...]

Please keep track of the hours of use, to tell us how long the
batteries last.

I found one report which says it lasted the full nine hours:
http://forums.bicycling.com/thread.j...4317&tstart=15.
Interestingly, the "digital emitter" version only claims five hours at 100%.

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Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?