Dynamo/LED power conditioning

On Fri, 11 May 2018 08:39:16 -0700, sms
wrote:

On 5/11/2018 7:36 AM, Joerg wrote:

Flashing rear lights are great and I use them. They make a cyclist more
noticeable than a car at the same distance. There are some that turn
into flash mode when power comes on (without pressing the button) so
with some simple electronics up front they could also be useful for
dynamo-only situations. Though then they will go out when stopped which
is not good.

For front lights I'd like to see the same law for bicycles as we have in
most states for motorcycles, daytime running lights are mandatory.
Modulated or flashing is better, but even solid is okay.

The problem with legislated solutions is that they tend to demand more
than what was originally required. For example, such a law might
require that the flashing rate change in some manner to indicate an
almost dead battery.

For rear lights, most riders already use flashing rear lights.

Yep, except that you can't see the rear light from the side on cheap
rear bicycle lights. Some required side-spill should be added to the
law. That would also make tolerable turn signal indicators. I think
we can dispense with adding backup lights.

Most rear bicycle lights are used as flashers, not to improve
visibility, but to reduce battery drain. This is good because when an
automobile driver sees a flashing red light, they know it's either a
bicycle, hazard marker, or the local red light district. This
ambiguity could easily be solved by assigning a distinctive color to
bicycle lighting. Red, green, blue, yellow, and white are all taken.
It should be something that could be easily produced by an LED.
https://www.lumex.com/article/led-color-guide
I guess all that's left are orange, amber, and pink, none of which are
available in high brightness. I gotta think about his some more...

I find it difficult to judge speed when something is coming directly
at me or directly away from me. For dynamo operated lighting, it
might be useful to have the color change with the speed. At high
speeds, the light is bluish. At low speeds, more reddish. All it
would require are a few added LEDs in RGB colors in addition to the
usual white headlight and red tail light. (I should probably patent
this idea).

There have also been come comments in R.B.T. on riders being blinded
by oncoming bicycle headlights. This is easily fixed by a law
requiring that all bicycle eyeglasses be vertically polarized, while
bicycle headlights be horizontally polarized. The vertically
polarized glasses are also useful at eliminating glare from the sun,
which is mostly horizontally polarized when reflected off of the road
or water.






--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Friday, May 11, 2018 at 8:39:19 AM UTC-7, sms wrote:
On 5/11/2018 7:36 AM, Joerg wrote:

Flashing rear lights are great and I use them. They make a cyclist more
noticeable than a car at the same distance. There are some that turn
into flash mode when power comes on (without pressing the button) so
with some simple electronics up front they could also be useful for
dynamo-only situations. Though then they will go out when stopped which
is not good.

For front lights I'd like to see the same law for bicycles as we have in
most states for motorcycles, daytime running lights are mandatory.
Modulated or flashing is better, but even solid is okay.

For rear lights, most riders already use flashing rear lights.

That's a lot of infractions. https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/...nMxzsKV8Q.jpeg (regular summer commute traffic on N. Williams).

Interestingly, most people are perfectly fine without DRLs. I can see DRLs and flashers in low light conditions, but actually requiring them for all conditions is dopey. I know you like to poke the ant-hill on this issues, so go for it, but equipment requirements will just turn into selective enforcement tools for cops who dislike certain riders. You're batteries run out, and some cop busts you because he doesn't like some ordinance you passed.

-- Jay Beattie.

On 5/10/2018 11:19 PM, David Scheidt wrote:
Frank Krygowski wrote:
:On 5/10/2018 6:15 PM, John B. wrote:
:
: I suspect that you, like I, are what might be called a sensible rider.
: RE, door zones, just slow down a bit so you have time to dodge the
: door if necessary.

:Um... no, that's not sensible.

:Consider what happens if you're riding just 15 kph and a driver pops his
:door open as you pass his rear bumper. There's no way to stop in time.

:If you're lucky, you'll hit his door squarely and crumple beneath it. If
:you're unlucky, you'll snag the door edge with your right handlebar, the
:bike will steer to the right, your body will be thrown down to the left,
:and the motor vehicle you were worried about will run over you.

:Unlike mountain lion attacks, dooring really is a danger. Most states
:don't record it as a car-bike collision, because they record those only
:if the car was moving. But Chicago did keep track, and found that
:something like 20% of car-bike crashes were doorings.

And we have a $1000 fine for causing an accident by dooring -- and the
cops write the tickets.

on't ride in the door zone. Just don't.

Yeah, you live in smallsville. If I don't ride in the door zone, it
takes me three times as long to get to work.

Why are those the only choices? Details, please. What happens if you
move a few feet left?

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 5/11/2018 10:36 AM, Joerg wrote:
On 2018-05-10 06:28, Frank Krygowski wrote:


I just don't think all those devices are necessary. Joerg talks with
horror
about his near misses, and about hearing from friends who heard from
friends
about other friends who nearly died.


The usual nonsense because you don't read carefully. These were friends.
People I hung out with all the time. And yes, they were hit by cars
while cycling. Then there is the wife of a guy I regularly met on our
dog walks. She was on a road bike and run over (literally) by a large
pickup truck. It took years of medical attention and special training
before she could even sit on a road bike again.

Joerg, in one of your past horror story rants, you talked about all the
cyclists killed "around here." I asked for links and got one article
talking about a cyclist killed something like 50 miles away from you.

Cycling deaths are well recorded and documented, yet you couldn't
provide evidence of your local killing fields. I strongly suspect the
same is true of the terrible number of near-deaths among cyclists you
know. Or for that matter, of the mountain lion attacks barely avoided,
the bike frames reduced to shrapnel by tire blowouts, the rides survived
only by use of glaring lights...

I do believe you drink a hell of a lot of beer, though. So manly!


--
- Frank Krygowski

On 5/11/2018 11:39 AM, sms wrote:
On 5/11/2018 7:36 AM, Joerg wrote:

Flashing rear lights are great and I use them. They make a cyclist
more noticeable than a car at the same distance. There are some that
turn into flash mode when power comes on (without pressing the button)
so with some simple electronics up front they could also be useful for
dynamo-only situations. Though then they will go out when stopped
which is not good.

For front lights I'd like to see the same law for bicycles as we have in
most states for motorcycles, daytime running lights are mandatory.
Modulated or flashing is better, but even solid is okay.

For rear lights, most riders already use flashing rear lights.

There you go! A California politician wanting to enact an idiotic law to
protect people from imaginary risks by mandating unproven products he
has sold for commission by "guerilla marketing." (His own words.)

Nice example, Scharf.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 5/11/2018 12:43 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Friday, May 11, 2018 at 8:39:19 AM UTC-7, sms wrote:

For front lights I'd like to see the same law for bicycles as we have in
most states for motorcycles, daytime running lights are mandatory.
Modulated or flashing is better, but even solid is okay.

For rear lights, most riders already use flashing rear lights.

That's a lot of infractions. https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/...nMxzsKV8Q.jpeg (regular summer commute traffic on N. Williams).

Wait, did that photo have something to do with bicycling? I couldn't
spot any bicyclists.

Maybe they were there, but didn't have DRLs? I just can't tell!

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 5/11/2018 9:38 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

snip

Yep, except that you can't see the rear light from the side on cheap
rear bicycle lights. Some required side-spill should be added to the
law. That would also make tolerable turn signal indicators. I think
we can dispense with adding backup lights.

True. Very few have sufficient side spill.

https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20180511090131& SearchText=Cateye+TL-LD1100
is the best one I've found. Not cheap. But AA instead of AAA batteries.
I recall buying several when they had a sale for about $20 each.

My wife has one of those hockey puck rechargeable LED lights on top of
her rear rack pack
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/16-LED-Flashing-Car-Warning-Light-Rechargeable-Safety-Emergency-Road-Magnetic-Base-Car-Boat-Flare-1/32858656694.html.
But it has to be placed horizontally and there's not really a good way
to mount it to a bicycle without a rear rack or a rack bag. But it's
extremely visible from all sides.

On 11/05/2018 12:43 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Friday, May 11, 2018 at 8:39:19 AM UTC-7, sms wrote:
On 5/11/2018 7:36 AM, Joerg wrote:

Flashing rear lights are great and I use them. They make a cyclist more
noticeable than a car at the same distance. There are some that turn
into flash mode when power comes on (without pressing the button) so
with some simple electronics up front they could also be useful for
dynamo-only situations. Though then they will go out when stopped which
is not good.

For front lights I'd like to see the same law for bicycles as we have in
most states for motorcycles, daytime running lights are mandatory.
Modulated or flashing is better, but even solid is okay.

For rear lights, most riders already use flashing rear lights.

That's a lot of infractions. https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/...nMxzsKV8Q.jpeg (regular summer commute traffic on N. Williams).

Interestingly, most people are perfectly fine without DRLs. I can see DRLs and flashers in low light conditions, but actually requiring them for all conditions is dopey. I know you like to poke the ant-hill on this issues, so go for it, but equipment requirements will just turn into selective enforcement tools for cops who dislike certain riders. You're batteries run out, and some cop busts you because he doesn't like some ordinance you passed.


Exactly. Quebec just quadrupled the fines for missing reflectors. In
the daytime. It's now possible to pay more for a missing set of
reflectors than a speeding ticket in a car. After the initial crackdown
it will be just what you say, some weapon for the cops to use when they
get annoyed at you.

On 5/11/2018 11:44 AM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 5/10/2018 11:19 PM, David Scheidt wrote:
Frank Krygowski wrote:
:On 5/10/2018 6:15 PM, John B. wrote:
:
: I suspect that you, like I, are what might be called a
sensible rider.
: RE, door zones, just slow down a bit so you have time
to dodge the
: door if necessary.

:Um... no, that's not sensible.

:Consider what happens if you're riding just 15 kph and a
driver pops his
:door open as you pass his rear bumper. There's no way to
stop in time.

:If you're lucky, you'll hit his door squarely and crumple
beneath it. If
:you're unlucky, you'll snag the door edge with your right
handlebar, the
:bike will steer to the right, your body will be thrown
down to the left,
:and the motor vehicle you were worried about will run
over you.

:Unlike mountain lion attacks, dooring really is a danger.
Most states
:don't record it as a car-bike collision, because they
record those only
:if the car was moving. But Chicago did keep track, and
found that
:something like 20% of car-bike crashes were doorings.

And we have a $1000 fine for causing an accident by
dooring -- and the
cops write the tickets.

on't ride in the door zone. Just don't.

Yeah, you live in smallsville. If I don't ride in the
door zone, it
takes me three times as long to get to work.

Why are those the only choices? Details, please. What
happens if you move a few feet left?



You mean under the bus? Urban riding s a game of inches,
literally.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 5/11/2018 9:43 AM, jbeattie wrote:

snip
Interestingly, most people are perfectly fine without DRLs. I can see DRLs and flashers in low light conditions, but actually requiring them for all conditions is dopey. I know you like to poke the ant-hill on this issues, so go for it, but equipment requirements will just turn into selective enforcement tools for cops who dislike certain riders. You're batteries run out, and some cop busts you because he doesn't like some ordinance you passed.

We need to pass more laws to make everything safe for everybody.

Actually I'm the only one on our council that's voted against some
ridiculous new ordinances that try to do that. On one vote the City
Clerk was so shocked that she reported the vote as unanimous and I had
to interrupt her to correct her. Passing meaningless, unenforceable laws
that are already duplicated at the state level is ridiculous. We have no
real way to even prosecute violators of some ordinances because the
county DA won't do it. OTOH, for some things, it's not that enforcement
is expected, it's about getting people to understand what behavior is a
good idea, and knowing that most people have the sense to do what the
law says (seat belt laws, etc.).

In my area, there's no need for laws regarding bicycle DRLs or rear
flashers, since usage is already very high for transportational cycling.
Some areas of the country could use this law. For example, in some
counties in Ohio, such as Mahoning County, there appears to be a need
for such a DRL law.